Buster's War

Buster at 27

2010-08-23T14:17:00.003-05:00

From War Department Identification Card #0-161382

We know why he caught my grandma's eye.

2010-08-19T13:37:00.001-05:00

Buster has been joined by his wife of 54 years. Margaret Bridges Allday passed away on August 17, 2010.

1974 Reunion

2010-07-06T14:24:00.004-05:00

Image from the 815th Aviation Engineers Reunion in 1974.

*Special thanks to David New for this image.*

The Blade February 23 1945

2010-07-06T14:13:00.003-05:00

Sheet # 82 War Diary 815th Engr. Avn. Bn. March 1945

2009-08-19T10:26:00.003-05:00

March 22 1945 War Diary Sheet#82. 815th Engr Avn Bn. T5 Allday returned to his company from TDY at Cassablanca for several months.

(He was guarding Italian prisioners)

Detached Service

2009-07-16T09:23:00.006-05:00

Click to enlarge document.

This evening I found Buster's name on set of orders for detached service in the 815th's WWII war records/diary.

Regards,
Dick Bowman

(I remember Grandpa speaking of Page, the last man on the list.)
Somewhere there is a picture with Page written on the back.

Names listed...

Sgt. Louis A. Cappellano
T/5 Norman. T. Allday
T/5 Harold E. Woodside
T/5 Junior D. Page

More info on the 815th in WWII.

2009-07-10T08:00:00.004-05:00

I found this information about the 815th.

Read full report here. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/VII/AAF-VII-9.html

(The information below is copy and pasted from the Army Air Forces in WWII site and is the property of the site listed above. I am copy and pasting the information for future record in case the site no longer exist. )

The 815th had lost most of its key equipment at sea, when the ship carrying it had been sunk. The 809th equipment was on a ship that had developed engine trouble two days out of England and had turned back! The 817th had no such hard luck and got to work on La Senia Airport fairly promptly, but difficulties in unloading and successfully claiming its property made the operation a memorable example of confusion the officers were determined to avoid in the future. The brightest spot in the picture was that sufficient pierced-steel landing mat had been provided to help defeat the African weather.²⁸

In Morocco the aviation engineers were able to improve and utilize existing airstrips readily enough and to begin construction on a large all-weather base near Casablanca. But at Oran and Algiers, which were nearer the front and accordingly more crucial, heavy rains had created an almost desperate situation. Near each of those cities was an air base with hard-surfaced runways, but they could scarcely be used because aircraft had to park on the strips in preference to sinking and sticking in the adjacent mud. Aside from offering a concentrated target to the enemy, this situation virtually held up the Allied air war. On 2 December 1942 General Davison flew to the village of Talergma, located on a high, flat plateau between the Saharan and the Maritime Atlas Mountains near the Tunisian boundary, where the French had informed him dry weather usually prevailed. Davison walked about until he had satisfied himself the soil combination was good. Later in the day a party of aviation engineers moved in from the coast and with the assistance of Arabs began at once to clear the first of several airstrips. Other troops of the 809th EAB soon came in by air and truck, and by 13 December a B-26 landed smoothly on the packed runway. The completion of other strips relieved congestion at Oran and Algiers by allowing the removal of the medium bombers and most of the fighters to the Talergma area.²⁹

Advanced details of three aviation engineer battalions (the 809th, 814th, and 815th) were to land on D Day and repair captured airfields or carve out new ones as necessary. Until the sailing, all the men could do was work on their equipment, which most of them liked to do, and undergo training in the art of staying alive in combat, which most of them bitterly resented, even though the North African experience had indicated they were far from expert in such matters.⁴⁴

On D Day, 10 July 1943, a small detachment of the 814th Engineers,

( Jenni here... Is this date correct?)

attached temporarily to the 19th Engineer Combat Regiment, dragged their equipment from the landing craft to the beaches and proceeded inland to a large captured airdrome at Comiso. It took only a little time to repair the craters in its runway, partly because the Germans had left an asphalt plant behind. Next the men of the 814th EAB groped their way to Biscari, putting its field back into operation within four days, the worst aspect of the task being the burial of the enemy dead found there. The twelve aviation engineers of the 809th EAB, who landed with the 1st Division at Gela, were less successful. Some equipment was lost, and a paneled emergency airstrip prepared on D Day was overrun by the Germans on the next day. Moving on 12 July to the former main enemy base at Ponte Olivo, which was said to be cleared, the engineers found it intricately mined and under artillery fire. The painstaking work of removing the mines and filling the small craters took all night; by 13 July, however, the field was operational and out of the enemy’s artillery range. A field near the landing beach, later known as Gela East, had been crisscrossed by barbed wire. Three hours after the handful of engineers with the aid of prisoners of war started to clear it, a damaged Fortress was able to land. Soon the airdrome was ready for emergency use on larger scale, although the troops lacked fuel, oil, equipment, and, much of the time, rations and water. The arrival of the 809th EAB and its machinery made it possible to finish the rehabilitation of Ponte Olivo and Gela East and to begin a dry-weather field at Gela West within a few days. During this phase of the invasion, the aviation engineers had been subjected to German shells, strafings, and the devilish thermal bombs scattered at night, all of which caused casualties but scarcely held up the work of reconstruction.⁴⁵

