Previously I had talked about taking a good hot bath. When I finished that I went into the bedroom for I had heard some one come in, leave something and go back out. There was a complete outfit of clothing on the bed. It was all standard issue winter clothing but when I put it on it fit pretty well. I did not have new shoes so wore the boots that I had on while I was a POW. I took the insignia and wings off my dirty, oily officers uniform and put them on my new stuff. I then went down stairs to the restaurant. They had a French chef there and he worked wonders with the materials that he got from the commissary and local things. I ordered a bowl of French onion soup and some other things. I was totally shocked when the soup came for it was delicious but I was full when the bowl was only half eaten. Later they weighed me for their records and I weighed 143 pounds. I had weighed 205 pounds before I was shot down!They also told me that I should go pick out some clothing for winter outer wear. I went to the specified place and got one of the OD short Eisenhauer jackets, a heavy English sweater, an American heavy battle jacket and a British black tam! That made an outfit which every one questioned what and who I was! I knew that some of the guys were sitting talking so I joined them. The things that had happened to them was unbeliveable. One of the guys had escaped from the German POW camps three times and in the process had learned very good german language. It was so good that the last time that he had escaped he had gone out on a merchant ship as an able bodied German seaman! Had then gotten away so had made his way here. I hooked up with a sargeant and we both had a letter signed by General Eisenhauer telling that we were entitled to military transportation at our request. The sarge and I would be way off in Paris some place late at night. Enlisted personell had a curfew at midnight. I had my bars on my shirt collar and you could not see them from the outside so I did not have any insignia showing that I was an officer. It was legal for the enlisted to be out after midnight if they were with an officer. We would be stopped by a Military Policeman and after he began to chew us out, I would show him my bars and the sargeant would pull out his letter then have them take us back to the Hotel Francia! We could not buy a drink in a bar for the French were so glad to be free of the Germans that they would buy us drinks.
I was debriefed by Intelligence and were surprised to find that there were the 12 submarine pens at La Rochelle. I was also the first pilot in the12th Air Force that had been shot down, a POW and had gotten back to the Americans. Arrangements were made to have me return to the 12th Troop Carrier Squadron and also to the 12th. AF headquarters. I went to Orly airport to catch a flight by ATC (Air Transport Command) to Rome. When the pilot and co-pilot came aboard one of them had been a classmate of mine in flying school. He asked me where I was going and I told him that I was going to Rome. He told me to come up front after we got airborne and talk. I did that after we leveled off and we began chatting. He began telling me that he had flown a lot and that he had come within 25 miles of the enemy lines and was bragging about how rough he had it. He finally asked me where I had been and when I told him prison camp I thought he would choke! We got to the same airport where I would pick up the flight nurses that I talked about before and when I could, I called the Squadron Commander (Lou Martin) who was now Major L. Martin. He was all questions when he found out who I was and told me that he would be right up. He was there in about an hour and when we saw each other he yelled, "Big Stoop!" and we hugged each other. When we got in the plane, the co--pilot was a new kid that I did not know nor did I know the crew chief or radio operator. The co-pilot got in the right hand seat (where the co-pilot flew) and began to buckle up. Lou looked at him and said, "Son, go back in the back for I am going to fly from there. The kid looked at him and asked, "Sir, who is going to be the pilot." Lou just grinned and pointed to me. I flew back to Naples and landed. It was good to be flying again. The first guy that I saw had my pants on. I told him to get them off and give them to me. He said he would do it when he got back. I said, "Like hell, you may not get back give them to me before you take off."
There were only a few guys left that were there before I was shot down. We all had one major party that evening into the wee hours of the morning. A day later I was summoned to go to Florence, which was 12th AF headquarters to meet General Mark Clark. Again Lou Martin and I flew up for he was also supposed to be there as my Commanding Officer. General Clark presented me whith the Distinguished Flying Cross and gave me a very high commendation in addition to the medal. I had been told by our group commander that if I stayed, I would be promoted to Major within six months and would not have to fly any combat. He wanted me to train new pilots for combat. I tried to stay for I was in no hurry to come back to the States but was told that I could not for by the Geneva convention, if I was recaptured, I could be shot as a spy without a trial.
I said goodbye to my squadron mates and left for home on the 27th of December 1944.

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