Rough War by Walt Shiel

After a nine-hour overnight flight in a C-54 from Brazil to Ascension Island, Paul wrote that the aircraft had engine troubles, forcing them to stay overnight on this “little dot in the middle of the ocean.”

What a barren and god-forsaken place. The island was formed by an erupting volcano, so nothing on the west half of this island but lava ash. In the center of the island lies a ridge of towering mountains 2,800 feet high. Green Mt is the highest. As the wind always blows from the East, and these mountains are so high, the clouds vaporize before going halfway, thereby causing 30 inches of rain yearly on the East side and 3 on the West. On the East side lie hilly and mountainous but fertile farms – on the West, nothing but lava ash wasteland.

The Captain and I got a car ride right to the top of Green Mt. It was sure a very beautiful, scenic, breathtaking view. Rolling green hills on one side, and in direct contrast, rolling wasteland on the other. The road up the mountain was very narrow and treacherous with many steep hills which we had to back, and many very sharp turns. We passed through 3 tunnels, and almost anywhere there was a drop of from 500 to 1000 feet. At the top, it was very windy and cool, and a pool was formed right on the peak, with bamboo trees towering a hundred feet. Banana trees, too, were here and there. The descent was equally as fascinating, but finally we made it. While returning to camp we met some enlisted men who had a truck and were going to the ocean – about 4 miles away. They invited us along, so along we went. We traveled over a lava dust road between veritable hills of waste piled up lava ash. The surf itself was beautiful – crashing mightily against the rocks – and quite treacherous due to a terrific undertow. The men had rods and reels along with them, so I tried my luck at fishing for a while. The water very clear and deep right at the shore, and one could see hundreds of fish – called “blackfish” – but they really were a problem to catch. Just as soon as a line hit the water they would snap the bait off the hook. Finally, we managed to catch 3 by trying the bait on with string. Then I went swimming. It was sure cold – but very refreshing. We returned to our camp – damp, hungry and tired.

The next afternoon, they took off again for a seven-hour overwater flight to Acca, Gold Coast (Africa), which is now called Ghana. the next day — 6 Sep, Labor Day — they left for Maiduguri in French West Africa (now part of Nigeria) for another RON.

Paul, along with several other officers and men destined for the CBI, left Miami on 1 Sep 1943 on a C-54 operated by a commercial service. Their first stop was in Puerto Rico. The next day they headed across the Caribbean to Brazil.

From his diary on 2 Sep:

We passed over desolate jungle. Then at 3 p.m. we crossed over the mighty and historic Amazon River, right at the mouth of it. At 3:45 we passed over the equator. Now indeed are we in the tropical hemisphere. Finally, at 3:45 we landed in Bilem, Brazil—a swell field 1 degree south of the equator. We expected to be greeted by intense heat and swarms of insects, but strangely neither were apparent. The temperature was as Miami and no insects at all. We stayed here overnight, so we were taken to our quarters which were in a wide open but well screened building with mosquito net covering wooden beds. There is a terrific “barnyard” stench everywhere which at first I thought came from the jungle just outside my door, but which is apparently caused from rotting wood. Here we change from Miami time, and advance our watches to Brazilian time—one hour ahead. We had a nice dinner of Brazilian nuts, avocado pears, bananas, oranges, potatoes, peas, veal cutlets, coffee, and cake. The water is putrid and warm. We are not allowed into town here, mainly because of prostitution which is legalized here, so we went over to the PX where I bought some stationery, and exchanged some US money for Brazilian currency and coins.

The next day, they continued across Brazil to Natal:

We seem to have passed the jungle regions, for now we are over rather open country, and the land is well cultivated, indicating farming regions. Now and then we pass over mountainous regions and canyons, but on the whole the land is quite flat and sandy. At 11 o’clock this morning we landed at Natal, Brazil, which I understand will be our jumping off point. Here, much to my surprise, we met all of our pals who left before us, but have been held up here for lack of transportation. I sure am glad we are on a commercial ship instead of an Army job, as ours will take us all the way to India. We had a fair dinner, then we went over to the PX and bought a pair of fine Brazilian leather boots. The finest leather in the world is made in Brazil, so, as we only paid $4.50 for them, it really was a buy. We had a few drinks in the Officers Club tonight, then—after sitting around in the operations building until 11 p.m.—we finally took off for our over ocean hop.

The next day took them to Ascension Island. Stay tuned for some interesting observations about that stopover.