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May 1945

Tuesday May 1, 1945 Dear Mother And Sis, A pretty day here today. Glad to get your letters yesterday. And also I got two copies of the Lauderdale County Enterprise. I've been busy reading them this morning. Went to a medical lecture earlier today. Expect to fly this afternoon. Test Hop. It's 9 AM now. We usually get our mail around 10:30 AM and 4:30 PM. Lots of packages the last few days but still no sheets as yet. What's the latest from Jack? Maby you saw the write-up in the paper a few days ago about the B-29, The City of Memphis!! It's here on this field and Lt. Handwerker is the Airplane Commander. He is from Memphis. The paper kinda mis-represented the facts and all it talked about was some Colonel from Memphis who had nothing to do with that plane -- or with naming it. I wrote Otho a letter last night. first time I've written him in a long time. Is he still working on the boat? Later Tuesday nite: Well I've been up flying this afternoon - Had a nice time - We took about 4 C-Bs up for a ride. On the first take-off we had a plug come out of one engine & lost about 40 gallons of oil so had to land again & stop up the hole & refill with oil. Then we took off again and broke in the new engine I wrote about earlier. Glad to see the City of Memphis picture you sent. I wrote something about that earlier in this letter but it was another article I spoke of. Received the last pictures of John Winn Friday. They are sure good. I'll send some back to you. Also got the watermelon seed from both you & Mary F. thanks The garden looks swell. We already have watermelons with 4 leaves on them tho. Radishes about 1 in". The first flowers I planted are sure slow almost coming up. We have at least 10 flower packets of seed now. The other fellows have been getting seed also. Better go now, Love Austin

Lt. Austin H. Winn United States Army Air Forces Thursday 9 missions May 2nd 10:30 PM Marianas Dearest Folks. May 5th 11 A.M. Saturday 10 Missions Hello again! I started to write this letter Thursday nite before I left on the last mission but didn't get time to write. I got to bed about 2 AM this morning & slept till 10AM. Feel OK now & pretty rested up. The showers had all the water turned off so I went back to the helmet again to get cleaned up. I got the Watermelon & Musk melon seed you sent, Thanks. We bombed the Japanese airfields again. We were attacked by a few fighters but they weren't too sharp. They did kinda give us a surprise on their first attack. The news sounded grand. We listened to the news on the way to Japan and heard of Hitler's and Goebels' death & also of the surrender of the German army in Italy & Southern Austria. Hope the peace conference is doing a good job. Oh, guess who I saw Thursday! I was lying in my sack dozing off before the mission & A.V. Winn comes in it woke me up. Sure was glad to see him. He's the kid from Walla Walla Washington. He is in B-24 & has 7 missions in. That makes all 3 of the Winns on this island now. (Ha) He's only temporarily here tho. I took him down & showed him our B-29. He was really impressed over such a big plane. Well it's time for the mail now so I'll rush this on over there and see if I've gotten any mail from you today. Love to all; Austin

May 5, 1945 Saturday Dear Mother and Sis, Wrote you a letter yesterday with the same date on it but was mistaken. Got mixed up on what day it was. Should have been Friday, the 4th instead. It's raining here this morning. I just wrote Wilbur a letter. How is everyone around Cherry getting along? In the last seed you sent, I got some watermellon, muskmellon and I suppose the little round seed are turnip seed. Is that right? What is John doing these days? Guess both tractors are kept pretty busy getting the corn land ready for planting. It's time for mail now so I'll just send a note We are told that we will have to fly a maximum of 35 missions. There is a possibility of getting a rest after 15 tho. Well so long, Love to All, Austin

Sunday, May 6th Marianas How's every one today, Nice day here. We went to another airfield this morning & flew a 29 back to the home base. We had an awful bad rain last nite & as the planes were coming back from the mission, only one of our planes landed at this field. They are scattered throughout the Marianas and one other field on this island. We didn't go on this mission. The boys are having a volleyball game this afternoon. Guess I'll have to go out and play with them. I got my first letter from Jack today. Glad to hear he's back in the states. He has to have another operation. Says he feels fine tho. Well I must go now. Tell all hello. Things will be hopping around here again soon. The missions will get rougher if we don't go to the Kyushu. We are glad to get those kind of missions. The strategic targets are better protected by the Japs. Love to all, Austin

