Friday
Wayne’s journal remains silent still.
In England his brother, Verne, continues to record events of his day . . .
01-12-45
Weather equally bad. No flights since last night. Called out for a practice mission, but after fooling around three hours it was scrubbed. Major Wild1 is pretty eager. Wants us to use rank when speaking to any officer. Two missions will change his mind. Finally received our flight pay: £20-5-2. Sure feels good to have money again.2 Sent Aileen $40.00.
Notes & Commentary
1 Major Linn E. Wilde, Jr. His date of rank was July 7, 1944; he was 27 years old. By war’s end, he had been awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters.
Department of the Army, Adjutant General’s Office. Official Army and Air Force Register, 1948. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, p. 1958.
2 In 1945, £20-5-2 was equivalent to $81.64.
“Pound sterling,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pound_sterling&oldid=641509521 : accessed 12 January 2015).
Wayne's Journal 
I liked the comment about two missions to change the Major’s mind.
LikeLike
Major Wilde had more combat experience than Verne knew. He would be assigned shortly the command of one of the 390th Bombardment Group’s squadrons.
“Sacramentans Serve on Ship Often Claimed Sunk”, Sacramento (California) Bee, 3 April 1945. p.6, col. 5. GenealogyBank.com. (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 12 January 2014).
LikeLiked by 1 person
They were only boys.
LikeLike
Since I never served, I can only rely on what was documented but at times, discipline helped save lives…but it was never pleasant to experience it under daily stress.
LikeLike