On the westernmost American beach, at Licata, a company of the 815th EAB landed despite dive bombers and strafing German planes and sent a survey party to examine an airfield the Allies hoped to rehabilitate. The engineer in charge decided it would be simpler to construct a new runway, and this the troops did within two days, although most of their heavy equipment was still on the beaches. Allied aircraft descended on the runway in numbers and took off on tactical support missions. Since service troops had not arrived, the aviation engineers had to refuel and rearm the fighters for almost a week. Within a few days the German attacks abruptly ceased, not only at Licata, but in the whole invasion area, and the engineers, now

with their three battalions at almost full strength, had bases ready for 34 fighter squadrons on 20 July.⁴⁶ For the most part the battalions were well equipped and had managed to retain contact with their equipment. Hectic as the first few days on Sicily were, the aviation engineers had performed very creditably.

Some of the 815th engineers accompanied the Third Division as it crossed Sicily from south to north, a journey which taxed the skill and patience of the men in moving their heavy machinery along the treacherous mountain roads of the island. Once on the northern side, the 815th cleared in a few hours a captured airdrome near Palermo and scratched out bases for fighters and transports east of the city. The withdrawal of the Germans indicated that the battle for Sicily was won. The aviation engineers had done what they were supposed to do. Even the weather had been good, a circumstance so rare when things went badly, so unremarked when they went well. For the next few weeks the aviation engineers worked on barracks, water points, electric power systems, and other necessities that were only frills during combat phases of an operation. Soon the 809th and 814th were preparing thirteen fields, mostly dry-weather, to support projected troop-carrier operations. These fields were scattered over Sicily, and the engineering problems varied with the locality, but none proved formidable. All the bases were ready a day or two before the completion date, 31 August.⁴⁷

The next operation—the invasion of Italy—was already under way. For the crucial landing at Salerno the short range of the Spitfires posed a problem. The British fighters would be indispensable for protection of the invasion beaches, and the only area in Sicily close enough to Salerno was a small strip of coastal plain on the Milazzo peninsula. The mountains crowded the plain so closely that airfields would have to be laid out end to end with two miles in between, and other safety factors would have to be disregarded. That was the way it had to be if the Salerno landings were to be supported by Spitfires,

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and the 815th EAB duly constructed five runways according to this plan. Much of the work was performed by Italians, whose pay probably failed to compensate for the destruction of their vineyards. Equipment left behind by the Germans was useful. The chief hazard was dust, which became such a deterrent and nuisance the aviation engineers piped water in from the sea for sprinkling and later borrowed some oil from the Royal Navy. The job was finished on time, and the fields served the Spitfires for the Salerno operation. Even the dangers posed by the proximity of the mountains did not result in the loss of a single aircraft. The only sour note in the operation was the hurried dispatch of a detachment of the 815th EAB to Catania, on the eastern side of Sicily, in reply to an urgent call for airfield and road construction. As it turned out, the airdrome was not feasible, and the engineers, pulled away from the Milazzo job, worked on a road until they were withdrawn for more important tasks in Italy. Air engineers grumbled that road construction should have been the job of the Army engineers.⁴⁸

The next mission was the construction of all-weather bases in the Naples area. The able and experienced British 15th Airdrome Construction Group went to work on two permanent facilities there. Company C of the 815th EAB joined the British organization in October 1943, fresh from a two-week experiment at Cercola, near the base of Mt. Vesuvius. (Jenni again. There is a picture of this .) Clearing away ancient buildings and filling wells had been routine enough, but using fresh volcanic ash from brooding Vesuvius as a substitute material for paving runways was indeed novel. Farther away, the British and other companies of the 815th worked on all-weather bases at Marcianise and Santa Maria. Marcianise proved to be a slow job because rain fell on fifty of the seventy-three days required for building it. At Santa Maria, higher headquarters changed plans at least five times, with the result that the aviation engineers were put to work and called off repeatedly. In the end, it remained a dry-weather field.⁵³

