Lt. Robert J. Beckley's Diary

398th Bomb Group
Memorial
Association

**Lt. Robert J. Beckley's Diary**
Navigator, 600th/601st Squadron

Beckley's Mission No. 12

**8 September 1944**
**Target:** **Ludwigshafen, Germany**
No. 12. Ludwigshafen, September 8, 1944: 9 hours 20 minutes flying time. Bomb load 6, one-thousand pound GP bombs. Back again to bomb the chemical works. Major Daily lead us on two runs over the target which cost us two ships that we shouldn’t have lost. Those of us who hadn’t yet learned to pray learned quick. This is a hard way to make a man a Christian, but it’s a sure way. This was the kind of flak that looked thick enough to walk on. Jack Sauer was killed instantly by a piece of flak on the second run over the target. Johnson’s crew had the rest of us sweating him out for he left the formation and didn’t return to the base. A couple of days later we heard that he was having a great time in Paris after crash-landing on the outskirts.

Notes:

Lt. Robert J. Beckley was the Navigator for the Linn R. Rogers crew.
The above transcription was provided by Ann Collins, daughter of Phillip Collins, Ball Turret Gunner on the 601st Saul Marias Crew.
This transcription is a reproduction of the original. Spelling and punctuation changes have been made to improve readability. In some circumstances, material may not have been transcribed or was rewritten.
Clarification of acronyms or special words or guesses of certain words are shown in brackets [ ].

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