The friendly-fire incident during the Sicily landings is recalled through its effects on Reg Cavendish: an airborne attack against Catania was mistakenly hit by the Allied Fleet, and Reg’s Dakota crashed. He survived, but the episode became a turning point in how he appeared to those who knew him.

The Attack at Catania

In July 1943, Reg was part of the airborne force attacking Catania. The Allied Fleet fired on the force in error. Reg’s Dakota crashed that night; he did not need to use his parachute.

Immediate Consequences

Before the night was over, Reg had sustained two superficial wounds and received a DCM. A muscle near his left eye began twitching. The account presents these consequences alongside the crash, making the incident a sudden transition from combat action to visible personal change.

Reg After the Incident

By that July, Reg’s eyes watched over people’s shoulders, and he looked at the ground too often. He had seen extensive combat, and after Catania he seldom smiled. Sent on leave in Tunisia that autumn, he spent the time writing letters to the next of kin. The change in his appearance and the letters connect the mistaken attack to the human cost of war beyond the immediate battlefield.