Dad WWII Diary

Dad WWII Diary - Page Text Content

S: First Edition of My Troubles In Army Life - James E. Blackburn

BC: PVT JAMES E. BLACKBURN

FC: First Edition of My Troubles In Army Life The Diary of PVT James E. Blackburn WWII

1: Jim (Dad, Papaw) was born in Adams County, Ohio, the son of the late Carl and Minnie Blackburn. He graduated in 1944 from Peebles High School. He served his country in the U.S. Army Air Force in Europe during World War II. Jim was drafted on his 18th birthday. He completed basic training at Sheppard Field, Texas, the summer of 1944 and went to Madison, Wisconsin for training as a Radio Mechanic in September 1944. The end of November 1944 he traveled to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois for more training. After a brief furlough in April 1945, he went to New York to begin the trip to Italy, his permanent duty assignment. He traveled to Europe by ship. He was stationed in Naples, Italy until June 1946. He progressed from PVT (private) to SGT (sergeant) during his enlistment. This book contains Jim’s diary of his time at basic training, his photographs from basic training and Europe, and clippings from his scrapbook. | JAMES ELLISON BLACKBURN 3/27/1926 - 5/2/2010

3: LAWSHE, OHIO | Brothers - Paul, Stanley, Roy | Sisters - Faye, Shirley, June

4: Jim wrote in a 5" x 7 1/2" brown notebook. Inside the front cover, he wrote: "Meals described as Excellent, good, or bad."

12: Daisy Faye Compton

16: OUR HERO | Betty Fields

19: Carl & Minnie Blackburn

25: WWII Pen Pals

28: Notes on the pictures: "This is a picture of the Tractor Park. They are a lot of them." "This is the Tractor I am on."

35: Mary Campbell | Mary Campbell

42: Daisy Faye

60: 1945 Calendar

61: Leaving New York for Europe by Naval Ship. Dad talked about how on the first day the sea was calm and some of the Soldiers were laughing at the other Soldiers that were seasick. On the second day there was a huge storm and all the Soldiers who were laughing the day before were on deck throwing up.

62: Radio Mechanic Class, Scott Field, Illinois, March 1945

63: Dad said they got paid the first of each month - $50 cash and a box of cigarettes. He sent the money home to Lawshe and sold his cigarettes for spending money.

64: ROME

66: Book No. 3 Starts in January 1945 Dad/Jim mailed his notebooks to his Mom/Minnie Blackburn at Lawshe. Some of his notebooks were lost either in the mail or over time.

84: Buddys Left to Right Unterman, Granboun, Brollico | ITALY

86: I held the dog and snapped the camera | Me and CPL Stripes What a Mug

88: The Opera in Rome | The Enlisted Club

89: Orders dated 2 June 1946 ending his Italy duty