[From the Aug. 9, 1945 issue of The Hump Express:]

5,327 Tons of Cargo Flown To China on Air Force Day
Planes Make 1,118 Trips, Eclipsing All Records; No Fatalities, No Injuries,
As Safety Mark Is Hung Up  

    The greatest mass movement of cargo by regularly scheduled aerial transport in history was ICD's contribution to Air Force Day, August 1, when a total of 5,327 tons was airlifted to China.   In a 24-hour period, ICD crews and AAF crews operating with ICD, flew 1,118 west-to-east Hump crossings.
  Tonnage laid down in China overshadows all previous daily Hump tonnage records.
  Despite heavy traffic, jam-packed terminals and the rapid pace maintained through the 24-hour "pressure" period, only three ICD aircraft were involved in accidents of any type - two of them minor. One was a mishap of a C-46, damaging the tail assembly, and a truck collided with another C-46. Power plant failure caused the only major accident when an Assam ship was forced to belly land. No one was injured. Every 60 Seconds
  Brig. Gen. Tunner paid high tribute to ICD's air crew members, pointing out that the "exceptional" flying safety record was achieved under difficult operating conditions which easily could have produced a much higher accident rate.
  Air Force Day tonnage was more than four times that transported the entire first month of operation in 1942, half of the high water tonnage mark for December, 1943, for which the division won the presidential citation and almost twice the highest single day's total previous to August 1.

4-Minute Turnaround

  A China-bound aircraft crossed the Hump approximately every 60 seconds. Cargo was delivered to China's terminals at the rate of about a ton every 15 seconds. A record delivery of 1,369 tons was manifested to Kunming - almost a fourth of the total. Loading time and Chinaside turnaround time were cut. Planes were loaded, serviced and cleared at India bases in as little as 12 minutes. At China terminals, some were unloaded, serviced and turned around in a little more than four minutes.   Some aircraft made three deliveries over the Hump - in the air as many as 22 or 23 hours out of the 24. Some planes flew nearly 4,500 miles. Pilots logged some 12,000 hours during the day.   Gen. Tunner commended all personnel as follows:   "You did not turn in this remarkable performance, unprecedented in air transport history, because you had good planes, good weather, and good luck. You did achieve it because each of you, every officer and enlisted man on every base involved, knew his job and gave it all he had. Even cooks and clerks and chaplains pitched in to add another drum or to cut another minute from turnaround . . . To all of you for your fine teamwork and for the tonnage to China go my heartiest congratulations."
  Messages lauded supporting commands for "splendid wholehearted co-operation." AAF, ASC, SOS, AACS, and tactical organizations attached to ICD for operational purposes were commended.
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Gasoline Convoy

    To avoid any bottlenecks in getting the gasoline to the waiting tankers, military police escorted the fuel trucks to each plane. 'Let's Go' Is AFD Theme
 Officers, GIs Pitch In, Sling Cargo To Swell Hump Tonnage

    "Let's go - what are we waiting for?" was the theme of Air Force Day in ICD. And there wasn't much waiting.   At Chabua, a British officer stood in a corner of the space control office and gazed at the milling hundreds of Americans, each adding his mite to the day's achievement - and the day's babble.   "Never saw anything like it." said the Britisher (who, of course was quite right). "Is it always like this here?"   Loudspeakers were torn between jive and takeoff announcements. Coolies, "pioneer troops" and GIs wrestled drums. Trucks ground by, their bids riding low under tons of gas. Fork-lifts clustered like bees about the doors of 46s and 54s.
  At Misamari, two mobile kitchens were set up on the line, and (among other things) they dished out 13,500 "flesh eggis."   At Kunming, 4,800 "cupsa cawfee" and 1,903 candy bars were converted into ergs.
  At Kurmitola, 20 typewriter-pilots forsook the keyboard to load gas drums, working in two 12-hour shifts, and two fast-working ground crews landed themselves a prize of bahoot U.S. whisky.   At Chabua, 15 inches of water surrounded the operations building and inspired two GIs to obtain a rubber life-raft and show an eager photographer just how dauntless American soldiers can be. 'What's Kurmitola?'
  At Shamshernagar, white-painted MP motorcycles escorted fuel-servicing units from dumps to planes, and radio ops with walkie-talkies relayed trouble-reports and enabled supply and personnel to rush aid where needed.
  T/Sgt. Peter Churitch, of Wakefield, Mich., and the Assam Valley, was asked by a scribe what he thought about Air Force Day. Sgt. Churitch, an ETO veteran of 35 missions over Europe, had this message: "I don't have time to think about it much, but I'll give it some thought if the weather is good tonight."

Surveying the Firmament

    Lt. Col. F. H. Forester, CO of 1340 BU in Kunming, observed and supervised proceedings on the anniversary of the AAF from this lofty perch above operations.
    The men at 1340 unloading a part of the big load that came over the Hump on that day.
  During the day a B-29 called in and asked where he was, "Kurmitola," they told him. "Kurmitola? Never heard of it - where the hell is it?"
  The 1333's biggest pool on the day's proceedings amounted to Rs.
500. Up at the 1342 BU a $4,000 challenge was made to other China stations, and there were no takers.

Threat to Mrs.

  At 1328, tower op S/Sgt. Nick Fiore paused in his stream of air-ground talk. "I'll be able to out-talk my wife after the war," he announced. (Mrs. Fiore is a tower op at Langley Field).   Lt. Col. Claron U. Pratt "drew the 104th," it was reported. If his men flew 100 trips, the colonel had said, he'd take the 101st over. But he hadn't reckoned with the turnaround rate, and when the colonel was ready, 101 had gone. So had 102 and 103. He took 104 over.   All day long, coolies on both sides of the Hump were agog. They stared at the mad Americans, then slowly they caught the spirit and decided it was teek hai and/or ding hao.   At one base the chaplain proved the best freight unloader. At another the CO appeared in a red fireman's hat labeled, "Big Chief Turn 'Em Around."

Agility Jao

  A plane just ferried in from overseas rolled up a Bengal wing ramp. As the pilot started out the hatch, he was met by a fork-lift shoving in a pallet of drums. "What goes on?" he asked. "This ship hasn't been converted."
  "Just get out an we'll convert it. Routine procedure." Three hours later the ship was stripped of seats and taking off with gasoline.   A pilot over the Hump foothills reported trouble with his booster pumps and was advised to turn back. "Hell," he responded, "I've got to land somewhere. It might as well be China." So it was.   Said Col. Richard F. Bromiley, China wing commander: "When there wasn't a way to do the job, somebody invented one."   Said an anonymous GI: "It's a lucky thing for the Japs that Air Force Day comes but once a year."
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2 Aug 45 - Payday - Got a ring--ruby set in gold--got two beans with ivory elephants in them--they are made with as many as 50 in them--gave Sarkar a haircut yesterday--paid him today--new GI radio station 5 miles distant so hear music from other tents in the evening (station at Tezgaon). Bugs are getting thick so I'll go to my sack refuge.