Hoosierpearl’s ‘ Dad
B April 24, 1921
D March 10, 2006
Dad was in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He lived in Canada as an American citizen when the war began.
 He worked on the airplanes that bombed Germany, and his base was often bombed by German planes.
It was difficult working under those conditions. Often they had no food as the kitchen and the food supplies were bombed. Sometimes there was no place to sleep as the barracks were bombed. Often had trouble working on the planes as the hangars were bombed.
Hoosierpearl’s Father in Law
The transcription of the newspaper article is :
Indianapolis Star; page 3, Tuesday January 4, 1944 [second paragraph]
Corporal Arnold F ______________., 538 North Sheffield avenue, member of a signal air warning battalion attached to a fighter wing, has been personally commended by the wing commanding officer for his actions during the battle of Gela, Sicily, last July.
The commendation stated in part that "in the face of enemy counterattacks, you were called upon to enter uncleared mine fields and to aid in the defense of Gela in addition to the performance of your regular duties under extremely difficult conditions. The courage and devotion to duty which you displayed not only reflected great credit upon yourself, but contributed in large measure to the success of our air operations."
My father in law was a radio operator in the First Division. He fought in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and European operations including the invasion on Omaha Beach and the Battle of the Bulge. He often went behind enemy lines to scout troop movements because he was a radio operator using Morse code.
He married, had one daughter and two sons. He was forty years old when this action at Gela occurred.
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