War Diaries (August 7) (nonfiction)
War Diary entries for August 7
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Diaries
George Beck: August 7, 1943
Leaflets have been dropped over Berlin ordering civilians to leave the town by the 15th. Evacuation in progress now. In Hamburg 120,000 civilians were killed in the last big air raid. The Germans in Russia have now lost Orel and Btelgorad and the Russians are pushing hard by Krackow. In Sicily we have taken Catania. The war will soon be over there. Most of the people here now say the war will be finished in a few months, one fellow says all the Englishmen should be laughing now. I myself give the war up to February and there’s no doubt that we can’t lose now.
—George Beck,1st Battalion The Duke of Wellington's Regiment, prisoner of war (diary)
Duane Nelson: August 7, 1944
We fired our carbines and spent the day at the range. I fired Raven’s pistol and didn’t do that bad. Bob Hope’s USO Show performed on a stage on our island and entertained all of us Marines. Other performers included Jerry Colonna, Patty Thomas and Francis Langford. They performed for 2 hours. They flew in by Piper Cub from Binika to the Russell Islands. Old Hope cracked some pretty dammed good jokes. Patty Thomas was built like a streamline train ready anytime to make fast speeds out of. When it was over Palmer and I dashed off to the plank and went along the beach until we got to where the planes were. We waited for them to drive and take off. We succeeded in getting their autographs: Hope, Langford and Thomas. I believe we were the only ones in the 1st Division that were lucky enough to get them.
—Duane “Swede” Nelson, soldier (diary)
George Beck: August 7, 1944
GOING MAD all night with pain, three orderlies up with me, sick all over and laid over the window sill outside. Although my back had to be propped up, hot water bottle eased it a bit.
—George Beck,1st Battalion The Duke of Wellington's Regiment, prisoner of war (diary)