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THIS PAGE DECLASSIFIED IAW E0 12958

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65th F tr S qdn .Uu t l i n e i s t o r y :r i l .

1 94 5 .

DECLASSIFIED By A t h CO

DOD DIR 52 .6 5 t h F t r S q dn .1 1 , I a y 19 4 5 .

S I XTY- F I FT F I G TER SQUADRON A .A . F .A .P .O. 650

11 ay 1945

AR 345-105

SUI J ECT : Hi t or i c l Da t a .

TO : Commanding eneral, XII T.A .C.

1 , Cu t l i n e 'r'_i s t o r y o f t h e S i x t y- F i f t h F i gh t e r Squa dr onf or t h e e r i o d 1 , Ap r i l 1 945 t o 30 , A r i l 194 5 .

a . Pr e s en t d e s i g na t i on : S i x t y - F i f t h F i h t e r Squa d on ,F i f t y - S ev en t h F i g h t e r Gr ou p . : XI I T .A . C .

b . Chang e a i r or a ni za t i on s1 . o chan e s i n d e s i n t i on . ;2 . ? o cha g e s .n a s i gnrnen t . '3 . ?vo chang e s i n a t t a chmen t . _Subordinates nits: one.

Commanding Officer: Lt. Colonel iibert . Wymond Jr.,0-4315 1. Changes in Staff Officers: lst Lieutenant,Rob e r t : . S i m s on , 0570260 , i s a pp o i n t e d Ac t i ng Adj . ,a n d a l s o An t i - a l a r i a Of f i c e r , a d d i t i ona l du t y .

c. Strength , comrnissioned and enlisted:1, A pril 1945 Commissi

•oned-63 enlisted-245Net increase: Commissioned--0 enlisted---0I e t de c r ea e : Com i s s i on e d- - 2 en l i s t e d- - - 2

30 April 1945. Commissioned-61 enlisted-243

d . S t a i on :1, Grossetto, L .G .,

Italy . Date of arrival-11 Septe ber1944 . Date of departure 27 Arril 1945 .

Arrived atV illa Franca ,

L .G ., 29 April 1945.

.e . T ov emen t a : ov e d f r om Gr o s s e t t o , L , G . , I t a l y , t o V l a -Franca , L .G ., Italy , on 27 April 1945. A rrived at lla-Franca , on the 29th April 1945,

.-•

RS c - 'E"LASSF p, , 52 .9

07 63



_ .. •, . . . ,. , , ..S E C R E T- - - - - -

f . Campa i n s : I t a l y , Du ra t i on S en t e ber 16 , 1943 . s t i l l i nprogress. Southern France-Au

gust 15 , 1944-finished.

g. Operations:1 . Ca : a i gn- I t a l i an .. Nature of Operations: D ive-bombing , bomber escort,area co er , anti-flak diversion , rocket firing,straffing , armed recce, Auntie, R over Joe.3 . Numbe of mi s s i ons - - 4 1 S or t i e s - - 9 0 54. A ll miesions durin g month were of uch im ortance,close su port was giv n to the 5th Army an theBrenner Line vras kept unserviceable.

h . . Los s e s i n a c t i on : 2nd Lt . J ame s L . a t t , I IA . on t he17 pril 1945. lst Lt. Earle E . Thompson , II on the22 April 1945. 2nd Lt. Jose h J . Hauser, il on the2 April 1945. 2nd Lt. Lloyd J . Haney , IIA on the3 April 45. Last reported safe at Allied hospital.2nd Lt. Leno d R .G. Hadley , IA on the 25 April 45.2n d Lt . Fr ank J . C'Rourke , IA on t he 25 Apr i l 45 .lst Lt. Truman L . A llen , on the 26 April 1945.

1 . Awar ds and dec or a t i ons : Th e f o l l o ri ng awa r ds hav e be enmade during the month o April: The followin have re-ceived the DFC--Lt. Earle H . Evans,

(Posthu ously )Ca pt . Ri char d L . Col eman , J ame s . Eubank s , Ho e r R .Yi l s on , Sy l v i s t e r H.I endr i cks , Lt ' s Cl a r enc e L. Hewi t t ,( A ) an d Thoma s E . Bower s , h e f o l l owi n ha v e be en

awarded the A ir edal-- t. Byron D . Eeeler, Joseph J .Haus e r , rank l i n . Cu mi ns , Ch es t e r• C. Fow r , Thefollowing have received the lst OLC , to the A ir.Ile l--Lt. Anjelo J . A lesandrini, R obert R , h c luskey , Jimmi

