About the Book The book provides an account of the author's experiences in the army from October 1942 to September 1945, and, to a substantial extent, a narrative about the operations of the Army Air Force's 404th Fighter Group from the time of its activation early in 1943 to September 1945-the thirty-month interval during which he served in it as a nonflying enlisted man and noncommissioned officer. From April 1944 until V-E Day, the group operated successively from seven bases and strips in England, Normandy, elsewhere in France, in Belgium, and in Germany, with its pilots completing an aggregate of some 30,346 combat hours. For its war activities, it became the recipient of a U. S. Presidential Unit Citation and a Croix de guerre with palm bestowed by the President of France. Each member of the group was decorated with a Belgian fourragere. Of the some 1,000 individuals serving in the group, forty-three lost their lives during the months of combat, almost all of them pilots. Though deactivated in November 1945, the unit's survivors have retained ties through periodic reunions and through a newsletter entitled Poop Sheet, which continues to be issued several times a year.