{"id":4563,"date":"2019-03-31T12:37:14","date_gmt":"2019-03-31T17:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brooksidepress.org\/cartmell\/?page_id=4563"},"modified":"2019-04-01T14:16:16","modified_gmt":"2019-04-01T19:16:16","slug":"march-18-1945-southern-france-sunday-night","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/brooksidepress.org\/cartmell\/letters\/417th-night-fighter-squadron-march-1945\/march-18-1945-southern-france-sunday-night\/","title":{"rendered":"March 18, 1945, Southern France, Sunday Night"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\n
\r\n Tom has joined his squadron and discovered one of his fellow pilots from training, George Aubill, is also assigned to the 417th NFS. Tom has built a floor for his tent.\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>Sun. night.
\n18 Mar. 45
\n“SouthernFrance”<\/p>\n
\"March<\/a>
March 18, 1945, Southern France, Sunday Night, Page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My Darling,<\/p>\n

As you can tell we are no longer in Italy and I must say that it is alot nicer around here. I hope you don’t mind the stationery being beat up alittle but at the present we can’t get any other.<\/p>\n

Now that we are out of Italy can tell alittle of what we saw. I went through Naples and between our bombings and the Germans blowing up everything when they left the place was really a mess. I really don’t think there was a house or building that wasn’t either completely ruined or else full of holes. One night Andy and I went into Casterta where the royal palace and the king at one time lived.<\/p>\n

\"Palace<\/a>
Palace at Caserta, Italy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"March<\/a>
March 18, 1945, Southern France, Sunday Night, Page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was the only decent building in the city but there weren’t many war ruins there. It seems that the people there were not too well fixed. There weren’t anythings there that you would care to buy. At the officers club was the only place to get any decent liquor. It isn’t too sharp. We flew up here to our present location and got to see what the Anzio beachhead looked like from the air. I guess that country will get patched up in time.<\/p>\n

The set up here is pretty nice and so far haven’t done much. Four of us are in a tent and we spent today laying a floor in it. We really worked. After building a door and fixing up a stove we should be fairly well set. The weather is alot nicer here and not nearly as cold as in Italy.<\/p>\n

\"Tent<\/a>
Tent city at La Vallon Airfield in 1944, home to the 417th NFS.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I haven’t seen much of the country yet. Andy and I were thinking of going for a walk last night. However, found out that there were still alot of mines around so decided to wait awhile. Aubill<\/a> is in this squd., you remember the boy on the motorcycle that we saw in Fresno one night while we were waiting for bus on the Corner Drug corner?[1]<\/sup><\/a>On the same night that Tom’s P-61 was shot down, George Aubill<\/a> crashed his P-61 during a wheels-up landing. George survived the crash, and the war, and became a career Air Force pilot.<\/span><\/span>