Today’s mission was in support of the ground forces in the beachhead sector. A bivouac area near Lake Nemi was attacked. Flak was the most intense this Group has seen. Combat crew members said the enemy raised a virtual wall of the stuff. Our results were only fair. All 35 planes suffered flak damage; two were so serious they had to land at friendly airdromes. One man was killed; four were wounded. A B-24 from another group crashed near the base today. Those who went to investigate and to aid returned with a harrowing tale. The bomber had been loaded with bombs when it crashed. Nothing much remained but a hole in the ground, a mass of wreckage and broken, shattered, dismembered bodies. The silent, blanket-covered bodies lay in the Group dispensary as mute but eloquent testimony to the violence and suddenness of death in the Air Forces. Late at night ambulances carried the remains away ——.