Lt. Austin H. Winn United States Army Air Forces May 8, 1945 Marianas Dearest Mother & All, Today is V-E day - Was sure glad to hear the news on the radio. Mr. Truman is supposed to talk tonight at 11PM Don't know if we will be awake to hear him or not. Today we bombed a Jap island for practice. Had a very nice trip & got back about 3PM. We had chicken which was very good. Received a letter from Jack yesterday. Did you get the pictures I sent you? Think I sent 2. Boy, Hughey really has some fancy articles in the Hi-Life, doesn't he! The flowers around home must be blooming now. That is lots of them. I could see several in the picture you sent of John Winn. We have our name painted on the plane now. Also a bomb for each mission & 3 Jap flags for 3 fighter planes our tail gunner shot down. Also each of our own names under our positions. The name of our plane is "City of Charlottesville" (Virginia) Well I better get off to sleep now. Good night to all. Love & kisses, Austin

Lt. Austin H. Winn United States Army Air Forces May 9, 1945 Marianas Hello Mother & Sister, Have been up bombing the islands again for practice. Wrote you a letter last nite but thought I'd drop you another little line this afternoon. Might not be where I can write tomorrow. Heard the news this morning. Wasn't awake last nite to hear The President speak. The mail hasn't come today as yet. Wasn't any morning mail for anyone. Still haven't received any of the packages. I have one coming from you, Rosie, Addie, and Dotty too I think. How is the farming coming along? I've been trying to burn the little warts off my hands with nitric acid. Think I've gotten rid of a couple of them so far. Has Miss Josie Belle come back from Florida yet? Hope Jack's operation is O.K. Tell Grand pa hello & not to try to get around too much when he gets up. Love to all Austin

Lt. Austin H. Winn United States Army Air Forces 11 missions May 11 1945 Marianas Dear folks, How is everyone today? Got back from the mission on Japs oil refineries & storages last nite. There were over 400 B-29 up there. Boy, I've never seen so many planes in the air together. I landed on Iwo Jima on the return trip. I haven't gotten my mail for yesterday yet. I'll go see if I had any then finish this letter. I believe I just gone up. It's too late to eat breakfast. 8am. I ate a snack last night tho about 10 P.M. Later-2 PM. Will I received 2 letters from you today with several clippings included. I got the little memo books too thanks a lot. They are just the right size. You said William Hutch might write to Lowry. Here's his address if you want to give it to him. Col. Leon L. Lowry Commanding Officer 93rd Bomb SQDN APO 246 Unit 2 c/0 PM San Francisco, Calif. You've heard me speak of the Airplane Commander from Memphis and his plane. You sent me a picture of his plane. Well, he is coming home. He will send you something that I sent home by him. His name is St. John Handwerker. I hear Hilda Gardner is opening up her business again!! He said he might even drive up to our place one day. Guess there will be more news in the paper about him when he gets to Memphis. Try to send me the clippings if you see them. Well, I'll have to stop about now. Still cloudy & has been rather cool all day so far. We really saw a lot of flak yesterday. Even the Jap ships in the harbor were shooting at us too. The target we were bombing really exploded. The flames & smoke came up over 10,000 ft high. The Jap fighters didn't bother us this time. love to all Austin

Lt. Austin H. Winn United States Army Air Forces 11 missions May 12, 1945 Saturday nite Dear Mother and Sis, Saturday nite And its raining very hard. Got the sheets you sent me today. They sure are nice ones. Tomorrow I have to go down to Wing Headquarters to a meeting. It's 10:30 P.M now & most everyone is in bed. I will have to make this short & snappy. How is John & Johnnie Cake? Has he got both trucks running now? Today we didn't get any 1st Class mail at all. Only packages. Tomorrow if I don't have to fly any I may go down to the beach for a swim. Things are about the same over here I guess. So see close for tonite. Love to All Austin

