H Patton Gullibles Travels

As the squadron wended its way from the U.S. to India, one of the stops along the way was Cairo, Egypt. We were there for 3 or 4 days, seeing the sights, and unfortunately being gullible enough to imbibe some of the local beverages. Big Mistake! I think the final act of my gullibility came out at the Pyramids when I drank a coke purchased from a friendly Arab vendor. I should have known better than to trust the sanitary practices of a used camel salesman! On the last day of our stay I came down with amoebic dysentery and by the time we reached Abadan, Iran, I was so sick that I was unable to do anything but heave. I was so sick that at times I was afraid I would die, and sometimes I was afraid I wouldn't! They admitted me to the Hospital there, and it took me five days to recover. By then, the Squadron had moved on to its destination in India and I was pretty much left to fend for myself.

Now Abadan is not exactly the garden spot of the Middle East it is mostly sand, heat, and more heat. It was the southern terminus of the lend-lease program with the Russians, and war materials came in by ship and then were trucked North to Russia. There was a sizeable force of Russians there and they handled the cargo moving but were separated from the Americans and didn't fraternize much.

And it was HOT! Daytime temperatures 120 to 125 degrees in the shade of which there weren’t any. The Hospital was air-conditioned and therefore I never felt the brunt of the heat until I was released and assigned to a transient barracks. The Barracks had a primitive type of evaporative cooling which helped a little, but in order to get to sleep at night, the guys would soak their mattresses in water and the mattresses would be bone dry in the morning. Anything you washed and hung out to dry would be dry in 20 minutes. The wind sweeping in from the desert sands was like a blast furnace. Humidity was zilch. I don't think the Iranians even have a word for humidity!

I finally was able to hitch hike a ride with the crew of a C-46 bound for India, but the saga wasn't over just yet. Somewhere along the way all our instruments quit working and we were forced to land at a little strip in the desert, manned by a small contingent of American troops. I don't know why they were stationed in that God-Forsaken, flea-bitten pile of sand, and I doubt if they did either. They had no place for us to sleep but gave us some cots, which we set up in the shade of the airplane. Sand fleas were in abundant supply but since we were only there 2 nights we didn't fare too badly. But the guys stationed there looked like they had chicken-pox from all the flea bites. To add insult to injury, they were confined to the base because one of the guys had gone into town (the name of which escapes me) and had unwittingly made some unwelcome overtures to one of the native women who just happened to be the wife of some local big-shot. As a result, they were forbidden to enter the town, under the threat of dire consequences. In that part of the World, for petty theft they cut off a finger. For grand theft, they cut off a hand. For making passes at a Chiefs wife, they--- ----- --- well, you fill in the blanks!

We finally got the necessary repairs made and took off in a cloud of dust, bound for India. We made it to Karachi without further incident. But I was still not home yet! I still had to get to Sylhet, a fer piece away. Fortunately, I met one of our pilots whose plane had been damaged and he was waiting for spare parts, so I volunteered to wait with him. (This was one time I relaxed my ironclad rule, to never volunteer for anything in the Army). Eventually, they got the plane fixed and we made it on to Agra, where we took a little time and went to see the and to tour the Taj Mahal, Truly one of the wonders of the world. W e finally made it on to Sylhet, somewhat tardy, and a little shop-worn but all in one piece. And to this day, I never, I repeat, never, buy a soft drink from a used camel dealer!!

PS: During our stay in Cairo, the guys found a little dog sleeping in the shade of the tail wheel of one of the planes. They named him "Tailwheel" and when we ready to leave they took him along and he became our squadron mascot for the remainder our tour. Don't know what ever became of him.

Herb (Pat) Patton

From Memory 2/13/99

I am looking for former members of the 3rd Combat Cargo Group, 1st, Combat Cargo Group, 2nd Combat Cargo Group and the 4th Combat Cargo Group. In fact I would like to hear from anyone who flew over the Hump during WW II, or flew any Combat Cargo Missions at any time (Berlin Air-Lift, Korea, etc.)

Please e-mail comment, suggestions, corrections,etc to: bill@comcar.org

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