Stay in camp. Get my carbine back from ordinance. Sand it down and varnish stock.
Friday, February 23, 1945
Schuster is out with truck
Saturday, February 24, 1945
I haul old paintings from south of river. They were hid in caves in the mountains. Haul them back to a church in Florence.
[Editor's note: Howard mentioned many times that it was believed these paintings were classics by the masters, including those by Leonardo Da Vinci, Rapheal, Botticelli and Michelangelo. They were each wrapped in a protective covering, so none of the soldiers actually saw what they were hauling. Italian partisans smuggled these priceless works of art out of galleries and into mountain caves to both protect them from falling bombs and to keep them out of Nazi hands; interestingly, a documentary covering this intriguing story was featured on the History Channel a few years ago.]
It is known that Botticelli's The Birth of Venus was hidden in a mountain cave near Florence during World War II. Could this have been one of the paintings I transported? The masterpiece currently resides in Florence. [public domain]
Monday, February 26, 1945
I have a cold and don't work for couple days.
Wednesday, February 28, 1945
Pay day. Quenton Goyne gets back from hospital. We start driving semi's.
Thursday, March 1, 1945
I get trip Montecini to Coca-Cola plant in Florence.
Friday, March 2, 1945
I go in convoy to Leg Horn, turn in old truck and drive semi's back. I sign up for rotation. Raymond is over in evening.
Me with the new semi tractor-trailers were are now driving.
Tuesday, March 6, 1945
Drive in convoy. Go to Q 58, get coal and take to ARC rest home in Florence.
Wednesday, March 7, 1945
Get semi-auto car cab over engine.
Thursday, March 8, 1945
Work on tractor in morning, in afternoon go on limbering up drive to Siena.
The public plaza in Siena, Italy. [courtesy www.instructional1.calstatela.edu]
Friday, March 9, 1945
Continue to work on semi and tractor.
In evening I take semi and get load of salvaged jeep motors at 5 A ordinance salvage depot.
Monday, March 12, 1945
Go in convoy to Leg Horn, get rid of salvage and get load of beer (650 cases) at 5L52 near Leg Horn and bring it to Florence at 10F52.
Thursday, March 15, 1945
I and Willis Ropp go to Pistoia to 70th Ordinance. Stay all nite and truck's rear end [trailer] is inspected by ordinance the next day.
BACK IN THE WORLD: March 15, 1945. Academy Award Winners: Best Picture, Going My Way; Best Actor, Bing Crosby (Going My Way); Best Actress, Ingrid Bergman (Gaslight); Song of the Year, "Swinging on a Star," by Bing Crosby (Going My Way).
The city of Firenze is also known as "Florence." Some of the cities I've recently made hauls to are circled in red.
1 comment:
Sam, I want to thank you for this blog. I found it a couple of years ago. I had been searching for anything about my uncle,Quenton Goyne. When I found his name connected to this blog, I read every word. My uncle served along side your father. I knew I just had to share this blog with my uncle but also knew he could not read it on the computer. So I copied every chapter and put it into a three-ring binder for him. I gave it to him Christmas 2010. When I told him it was Howard Branstner's WW2 diary, he shouted..."He was my friend!" Uncle Quenton loved reading it and made many comments as he looked through it.
Sadly, Uncle Quenton passed away July 3, 2011 at the age of 95. I just want to let you know how much finding this diary and sharing it with my uncle meant to all of my family. I posted a link to the blog on our family website and many of my cousins have read it and thank you too. It gives a rare and unique view of WW2.
Linda C. Olson (lcolson4yahoo.com
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