Lt. Austin H. Winn United States Army Air Forces Sunday afternoon May 13 Mother's Day Dear Mother And Sis, How's everyone today? Got down from a flight around the local area. We went test hop-ing the plane - took a coupla Marines up with us just for the ride. Wrote you a little letter yesterday. Probably won't be able to write tomorrow. Today is Mother's Day. Did you get the little present I sent to you? I received a real nice box of cookies & candy too from Addie. It was really wrapped up so nice in cellophane paper. They are good too. One fellow got some new records from home and they are playing them now. I didn't get to go to the beach today. Haven't seen AV or Robert Winn any more lately. Well I have to write a couple other letters right quickly, so will say so long for today. Hope you have a lovely day today. Know your roses are beautiful now! Love Austin

Lt. Austin H. Winn United States Army Air Forces 12 missions May 15, 1945 Tuesday Marianas Dear Mother & All, How's everything? Gee! I'm sitting here on my bed this morning. Have just had a nice cool shave & shower & will have to write & tell you the news. Was in the big mission on Nagoya. Over 500 B-29s. Boy that's a lot of planes & we really carried a load of bombs. We made it OK. Here's a surprise for you. Just before I went on the mission they announced that Lt. Winn was promoted from 2nd to 1st Lt. So they finally got around to it.(Ha) Boy I've been having a time with rest of the fellows in this barracks. I received a nice package from Addie with cookies & candy both. Really good. I'll probably be pretty busy so I don't expect too many letters for a while! Some kind of bugs are eating all the leaves off our radishes. Am afraid they ruined them. Glad to get the clippings. Love to all, Austin

Lt. Austin H. Winn United States Army Air Forces 12 M. May 16, 1945 Marianas Dearest Mother & Sis, It's 11 AM and a very nice day here in the Marianas. I received my third Lauderdale County Paper yesterday. Also got a nice box of cookies from Rosie. Now I have more cookies + candy than I know what to do with! Everyone has been getting their packages all at once it seems. Oh and I guess you've received another letter from Dotty by now. She said she was going to write you again. I wrote Jack a letter this morning. How is he getting along now? I suppose Moss Josie is back home by now. Here's a picture they took me one day for the records over here. They have all the combat crews pictures on a bulletin board in the briefing room. Will say so long for now. I was on censorship detail again last nite. I told you about the promotion didn't I? I wear a silver bar now. Love, Austin The other character is Lucas. The Airplane Commander. He is a 1st Lt. also. He lives in Charlottesville Virginia. The Name of Our plane is "City of Charlottesville". If Lt. Handwerker sends you the pictures of a B29 with no 42 on the side of ot. That is our plane. We were flying it when the picture was made.

Lt. Austin H. Winn United States Army Air Forces 13 Missions May 17, 1945 Marianas Dearest Mother & Sis, It's 10 P.M. Thursday nite. Have just been to a movie. Deanna Durbin in "Here's To Hold". Last nite we went on another incendiary raid on Nagoya. It was a very successful raid & not much opposition from the Japs. How's the family coming along? Guess everything is getting in pretty good shape. Well, I thought I'd just drop you a line before going to bed tonight. Everyone is talking about the mission & about how many more they have to go, ect. I heard from W.D. the other day and he has 23 missions. I haven't seen A.V. any more. He may have moved up to Okinawa. These letters seem awfully short it seems to me, but there just isn't much to write about. Maybe I'll write some more before I mail this in the morning. Nite Nite Austin

Friday Morning May 18 Nice morning, however it has been raining a good bit. I slept late this morning & didn't get any breakfast. I still have plenty of candy & cookies. In fact I sealed one can of cookies back up & put them away till we eat the others up. Received the packets of flowers seed from you the other day. We have several flowers up but some have to be transplanted. The Phlox & Verbena didn't. We have Cox Combs, Old fashioned gardens, Zinnias, etc. Don't guess we'll need any more seed for a while. Our tomato patch looks good but there are some worms that are eating the leaves up. Radishes are big enough to eat. Did you get the pictures? Well I'll say Bye now. Love to all, Austin Glad to hear Jack is getting along OK. I haven't used the sheets yet.(HA) Kinda gotten used to sleeping without them. I will tho.

