398th Bomb Group
Memorial
Association


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

Veenschoten
Mission No.
19

22 October 1944
Target
Brunswick, Germany

Target – Brunswick, Germany
Date – October 22, 1944

We bombed a tank factory in the city. All of Germany was covered with 10/10 clouds so we bombed by instruments. We were briefed to expect from 150 to 200 enemy fighters over the target, but we encountered only light flak. When we returned to England our field was covered in by fog, so we landed a Bassingborn, a nearby field, after circling nearly an hour. The gas gauges all showed empty. On the way back to our base, in a lorry, we had a collision and I suffered my only injury while overseas, a broken rib.

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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