Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 2 February 1945 — Page 15

By Jack Bell

“Ernie “Pyle’s first column of his new series will appear next Tuesday)

WITH THE UNITED STATES 3D ARMY IN BELGIUM, Jan. 30 (Delayed).—The Our river is a con temptible trickle through a steep-sided gorge just | now, with winter freezing all the moisture that falls, | In mafy places it is waist deep or less and there are good fords. At some points its banks are not more than 20 yards apart, It doesn’t sound: very formidable as a military barrier, does it? But the trodps bf the 3d army sit on the west bank along a front of several miles, sparring with the Germans on the other bank. Last night saw daring soldiers dug in, in several places, after an all-day attack, which swept every German from the west bank. Tanks were in position, firing into German --plilboxes. Small-arins fire rattled through the ‘long | gorge throughout the day and spasmodically all night, | [as two alert armies sent out patrols seeking informa- | tion. The Americans are wise in using caution,” for | the little Our river isn't so innocent as it seems. gl The shallow fords are cunningly mined and the guns are zeroed upon them so that even at night seeking { mines is dangerous work. Every suitable bridge- || crossing is mined and under well-directed fire. Every ‘road and path leading into the gorge from the west Ki is under the fire of German burp-guns, snugly end cased in pillboxes across the river.

a rE ee os

Steep Walls Are Hazard

GERMAN OBSERVERS, also up close, call mor=[tar and tank cannon fire every time more than two | {Americans congregate. li Any stream is a formidable military barrier. The Our is doubly so because the steep canyon walls | force the armored units to the sidelines. The men ‘who wade swiftly in the running water are in grave ‘danger of freezing, because once across they are llamong the Jerries and must dig in and fight so. the engineers can slip down to build bridges. | The Germans, sitting atop the gorge, can see every move, because there is a full moon and snow covers leverything.. First army outfits jumped oft long be{fore dawn on Sunday to ‘take advantage of the darkps8 of the dense woods. The 3d, moving in more a. country, had no advantage at night, so waited until sunup.

J i ) J

§ NOW. WE'VE SEEN everything! [barber shop “in “the Hotel: Harrison has- a ‘window display , offering safety razor blades fog sale. That's freally quite an innovation for a barber shop. . In most of them, the idea of a man shaving himsel{—particularly with a safety razor—is unthinkable, , . . Here's oné that ought to convert all you cigaret smokers into confirmed readers of the classified advertising columns especially those in this paper. Yesterday's Times, under the heading, “Swaps,” carried the fol~ lowing interesting ad: “Cigarettes: Camels, Luckies, .Philip Morris; 34 cartons for corn, oats or good milk cow. Richard Everist, R. F. D., Box 251.” Gosh, 34 cartons ought to be worth several good milk cows. . « + Herb Pisher, Curtiss-Wright senior est pilot, i» back in town for a brief visit. He just goteback from the Chima-Burma-India theater vhere for nearly eight months he has been helping y fliers piloting the Curtiss €ommando transport hver the famous hump, Herb got in town unexpectpdly Wednesday and surprised his mother, “Mrs. arold Fisher, 1823 E. 30th, on her birthday. It was e first time she had seen him in 18 months. t seems the stork has a fondness for the letter Ww, t least as far as the Indianapolis Symphony orestra is concerned. The orchestra has only four sicians whose names begin with W.. Two of them,’ GRU 7; MT-ST arPO Sy MR sel J VERE: bass, are the parents of new sons. John Woodworth, olinist, is hoping for a son most any minute now. The fourth W already has several children and isn’t ticipating any more visits by the stork soon.

Here's His Alibt

ONE OF OUR young women reporters, Donna fikels, thinks maybe we ought to report a certain ncident to save an unidentified man from embarrass¢ht (to put it mildly) at home. While riding a ntral bus te work around 7 a, m. Wednesday,

: 0. * America Flies YOU DON'T THROW stones when you “live in a blass house” but the army air forces have a “glass” blanie on which high explosive projectiles fail to Helonate because of the material's low density, s This was learned today ih the announcement of engineers at Wright field of development of a laminated plastic ‘air technical service command airplane fuselage. They say it is the key to reduced plane weight and improved aerodynamics. It is constructed with glass fiber laminated with & newly developed contact resin and is the first successful laminated ‘plastic aireraft primary structure proved 50 per cent stronger than a metal fabrication, It also is said to be 80 per cent stronger than a t vooden fuselage on a strength weight basis. Engineers id today that the fuselage did not “flower” under funfire and high explosive projectiles failed to delonate when fired into the fuselage.

I'hree Hours in Oven

PLIES OF GLASS cloth impregnated with a resin were laid over a mold, building the laminated sheets lo size, thickness and shape desired, according to ngineers, Transferred to another mold, the aslembly - was covered with a blanket and sealed. A acuum pump and atmospheric pressure did the job

y Day

WASHINGTON, Thursday. —At 12:30 today T atd a luncheon of the Washington Junior Board of pmmerce, At 2:30 I go to the celebration held by the forestry ice to sommetorate their 40th anniversary. When we think what the forestry - service has accomplished in the last 40 years, we should all be celebrating, because their work is helping to preserve one of our great national We do not begin to reforest sufficiently anywhere in our country, but year by year we are learning more about trees, their care and: their value. . Eventually we may discover that each of us owning any land has a respi to the nation

i small

Inside Indianapolis By Lowell Nussbaum

The -Joe Heath

. infrequently 12 and occasionally 13 or 14 hours a day.”

the future. The living conditions are very undesirable,

East of our gorge the most. formidable defense | ever devised by man boxes of the Siegfried line. That, wo, stretches in| a general northeasterly direction: Deep and heavy fortifications in open country, narrower in steep Billy regions. What is going to happen? Every soldier and officer goes through the daily job of soldiering with one thought—"Can the Russian drive keep going?” Every time I stopped yesterday during a tour of many miles of front-line aetivity, the men crowded around asking, today?”

