April 14: Up at 6:30. Fair breakfast - off at 8:15. Stopped half hour at noon and had pears and bullion which is coming in very handy. Hot day and everyone is burned. Wear light clothes but still sweat. Rode half day - mule slightly lame. Rarely moves but gallops up hills. Forded big feeder of Yellow River - crossed big mountain. Arrived 4:30 - pretty long day. Two more mule days, then weapons carrier. Had coffee and chocolate drink which we make from chocolate bar. Coffee nearly gone - rations were a life saver. My lip all cleared now - still pray every day. Found lice when I took that bath the other day but they are not bothering me. Fair supper - to bed at 10.

April 15: Sunday. Off at 8:15 after coffee and breakfast. Very hot day and I walked about three hours all together. Ate best peanuts yet and poached eggs at 1 PM. Then soon left Yellow River and started into the mountains again. Glad to get away from the river - monotonous and cliffs too high. Mule bad on hills - arrived at 5 PM. Ate K ration breakfast, meat, cookies and coffee. Didn’t eat much supper. Finished Shadow Line by Conrad and gave it to the Chinese. Teeth are all clean now - lip OK but I am afraid of another burn. Traded fruit bar for coffee. To bed at 10 PM - good sack.

April 16: Up at 6:30 and went through munitions plant after coffee. Saw machine gun and mortar fired. Ate breakfast and off at 9:15. Made fairly good time - a few mountains. Walked two hours - sun very hot. Ate eggs and coffee at 1:30 - stopped one hour. Off at 2:30. At 4:30 we met Jones and his buddy on the road - they had come out to meet us. Fine quarters - fine meal - three shots of whiskey. Major Allen (our C.O.) was at Yenan in C-47. Said our personal items are in rear area (India) as is the squadron which has been deactivated. Jones says it is unlikely that we will go home and this has the boys sweating. Yenan tomorrow and then India in a few days - we hope. Leaving early in the morning. Heard that President Roosevelt died on the 12th and it was a great shock to us. Also hear that the Americans are 64 miles from Berlin. Guess it wont be long now. To bed at 9.

Humby Map # 5 Note the city of Yan'an, red arrow at left.

April 17: Didn’t get to sleep last night till midnight due to coffee and the excitement. Up at 3:30 AM - coffee and off at 4:50. Good day to travel for it is overcast. Rough trail to drive - very dusty. Forded many streams - rained a little and we really sweated it out. Ate K rations three times during the day, also C rations. Scared every animal and Chinaman along the way and we saw many tossed off mules. They never saw a weapons carrier before. Ran out of gas one mile from destination - used gas from stove and got about a quarter of a mile from goal when we ran out again. Walked the rest of the way. Washed - ate eggs, carrots, jam, real bread, coffee - fine place. Lots to read. Will leave for Chungking Monday 23rd, six days from now. Read and to bed at 11:30.