Willard Richard Irwin was 19 years of age when he enrolled

WW2 Documentary History Channel Willard Richard Irwin was 19 years of age when he enrolled in the Army Air Corps, 29 days after the Japanese assaulted Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Irwin prepared in flying machine support on the P-40 Warhawk with the 57th Fighter Group. It was the primary American warrior gathering to be utilized as a part of full-scale fight in the European theater.

On July 16, 1942, Irwin cruised on the French boat, Louis Pasteur, from New York City Harbor destined for Egypt.

"We exited at 8 in the morning and viewed the Statue of Liberty until she blurred away in the fog," said the eighty-eight year old Irwin.

They crossed the Atlantic to their first stop at Freetown, Sierra Leone, Africa, however not before their boat experienced a German submarine. The destroyer escort sunk the sub. From Sierra Leone, they cruised around the tip of South Africa and up past the island of Madagascar and through the Red Sea. When they achieved the Suez Canal, they rode by rail auto to Tel Aviv in Palestine.

The 57th was separated to the administration of the British eighth Army in Egypt, under the order of Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery. Their fundamental target was to annihilation Germany's Field Marshal Erwin Rommel who was pushing eastbound to catch Egypt. The occupation of the 57th was to give 50-gauge firearm ground fire for antiaircraft and keep supplies and weapons from achieving Rommel's armed force.

From Tel Aviv, the 57th started their quest for Rommel westbound along the Mediterranean Sea.

Irwin partook in the second Battle of El Alamein when the 57th recovered it in October 1942. From that point they trekked crosswise over desert sands to catch El Daba in Egypt.

"The bombarding by Rommel's planes on our base was right around a day by day occasion," said Irwin. "Yet, the British were knowledgeable about desert war strategies and showed us well empowering our survival.

"The British Spitfire planes had a constrained extent which implied that the base must be moved every now and again to stay inside 10 miles of the battling front. We needed to tear the base down and move the gear to the following spot and set up again before the planes arrived. We at times had an opportunity to change garments a great deal less wash them." The bases were moved more than 30 times while propelling westbound crosswise over north Africa.

"Our own particular supplies were restricted and our hardware was primitive. On occasion we needed to utilize parts from deserted German, Italian and British trucks along the combat zone. We frequently needed to truck water in from 90 miles away. The sustenance was lamb, spook meat (corned hamburger) and sweet tea," said Irwin.

In November, 1942, the 57th moved into Libya and took Tobruk, then Benghazi. At that point came the skirmish of El Agheila, then the taking of Tripoli in January, 1943. A couple days after the fact, Winston Churchill visited the gathering.

The best air clash of the African crusade was battled on Palm Sunday, April 18, 1943, and got to be known as the Palm Sunday Massacre at Cape Bon when Rommel pulled back from Africa to Sicily. The Germans lost 75 flying machine.

Amid his time in Africa, Irwin met the renowned American war journalist, Ernie Pyle. "He stayed with us for some time in Africa. He dozed in our tents, ate with us and solicited parts from inquiries."

As indicated by Irwin, Pyle sent a story back to Irwin's main residence of Cadillac, Michigan, that he was doing great. The daily paper feature read, "Cadillac Corporal Has Narrow Escape." Willard R. Irwin In Truck That Was Target Of Nazis."

"I was somewhat humiliated about that," said Irwin. "I got some answers concerning it when I got a V-Mail from my mom why should irritate hear that I had such a nearby brush with death."

Irwin was with the 57th Fighter Group to the end of the African Campaign. He saw the catch of Sicily and the intrusion of Italy in September, 1943. The 57th took after firmly behind the front, constantly ready to see foe fire while climbing the shore of Italy. Naples was caught in October 1943.

Close Naples, the 57th was stayed outdoors at the base of Mount Vesuvius when it ejected at 2 a.m. on March 19, 1944.

Irwin said, "The ground shook so hard that we thought we were getting bombarded. At that point we saw firecrackers on the highest point of the mountain with pieces of rocks flying through the air. There were neighborhood residents living further up on the mountain. We helped them get down the mountain and out of the stream of magma."

In July 1944, Irwin ran with the 57th to the island of Corsica. From that point they shelled southern France.

Irwin put in very nearly three years abroad in battle before getting a 45-day leave to return home in March 1945. He guaranteed he doesn't di anything unique yet keep up air ship and drive trucks. In any case, Willard Richard Irwin was a loyalist. He saw the need to help his nation and chose to volunteer his administrations to go to war. He was constantly enthusiastic in supporting noble purposes and was dynamic in the American Legion, VFW, and Disabled American Veteran until his demise.