For the Anzio landings the 815th Engineers again built a base,

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Castelvolturno, for the short-ranged Spitfires. This airdrome was located on a coastal strip near the mouth of the Volturno River, about 80 miles south of the invasion area. If mud in southern Italy had immobilized much of the heavy equipment, at least here the beach sand permitted its operation. Malaria seemed the worst threat as the 815th Engineers began work on 1 December 1943. It turned out, however, that the malignant Italian weather of that memorable winter caught up with them. Rains caused ground water to rise to a point that flooded much of the runway, but the steel mat was laid in time for the field to be used as planned for the Anzio operation. The aviation engineers by planting rye grass even hoped to conquer a future dust problem. Another site in the vicinity, Lago, was also a responsibility of the heavily taxed 815th EAB. Compared with Castelvolturno, it proved fairly simple to build.⁵⁴

A complex of bases for heavy bombers and long-range fighters in the Heel of Italy and in the Foggia area was expected to have a decisive bearing on the success of the strategic air offensive, and the provision of these airdromes became first priority in the engineer command. Nearly all the steel mat in the theater was concentrated on this program, although the British finally won a few concessions for the Desert Air Force, which was to need bases up the eastern coast of Italy. As soon as the Desert Air Force moved out of the Heel, the 21st Engineer Aviation Regiment and the 809th and 385th Battalions came in to enlarge and strengthen the existing fields of Lecce, San Pancrazio, Mandura, Brindisi, Gioia, and Grottaglie, all of them for Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers but Grottaglie, which was to be a fighter base. The deadline for this reconstruction was 31 October 1943, but the slow arrival of the aviation engineers pushed it back to 10 November, and it was actually in December before the heavies could be based in the Heel.⁵⁵

The aviation engineers ran into trouble from the first, originally because of the difficulties in moving equipment on schedule, then because of unexpectedly evil weather, but ultimately because the job had been underestimated, not by the engineers themselves so much as by higher commanders who were eager to get the strategic air force over Germany by the southern route. At Lecce the silty soil was saturated by rain and the natural drainage so poor that the runway was not operational until February 1944. Manduria received bombers in December, but only because pierced-steel plank had been

--260--

laid on its existing surface, and such effort was required to maintain it that there was nothing left for further construction. The steel plank runway at Gioia disintegrated quickly under use. The aviation engineers scooped muck out and piled it as high as fifteen feet on each side of the runway. They used rock to raise the runway above the water. It was almost the same story at Brindisi and San Pancrazio. The winter of 1943–44 in the Heel was a nightmare of buckling runways, frenzied repairs, mud, water—and neglect of other construction. In one sense, at least, it was fortunate that the slower tempo of heavy bomber operations at that time kept the air-base situation from being more critical than it was.

The Foggia job had also appeared deceptively simple. There, a fairly level plain with a flat spread of sand and clay and abundant rock quarries seemed to offer an opportunity for rapid airfield development. The new construction involved eight airdromes. The first, Foggia Main, went off well enough. Units of the 21st Regiment and the 814th and 845th Battalions had one runway, with steel plank on a compacted fill of caliche, ready by 1 December and another by the last of January. Drainage proved good in spite of the volume of rainfall. To the east of Foggia Main, at Foggia #2, the aviation engineers laid steel plank directly on an old sod field, a measure that sometimes worked, but in this case it proved necessary to raise the mat thirteen times during the next few months and to smooth out the runway. The airdromes, known as Giulia, San Giovanni, and Toretto had high water tables and poor natural drainage. The engineers finally had to cut a deep runway and leave it open until the weather straightened out before laying gravel, compacting, and placing the steel mat. At the other fields, Foggia #1, Foggia #2, and Foggia #7, the situation was similar—a long effort to secure minimum drainage, the rather timorous laying of steel mat, and the repeated repairs and refills. Every frustration dogged the aviation engineers in their efforts toward continuous maintenance. Yet the Foggia runways were at least usable by January 1944, even if other construction lagged three months behind schedule. Naturally, living conditions for the overworked engineer troops were dismal, for they could build little for their own comfort until the all-weather bases were completed.⁵⁶

In western Italy a lull developed for the first months of 1944. Thirty men of the 815th EAB went with British construction units to the Anzio beachhead, but the rest of the battalion departed for the

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rear, hoping for a rest after such a long stint of airfield development. Instead, they built camp facilities for MAAF personnel and, later, quarters for general officers in the royal gardens at Caserta. When Vesuvius erupted and fallen ash had immobilized eighty-two B-25's, the aviation engineers cleared a road so that the stricken Mitchells could be taxied away. Many other jobs came their way—hauling gravel, improving all sorts of facilities, expanding and developing existing airdromes.⁵⁷ Perhaps they were luckier than they realized. In other theaters aviation engineers were often employed on construction jobs that had no relation to air force needs and frequently worked longer hours under worse conditions.

