What about ground support people in the African area?
It took sweat and hard work to support the C-47s landing here and there to break up the long journey into doable segments.
Men like Leon who knew how to speak French and worked with Engineers to lay the strips, build mess halls, sleeping quarters and other buildings. Generally they kept the air trains moving in both directions.
Leon had native "professionals" or locals working for him doing a lot of carpentry, electrical, masonry, etc., work. He had to say, "lets go!" Lets get on with it and get the job done. What memories for the X-Canadian . . . now American Air Corp. working in Africa! His wife and three children back in the States missed him a lot!
Professionals Building Mess Hall Tables
The Stables
(The horses got a lot of fresh air!)
Down Town Hotspot.
(Tourism was down that year.)
Leon got to visit and work in Casablanca, Tunis, Tunesia, Dakar, Algeria, Tripoli, Libya and even a short stay in Naples. His favorite you ask?
Why home of course.
Leon on His Horse
[African version of Lawrence of Arabia]
Over 50 years ago, he kicked the tires (landing gears), kissed a fan blade (prop or two), and banged on doors too!
His Private, Air-Conditioned
Quarters!
Leon's Truck
(wife's name, ANGELE, on the hood)
A French Chef stands to left of the truck. This is the good wife of the local Frenchman (lost his head in this picture!). They made Leon right at home . . . well . . . it was better than eating in the mess hall or his private air-conditioned quarters. He was there until World War II was over in both the European and Pacific theaters.
THIS WAS LEON'S WAR.
The French speaking, X-Canadian, builder of wooden castles, rider of iron horses, and rider of four legged ones too . . . is no one other than Frenchies' father. You know, the guy who makes all the graphics for this Internet site.
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