After Church today, there was a big red mattress used mainly for gymnastics and stuff like that. We used it to land on after jumping off the stage. It was rather fun.

The 6^th Airborne

The massive thumping sound vibrating through the steel fuselage was deafening - likely from the fact that this aircraft had two Bristol Hercules XI radial engines, each engine putting out 1,590 horsepower. It was a converted bomber, modified instead to carry a hopefully more effective package than six or so tonnes of explosives. Rows of men silently sat on bench seats on the sides of the massive steel shelled aircraft, most staring at the floor, quietly going over their objectives in their head. In the distance, visible through the cockpit windows, the flak exploded over to the south in scorching infernos, peppering the air with shrapnel, glowing orange against the smoke from a thousand detonations permeating the atmosphere at that altitude of 700 odd feet. As they neared the drop site the men stood as one, ready to face the hidden enemy in the darkness of that early summer morning over the coast of Normandy. The Green light blinked on, GO! GO! GO! Someone shouted, and half pushed, half jumping, the Paratroopers exited the plane just as the flak in their part of the sky opened up with a rain of hot metal shards, their 'chutes opening as predicted, catching their fall into the darkness below.

Dark shapes loomed up against the slightly lighter of the fallow wheat fields. Trees. Something for the paratrooper to avoid. The ground, came up fast, and the soldiers hit the ground - two of them - Private A. Moore, who sprained both ankles and Corporal J. Sinclair, who damaged his knee landing on his side. All told, a good time was had by all. I'm sure we'll be in Berlin by Christmas

Three Rousing Huzzahs!