This was another time that I was separated from many of my closest friends. We left Baer Field a wintry morning with the runway covered with packed snow. Our first journey was to West Palm Beach Florida where we awaited further orders.

While there, I was initiated to the game of golf. I played one nine hole game and found that the game was too expensive for me. I couldn't seem to get across a little creek which meandered back and forth across every fairway. If I was ten feet from the water my ball went into the water or if I was a hundred fifty feet from the water I would get a good solid drive just enough to go into the creek. I must have purchased over a dozen balls before finishing that nine holes.

Day One: The next morning we were given sealed orders and briefed for the leg to Borinquin Field on the Northwest end of Puerto Rico. After an hours flight out we were permitted to open our orders and discovered that we were headed for a replacement depot at Naples, Italy. There was a shout of joy from each of our throats as I announced our final destination. We were all prepared mentally to be sent to Karachi in the China, Burma, India, theatre.

Each day the routine was the same. All pilots were briefed together. Those flying P-51s and P-47s took off first. Then the A-26s, A-20s, and B-25s next came us in the C-47s. The only ones slower than us were those flying PBYs. I guess in spite of all our training they thought that for safety this was the best way. We weren't assigned any particular altitude since there wasn't much chance of any other traffic being in our way and the weather briefings were not too reliable.

Day Two: The second day out of the states saw us flying down to Georgetown, British Guiana. Here we parked on the back side of the field from the facilities and were met by a jeep. On the way around the perimeter of the field on a gravel road I almost left the jeep when we met a six by six and passed it on the left, my first experience with the British method of driving on the left side of the road. That afternoon there was a championship tennis match for our entertainment. I didn't recognize who the participants were.