A crewman snapped a photograph of Lt. Ernest Anders Erickson & an Italian Boy at an airfield in Naples, Italy in August 1944. My father grew up poor on the farm in North Dakota and always had something on him to give to the children they came across in England and Italy. .

The invasion of mainland Europe by the Allies is well underway and has pushed into August of 1944. The 8th Air Force continued it's assault on German oil refineries, armaments, manufacturing and marshaling yards. By August 8th, 1944, Lt. Erickson had completed 33 missions of his eventual 35. In a little over a weeks time he and the crew would complete 4 missions and fly across and back mainland Europe.

It was an intense amount of concentration and flying time that was experienced in this short period. My father mentioned many times it was the most exciting time of his Air Corps days.

Just two days after his 22nd birthday, on August 6th, 1944, Lt. Erickson began a four mission shuttle run flying the "Lili of the Lamplight' (44-6085) with the 334th Squadron. The plus week flights would take him and crew on two missions over Poland, landings at Poltava Airfield in the Ukraine. A third mission over Romania followed and then back to Poltava. A final mission in the area and then they were off to Foggia Airfield in Italy.

After a few days in Foggia, a final mission of the 4 was over Toulouse, France before they headed back to Horham Airfield in England.

Lt. Erickson looked forward to spending time in Italy after completing the three missions in Eastern Europe. It was a long assignment spanning the width of the European continent and enabling Ernest Anders to see parts of the world he had only dreamed of as a teenager. The days at Poltava were memorable and meeting Russian airmen and ground crew was a highlight which he captured on film. One of my favorite photographs he took at Poltava is here in the link. Two Russian mechanics work on the 'Lili of the Lamplight.'

During that ten-day run Ernest and his crew encountered barrages of deadly flak fire and some Luftwaffe fighter resistance. After flying missions over Rahmel and Trzebien in Poland, and Bazau in Romania, the squadron landed at Poltava Airfield in the Ukraine, where they refueled and rearmed.

They carried out one final mission in Eastern Europe and then headed towards the Mediterranean. They landed at the 15th Air Force base in Italy, formerly controlled by the Germans at Tortorella Airfield, referred to as Foggia Satellite No. 2. He spent the time in and around Foggia unwinding from the long week of flying. Soon enough he and some of the crew commandeered a jeep.

The crew visited the Mediterranean cities of Salerno & Naples and my father had a chance to photograph the allied ships which were moored in the harbor and scattered throughout the waterways. This photograph here was shot on that same day when my father and the crew stood on the shore of the Mediterranean enjoying some quiet times before they returned to combat flying.