From Peaceful to Violent Streets

From Peaceful to Violent Streets.
I was fortunate to have been stationed in North Africa for about seven months in 1943.
Our 2nd Bomb Group was en-route to join the 8th air Force in England during March of 1943, as replacement crews. We flew our new B-17 over to North Africa, using the South-Atlantic route - West Palm Beach, Trinidad, Belem, Natal, Ascension Island, Dakar, and then up to Marrakech, Morocco. While in Marrakech, Field Marshall Rommel (who headed up the German Afrika Corps) broke through General Montgomery’s Eighth Army’s position and forced them to retreat at Kasserine Pass. The “powers that be” changed our orders, and assigned us to the African front. We were part of General Jimmy Doolittle’s Twelfth Air Force. The Group remained in Africa until after the invasion of Italy in September 1943.
During this time, when we weren’t flying missions, we had leisure time to “swim” in the Mediterranean sea, or visit the very interesting cities in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. I also got to spend a week on R & R in Cairo. While playing “tourist”, I was very observant of the large crowds in the bazaars and waking peacefully on the streets of Tunis. The people in Tunis, either spoke Arabic or French, which was very interesting to me. The French influence came in 1881 when France became their protectorate. Tunisia became an independent state in 1956. The British invaded Egypt in 1882, and they became an independent country in 1922.
This experience has motivated me to follow foreign affairs in the Middle East - primarily on the Lehrer/PBS News Hour and the Wall Street Journal. Based on my experiences nearly 70 years ago, I was very surprised, and saddened, by the recent news of the violent protests in the streets of Tunis and Cairo. This didn’t reflect my pleasant experiences of the time when I walked those very same streets and felt safe and secure.
In Tunis, Ray Bernier - our navigator; a fellow bombardier - “Red Bird”, and Bob Wolfcale, a navigator, would jump in a jeep and travel about 20 miles to Tunis. While there, we would usually go to mass at the St. Vincent de Paul Cathedral. We also visited the Cathedral in nearby Carthage, after a swim.
We visited the Red Cross Club for servicemen, where we could get doughnuts and ice cream. Near the Cathedral in Tunis, was a very nice hotel with a huge porch, I think it was the Hotel Tunis. We would sit in the large wicker - rocking chairs, sipping our cool drinks, and “people watch.” (I suppose that a new hotel sits on the spot today.)
The “powers that be” thought a few us were getting “flak happy” from flying so many combat missions. Our Flight Surgeon suggested that we be given an R&R leave to Cairo. I was fortunate to be one of the chosen group. They let us use a “stripped down” B-17, and we flew from Tunis to Cairo and back - an 8-9 hour flight each way.
We stayed at a B & B in Heliopolis - a suburb of Cairo. The city of Cairo is known for it’s large crowds, and beautiful architecture. I can attest to that! I particularly enjoyed visiting the Bazaar, and even went inside a very beautiful mosque. I bought a few souvenirs in the Bazaar. The merchants liked to bargain, and haggle over the final price. I must have disappointed them, because I didn’t have this skill, and consequently, probably paid more than full price.

We visited the Shepeard Hotel near the American Embassy. It was a five star at the time.

Back to today. It saddens me when I compare my pleasant experiences, nearly 70 years ago, in Tunis and Cairo, with the turmoil in the streets there today - justified or not.

RCL - 1/31/11.