Military Monday

While researching my Grandfather's military history in WWII, I found out that he kept a diary and wrote everyday about his missions. Although not what I expected it to be, the diary gave me many clues about his military time and his medals. One thing in particular I wanted to know was when did he fly his first mission? March 7, 1944 was the answer. The diary only contained the target information, the weather and such info as that. No deep writings about what it was like to be up in that plane on an actual mission for the first time - possibly he didn't want to remember it that vividly.

When I realized that Ancestry had the publication Stars and Stripes on their site I began looking at the dates of his missions and found this one for his first mission - Berlin was the target.





Image: Ancestry.com. Stars and Stripes Newspaper, Europe, Mediterranean, and North Africa Editions, 1942-1964 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007. Original data: The ‘Stars and Stripes’ Newspaper of the U.S. Armed Forces in Europe, the Mediterranean, and North Africa, 1942-1958; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1506, 138 rolls); Publications of the U.S. Government, Record Group 287; National Archives, Washington, D.C.