by Lt Jim Dibble's nephew, Mr Jim Dibble |
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On July 31, 1943 four pilots from the 1st Fighter Group, 94th Fighter Squadron, Lts. Archie Jackson, Jim Dibble, John Cram and Ralph Thiessen were selected for an escort mission. Following the usual breakfast of powdered eggs, bacon, hardtack bread, margarine and boiled coffee the pilots were told to fly to El Aouina airdrome which was located about 35 miles from the pilot’s base at Mateur, Tunisia and 15 miles from Tunis. They were to receive their final briefing after they arrived at the airdrome. The pilots were met by a high-ranking Army officer and told that they would be escorting a C-53 and it was to be protected at all costs. Soon a staff car arrived and the passengers proceed to head for the transport. The pilots were about to escort General Eisenhower and his staff around the Mediterranean area. Eisenhower had arrived earlier in the morning to meet with Air Marshall Tedder. The Air Marshall had word that Pietro Badoglio, who had recently been made Premier by King Victor Emmanuell III following the fall of Mussolini, was actively trending to the Germans. Tedder wanted permission to resume the heavy aerial bombardment of Italy, particularly of Naples and of the marshalling yards at Rome. Eisenhower agreed and gave his permission.
Meanwhile, Eisenhower and Patton were touring Palermo. The effects of the bombing that had taken place were devastating. The first thing the Americans had to do was organize Italian workers with G.I. bulldozers to clear streets, particularly those in the vicinity of the docks. General Patton was living in the Palace of the King of Sicily and following the tour of the city stopped with Eisenhower at the Palace for a Spam luncheon before returning to the airport. Upon the generals return the pilots were told that their next stop would be Syracuse. Eisenhower was anxious to meet with General Alexander to make sure that there were no misunderstandings over how the Allies were going to attack Messina, which was scheduled to start August 2nd. The group landed at a temporary landing strip near Syracuse. The headquarters for Alexander’s 15th Army Group werejust being established and he and his immediate staff were quartered in a farmhouse near the landing strip. Eisenhower’s meeting with Alexander took place under an olive tree near the farmhouse. Eisenhower wanted Patton to continue his methodical and steady advance while Montgomery was to lay on all he had and try to break through to Catania. Also present Soon the party was off to the Luqa Airdrome on Malta. Eisenhower was the guest of Field Marshal the Lord Gort and stayed overnight at the Verdala Palace. While Eisenhower was meeting with his senior commanders to discuss the entire Italian campaign, the escort pilots along with the other transport pilots were taken into town and had an English supper consisting of steak and kidneys. Following supper the pilots were put up in a hotel and had a shower andbed to themselves. In the morning tea was brought to each pilot’s room along with a wake-up call. Following a breakfast of eggs, cakes and tea the pilots returned to the airfield to pre-flight their planes. About 7:00am a limousine drove up to the field. The driver got out but the man in the back opened the door himself and started walking towards the pilots. Lt. Archie Jackson, the leader of the escort pilots, said “That’s Ike!” The pilots jumped to attention. He came toward them and said, “Rest men. I just came out to thank you for the good job yesterday.” Eisenhower looked at Lt. Jackson and asked, “Where are you from son?” Lt. Jackson answered, “Louisburg, Kansas.” Ike replied “Well I am from Abilene.” “Yes sir, I know,” Archie responded. The General then asked the others where they were from and shook hands with all the pilots. He then said “I won’t need your escort today. I will have an escort of Beaufighters so you may return to your home base. I have not had breakfast yet so I better get back, but I wanted to thank each of you for an excellent job yesterday.” After Ike left, a RAF Wing Commander came over and asked the pilots to escort a B-17 back to Tunisia. Upon their return to Mateur, the escort pilots were de-briefed by Captain Brown, the 94th’s Intelligence Officer. He told the pilots that the escort mission was secret and there would not be any mention of it in the mission reports. |
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IKE’S ESCORT 
Eisenhower had arrived in his B-17 but the fortress burned out a brake when landing at El Aouina. The group transferred to a C-53 which had a Disney insignia painted on the nose which read “Time’s a wastin’.” With the General and his staff in the transport, the P-38 pilots took off and circled the field until the C-53 took off and was on its way to Sicily. Eisenhower’s first stop was to see General Patton in Palermo. Palermo had fallen to the Americans one week earlier. General Patton met Eisenhower at the Bocco-di-Falco airfield. It was fortunate that the brake on the B-17 had failed because the runway that nestled amongst the mountains bordering Palermo was not only very short but also not level. The C-53 bounced hard and landed uphill. As the Generals left to tour the city, the escort pilots tried to leave the airfield for their own tour but were stopped because of Patton’s orders that anyone in the town had to wear a steel helmet. They had none so they had to stay with their planes. It was hot so the pilots found an olive tree close by and waited for Ike to return. 
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