I . Long , Jr, and Lt. Daniel Saliaas , The following haveb e en a a r de d t h e nd OL t o Ai r eda l - - a p t . J o e H. Ke i t h ,Lt. D ewight V . Orman , illiam E . Lyke, and Truman L. Allen ,Th e f o l l owi ng ha v e be en a •a r ded t h e 3r d OLC o Air e da l -Capt . Sy l v e s t r H.Hendr i cks , Lt ' s Thor a s F . Bower s , L' e l v i n L . F i e dl e r , ran c i s J , i i ddl e t on , J ohn F . urphy ,an d ' i l burn R. . Ho mea , Th e f o l l owi ng ha e be en awa r de dt h e 4 t h ULC t o Ai r e da l - - t ' s J ohn F . u r phy , andelvin L . Fiedler , The following h ve been awarded the5 t h OLC t o A ' , Ca pt . Homer R. Yi l s on , Th e 6 t h OLC ha s

been awarded to ajo Edward H . Ellington , e bronzestar ha been awarded to the following enlisted men ,T/ Sg t . F'o s t e r E . 3ur kh ol der , nd T/ Sg t . S t ephen B.Lambiase,

For the Commanding fficer:

1 I CL a r Di a r . 'JO PH R . HRUSACaptain , A .A .F ,Squa dr on Hi s t or i ca l f f i c e r .



-- _ _ .. ..- ., . , _ • -. . ,.

Wa r i a r y Sh e e t No . 2- c on t ' d .

DAY VEI TS

I I n t oday s f i r s :ni s s i c n , ou r . f l i bh t en c u n t e r ed en er y a i r c r a f tf or t h e f i r s t t i cne i n ma ny mon t h s . Al t h ou h non s of t h e en emya i r c r a f t e r e s h ot d o n , a f ew good bu r s t s da r a ge d t o of t h een emy p l n e s .

11. Four missio ns for a total of 28 sorties today.In t e evening

there wa a stage eho at th e Caoup service theatre. The playhad an all Italian cast and as very good.

It was enjoyed by

e v e r y on e : At t h e Of f i c e S c l u b t h e a n n oun c e en t of Lt . Hen -dricks romotion to Captain was de. To to off the cel-ebration at tie club ,

ice cream was s :rved aft r dinner, and

a terrific party followed in the bar afterwards.

12. Four mission for a total of 31 sorties today ..

13..F ur missions fo r a total of 24 sorties today. e received

th e ne s this morning of the death of Pre ident Roosevelt.I t wa s qu i t e a s ? c k t o u s a l l a n d e we r e s o r r y t o l os e ou rCo n a n d e r - i n - h i e f . e a l l a r e wi s i n t h e b e s t t o ou r n ewPresident Truman.

14. E leven rissions fo r a total cf 44 sorties tod y . The Itali ns t a e . s h o Y 8 r ep ea t e d a t t h e r ou p S e r v i c e t h e a t r e t h i sevening..

Gur dinner consisted of steak for the main eourse,a n d ma d e u i t e a d i nn e r . I t i s n ' t o f t en t ha t we g e t s t ea k ,a : d wh en we do , we ca n ' t s e en t o g e t e r ou h of i t .

l . Ten missions for a total of 8 sortie s. The day was started

o f f wi t h f r e s h e g s f or b r ea ': f a s t . Af t e r b r e s. f a s t , c hu chservices were held nd again in the ve:ing for those who Yereunable to attend in the mornin . The Italian sta e ahow rvasa ain repeated this eve ing.

It is an unusually good show andby the number in attenda ce it ce.n

be seen that t is enjoyedby all.

16. Ten missions fo r a total of 43 sorties today . The Italiansta e show Yras re e ated agd n this evening.

It is stillholding its own in attendance, and many are going to see it

a second time.

17. Twelve m ission for a tota of 53 orties.

Th is a r ecord numb er

of sorties flown in one day by th is s uadron .In th e a ll out

e f f o r t i n s u oo o r t o f t h e r ou n d f o r c e s , a l l cne n a r e o r lci n h a r dan d long to 'enabis our nlan es to h elp in destr•oying th e en emy .n d L t , d a r. e s L . a t t i s ' 1 I A a s a r e s u l t o f c o n c e n t r a t e d e n e cny

a ction . D esp ite t e fa ct t a t every on e is bu sy , time ha beenf o u n d t o e s t a b l i s h b e a c h c l u b s f o r b o t h t i e Cf f i c e s n d t h een listed m en .

rork i progress in$ on the clubs and it i h oped

t h a t t e y wi l l b e r e a dy f o r o c c u p a n c y i n t h e n e a r f u t u r e .



