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HEADQUARTERS & HEADQUARTERS SQUADRON FORTY FIRST AIR DEPOT GROUP APO 520
314.81 APO 520 1 June 1944
SUBJECT: War Diary for Period, 1 May through 31 May 1944.
TO : Commanding General, Fifteenth Air Force, APO 520, U. S. Army. (ATTENTION: Historian) (THRU: Channels)
1 May 1944 We lost our first game of the month to the 41st Depot Repair Squadron by a score of 1 to 0. Both teams played a good game but the fact remains that they were better than we.
2 May 1944 Captain Sandberg who has been our Group Surgeon since October of 1942, received notification of his promotion to Major on 15 April 1944. The first "Jam Session" for this month was held in the patio of the Red Cross club.
3 May 1944 A small number of our men attended a dance near Taranto this evening. The dance was given by Polish nurses, some of whom were our guests at a dance here last month.
4 May 1944 The ball team is back in regular form and defeated the 2502th QM by 10 to 0. Our diamond has been improved by the removal of all stones and foreign objects from the diamond itself this week. The Group band went to the 26th General Hospital and provided several hours of good entertainment for the patients.
5 May 1944 A dance was held at the Officers' Red Cross in Bari and music was furnished by our band.
6 May 1944 We began taking our first atabrine tablets of the season today. The present schedule is one tablet per day which we feel will be much better than the system used in North Africa. The personnel of the 26th General Hospital enjoyed a dance this evening with music furnished by our band.
7 May 1944 A very peaceful and quiet Sunday with our regular concert in the Public Square. The majority of us spent the day by walking around town taking pictures or catching up on some of our sleep.
8 May 1944 Our ball team was defeated again by the 41st Depot Repair Squadron. They have a very good team and higher bets are being placed on each of their games.
9 May 1944 About the only important event today was our victory over the 517th Depot Repair Squadron softball team. They have a fine team and are seldom on the losing side. We ran up a score of 5 against 2.
10 May 1944 We all attended a movie on malaria prevention and one on venereal disease. For once, the venereal film was very interesting and did not go into gory details. The band played for a dance at our own Officers' Club this evening.
11 May 1944 The regular weekly "Jam Session" was held at the Red Cross Club with a good attendance. We experienced our first alert for some time late this afternoon. This one lasted from 1700 to 1725 hours.
12 May 1944 The group and band are kept busy playing for Red Cross, this time a new dance. The boys are kept busy by playing nearly every night, both for the group and other organizations which as yet have no band of their own.
14 May 1944 Today is Mother's Day and many of us are cheered because we know that our flowers sent through the Post Exchange have arrived at home. Church services were held this morning with most of the time devoted to the observance of mother's day. The 41st Depot Repair Squadron did a good job in another noon concert in the town square. We also again--this time the 517th Depot Repair Squadron team had a score of 5 against our 4. It looks as if our boys could use much more practice.
15 May 1944 We sent our first man home on rotation this morning. Sgt George F. Stewart, one of our oldest men, was approved last month and received notice yesterday that he was leaving. He has been one of the best liked men in the squadron and has done excellent work as an Engineering Clerk. We all wish him good luck and a happy reunion at home.
16 May 1944 "Doc" Schell, who has been our Red Cross Director for nearly a year was given a farewell party this evening. He has been transferred to a position in Naples and we all feel that he will miss the merry disposition and good deeds that Mr. Schell provided for all of us here. Ice cream and cake was furnished by our band; songs by a Negro quintet and a quartet from the 41st Depot Repair Squadron; and numbers by our vocalist, S.J. Patterson.
18 May 1944 We had a practice air and ground alert late this afternoon to test the effectiveness of our plans and methods of defense. Within a few minutes after war on its way, trucks were rushed to Command posts and the rescue squads were all ready for action. This evening the G.I.'s Club at Tari sponsored a dance with music furnished by our band.
19 May 1944 Today marks the end of Guard duty for personnel of this Depot. This has been assumed by the 366th Infantry Regiment. The Special Military Police of our squadron, however, will continue their present duties. This evening we were entertained by Cpl Jackson of the V & E Dr. Cpl Jackson furnished several hours of his own piano interpretations.
20 May 1944 Late this afternoon there was a regular summer shower which brought a clean odor around the camp for a change. Because of the rain our softball schedule did not play on the 41st QM diamond. Once again, our band journeyed to the 26th General Hospital to furnish music for the patients.
21 May 1944 The band of the 366th Infantry presented its first concert this evening and met with approval from the large crowd which attended. Our ball team was victorious once again, defeating the 2502nd QM 6 to 5 in a closely contested game.
22 May 1944 All of us passed through the gas chamber and field identification tests this evening. There were many tearful faces and three minor casualties as a result of this evening's activities.
23 May 1944 The band presented its weekly "Jam Session" in the court of the Red Cross Club. As usual, there was a large and appreciative crowd.
24 May 1944 Sgt Holmes, our first cook, departed today for a five day trip to the Isle of Capri Rest Camp. He is the first one to go from our squadron and we are all talking. We had to tell experiences. News of the extension of curfew to 2400 hours was received and everyone seems to be more than pleased with the addition of an extra hour of freedom.
25 May 1944 PX rations hit a new high with the issuance of four candy bars, one coke per man and many other items. We also received some more magazines through Special Services.
26 May 1944 Another religious parade this afternoon which lasted for more than two hours. This one is in honor of St Philip's Day. In the evening our band went to Bari again--this time to play for the Officers' Red Cross Club.
27 May 1944 Our ball team knocked out a score of 6 runs to none against the 1989th Engineer Battalion. Entertainment was furnished the Morialis Base Depot by our band this evening.
28 May 1944 Shevuous Services were conducted for Jewish men by Chaplain Awell of the AT DEPC this evening. The band was very busy, playing for the public concert, a dance in our Red Cross club and another dance at the Enlisted Men's' Red Cross Club in Bari. The dance here was the first of proposed weekly dances to be held. The girls being local citizens were naturally outnumbered by our least three to one. Later at early supper we defeated the 9th Radio Signal Company by 1 run; the score being 4 to 3.
29 May 1944 Through the facilities of Special Service an English speaking Italian Stage unit presented several hours of good clean entertainment.
30 May 1944 Five enlisted men of this unit attended Memorial Services at the Bari Military Cemetery. Lt Stonehart was killed while participating in a shuttle flight commemorating Memorial Day. The Engineers band "gave out" with some very good music at our Special Service Theater. The "Jam Session" was held in the Red Cross Club as usual.
31 May 1944 A little excitement occurred this afternoon when a fire broke out in the Red Cross caught fire. Within just a few minutes three fire trucks were on hand and the fire-fighting personnel quickly extinguished the fire. Sgt Holmes returned from the Isle of Capri Rest Camp yesterday. Sgt Holmes is the center of attention with his many interesting tales of the Rest Camp.
[Signature] FREDERICK R. TUCKER, Captain, Air Corps Unit Historian.
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