Based on the letters of Earl Philip Reinhalter (1922-1953). Edited by his son, Earl Philip Reinhalter (1950-).


<- PREVIOUS LETTER September 3, 1944
Saidor, New Guinea
NEXT LETTER ->


Sept. 3, 1944

New Guinea

Hello Ma:

      Just a short note:

      Received two letters from you since my last letter. They contained some Yardley cartoons and Sun papers. Yvonne's drawings of the two turtles were good. Also, the little notation beside them was in pretty good writing. Too bad about the Army "kicking out" the low flying pilot.

      The other day, we received at dinnertime the first oranges and tangerines that we had this year. Our beer now comes in cans instead of in bottles, as it first did.

      Well, enclosed are some more pictures to add to the collection. [See below. - Ed.] Four of the pictures are numbered on the back.

      Picture #1 is a picture of an airplane with 22 Jap flags painted on it. Do you remember me telling you about the ace having 25 Jap planes and who was later shot down himself? Well, that was his airplane. The day following the taking of this picture, he got another plane to his credit. About a week later, the colonel took his last flight. Before he went down, he managed to shoot down two more.

      Picture #2 shows a picture of our jungle clubhouse which the natives built.

      Picture #3 shows an Australian pilot and his plane.

      Picture #4 shows a native policeman and two assistants.

      Well, that's all there is for now - until next time -

Earl




Colonel Neel Kearby's P-47, named "Fiery Ginger" after his wife Virginia. One of the top flying aces of the Pacific
Theater - notice the 22 "kills" painted on the side of his plane - he was himself shot down on March 5, 1944.




Another photo of Neel Kearby's "Fiery Ginger II" plane. The 22 "kills" marked on the side of the plane was his total
for the war, before being shot down himself. So these may have been the very last photos taken of his plane.




Neel Kearby's plane "Fiery Ginger" on the runway, probably at Saidor Airfield. The 22 "kills" painted on the side of the plane was
his total for the war. If that's him in the cockpit, this might be one of his last photos. He was himself shot down on March 5, 1944.




The 3rd Airdrome Squadron's enlisted men's club in New Guinea.




Soldier in front of 3rd Airdrome Squadron's enlisted men's club in New Guinea.



 
NOW AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK!

The Kindle book includes the letters; all 23 issues of the unit’s wartime newsletter “The Squadron Pulse,” which was originally edited by Leonard Stringfield; all 12 issues of the “Pennant Parade” newsletter that Stringfield published while sailing home after the war; complete text of the U.S. government booklet “Pocket Guide to Australia,” which soldiers heading Down Under were given to read; more than 200 photos; pre-war and postwar family history; and over 700 explanatory endnotes.















<- PREVIOUS LETTER   HOMEPAGE   NEXT LETTER ->








ElectricEarl.com

This page established: November 11, 2018             Last updated: February 23, 2023

© 2018-2023 Earl P. Reinhalter. All Rights Reserved.