The Allied offensive of May–August 1944 into northern Italy brought back the 815th, 817th, and 835th Battalions to more urgent activities. The 815th built a dry-weather field in the former Anzio beachhead, this time finding enough oil to hold the dust down, and rehabilitated a captured air base after removing several hundred Teller mines the Germans had left behind for their benefit. Following the ground forces they moved into Rome and readied three airfields, where most of the labor was a matter of removing booby traps and mines. They had only six hours to get Roma Littoria in readiness to receive transports coming in to evacuate the wounded, but that was time enough. Then the 815th continued northward, repairing cratered runways and doing whatever had to be done to make captured airdromes suitable for Allied planes. Since German air opposition was so light, Allied fighters could be used more and more for bombing and strafing. This called for lengthening airdromes from time to time, but this was not formidable work for experienced aviation engineers. Their chief concern these days was German artillery, which often remained in the vicinity of the airfields that needed repair. As noted, the 835th Battalion was concerned in these operations, having finished its hard, wet winter in the Heel, as was the 817th, which interrupted its work in Corsica for the renewed Italian offensive.⁵⁸
Summary of Rpt., 815th EAB on Sicilian Operation, Avn. Engr. Notes, Apr. 1944, pp. 2–6.
The problem of constructing air bases on Corsica proved extremely vexatious, if ultimately rewarding. The tactical air forces required bases there for operations against Italy and, eventually, southern France. Only four captured airfields were available for development, and all of them were inadequate for American aircraft. And other airdromes would need to be built, despite the mountainous character of the island. Fortunately, many Frenchmen and Italian prisoners

--262--

could be utilized as a labor force, and two companies of French aviation engineers were on hand. Dry-weather fields for transports and fighters were constructed and even some for medium bombers. These last, of course, received hard-surfacing and steel mat, as materials and effort became available.⁵⁹ Less labor was required for the Axis airfields on Sardinia, where most of them needed little but mine removal. But the construction of a medium-bomber base at Decimomannu included the novelty of widening the runway to more than a thousand feet to permit six B-26's to take off simultaneously.⁶⁰

The first aviation engineer unit to reach Corsica had an unusual history. This 812th Engineer Aviation Battalion, a Negro organization, had shipped out from Charleston, South Carolina, in May 1942 to build bases in south-central Africa on the substitute ferry route.* They put in at Freetown, Sierra Leone, had leave in the Union of South Africa, and finally arrived at Mombasa, Kenya, where they took a train into the interior. Apparently the men were much amused by the sight of giraffes loping and monkeys cavorting beside the rickety railroad. Once they had erected a tent camp in the tall grass of Kenya, where they had planned to work with the Royal Engineers on an airfield, they actually completed all they were destined to do in that area. Suddenly they were on their way back to the coast and found themselves on ships bound for Egypt. After some days of sight-seeing there, they piled into trucks and bumped for 900 miles or so across the desert to Benghazi, where for a time they were the only American engineers. There they stabilized a base for Ninth Air Force B-24's that bombed Ploesti and built a pipeline from the sea to keep the airfield sprinkled, After hauling sand and picking up rocks for an interval, the unit sailed for Sicily toward the last of 1943, and then to Corsica in January 1944. For six months they worked around the clock on airfield development, after which followed ten months of comparative leisure on the picturesque island.⁶¹ If the itinerary of the 812th Engineers was unusually colorful, the spurts of hard labor, the long waits, the sudden changes, and the enjoyment of opportunities available were typical of the wartime life of aviation engineers.

Very elaborate planning for aviation engineer operations preceded the invasion of southern France. Since a slow and difficult campaign was expected, with the autumn rains beginning at an awkward stage, the AAF Engineer Command (MTO) developed unusually detailed

B Company of the 815th

2009-07-09T13:21:00.003-05:00

Click on photo so you can really see it.

Special thanks to 815th researcher, historian, and Buster's War reader Dick
Bowman. The picture was sent to him from Reid Powell.

The image is thought to be from the Spring of '43.

Happy Birthday

2008-11-15T19:37:00.002-06:00

Just wanted to remind everyone that today was Daddy's birthday. He would have been 93 today.

Just a few years ago...

2008-05-26T12:04:00.002-05:00

....On this date.....

Buster's second daughter was born. Happy Birthday Norma Lynne.
Buster's namesake.

(That cute, adorable, sweet, loving, chubby baby....That's me.)

Memorial Day

2008-05-25T16:53:00.003-05:00

Let's remember the sacrifices that all the veteran's have made on our behalf. If not for them, who knows what our lives would be like now.

Buster's Granddad

2008-04-18T09:12:00.006-05:00

"James Madison Allday" lived 85 years.

Buster's Grandfather was a private in the Civil War.
Busters older siblings would have known James Madison.

