My father was a journalism major in college. Found this in his things after he died. Apparently a writing exercise. Sadly, there is no date or location to it.

"Dawn patrol - a mucky job, involves getting up in the middle of the night and such. And I always wake up an hour before the time for the alarm to go off, this coupled with having gotten into a too interesting book the evening before makes rather a mess of the old eight hours. After smoking a couple of cigarettes and just beginning to regain some interest in sleep the alarm comes undone. The graveyard hour is black as ink and there is a steady quick drizzle outside. The field is probably v/s. Clamber out of the mosquito netting, stretch a bit, yawn broadly, swear silently, pull off the pajamas, fumble for the flashlight, and get dressed. This is no hour or condition for tooth brushing and ablutions, not this out of a canteen business anyway, so its squish squish across to the mess tent.

A few shadowy figures, guards in slickers and flashlights, are gathered near the half open front flap rattling mess kits and grunting an occasional full mouthed noise as I step inside and accept a plate of powdered eggs and bacon and a cup of well developed coffee. Byrket, my number two, and Capt. Hoover and Armstrong, dawn readiness, wander in. Two more cups of coffee, graham crackers and jam, and we go out to the jeep and down to the line.

The field is v/s. Not only that, so is the weather. Weaver, I.O, is asleep in his cot at the far end of our mission operations. He awakes as we stomp in and snap on the light and with a sleepy hello, rolls over again. We stalk aimlessly about for a few minutes, Capt. Hoover calls the controller to tell him we won't get off this morning and transportation to tell them not to drive indiscriminately across the soft runway. We pick up odd reading matter and sit. Capt. Hoover reads us a paragraph from "Fighter Pilot" describing a vertical slow roll, its rather silly. Our loudspeaker, connecte to a radio in communications comes on with a program from London. Ships are being run up. It is six o'clock and the first bleak light is filtering through the low overcast."


Byrket would be Charles Byrket, Hoover would be Charles F. Hoover, Armstrong would be Stephen D. Armstrong. Can't find a Weaver in the 350th book

Son of Ron Macdonald Flying Sgt. 59th OTU RAF (Hurris & Spits, Dieppe raid), Lt. with 346thFS/350thFG North Africa (P-39s). Shot down at Kasserine. Instructor with the 1053 BFTS Randolph, 2138 BU Craig, 2532BU Randolph, & 2543 BU Waco (AT-6s & B-25s).

Hi Ron,
Just looking through your old posts.

Weaver would have been Donald E. Weaver (345th Oct 43 to Jan 43) Transfered from the 52 FG.

18/Jan/43 : Killed in the line of Duty. A few days after arriving in Africa from England, on a practice air ground gunnery strafing flight (P-39) , over the dry lake near Oran, Algeria, missed pull up and flew into the ground.

Keith

He was flying BX224, P-400 at the time Service number, O-426452.

Regards
Rob

http://www.geocities.com/raf_112_sqdn/

Thanks Rob,
Had a feeling you would pitch in on this one.
Keith