S/Sgt. John Veenschoten's Diary

398th Bomb Group
Memorial
Association

S/Sgt. John Veenschoten's Diary
Radio Operator/Gunner, 603rd Squadron

Veenschoten Mission No. 1

**24 July 1944**
**Target** **St. Lo, France**
Date - July 24, 1944 Target - St. Lo, France Bomb Load – 100 pound fragmentation My first mission! My crew still had not arrived and I wanted action so I was assigned as tail gunner on Lt. Lassegard’s crew. What a sight when we crossed the English Channel. Ships were everywhere. We bombed German gun and personnel positions in support of the American Fifth Army. We bombed from 16,000 feet and encountered light flak. The ground troops knocked out all. France looks much like England, gentle rolling land, dotted by little farms and crossed by winding lanes. I saw our bombs chew up quite a bit of this picturesque countryside.

Notes:

S/Sgt. John Veenschoten was a Radio Operator/Gunner on Howard W. Rehme's 603rd Squadron crew.
The above transcription was provided by Wally Blackwell.
This transcription is a careful reproduction of the original except for occasional spelling and punctuation changes. In some circumstances, based on relevancy, some material may not have been transcribed.
Clarification of acronyms or special words or guesses of certain words are shown in brackets [ ].

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