Homestead

2008-04-17T09:21:00.002-05:00

Click to Zoom.....

This homestead document is for the first 40 acres that Buster's dad owned. It's what the family knows as the old Murphy place.

Interesting War Story

2008-04-17T08:23:00.000-05:00

Found here...

Images of War

2008-03-29T17:38:00.000-05:00

Seen by Buster....

Blog Link...

2008-03-29T17:33:00.003-05:00

Take a look at Buster's grandson Allan and his wife Carrie in their blog.......
The Allday Glimpse.

Car at Camp

2008-03-29T17:21:00.001-05:00

Look at the hair on the guy to the left...
The man sitting on the car tire is in several of the photos. Any ideas on who he is?

Army Buddies...and gal...

2008-03-29T17:18:00.002-05:00

I recognize these two from other pics...
I like her shoes, this picture must be from Italy.

Aunt Valda

2008-03-29T17:15:00.001-05:00

In the Swimming Hole...

Valda Allday Wilson (Buster's sister)

34166518

2008-02-16T10:33:00.000-06:00

http://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&rid=4607410

Information found here on the Army Serial Number

ARMY SERIAL NUMBER

34166518

NAME

ALLDAY#NORMAN#T

DATE OF ENLISTMENT DAY

DATE OF ENLISTMENT MONTH

DATE OF ENLISTMENT YEAR

GRADE: ALPHA DESIGNATION

PVT#

Private

GRADE: CODE

Private

BRANCH: ALPHA DESIGNATION

BI#

Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA

BRANCH: CODE

Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA

FIELD USE AS DESIRED

TERM OF ENLISTMENT

Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law

LONGEVITY

###

SOURCE OF ARMY PERSONNEL

Civil Life

NATIVITY

ALABAMA

YEAR OF BIRTH

RACE AND CITIZENSHIP

White, citizen

EDUCATION

Grammar school

CIVILIAN OCCUPATION

983

Unskilled mechanics and repairmen, n.e.c.

MARITAL STATUS

Single, without dependents

COMPONENT OF THE ARMY

Selectees (Enlisted Men)

CARD NUMBER

BOX NUMBER

0762

FILM REEL NUMBER

1.279

Louis A. Cappellano was from Queens, NY.

Junior D. Page was from Kern CO. California via Oklahoma

Harold E. Woodside was from San Bernardino, CA

Sandra's Birthday

2008-01-17T12:31:00.000-06:00

On this date, a few years ago, Buster was blessed with a baby girl, Sandra.

In the photograph above, with Buster, she looks to be almost one.
In the photograph below,with Margaret, it is spring, and she would be just a couple months old.

Happy Birthday!!

OBIT.

2008-01-16T10:09:00.000-06:00

Norman T. Allday
GROVE HILL - Norman T. Allday, who had worked as an auto mechanic for the Alabama Highway Department, died Monday at a hospital in Grove Hill. He was 83.
Allday, a native of Winn, Ala., was a resident of Grove Hill and was a member of Hebron United Methodist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Margaret Bridges Allday; two daughters, Sandra Franklin of Luverne, Ala., and Lynne Hill of La Grange, Ga.; two sons, Ivan Allday of Linden, Ala., and Sammy Allday of Grove Hill; nine grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Services are set for 11 a.m. today at Lathan Funeral Home in Grove Hill, with visitation one hour prior to services. Burial will be in Magnolia Lawn Cemetery in Grove Hill.
Memorials may be made to Hebron United Methodist Church.

Lady in Libia

2008-01-13T10:40:00.000-06:00

Libia "Sweet Remembrance" Dolci Rimembranze

---N. Africa. Tripoli. (Italian?) Waterfall behind Lady.
Some type of "hand-out" photo? Ideas anyone?

Aula e Bragoni appears to be the publisher. More cards/pics are found with a quick google.

Thinking about Gran

2007-11-27T21:06:00.000-06:00

Margaret Bridges AlldayToday Gran fell and broke her hip. When we saw her last week she looked so good and was getting around so well with out her cane. This will be her second broken hip. She broke the first one over 20 years ago when she was still teaching school. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Bridge

2007-11-25T16:09:00.000-06:00

Photo taken by Buster of Bridge. It looks to be a draw bridge of sorts with slum looking surroundings. The boat vessels appear to double as homes. There is a table to the right and a typical 40's style car to the left of the bridge. Place unknown. Can anyone identify this bridge?

British Ship

2007-11-25T16:00:00.000-06:00

British Ship surrounded by small gondola like boats. This tiny photo was taken by Buster and appears to be in Italy. You can click on all the photos and it will allow you to zoom in to see more detail.

Group

2007-11-22T19:41:00.000-06:00

Photo Taken by Buster appears to be in North Africa.

