- #Walls airborne platform war commander kixeye skin#
- #Walls airborne platform war commander kixeye windows#
Actually, they were made up of three sections, appropriately called biscuits. We soon learned to resent the mattresses provided by the British. However, the American soldier still has to bitch. A whole year passed since we had slept in a real building or bed, so this was just great. We didn’t have to put up tents, but were put up in Nissen huts with stoves and an abundant supply of coke (fuel) so that we could keep warm. We were treated like first-class soldiers. “One could not help but appreciate this new life. Some showered at the YMCA in town, or still preferred to bathe out of a helmet in their quarters or at the washbasin in the “Ablution”. The time limit was no problem, however, since not everyone was on base on shower day. Time schedules were posted for each hut with limits of 20 minutes for each hut. There was but one shower facility on the whole base. The real luxury was the weekly Saturday hot shower. Our instructions were to wear helmets in the shelter to protect our heads from shrapnel falling on us from our own antiaircraft shells, as well as enemy bombs. At the opened end, another smaller wall packed with dirt provided protection from that direction. They were simply four-foot brick walls, dirt packed on the outsides as well as one end. Scattered throughout the base were above the ground air-raid shelters. Procedures were to massage the paper with one’s hands while sitting and meditating until, when rubbed against the face, it did not scratch. It had the consistency and stiffness of a brown paper bag. If this seems extravagant, weigh it with the fact that the toilet paper provided had printed on every third sheet “Property of the Royal Air Force”. Now get this a member of the RAF tended to the hot water furnace and washed the pans after our use. Since our ablutions were performed here, we called the structure the “Ablution”. In the morning hot water came out of the faucet, but only in the morning. Washing was done out of pans provided by the British. There were no sinks, just a long trough with several pairs of water spigots appropriately placed. In addition to the stand-up slate-slab urinals, there were beautiful white porcelain commodes, and they all flushed. We marveled the first time nature called. Our floor was concrete though muddy outside, our feet would be dry indoors.
#Walls airborne platform war commander kixeye windows#
The ends of the hut were bricked, with windows on either side of the door.
#Walls airborne platform war commander kixeye skin#
True, the corrugated sheet metal that made for the skin of this structure was not insulated, but we would be dry. The Nissen huts reminded one of a long half cylinder lying flat on the ground. It was like going from the slums direct to uptown living. We were the first tenants, and parts were still under construction. There were innumerable Nissen huts to house us, an Officers Club, an EM Club in the making, a consolidated officers’ mess, and a consolidated enlisted men’s, mess. The first reaction to the new base at Folkingham was “It’s immense”! On this base we had three concrete runways, each 6,000 feet, ample taxiways, a revetment for parking each aircraft, and four hangers. And I’m still looking for a copy of my own so I can preserve more of this.
These pages came from copy machines and computer scanners. I wish I could tell you where to get a copy, but I don’t have one myself. Your only chance to taste this great work may be right here in front of you.
The 29th book is out of print, and those who have them are reluctant to let them go. The enormity and functions of the new base, compared to the tent cities of Africa and Sicily and Italy, is an impressive opening-and the story gets better. This was written from the heart, and readers readily sense this. But what really sets this apart is the interesting treatment of life in England before and after D-Day. The combat chronicles are factual, to the point, and well documented. This book is one of the very best written about life in the WW II Troop Carrier Command in the European Theater of Operations. It is good history and delightful reading. It is educational material, not meant for commercial use. Permission was granted by his widow, and survivors of the 29th Troop Carrier Squadron Asso-ciation. The material here is digested from the book We Are The 29th Troop Carrier Squadron by Col. This is not just Troop Carrier, but the move from the Mediterranean to England, the life and the training leading to invasion, and the follow up. It is not copyrighted unless noted but we request anyone using this for other than personal use to credit the author and the museum.
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