John's Diary

Table of Contents

Pictured below are the pages written on by John in his "Air Force Souvenir Handybook" from his time in the service during World War II. It is unknown whether John carried this diary with him throughout his time overseas and kept track of his events cronologically or if he wrote these all down after the fact. Regardless, it is a very interesting look into his experience as a POW in Germany during WWII.

Personal Information

Pictured above is the front cover of the journal.

Pictured above is one of the first pages of the journal where John wrote his name for quick and easy identification.

Pictured to the left is John's personal information that he filled the "Soldier's Personal Record" section with in the front of the journal.

Training

Date: June 10, 1942

Place: Ft. Des Moines Iowa.

Enlisted: U.S. Army

Branch: Air Corps.

Weather: Warm.

Date: June 1942

Place: Ft. Leavenworth Kansas

Transfer For Uniform Issue.

Weather: Warm

Date: June 1942

Place: Jefferson Barracks, Missouri.

Transfer For Basic Training.

Air Training Command.

Weather: "Hot-Humid"

Date: July, 1942

Place: Sioux Falls, S.D. 

Army Air Base.

Technical Training Command.

Radio-Operators-Mech. School

Weather: Hot To "Very Cold"

Date: November, 1942

Place: Harlingen, Texas.

Army Air Forces Aerial Gunnery School.

Air Training Command.

Weather: "Wonderful" Cool Sea Breezes

Date: January, 1943

Place: Salt Lake City Utah.

Army Air Base

Transfer: Replacement Center 2nd. Air Force.

Weather: Cold.

Date: January, 1943

Place: Tucson, Arizona

Davis-Mountain Field.

B-24's 

Combat Crew Training

1st. Phase Radio Operator - Gunner.

+

Radio Operator Instructor.

Weather: Hot To Cool.

Date: May, 1943

Place: Pocatello, Idaho

Army Air Base.

B-24's

Radio Operator Instructor

Air Training Command

2nd Air Force.

Weather: V/Nice.

Date: June - July 1943

Place: Kearns, Utah.

Basic Trng. Center AAF (Army Air Forces)

Pre-Division Cadet Training. (Basic)

Weather: "Hot"

Date: July, 1943

Place: College of Idaho Caldwell, Idaho

Pre-Division Cadet College Training

Air Tactical Training Command

Weather: V/Nice Cool

Date: September 1943

Place: Santa Ana Calif.

Division Cadet Center.

Air Training Command

Pre-Flight School

Weather: "Hot"

Date: October, 1943

Place: Salt Lake City, Utah.

Army Air Forces Replacement Center.

Weather: Cool-Cold.

Date: Oct. - Dec. 1943

Place: Gowen Field Boise, Idaho

B-24's

2nd Air Force

Air Training Command.

Radio Operator - Gunner.

Weather: Cool-Cold

Date: Jan. 1944

Place: Sioux City, Iowa

Army Air Base.

B-17's

Combat Crew Training

Radio Operator - Gunner.

Weather: Cold.

Date: April 1944

Place: Kearney, Nebraska

Army Air Base

B-17's

Pre-Overseas Embarkation Center

Weather: Cold To Freezing Rain

Date: May 1944

Place: Langley Field Virginia.

Overseas Pre-Embarkation

Weather: - Hot

Overseas Service

Date: May - June 1944.

Place: New York City, N.Y.

Hotel: 76th St.

Army Air Forces (3rd Air Force)

Replacement Center.

Weather: Hot.

"Secret Orders" C-54

Take-Off For "Destination Unknown"

4:30/PM June 8, 1944

Date: June, 1944

Place: From La Guardia Field N.Y.

C-54 C-47

1. Azores

2. Casablanca

3. Algiers

4. Tunis - Carthage

5. Foggia, Italy

97th. Bomb. Group.

Weather: Rain - Hot

15th. Airforce

Date: Foggia, Italy

Place: June-July 1944

97th. Bomb. Group

341st. Bomb Sq.

B-17's

Shots of "Paul Jones" Whiskey After Missions

In "Prime" Condition

Radio Operator - Gunner.

Weather: Hot to Rain.

Prisoner of War

Date: July 16, 1944

Place: Vienna, Austria.

(MIA)

Bombing Shell Oil Refineries.

B-17's

Weather: Warm "Reception: Hostile"

Prisoner of War.

Shot Down By German Flak.

Captured By "SS" (Waffen "SS") The "Armed SS" Vienna.

Date: July, 1944

Place: POW. Germany.

1. Luftwaffe Base, Vienna.

2. Oberusel, Germany Frankfurt Dulag-Luft. Solitary Confinement.

3. Wetzlar, Germany (Dulag-Luft)

Weather: Rain - War + Hot

*Liberation By The Russians?

Date: August, 1944

Place: Stalag Luft Nr. 4-

Gross Tyschow Pomerania, Germany.

POW. Loger "C"

Half - Rations

Arrived Aug. 6, 1944

Weather: Hot

Reception: "Hot" Including Police Dogs and Bayonets

Date: Feb. 7, 1945

Place: Stalag Luft Nr. 4.

POW.

"Russians Coming"

Move Out.

(They Didn't Make It In Time)

Weather: Cold-Wet Snow + Rain Fog.

Date: Feb 7, 1945 - March 1945

Place: N. Germany

Forced March


Weather: Cold, Clear, Some Snow Rain Etc.

"No Food"

Liberation

Date: April 16, 1945

Place: Stalag 11B Follingbostel, Germany

Liberated: "Desert Rats"

By: British 7th. Armored Div.

"No Food"

Weather: Rain To Warm.

21st British Army Group.

Date: April, 1945

Place: Germany

Map:


Weather: Warm.

Date: April 1945

Place: Brussels Belgium.

British Army Hospital

Weather: Rain to Warm.

Drinking: Tea

"Easy" on the Food.

8th. Airforce

Date: April - May 1945

Place: Swindon, England ("U.K.")

Gen. Hospital U.S. Army.

Weather: Some Rain To Very Nice.

"Ramp"=Recovered Allied Military Personnel.

VE-Day May 8, 1945

Date: May, 1945

Place: Bristol England.

De-Barkation For U.S.

Weather: Some Rain.

Date: May + June 1945

Place: Atlantic Ocean.

Going Home.

Weather: Cool Rain Clear.

Back State Side

Date: June 8, 1945

Place: Camp Kilmer New Jersey.

Home: "1 Steak Dinner"

"Ramp" Recovered Allied Mil. Personnel

Weather: Some Rain. Warm

Date: June 1945

Place: Schick Army General Hospital Clinton, Iowa.

Back in Iowa.

Weather: Warm

Leave: Iowa City.

Date: June - July

Place: Iowa City.

Rest and Recuperation Leave.

Weather: Hot

Date: July 1945

Place: Jefferson Barracks Missouri.

Air Forces Redistribution Command. For Orders

Weather: Very Hot

Return, Iowa City

Date: Aug. - Sept. 1945

Place: Iowa City Iowa

Rest and Recuperation Leave.

Weather: Hot - Sultry.

"VJ" Day.

The War's Over.

Sept. 1, 1945

Date: Oct. - Nov. 1945

Place: San Antonio Texas

Army Air Forces

Re-Distribution Command.

Weather: Cool.

Nov. 1, 1945

(Honorable Discharge)