*note* The second man from the right on the back row has an odd resemblance to George H.W. Bush.

Unloading Boats

2007-11-22T19:37:00.000-06:00

Photo taken by Buster of group unloading Boats

Paw and Gran

2007-11-22T19:32:00.000-06:00

Gran said this picture was taken 3 days after they married across the street where her brother, Tom, lived.

Triska and Me

2007-11-22T19:28:00.000-06:00

Photo labeled Triska and Me.

Rock of Gibraltar

2007-11-22T19:22:00.001-06:00

Photos taken by Buster from a boat as he passed the Rock of Gibralter

Natalie and Me

2007-11-22T19:15:00.000-06:00

Photo of Buster with Natalie.

( apparently a girl he met overseas.)

Boys in Italy

2007-11-22T19:08:00.000-06:00

Front

Back

Triska is in front.

Mess Hall

2007-11-22T19:04:00.000-06:00

Photo taken by Buster of outdoor mess hall. Appears to be runway in background.

Building a runway

2007-11-22T18:57:00.000-06:00

The grader has is labeled 815. In the background the men are laying out the metal for the runway.

Photo taken by Buster building a runway. Location unknown.

Pisa, Italy

2007-10-17T14:50:00.000-05:00

Northern Appenines

2007-10-12T19:59:00.000-05:00

CCC Badge

2007-10-12T15:59:00.000-05:00

Did he work on this airstrip?

2007-10-07T16:19:00.000-05:00

Lieb, Jack: P-47 Thunderbolts (Duration: 1:13)

Lieb, Jack: P-47 Thunderbolts

Metals Received

2007-09-30T20:46:00.000-05:00

Silver Star

a. The Silver Star, section 3746, title 10, United States Code (10 USC 3746), was established by Act of Congress 9 July 1918 (amended by act of 25 July 1963).
b. The Silver Star is awarded to a person who, while serving in any capacity with the U.S. Army, is cited for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force, or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party. The required gallantry, while of a lesser degree than that required for the Distinguished Service Cross, must nevertheless have been performed with marked distinction.
c. It is awarded upon letter application to Commander, PERSCOM, ATTN: TAPC-PDA, Alexandria, VA 22332-0471, to those individuals who, while serving in any capacity with the U.S. Army, received a citation for gallantry in action in World War I published in orders issued by a headquarters commanded by a general officer.

Bronze Star Medal

a. The Bronze Star Medal was established by Executive Order 9419, 4 February 1944 (superseded by Executive Order 11046, 24 August 1962).
b. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity in or with the Army of the United States after 6 December 1941, distinguished himself or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, in connection with military operations against an armed enemy; or while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.
c. Awards may be made for acts of heroism, performed under circumstances described above, which are of lesser degree than required for the award of the Silver Star.
d. The Bronze Star Medal may be awarded for meritorious achievement or meritorious service according to the following:
(1) Awards may be made to recognize single acts of merit or meritorious service. The lesser degree than that required for the award of the Legion of Merit must nevertheless have been meritorious and accomplished with distinction.
(2) Award may be made by letter application to Commander, ARPERCEN, ATTN: DARP-VSE-A, 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63132-5200 (enclosing documentary evidence, if possible), to each member of the Armed Forces of the United States who after 6 December 1941, has been cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945, inclusive, or whose meritorious achievement has been other wise confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947. For this purpose, an award of the Combat Infantryman Badge or Combat Medical Badge is considered as a citation in orders. Documents executed since 4 August 1944 in connection with recommendations for the award of decorations of higher degree than the Bronze Star Medal will not be used as the basis for an award under this paragraph.
(3) Upon letter application, award of the Bronze Star Medal may be made to eligible soldiers who participated in the Philippine Islands Campaign between 7 December 1941 to 10 May 1942. Performance of duty must have been on the island of Luzon or the Harbor Defenses in Corregidor and Bataan. Only soldiers who were awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation (Presidential Unit Citation) may be awarded this decoration. Letter application should be sent to the Commander, ARPERCEN, ATTN: DARP-VSE-A, 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63132-5200.

The Question now is ...................... How did he earn these metals? Anyone???

http://www.americal.org/awards/achv-svc.htm

Where Did He Go ?

