The War Diaries of Sgt. Robert L. Covington: November 1942 -- February 1945
60th Fighter Squadron, 33rd Fighter Group, U.S. Army Air Corps
by Robert L. Covington

• Robert Covington's sister Odell presented him with a daily diary after he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942, saying "You may not always find time to write, so jot down some of your thoughts and bring them home with you." Over the two and a half years that he served, Covington did keep a record and managed to smuggle it home, even though servicemen were told not to keep diaries because if captured, the diary might contain information useful to the enemy (p. vii).

• "22 October 1943 -- ...The pilot got out safely and just in time. The A-36 was carrying 2 --500 lb bombs, and the P-40 had a bomb exploded in the fire. Machine gun ammo is still going off." (p. 48)

• "10 February 1944 -- ...Back here the place is lighted up like Xmas -- makes the war seem a thousand miles away. This field is the chief Air Transport Command base for Africa. Looks like our hopes of getting home after the war in Europe are gone." (p. 62)

• "'Going Home' -- The words are so etched in my memory I can recall the details 51 years later. A deuce and a half (military slang for a 2½ ton truck) slides to a stop in a small cloud of dust near the big aircraft. About a dozen G.I.'s from the squadron are jumping up and down, shaking the wood-slatted sides of the truck and yelling, "Covington, come on. Get on the truck. We're GOING HOME!" (p. 115)

• ISBN 978-0-936015-76-7
  • xvi + 128 pages with photographs, maps, a glossary,
  • 8 inches x 10 1/2 inches, hardbound
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