.- - -- - - -i : , . .

. . '-• .. .- • ' S E C R TSh e e t l o . 1 a r Di a r y 6 5 t h F t r S q . , 57 t h F t Gp .onth of April 1945 Pre ared by

J o s e h 1 . Heu s aCa t a i n , i r Cor p .

. D Y EVE TS -1. Five Iissons making a total of 3 sorties for the d y. For

aster S nday , e were greeted with beautiful weather. Church

services •rere held both morning nd afternoon .In the even ng

there was a rnovie at the rouo theatre. e start off the monthith good morale and every one is hopin that there is a quick

ending to the war.

2.

F ive mission s for a tota l of 30 sorties today .An uneve tful

.day ith n othing much happening.

A nother mov ie t the groupt h e a t r e , b u t i t va s n ' t v e r y g o od .

3 . Four mis ions for a total of 27 sortie . Encouraging newsf r om t h e e s t e r . f r or t h s u s a l l i s h i ng t ha t t h e a r wi l leoon be over. The morale of all the men of this organizationis excellent, and with the continuance of pro isi war newsit soars ever higher..

4 . Six missions for a total of 7 sorties today. Life in thesquadron continues normal with the usual daily routine workcontinuing. dance was held t t e enlisted mens club thisevening. Senorinas from the town ere the dancing oartners.The 65th dance band rovided the music.

5. Nine mission making a total of 30 sorties today . iothi g ofinterest ha pened today.

6 . Four missions for a total of 27 sorties today . The usual moviewas held at the group service t^eatre, w th many of the sqdnmember s i n a t t en da r c e .

? , Two mi s s i on s f o r a t o t l o f 1 1 s o r t i e s t o d a y . Th e we a t h e r t o oa t u r n f o r t h e wo r s e a n d re we r e we a t h e r e d i n a l l e f t e r n o on .The rest as welco e as a ll hands have v een work ing hard .

8. Three raf sions for a total of 27 sorties. Church services bothProtestant and atiolic, were held n the ornin and in th eafternoon . In the ever.

ing there was a movie at the Group.

9. F our missions for 34 so rties today . :vothing of interest tookplace today .

10 . Five mi sions for a total of 2? sorties today. Life in thesqu dron continues normal. The war on all fronts i progressingvrell and all embers of the squadron ar hoping that there will

be a cuiclc endin to the war. There was a movie at the groupt i a t r e t h i s e v en i n g . I t wa s a g o od r ov i e an d wa s en j oy e d bya l i i n a t t e n da c e .



, • . ., , . . . . ... .a r Di a r y Sh e e t 1 . 3- c on t ' d .

. L' TTS

8 . . E l ev en mi s s i on s f or a t ot a l of 4 4 s or t i e s t oda y . Th e cu r r e n t r e-sults of the ground forces are v ry encouraging to all of us.' e a r e h op i n g t ha t t h e dr i v e c on i nu e s v i t : i t s p r e s en t s u c c e s s .ll men are orking hsrd and long to eep our ol nes serviceable

so e can continu to ive the ground forces the air supnort they

nee . ork is still continu ng on the beach club , andit is ho

_oed

that they will soon be ready .It is getting warmer with each

passing day,.and tha editerranean looks cool and inviting.

19. Ten missions for a total of 9 sort e s today.Customary duties

were performed today.A ovie as held in the evenin for those

who were able to attend.

20. Eleven © issicns fo r a total of 43 sorties today . The plane of

Lt . Gor ma n e e l a s s h o t u p by f l a k a r_d h e wa s f or c ed t o ba i l ou t .H e landed safely in friendly territory and will return to the

squadron in a few days.

21. Three issions fo total of 9 sorties. The weather had us

g r cu n d ed os t of t h e da y an d e e r e una b l e t o g i v e mu ch s u ppor tto the ground forces. Perhaps we can do b tter tomorrow .

2 2 , Twen t y- e i h t mi s s i on f or a t ot a l of 58 s or t i e s . Th e n umb e r of

o rties today is an all time hi h for this squadron.It was

really a day of all out effort and the group as a hole dealt a

seriou blow to the enemy's tr nsportation system..As a result

of ememy action , lst Lt..Earl T. Thompson , and 2nd Lt. Joseph J .

