Oral History Interview with E. C. May, April 16, 2002 Page: 3 of 12

                                
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Maker." (Laughter) It was a real safe plane, but you had to know it's limitations.
The whole time I was overseas I received twelve air medals and a President Unit
citation. The French Croix de Guerre was awarded by General De Gaulle. I had
four unit citations for fields of combat.
When you went it, did you go in with anybody you knew?
No. I met my crew when we went to Louisiana, but they were all from different
states.
When you were on base overseas, what were you treated like?
We lived in tents on the island of Sardinia and North Africa, too. There were five
us in a tent, but it was alright. We built a little heater in the middle and slept on
cots. We didn't see very many natives there unless we went into town. We were
sort of out in the edge of the hills.
Tell me about when you went into town. What did ya'll do on leave?
Usually we just walked down the streets and observed all the sights and
everything. Of course, Italy was a different thing. I was on leave several times
there and had a chance to go to St. Peters Cathedral. I was also on the Isle of
Capri, and Mt. Vesuvius erupted while we were there in 1944. A dark brown,
fine sand just settled all over the island. The Air Force had a rest camp on the
Isle of Capri, and everyone during their term of duty got a chance to go to that so-
called rest camp for seven days, and that's the reason I was there. Of course, I
took in all the sights I could in Rome and Naples while I was there. I guess that's
about all I have unless you have some questions.
What about your commanding officers? What were they like? How did they
treat you?
They were all real good. Everything was spick and span here in the states, of
course, and everyone observed all the military regulations. We got over in North
Africa and the island of Sardinia, and everyone just went around in just any state
of dress they might want to, and no one paid much attention to rank or anything
else. But this was probably more-so in the Air Force than any of the other

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