Mid-January 1945

 

Jan 19 1945

Dear Ma

I'll try to write you a short note tonight. As usual theres nothing new to write so I'll just struggle along.

The weather has turend off a little better of late but it's still nothing to brag about. It has warmed up the last few days but it has taken a notion to rain some. 

I didn't get any mail today but I guess none came in. It usually comes in in bunches as you probably know by now. I imagine mine comes about the same to you. Oh well I just hope I won't be here too much longer. 

I still haven't heard from Wayne but I guess I won't either. I suppose his gal friend takes up too much of his time I'll get even with him some day though. If I get my furlogh  from N.Y.C I'll take and run down and see him and really jump him. 

Well I am run down so will close

Jack.

He writes again two days later, but both were postmarked 1/22/1945. He's running out of ink and these next couple were hard to decipher. It about ruined my eyes and I don't mean maybe. 

Jan 18 1945

Dea Ma

I'll try to drop you a line tonight. I got some mail today but none from you, how bout that. I did get a letter from Wayne, it seems he started about 2 or 3 months ago. Oh well better late than never. He didn't write much that you haven't all ready written me. He still doesn't like his job but who does. I got the letter from Johnson, he just wrote a bout what he was doing and etc. He is with a P.38 out fit in New Guinea. I guess he doesn't like it down there – no white women.

To day really has been miserable – it has been raining and the wind has been blowing like the devil. The wind has been blowing so hard I have stayed in the barracks all day. 

We had a big fight in the barracks last night. The boys had a beer party and came in late around midnight. They kept it up until around 2 and then quieted down so we got to sleep. It made me mad but it was also funny. They could hardly stand up let alone fight. I guess no one got hurt althoug a couple though they were. 

I got a letter from Bo but she blew on the same as usual . (Don't let her read that or she will blow up.) I really think she makes a game out of teaching school. 

I was going to write you last night but was so tired and sleepy I couldn't. I slept from about 5 PM until 8 PM and then got up for a couple hours and back to bed. The guys came in and really woke me up. 

Well I'll close for now

Jack

And a letter to Margaret.

Jan 19, 1945

Dear Margaret

It looks as if your arm isn't broken because I recived a letter from you. Don't stop now just keep it up.

I almost fell over today, I recived a letter from Wayne. It is the first I have gotten from him since I arrived in the E.T.O. He didn't say a whole lot though.  He did mention he hadn't written Mal nor did he intend to. I take he is slightly fed up with her. He still raves about his latest flame, I think it's the real thing this time. 

So you did't get home for Xmas, I was sorry to hear it. I'll bet if you would have tried you could have gotten there at that. 

Did I tell you I was afraid that I wouldn't get back here to the base for Xmas. We were a week running around England, first one field & then the next. Our field was weathered in while we were on a mission and we got back a week later. I came in Xmas day by truck. We were a sorry bunch, we didn't have a thing with us and couldn't get any thing. We smoked English cigaretts for that week. I didn't ge a chanch to shave or change cloths. By the way the English get 50¢ a pack for cigarettes and they darn near kill you to smoke them. 

So you can't figuar out if I am flying. Well I take by now you know I am flying – and how. Yes I have seen flak – too much to suit me. It about scares me to death when her I see it. 

I can't say where I have been as you so well know. I have been pretty well all over Germany.

You want to know what flak is like well it's little black puffs in the sky. Thats what it looks like but the damage looks different, you probably have seen some shows there they have flak.

Its about like the Pilot says the plane is just a 4 engin chapel while in flak.

No I havn't been riding my bike of late. I sold it, because the weather is so bad you can't ride much.

When the weather is nice we fly and when its bad we stand down. I was sorry I bought it because after the first few weeks I stopped. They fellows started to steal it too. They would pick the lock – that's until they broke it then they threw the whole works away. 

Say if you will write to Ma she can answer a lot of your questions. 

Well will close now so write soon.

Love 

Bill

P.S. Lets be for Sending that Pictures befor I leave here. 

Fifty cents for cigarettes is about $8 of today's dollars. 

And now a mystery Vmail. This one is dated Dec 5 1945 but the envelope was postmarked JAN 25 1945. Now, Jack was long stateside by December, 1945. Could he have meant 1944? The return address is for "Sgt B.C. Eutsler." We know that he was promoted to Staff Sargeant early January, 1945. 

Anyway, I'm sticking it here. 

Dec 6 1945

Dear Ma

I'll write you a short note tonight and try to write more next time. As usual nothing new has happened so theres not a whole lot to write about. 

Did I tell you it snow the other day infact it snow enough to about cover the ground. I did make it rather cold though.

The sun came out so we went out and shot skeet this PM. I didn't do so good though I only hit 15 out of 25.

I did take a few pictures but didn't finish the roll. I'll try to finish it soon and see if I can get it developed. 

We had inspection this AM so thats over with for anothe week.

Will close for now out of room.

Love 

Jack.

Missions:

On January 14 they flew Mission 258 which hit railroad bridges near Cologne. They encountered intense flak and in fact one ship was badly damaged and its crew injured. It was the lead aircraft, and other ships in the lead squadron formation were also damaged (not Jack's formation), making it a difficult course flying back. They all made it back, though. The mission was deemed successful. It appeared that the target was hit.

Mission 259 was on January 17. Rail yards near Pederborn, Germany were targeted. Notes indicate that Aircraft #42-31384 came up missing, for reasons unknown. There hadn't been much flak, and no enemy aircraft were encountered. Later this description was written (quoted after the mission notes at 351st.org).

Description of the Mission printed in the book "The 351st Bomb Group in WWII" written by Ken Harbour & Peter Harris. Used with permission. 

 Lt. Della-Cioppa was piloting 42-31384, Buckeye Babe, on her 108th mission [on page 111, A/C 42-31384 is shown to have flown 103 missions]. However this was not to be an easy mission for the crew, as told by Lt. Clark, the navigator. “This was not a long or hazardous mission in our opinion and we were overjoyed that we would get another milk run under our belts. We were assigned as an element leader in the lower left squadron of the Group, and had joined up with the Group with no problems at all. As we passed over the English coast one of the engines began throwing oil, but continued to run. Still feeling that this was an easy mission, we foolishly continued on our merry way. By the time we had crossed the French coast, the engine gave out and the propeller could not be feathered. Almost simultaneously another engine began to throw oil. Still thinking that we could make the mission without difficulty, and not wishing to be chewed out for aborting, we continued. Soon however this second engine threw out all its oil and could not be feathered. We were now forced to relinquish our leadership of the element. Just before we arrived over the target, the third engine started to throw oil, and by the time we had dropped our bombs had ceased to function. 

 At this point we had to drop out of formation and request fighter support. “We still had one engine running, but it simply was not enough to keep us flying on a level course. Particularly with the other three windmilling all the time. In spite of jettisoning everything we could she gradually lost height. We had P-51 fighter coverage until we lost them in a cloudbank at about 11,000 feet. We stayed in this cloud cover until we were down to about 5,000 feet. My calculations at this point were that we could make the Allied lines before we had to bail out or crash land, so we chose to ride her down. The crew concurred with this decision, and none bailed out despite being given the opportunity. Eventually it became obvious that we could not make it beyond the lines. The pilots did a beautiful job, setting her down with wheels up in a large field in Holland. Just before landing we were fired upon by flak batteries stationed in all four corners of the field. Fortunately none of them hit us. The plane bounced a few times but there was no fire and not one member of the crew received a scratch. Immediately after disembarking from the aircraft we were surrounded by the German soldiers from the flak batteries. This rendered any thought of escape useless.”