30
As soon as the Flying Fortresses had landed, their crews came into the mess hall, and one could then clearly see the toll their latest bombing run had taken: the room had never been so empty. It was as if a plague had passed through the mess hall. The empty tables were a glaring sight and painful to look upon.
Olga noticed unfamiliar faces at many tables: new crewmen had replaced the ones who had perished on earlier runs. The squadrons had taken on fresh personnel in Italy; new crews had filled the empty tables in the mess hall at the air base near Foggia. Some of these newcomers had in fact been particularly unfortunate and been shot down on their very first flight. Such was the luck of the draw. According to military statistics, bomber crews saw a complete turnover every two months.
