Water Melons in Georgia

When I came back to the States after a 27 mission tour with the 8th AAF in England, we were sent home on a C-54 from Valley Wales. We were allowed to carry on the plane only 35 lbs of luggage so most of the stuff we had collected was left in bomb boxes under our bunks at Chelveston. We thought we would return for another tour but that didn’t happen. We then learned that we were to be sent to the Pacific but as all other scuttle butt, that too didn’t happen either. I am sure all the collectables like guns, Bomber jackets, etc. were confiscated by our buddies left in our barracks back at station #105 the good old 305th BG. We landed in Iceland for midnight breakfast and refuel and flew on to Presque Isle, Maine. We then went to La Guardia Field in New York. We caught a train there and got off in D.C. and decided to spend the night in a hotel and catch a train out the next day. We then ordered up a case of Blue Ribbon and had our own private party. I’m sure we didn’t see much of D.C. and D.C. didn’t see much of us.

We caught a train out the next day for Fort Polk in Louisiana to be sent on leave for 30 days at Home. When we passed through Georgia we stopped on a siding out in the country next to a watermelon field. Of course some wanted to jump off and liberate some of those melons. I told them that it was no use, they were still green but they went anyway. When they got back on the train and started breaking them open they found this old Texas boy knew his melons as they were all green. I could tell by the blue color they were green but who was I to be believed? Some farmer lost some green watermelons.