1st Lt. Curtis Green received orders in March, 1944 to report to the 15th Air Force, based in Italy. He was a command pilot and had a crew of three other officers and six enlisted men, assigned to a B-24J "Liberator" bomber that they would by flying to their new duty station from the U.S. He was attached to the 484th Bomb Group (Heavy) at the time of these orders.

Their general route to Italy was south out of the U.S. through South American, then across the south Atlantic to Africa, and north through Africa to across the Mediterranean Ocean to Italy. While enroute, Lt. Green came down with appendicitis and had to remain in South America for some period of time to recover from the appendectomy. His drew flew on to Italy without him; he subsequently made it to his duty station in Italy.

During his tour of duty in Italy, which ran through October, 1944, Lt. Green flew 19 combat missions, including at least two missions over the oil refineries in Ploesti, Rumania - the most heaving defended target in the Axis realm. He flew some of his missions with the 461st Bomb Group (Heavy) and an unknown number of missions with the 885th Special Group which flew classified, clandestine missions in support of OSS operations.

In late September, early October 1944 Lt. Green suffered from a subsequent attack of malaria and was transferred to a hospital back in the United States for treatment. He was Honorable separated from the US Army Air Forces on November 3, 1945.

Curtis Green (1920)