TO BEGIN YOUR JOURNEY...

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE FIRST ENTRY OF HOWARD'S JOURNAL. THEN CLICK "NEWER POST" AFTER EACH ENTRY.

Or click on individual chapters in the "History" column to the right. (Helpful hint: click on any image to enlarge)

Tuesday

16. Two Baths In One Week!

Wednesday, February 24, 1943
Resting today. Schuster goes out on run last nite and hasn't returned.

Thursday, February 25, 1943
Still resting. Truck gets back. I service truck. Our APO number has changed to 302 again.

This is a restored Diamond T 4 ton truck, exactly like the one I drove. [courtesy: www.ww2vehicles-and-meeting.be]


Friday, February 26, 1943
I go in convoy. Haul African colored troops (Singlese) [ed. note: Senegalese] away from front, 80 mile trip. Roads are very muddy. Get back at 6 p.m.

Saturday, February 27, 1943
Company moves and we haul medics again.

Sunday, February 28, 1943
Trucks park in new bivouac area out in open field near Morsot. I get first bath in months.

Monday, March 1, 1943
Schuster takes truck on trip. I get some mail, a bible from Wrightstown church.

Tuesday, March 2, 1943
Still resting. Truck is out yet.



A postcard I wrote to my friend, Bill Irons (click to enlarge).

Wednesday, March 3, 1943
Truck gets back at supper time.

Thursday, March 4, 1943
Work on truck, grease wheels.

BACK IN THE WORLD: March 4, 1943. Academy Award Winners: Best Picture, Mrs. Miniver; Best Actor, James Cagney (Yankee Doodle Dandy); Best Actress, Greer Garson (Mrs. Miniver); Song of the Year, "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby (Holiday Inn)

Friday, March 5, 1943
I take truck on trip. Drive 114 miles. Get bath in hot springs near Guelma.

The 114 mile trip from our camp in Morsott to Guelma, Algeria.


The hot springs near Guelma, Algeria, as they appear today. This is where I enjoyed my second bath in a week's time! [photo by Meddour Lakhdar]

1 comment:

Wendy said...

I find it interesting that his days seem pretty mundane so far. I wouldn't think of war that way, but I suppose that depends on what part of the world you're in. I love reading the post cards that he sent home.

Keep up the good work, Sam. You've got me hooked.

The Original Diary

The Original Diary
Here is the inspiration and primary source for this entire blog. Note the year for these entries was actually 1943, although Howard was using pages from 1942, as evidenced by the mention of the cities of Morsot and Tebessa and the fact that Howard was still in basic training in Texas in March 1942. He had to be creative with his limited resources and use whatever paper was available, which made researching this project somewhat of a puzzle at first.