American bombers hit all over France prior to D-Day in an effort to disrupt and paralyze German lines of communication and railway rolling stock. It was necessary, but in some cases, the damage was rather extensive. Thousands of French civilians were killed in the process. Paris, 35 miles away from Saints, was too. But closer to home was Coulommiers. The air base there was a constant target.
American archives indicate that Coulommiers was hit frequently. It was straffed by the rd Fighter Squadron on April 10, , losing one fighter pilot who got hit by anti-aircraft fire.
The pilot, Anthony Piscitelli, was killed, his aircraft crashing on the south-east end of the airfield. On June 14, 24 Bs hit Coulommiers. On June 23, 23 B bombers bombed it again. On June 27, 32 P Mustangs came through on a straffing mission nailing one Luftwaffe airplane in exchange for no losses.
It retained its yellow green camouflage from the war until it was finally demolished by the city in It was in this shelter that we normally stored the wood, in a big oval metal grill, which which my grandfather, mother or my brother would fetch for heating. It was near the gate at the end of the yard where my grandparents cultivated vegetables which nourished our entire family. The shelter was also next to one of the huge trees which possibly was to give us a greater sense of protection.
The tunnel was dark, very dark. The neighbors would come join us and we would close the entrance once again. One of my family members would take me in their arms and we would try to sleep. Heavy sounds, as loud as thunder would make me cry for a very long time. It's without a doubt due to this that I would find myself paralyzed by the sound of thunder until the end of my adolescence.
