Mission over Germany

The WW11 Diary of M. David Dial from January to March of 1945

This is a web memorial of my father David Dial, a native of Hartsville, SC. He enlisted in the Army in 1943 at age 20.......he became a flight officer( also known as a 3rd Lt.) and was the navigater/bombardier (bombagator) flying B-26's (Marauder) on missions over Germany. His position was in the plexiglas nose shown in a closeup on the Marauder link. He was stationed in Matching Green, England and was with the 391st Bombadier Group , 573rd squadron. The sorties he participated in were part of the Battle of the Bulge, and Patton's Central Europe Campaign. He become a career officer after the WW11, went on to serve in Korea and commanded several aviation companies (fixed wing and rotary), and retired as a Lt. Colonel in 1970. He loved gardening and cooking and was always the first to have the latest macho-man BBQ set up. His gardens around the homes he lived in could be spotted a football field away because of the lushness and riot of color.The gardens were always the envy of the neighborhood. He died suddenly in 1971. This web memorial presents copies of his original diaries with my typed transcription to make for easier reading. Discharge Papers and Citations are here.

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Mission 1 | Mission 2 | Mission 3| Mission 4 |

Discharge & Citations

Martin B-26 Marauder Men | Historic Marauder Firsts |