2007-09-30T20:18:00.000-05:00

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Jen & Todd,

I called Grandma. She found Grandpa's discharge papers. He was in Company B of the 815 Engineers. He departed the US on June 4, 1942 and landed in Glasgow, Scotland on June 9, 1942. These are the places listed on his discharge papers: Algeria, French Morocco, Tunisia, Sicily, Air Offensive Europe,
GO33WD45, Naples, Foggia, Rome, Arno, Northern Apennines, GO40WD45. He received the European African
Eastern Service Metal, 1 Silver Star, 2 Bronze Stars, Good Conduct Metal....then grandma got to rambling....about her phone being out of order.
Joe told me that he had a friend whose brother was a pilot and since Daddy's outfit built runways he had access to the planes after the runways were completed. He and some of his buddies bribed this pilot to take them back to England for a day or two and on the way, they were stowaways on the plane, and were diverted to participate in the Anzio Invasion.
Mother, at one time had some things he brought home with him. One that I remember that he treasured was a silver letter opener with a copy of a statue on the end of it. The statue was of a little boy peeing. Leave it to PaPa!
He ran a road grader and was a mechanic for his Company as well as cook. Grandma has a picture of him when he overturned his grader and
Mt. Vesuvius is in the background. He was near Pompeii at the time. He broke his arm during the accident and it shows him with his arm in a cast.
I can remember him telling that his outfit would go in behind the lines and build the runways for the planes to land prior to a major invasion.
Love,
Mom

The Air Force Engineer booklet

2007-09-30T19:57:00.000-05:00

http://ixengineercommand.com/units/815th/

Imported from website above.

815th 's Cliff Notes

2007-09-29T19:19:00.000-05:00

Norman T. Allday was assigned to the 815th Engineers.

815th 's Brief History ( some of this does not quite match up with the information we have on Buster)

WWII

After the start of WWII US military planners scrambled to get a force in the field to defeat the Axis Powers. In addition to combat ground troops, heavy emphasis was placed on US Army Air Corps requirements - air power was needed to break the enemy's tenacious grip around the world. Forward airfield construction would be a high priority item when the air forces were deployed overseas.

Among the numerous units activated after Pearl Harbor was the 815th Engineer Aviation Battalion. Charged with the primary mission of airfield construction and maintenance, the 815th was activated at Jackson Army Air Base, Mississippi on 21Jan1942. After filling initial manpower and training requirements it moved to New York, departing for England on 3Jun1942, arriving on 9Jun1942. After more training, and possibly some construction activity in support of the 8th Air force build up in England, the 815th departed England and arrived in North Africa on 8Nov1942 in support of the US landings there. This was the US Army's baptism of fire against Axis and Vichy French troops.

The 815th landed at Oran as part of Operation Torch's center invasion force and performed airfield repair and construction tasks.

The 815th Engineer Aviation Battalion would go on to particpate in seven African and European military campaigns:
Algeria Nov 1942
Tunisia Nov 1942 - May 1943
Sicily July 1943 - Aug 1943
Naples-Fogia Sep 1943 - Jan 1944
Anzio Jan 1944 - May 1944
Rome-Arno Jan 1944 - Sep 1944
Northern Appenines Sep 1944 - Apr 1945 (northern Italy)

At the end of hostilities in Europe the 815th departed Italy for the US on 25May1945, destined for Geiger Army Air Field, Washington. With the surrender of the Japanese in Sep1945 the 815th was deactivated at Geiger Field on 22Sep1945.

**Because of the 815th's location on the Pacific coast at the time of its deactivation it may be correct to assume it had been earmarked for the invasion of Japan. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb attacks and subsequent formal surrender of Japanese forces negated the need for a military invasion of the Japanese home islands.

The above dates are from Shelby Stanton's Order of Battle - US Army World War II

This information is copy and pasted from the web page below. I just did not post the link, because over time web sites are removed and the links no longer work. The information belongs to the link.
http://groups.msn.com/815thengineers/history1.msnw

Biographical Sketch

2007-09-29T07:16:00.000-05:00

Buster was the seventh child born to Norman A. and Julia Ann McVay Allday. He arrived on November 15, 1915 in Winn, Alabama, and was named Norman Troy Allday. In the beginning he was known by his middle name, Troy. Later in life he became, "Buster". His siblings included (in birth order) Nettie, a sister; Lee, a brother; Minnie(in photo), a sister; Vaughan, a brother; Alva, a
sister; and Valda, a sister.

His was a farming family. His father came to Alabama from South Carolina

and homesteaded his first 40 acres. Today we know it as the old Murphy place. Then the young family purchased land (approximately 250 acres) in Winn, Alabama. At age 13 months his father broke his back in a logging accident and was a paraplegic until his death 19 years later.

Realizing the need for his family to be nearer a town, Norman A. sold the timber from the Winn
land. Then he sold the house and acreage. The family lived for a short time at the Lowery Place while making arrangements to purchased what was then known as the Sutt Wilson place which was in foreclosure and up for public auction at the courthouse in Grove Hill. The Sutt Wilson place consisted of a large house which was out near the big pear tree that was in the field behind
Mama's of today, a smaller house (Mama's house), a barn and over 700 acres. (I can remember the old foundation and limestone from the chimney's being in the field. I was five when we move to Mama's house. Aunt Valda said the big house burned. )

This farm was on the road between Coffeeville and Grove Hill at New Clarkesville. (Clarkesville at one time was the County Seat of Clarke County.) The old house where Grandma lives today was once a rest stop between the two towns.

