September in Southern Italy was in many ways a unique sight to members of the 450th to whom this month evoked memories of school, college, football, turning leaves, and harvesting.
There were different sites on this Italian countryside with its endless vineyards and white stone houses. Tired oxen somnolently pulling a wooden plow over the stony soil; A patient horse round and around the endless path pulling water at the well for the last growth of aenemic tobacco plants, and fig venders peddling their wares from house to house in more picturesque than sanitary fashion.

The most characteristic signs of fall were the activities of the grape farmers. Entire families bringing in the crop in their two wheeled carts. Through the streets of nearby Manduria ("Home Town" of the 450th) carts laden with open barrels of plucked grapes on the way to the wine presses plied daily. And along the highways long caravans of Trainos creaked under the weight of heavy wine casks filled with the grape juice that eventually would provide vino. The indispensible staple of the peasant's daily fare.

The recollection of last year's rainy season urged everyone to prepare for the coming winter's inclement weather. The first downpour was a harbinger of "Lake Manduria's" return. So once more, Tuffi and the peasant Maestro Muratore appeared at camp. With a bit of calceous calce, some tuffaceous tuffi, Breccia and Savia the masons put up private dwellings for the more foresighted and less frugal. Some squadrons housed their wash racks in order to protect the "Chow" line from waiting in the rain for their turn to wash their gear. Some of the more ingenious members of the organization contrived gravity fed in-door showers with hot and cold running water. The medics too prepared for the long winter stay by spraying out the last remaining flies, mosquitoes and insects. The dentist filled cavities, pulled teeth, and checked for abcesses. Most important of all, however were the surface activities of all personnel. Those who were voting for the first time in their lives needed a few instructions from the voting officer who disseminated information literature but no advice regarding candidates.

Another activity for September was the voluntary blood donation for the front lines. The English medics asked for 600 pints of type "O" blood and received a record breaking amount of 727 pints.

A weekly newspaper, a theater and a first class bar was not enough for the boys. They wanted a radio broadcasting station, so with the combined efforts of special services and group communications a transformer was set up. On Saturday, September 16, 1944 the announcer's voice broke through the ether: "This is the voice of the Cottontails." S/Sgt. Lou Arabit and Sgt. Johnny Shaffer were the ingenious men who pieced the spare parts and salvage into a 75 watt sending set on 1565 kilocycles.

Ever since the 450th led the opening of the campaign against Ploiesti, planes had been shot down over the target. How many of our men were there, we didn't know. Finally, the surrender of Rumania sent back the officers and men who had "Sweated Out" the bombings in Bucharest. Some of them had barely escaped our own bombings. The most unusual experience of all was that of Lt. Col. Snaith whom everyone had given up for lost. His plane had exploded within sight of several crews. Fortunately the non-chalant Col. Snaith was blown clear and came too while floating through the air. Suddenly he saw pieces of his former craft floating above him on fire. He realized his predicament and pulled the cord when a couple of thousand feet from the ground. After a safe landing he was taken prisoner and later made commander of the prison camp. The former group operations officer will have a long story for his grandchildren and no few medals for them to admire.

A formation of C-47's with gliders in tow appeared on the horizon. Liberators and all other crafts are familiar sights but gliders with paratroopers was something for many a G.I. The graceful birds broke loose and with slow and deliberate maneuvers glided to a landing on our field. The personnel was as much of a novelty as the gliders themselves. "Yanks" and "Limeys" soon got together. It was a "Bloody nice time we 'ad."

In addition to the regular baseball games, occasional touch football and other outdoor activities, special classes are held daily at the Cottontail Arena for those wishing toughened up a bit. Turnouts for calasthenics, and boxing have been particularly good. The regular baseball tournament is on. Sgt. Mintz, "The Brooklyn Kid" is putting his boys into shape for a "Dodgers Victory." S/Sgt. Howard Abraham of group headquarters upheld the honor of the 450th by winning the finals of the ping-pong championship tournament at the Red Cross in Manduria. The climax of the sports activities was reached with the appearance of Joe Louis and his group of fighters. A crowd estimated at ten thousand. gathered at the Cottontail arena to witness the fights. The ring is no makeshift, but a regulation construction, and the fighters gave good account of themselves.

The September calendar was well filled with unusually good entertainment. Some of the best USO shows were presented at the Cottontail Theater. Bere Daniels and Ben Lyons were well received on the stage, but off the stage the Lt. Colonel was not too pliable. The entertainment hungry GI's were given too many "Direct Orders."

W/O Hill and his XV A.F. orchestra did an excellent job of aping the name bands of the states that won him rounds of applause. When the last piece was played, the audience still cried "Ancora! Encore, more!"

The last stage show for the month presented the pert Alkali Ike with his creator, Al Robinson. The little westerner proved himself to be no dummy with his wit and repartee. His timely insistence of "Let's Get Dirty!" brought the house down. The ladies too shared the applause.

Beach parties are a fast spreading fad among the squadrons. The 723rd also decided to throw a real party for the boys, and what a party it was. With an accumulation of beer and coke rations, the party got an early start. By mid-afternoon the cooks had chickens and pork sizzling in the spits. Meanwhile a series of contests primed the appetites of the contestants. Some ran crab races and went swimming; others preferred to sit and drink. The squadron commander, Lt. Col. Jacoby made himself comfortable with beer in one hand and chicken in the other. Most of the praise went to the cooks. It was well earned.

Group headquarters officers and men followed suit a week later with a similar outing. Fresh tomatoes, onions, pickles and special buns embellished the menu no end. There was plenty to drink. Again S/Sgt. Witte proved what can be done with food, even if it is "Spam."

Weather already began to interfere with operations during September. Only 18 missions were effected with a total of 495 sorties, only 374 off which were effective. The diminishing number of losses has increased our strength for the month. There was a total of 2206 at the beginning and 2253 at the end of September, with 40 officers and men MIA. Most of the attacks were against enemy communication and installations in Yugoslavia and Northern Italy. There was only one raid against Germany during this month. Our bombing accuracy also fell during the month to 55%.