ADVENTURES : D-DAY TO D+30 These are some of the events I experienced in the first 30 days of the Normandy invasion of Europe. They illustrate how a fighter pilot's life was ever interesting, challenging and usually dangerous. After D-Day and before our landing strip was completed on the sands of the Normandy beach, we flew five missions in one day. A temporary landing strip was made on the beach by bull-dozing a fairly level surface in the sand and overlaying it with pierced-steel planking to prevent our airplane from bogging down in the sand. We took-off before daylight from our RAF Base at Ibsley, England, fully loaded with bombs and ammo, We flew one mission bombing and strafing the many targets of opportunity (anything that moved) just behind enemy lines. We then landed at the beach-head airstrip where the ground crews re-fueled and re-armed our airplanes. We then flew four more similar missions, landing back at Ibsley after the last mission just before dark. We were in jeopardy during the day as we bombed and straffed behind enemy lines, but also while we were in the process of landing. We were so near the enemy front lines we were being hit by small arms fire while on the down-wind leg in the landing pattern. To avoid this invitation to disaster, we changed the landing pattern so the down-wind leg was over the English Channel. Now we would be flying low and slow over a multitude of Navy ships of all descriptions who did not welcome _any_ airplanes in their airspace. We continued to use the Channal pattern, rationalizing it would be better to be shot down by our own folks rather than the enemy. It was a full day--a unique experience never repeated---and everyone on that day's mission recieved the Air Medal for Meritorious Acheivement During Aerial Flight. ©whcameron2000