Lt. Austin H. Winn United States Army Air Forces 14 Missions 236 Hours May 21, 1945 Marianas Dear Mother & Sis, Didn't get to write to you yesterday. We've been pretty busy lately. We flew 3 times to Japan last week then yesterday we bombed a Jap Island for practice. Our engines were getting pretty old. On our last mission we had an oil plug drop out while we were right over Tokyo & lost all the oil out of that engine - We feathered it & bombed the city of Hamamatsu & flew back to Iwo Jima on 3 engines. Landed there & got the engine fixed & refilled with oil. We flew on back home that nite. We are getting 3 new engines on our plane now before we fly it again. You know we put one new one on it a coupla weeks ago. I was awarded the "Air Medal" for the flight over Kobe when we stayed over the target 2 hours. I went over this morning & signed up to remain in the Army until Japan is defeated. Not that I would have been able to get out anyway I guess. But we were supposed to put a choice down. I will get an increase in pay this month of about $25. I was the only pilot in my class (44-D) to make 1st Lt. Another guy's promotion came through but he was lost over Tokyo several weeks ago. Well I've got to go out & play ball with the fellows now. I'll probably miss the next coupla missions while our engines are being changed. Have you heard from Lt. Handwerker yet? He is supposed to send you my pictures. Tell all hello. Love & Kisses Austin

14 Missions May 22 1948 Hello Mother & Sis, Received your letter today & some clippings. Glad to hear you got the gift I had mailed to you. Sorry it was late. I got a package from Dottie yesterday with newspapers, magazines, candy & this stationery. Guess she has been writing to you again. I also heard from Miss Josie Belle & Oletta today. I'm going up flying again this afternoon on a training mission. The boys are comming right along with the engine changing. We are flying another plane this afternoon. Yes that's a B-29 we are standing in front of. What's John Winn doing now? He sure must be cute. No I don't think I'll have any place to put a large picture of him. I have a small one of him stuck up on the wall now. There is a picture of a quonset hut exactly like I live in in the clipping enclosed. Well I've gotta go fly now so bye bye. Love to all, Austin P.S. I doubt if we'll get to go to any rest camp after 15 missions. Our crew is in excellent condition. (ha)

May 24, 1945 Thursday nite Dear Sis & Mother, Today has been a very pleasant one. If Jack has written lately how is he? Thought I'd just drop a line or two tonite before going to bed. Know I won't get to write you again for a coupla days. Maybe three so don't worry any if you don't hear from me for several days this time. Today I went down to the beach & went swimming. Went to another Airfield where A.V. was but didn't see him anywhere. I ate supper there & we had beef steak which was very good. Also drank a coupla cold Coca-Colas while there which tasted swell. Received your letter today. They come very regularly. Sometimes they come by two's tho. Well, I'll say nity nite about now. What's Big John doing these days? Tell him hello for me. Love to all, Austin

14 Missions Monday May 29, 1945 Dear Mother & Sister Well I'm back again after several days of touring the Pacific & not writing to you. I got back today & fouund about 4 letters from you waiting for me. Was really glad to get them. I've been gone since last Friday & didn't shave unmtil I got bac today. Boy I sure feel better now. I spent 5 nites on Iwo Jima and one on Tinian. Was really glad to hear Jack has been home. Guess he's stationed at Millington now! Was La Vaughan there at the same time as Jack? A surprise to me that Jack is up walking around & going to Ripley! Maybe he will get out of the service as soon as he is well again. I'll send the pictures of the kids back. They are sure cute. I sthe little boy Clifford Jr.? We were on a special type duty this last trip.(HA) We thought we would never get back from Iwo. We were hitch-hikers. We brought a B-29 back to our first stop that had been repaired at Iwo then we hooked a C47 back to base. And a good shower. Well I'll get this off. Request: Please send me some stationery. Love, Austin

Lt. Austin H. Winn United States Army Air Forces 14 Missions May 29, 1945 Tuesday nite Dear Mother & Sis, I wrote you a letter yesterday which I dated May 29th also. I guess I didn't have the date straight. Well things are going very well Over here I guess. I may take another one of those tours again tonite.(HA) Don't know when I'll be back. Can't explain exactly what I'm doing. I get the Lauderdale County Paper pretty often now. I have some real good cookies here. Rosie sent them to me. Addie is going to send me some stuffed olives etc. Could you Send me some of those flat cans of Sardines along with the stationery. I don't need any candy. How's Johnnie Cake doing? We didn't receive any mail at all today. Guess the mail planes are hauling other things also. Such as soldiers. I got the Hi-life yesterday from Oletta. I better get to bed for a few winks. They may wake me up any time. Love to all, Austin