H u s e r a r e ' IA . As a who l e t h e S qu a dr on s a i r c r a f t e r e h i t h a r dby ene y flak and it is doubtful if we can duplie te.

the numbe

of o rties tomorrow .Church services were held today.

23 . . F ou r t e en mi s s i on f or a t o t a l o 2 7 s or t i e s t o da y . i t h a l i mi t -ed n umb e r of p l an e s s e r v i c ea b l e , r e we r e a b l e t o c on t r i bu e 2?sor ties to the ll out effort. This was quite remarka e , ast e total of planes serviceable at one time, was never more than

s ev en . Th e p r e s en t r a t e of a r t v e of t h e gr oun d f o c e s h a s b o1-stered every ones norale to its highest point. e can 't see howthe Hun can last much lon er.

Lets pray that he is finfshed soon .As a r e s u l t of en emy a c t i on , 2n d Lt Ll oy d J . a n ey a n d 2n d Lt .Le on a r d R . 0 . Ha d l ey a r e . Ca p t J a e s Eub an k s a s f or c ed t ocrash land in friendly territory , but a reported un hurt and

ill return to the squ ad on in a few days.

24. In the ontinued all out effort against the German armies,fourteen missions for a total of 37 sorties were flown . TheJerry 's are falling back across the Po R iver, and it now seemsj u s t a a t t e r o f t i me un t i l h e wi l l b e d e f a t e d h e r e i n I t a l y .e are all hoping and pray ing that this comes to pass very soon .



.. .1 • •

a • a ' Sh e e No . 4- c on t ' d .

DAY EVENTS

5. Thirteen missions for a total o f 28 sorties today. e areccntinuing our attac': upon the ene y 's motor transport and

retreat.ing colu n with a very high degree of sucees. The blows

dealt the enemy in this campaign cannot be ta en lightly. A ll

members of t he s uadron deserve uch praise in the effort uforward. Everyone is happy at the present, d the morale is ati t s .i h e s t pe k . 2nd Lt . Fr a nk J . 0 'Rour ke , i s IIA a s a r e s u l tof en emy a c t i on .

26. Seven miss ons for a total of 16 sorties today. Order werereceived to move the s uadron to the newly captured air dromea t Vi l l a Fra nca , I t a l y . The "AM par t y i s t o mo e out t omor r orornin . Operations will co ntinue fro m Grosetto until planshav e be en rna de t o oo e ra t e f r om t h e n ew ba s e . As a r e s u l t of t h eove, the evening movie was interrupted everal time tv prepare '

for the move.

2 7 . On e mi s s i on f o r 2 s o r t i e s t o da y . Th e ue a t h e r wa s e x t r e e l y ba dand it was irapossible to g et any m issions off today .

"A " par yoved ou t for V illa F ran ca this mornin a t 1000 h ours: Th ey arescheduled to arriv e a t the n ew ba se 'som etim e tonorro . eanwh ile ,l i f e i n Gr o s s e t o c on t i nu e s t he s a e .

28. Seven m issions for a total o f 18 sorties today , cperation aga-i st the enewy are continuin along the same l nes. He is stillon the retrest and his motor transport are easy prey for ourforrnations. 'A" arty s ent the night in the rain , bivouacedju t south of Bologna. hey are cheduled to arrive at the newbase tomorrow morning..

29. Ten issions for a tot al o 27 sorties today, Y e received somegood news today : Lt. Lloyd J . Hayney renorted issing in actionthe 23rd of pril has been re orted safe in the 3 th Field HospitalIt is not known as yet the extent of his injuries or when he vr llreturn to the orga ization . e hope that it is soon 0ur "A"party as arriv d at Villa Franca and are hast ly making prep-arations for the arr•ival of the others. The planes are supposedto arrive tomorrow and operationa are to s art from the ne base.' e a r e n o r c l os e r t o t he e nemy and t he o e r a t i ona l t i me of ourf l i g t s can b e cu t down . ,

30. The last day of the month finds us ending the month with eightissions, for a total oi 6 sorties. All through t e month the

work of the sq adron has been s lenaid, and in our all out efforta a i n s t t hl en emy , e v er on e a i d h i s b e s t t u c a r r y o t i e f i ghaga i n s t t he en emy , v e f f or s hav e be en e l l r ewa r dedith the continued ret 'reat of the enerny. Perhaps next month ill

see the end of the war. We all ear:estly pray tha it will endin the near future.

S E C R E T- - - - - -


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