I have heard Mama tell that Grandma Julie would say, "Norman sold the place in Winn so he could buy the planation". She did not say plantation.

Being unable to attend the auction, Grandpa Allday entrusted a well respected man in the community, a Mr. Charlie Baxley, to go bid on the property for him. After the purchase was completed, young Buster and his sister, Valda, were sent from the Lowery Place to the newly purchased house and land with a broom, mop and a bucket of water to clean up the new place so the family could move. Young Buster was approximately 7 years old at this time.

Prior to the move, he and his sisters were on their way to the Lowery School House. (His formal education consisted of completing no more than the seventh grade.) Buster stepped over a log and a "ground rattler", as he called it, bit him on the ankle. I can remember him telling how big his leg swelled, that he was treated with turpentine being poured on the wound and that the flesh rotted away. He always had an indention on that spot and he would ask, "Do you want to see where I got snake bit?" Mama told the story of how Grandma Julie sent for the local medicine woman, Georgie Todd. Georgie came and killed a chicken and put Daddy's foot inside the freshly killed chicken for the chicken to draw the poison from the snake bite. She said that Daddy would say, "That chicken liver turned green." Sounds kind-a-like Voodoo to me. But it worked.

The growing up years are vague. Mama has said many times Grandma Julie would tell her that she was so busy when Buster was growing that she would go for days without realizing he was around. ...Can you just imagine having a paralyzed husband, children, and over 700 acres to care for... no wonder Minnie called her crazy Julie. I do know that he told about getting into fights, being arrested. (Joe has told me that he would say, "Joe, just go look on those old books at the courthouse. My name is on some of them").

This was the Roosevelt Era and a part of the New Deal was the development of a program called the CCC's. Buster joined up. (A move which probably kept him out of Kilby, the prison in Alabama at that time.) He was stationed at the CC Camp at Daleville, Alabama. There he learned to cook. ...remember the ribs!

After two years in the CCC's he went to Alberta, Alabama and lived with his sister, Nettie and her husband, Forest. Forest ran a garage and there Buster got his first experience mechanicing.
He was sitting there on a bench in front of the service station/garage on a hot sunny summer afternoon in 1940 when he met his future wife, Margaret. Margaret, her brother, JB and Dot Shumate, a cousin, were all going swimming at Laird's pond. Buster asked, "Where ya'll going".
JB said, "Swimming, wanta come along?" He got his swimming suit and went along. While
at the pond they were playing on inner tubes, Buster caught his swim suit on the valve stem of the inner tube tearing a hole in the seat of his swimming trunks....this was the beginning of a six year romance culminating in a 50 plus year marriage.

President Roosevelt wanted a trained army. All 19 and 20 years olds were to serve one year.
Buster was due to go for his year beginning on January 22, 1942. But....along comes Pearl Harbor. Mother said that on December 7, 1941, she and Daddy were sitting on the swing on the porch at their house in Safford, Alabama, planning their wedding for a time after he had completed his year of army training. Granddaddy Bridges came to the door and said, "Buster,
looks like you'll be gone more than a year....the Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor."

He departed from Camden, Alabama on January 22, 1942 and traveled to Ft. McClellan, Alabama and then on to basic training at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia.

Now that I have got him to the Army. Let Buster's War begin.

Ken Burns did it again.

2007-09-28T21:31:00.000-05:00

Ok....He did it again......... Sparked the historian in each of us to do some research and find out even more than what was on his documentary and how the events in history effected our lives and our ancestor's lives..........

So this week.... "The War" was on............once they mentioned, Mobile, North Africa, and Italy..... I thought,,,, My grandpa was there............. So....................... I was hooked.......... and now with the ever addictive Internet, and never ending information, it doesn't take long to get hooked into writing another blog..

Things with this one will be different than my others. The purpose of this Blog is to keep the history of my Grandfathers "adventures" in WWII alive. After all it only takes 3 generations for complete family histories to be lost forever. I am setting this blog up where my mother Sandra, my aunt Lynne, Joe, my cousin Todd, and others can become authors to this site. The site will be a place we can compile the information that we learn and tell the stories that we remember. And a place to post photos, so they are not lost forever.

I am counting on Not being the only author on this site. I am really too busy with the house and work projects. From the past few days of emails, there are already about 10 posts out there in email land. So group lets get to it. WWII was one of the largest events in history and Paw was a part of it.