725th
Bombardment Squadron
451st Bomb Group
Castelluccia, Italy
725th
Bombardment Squadron
What the men saw as they looked about their new home was far from what
they had expected. There were no paved streets; tents were everywhere! Unlike their compatriots to the north
in England, the men of the 451st had no permanent barracks. There was no heated water
for shaving, showers were few and far between. Meals were always dehydrated
food, which reaffirmed the opinion of some people that the Army term "Mess"
for chow wasn't far from reality.
Squadron life was less than interesting to most. When not flying there was little to do. The enlisted members of the crew would join the officers and pass the time playing cards. Of course, there was letter writing, talking and occasional trips into the local town, but for the most part crew members found themselves stuck on the base. In most cases, they were too tired to move after missions.
When the crew reported in to the 725th B.S. on the 11th of May, their new plane was taken from them and promptly assigned to a veteran crew. "Rookies don't get new planes." They would not fly in 42-51090 again for three months.
It was the ground crew who named the plane "Hey Moe" It seemed that
the ground crew, Master Sergeant Gaylord Ault and his assistants
Sergeants Kirouak and Murley, had a 
habit
of saying, "Hey Moe, hand me a wrench" or "Hey Moe, give me a hand."
The ground crew decided the name was fitting and painted the words "Hey
Moe" on the nose of the aircraft.
Here, too, training would continue. The pilots and navigator took orientation
flights around the area. The gunners got in some refreshment gunnery training
with information on the latest tactics the Germans were using. Bombardiers
brushed up on target procedures and radio operators learned the squadron
and group SOPs.
For Harvey Brown, the first mission came on the 27th of May, 16 days
after arriving in country.
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