[The following takes place among the United States Airmen stationed in Cerignola, Italy, during World War II.]
McGovern, Rounds, and Adams’s tent was located near two of the more elaborate tents that were occupied by veterans who were close to the end of the thirty-five missions required to go home. McGovern met one of the pilots for the first time when he and Rounds went for a joy ride in a “liberated” jeep. Rounds was driving, at high speed. He flew down the “street” between the tents, turned a corner on two wheels, caught one of the ropes from the veterans’ tent, and the ensuing rip tore the tent in half. The stove, uniforms on hangars, shelves of books, magazines, and photographs, all flew into the olive grove. Climbing out of the jeep, McGovern saw an aging pilot “with heavy circles under his eyes who had to be at least twenty-five” walking over to the vehicle.
His name, McGovern found out later, was Capt. Howard Surbeck. His voice quaking with rage, Surbeck said, “You two sons-of-bitches will never make it through combat. I should kill you right now.” Rounds and McGovern spent the rest of the day putting up a new tent for him. “So,” McGovern recalled with a laugh, “that’s the way I broke into the 741st Squadron area.”
Rounds was nonetheless unstoppable in his practical jokes. One night shortly after the incident with the jeep he rolled a fifty-five gallon drum of fuel oil into the middle of the squadron area, set it on fire, and shouted, “Enemy raid!” There were cries of panic and anguish all around, except from Rounds, who was laughing.
Source:
Ambrose, Stephen E. “Cerignola, Italy.” The Wild Blue: The Crews of the B-24. Simon & Schuster, 2002. 134-35. Print.
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