From Dad's 1943 diary ( from departing the US to departing to Oran for D-Day Salerno):
FEB 20: no liberty, wrote Joe, talked to Pa from (Fort) Devens
FEB 21: beautiful day, getting ready to move
FEB 22: left Fort Devens at 5AM for FT DIX NJ, arrived at 5pm, worked till 5AM
FEB 28: went to church & received Communion
MARCH 2: sent $30home
MARCH 4: BOAT
MARCH 5: left the US
MARCH 19: North Africa
MARCH 24: Went to Oran
MARCH 25; Company split up, went to Siddi Bel Abbis
April 4th: church Siddi Bel Abbis
April 7th: Payday 1770 francs, wrote home
April 13: mail received from Joe & Mary
April 14: Our 1st PX opened, wrote home
April 19: received letter from Mildred Younts & also Ruth Miller
April 25: church in Siddi Bel Abbis
May 3rd: payday - 2105 francs, sent money home
May 5: haircut 30francs
May 16: moved to Ain Temouchant
May 17: moved
May 18 arrived in Rabat
May22: wrote home
May 23: received letters from home dated May 3rd, also a letter from Trudy
May 24: received first issue of "The Townsman" (the Wellesley MA hometown paper)
May25: went to the Red Cross Theater, saw picture "Hit Parade of 1943"
May 26: received letters from Trudy, Mary, & Ruth
May 27: Went to the hospital
June 5: wrote home
June6: letters from Joe & Mary, wrote Joe
June 7: 2 letters from home
June8: came out of hospital
June 9: wrote home
June 10: Phil Hughes died, sent insurance form
June14: received "The Townsman"
June27: received letters from home, wrote Mary
June 29: received letter from Joe, he made PFC
July 1: wrote Joe, bought a watch 10.00
July3: letter from home
July 4: Big parade in Rabat with 1st Armored & 36th Div
July 7: to Casablanca
July 14: Parade Bastille Day
July 16 received letter from Ma
July 19: wrote Mary & Ma
July 20: wrote Joe
July 21: wrote home to Ma
July 24: Lt Scott & Lt Garra(???) visit us (from Dad's former infantry regiment)
July 25: letters from home, went to Communion
July 27: sent letter to Ma
July 28: received letter from Joe
July 29: received letter from Mary, Mary Hutt is engaged (the Hutts were Wellesley neighbors
Aug 1: wrote Ma
Aug 2: getting ready to move (this would've been Dad's 31st birthday)
Aug 3: part of Company went by train
Aug 4: left Rabat
Aug5: bivouac at La Senica (???)
Aug 6: arrive at Port Aux Poules, went swimming! (this makes me chuckle because my father must've been so sick of the sand, dust storms, & flies & he LOVED to swim)
Aug 9: received letter from Mary O'Neil
Aug 11: cabled money home
Aug 12: wrote to Ma, went to Oran & saw the movie "Hurricane" with Dot Lamour
Aug 14: received 2 letters from home. Ma received my cablegram.
Aug15: church (his parent's 32nd wedding anniversary)
Aug 19: 26 wks ( I wondered what this notation meant & then realized that it was the # of weeks since he'd been home & seen his family. Little did he realize how many more weeks,months, years he had to go through before seeing them again)
Aug 20: received new "6" (6th Corps patch?)
Aug 23: ready to move again
Aug24: moving
Aug 25: moved to staging area, saw "Random Harvest"
Aug26: went to Oran, saw Al Jolson in person, Red Cross show "Abe Lincoln in Illinois"
Aug 28: 22 new men arrived, promotion T/4
Aug 29- Aug31: staging area "ASSI-BEN OKBA"
Sept 1: left area, arrived at dock, board boat
Sept2: in port of Oran, very hot!
Sept3: at port
Sept4: received mail from home
Sept 5: left port at 16:00 hours
Sept 6-Sept 8: At sea
Sept 9: left boat, boarded LST at 07:30, beach, air attack
(and so begins Salerno & the Invasion of Italy)
I'm having the diary cover scanned & will send to you M1!