Doughboy Just Hopes

THE GENERALS discuss the Russians’ ability to keep rolling through the bad weather, The engineers and supply units wonder about those phases

,

ofthe northern attack. ~The officers agree that the| casualties must be terrific, with the Russian arinies,|

necessarily, leaving thousands of Germans behind; who cause plenty of trouble before the slower moving infantry cleans them out. Two days with the troops of the new attack have revealed an amazing pick-up in morale. The task of driving Field Marshal Gen. Karl Gerd von Rundstedt’s forces back into their Siegfried defenses was terrific and torturous, through weeks of freezing weather, Frankly, the doughboys didn't relish this continued attack—before it started. But there is no unhealthy grumbling now. The Russians keep going and the doughboys think they see- the beginning of the end and want to get it over fast. So far they've run into little opposition, and the prisoners taken have been a sorry lot. Obvi-

ously; the Germans have put weaklings in the out-|

posts where, as an Anierican major expressed it, “a sorry soldier is as good as the best behind a machine gun.” This morning the 3d and 1st army divisions fight side by side along a front that threatens many of Hitler's depleted and battered divisions. They must go through deep snow, across country, because the roads are narrow or impassible. They must take it slcwly because mines and countless pillboxes are given perfect camouflage by snow. But they are moving, which gives them added zest. And they know that Jerry can’t roll powerful new defenses and artillery against them—not with the boys of Uncle Joe's army rolling to meet them.

she reached in her voluminous purse, extracted

“her lipstick (or maybe it was rouge) and attempted|

to open the container. As she did so it flipped out of her hand and dropped into the bulging overcoat pocket of a man across the aisle. Before she could muster enough -courage-to tell him what happened, | the man got off the bus. * And’ so, ladies, if one of | you should find a lipstick in your husband’s pocket, | iet this serve as his alibi. . . . Pfc. Victor W. McGinnis (first we've heard from.him in a long time) drops us a note from Camp Atterbury, as follows: “At Camp Atterbury, Ind. two days before pay day, Pvt. Theodore L. Rich borrowed some money from Pvt. John H. Knodt. ‘That's funny,’ Rich said. Tm Rich and he's Knodt, and yet I'm borrowing from him." . . . Speaking of names, maybe Wwe shouldn't mention it, but we just couldn't help noticing that Richard Dye of Flanner & Buchanan is the new president of the Indianapolis Council of Funeral Directors. :

Yum, Yum! Pie!

REMEMBER HOW everybody snickered when we told about an Indianapolis mother mailing a mince pie to her young son overseas? Well, the joke's on them. Mrs. Dorothy Reed Strawmyer of L. Strauss & Co., has received a letter from her son, T-5 William A. Strawmyer, over in Europe, saying the pie was received in fine condition and needless to say was enjoyed greatly. Young Strawmyer said the pie was not moldy, as many had predicted it would be. He heated it In an oven and it was “wonderful. " He added... what his mother pIAnE" to d0—tWo "ples ATETTINE This one was left in the pie tin and the whole thing wrapped carefully in oiled paper, Technician Strawmyer is with the engineers in the 1st army. . . . Carey Weaver, secretary of the Mailers Trade District union, has a book he can’t read, but one in which he's much interested, nevertheless. The book, sent home as a souvenir by his son, Sgt. W. C. Weaver Jr, »n "7" to be an ancient Belgian church record book. Part of it, is writtén in French, part in Latin. Some ci ue entries, apparently baptismal; records, go as far back as ‘1678, and continue ap to 1943,

By Max B. Cook

formerly accomplished by high pressure autoclaves. Three hours in an oven cured the plastic. Inside the inner and outer layers of plastic is a balsa wood core, forming a sandwich type of construction. Such construction lent itself to fuselage building because its inherent rigidity permitted elim-

e towers and forts and pill- | SECOND SECTION

First Allied Ski Patrol Passes Through Siegfried Line

“How close are the Russians to Berlin ;

TNT mL A Ere WE i Se

y , R : pda .

|

The Indianapolis Times

FRIDAY, PERRUARY 2 , 1945

noiter for the 9th army in Germany.

passable,

is a saa

Members of the allies’ first ski patrol in action on the Western front pass through the dragon's teeth of the Siegfried line as they recon= The patrol has proved invaluable in maneuvering over ground that foot soldiers find almost im-

FORMER EVANSVILLE NEWSPAPERMAN WRITES SAGA OF 38TH—

Men Get Restless Last Day Aboard Ship

“By SGT. CARL=RITT

Formerly Managing Editor of the Evansville Press

THE LAST DAYS of a troopship trip make men restless.

Their monotonous life aboard

ship is nearing an-end. And the enemy, they féel, is almost within sight.

They watch edgerly for land and scan the skies for planes.

Sometimes they are rewarded bythe sight of a couple of P=38s winging high above in the’ blue patches between clouds.

0 THEN THEY are driven below decks. They are handed K rations. A few are allowed on deck at a time to go to the latrine and sneak a quick smoke. The men in charge don’t want a lot of troops milling about on deck. They have had removed the makeshift hammocks and canvas shelters. ! They want nothing to show that will identify this as a troop

targets for bombers.

THE GUNNERS are at their stations 24 hours a day. Not only the ship's guns, but machine guns on the peeps and ‘trucks parked on the deck are manned. The ships have circled out in the open sea for a full day. “They want to time it so we go in at night,” is the way the G. I. explains it to his fellows. But the decision is made to steam in in daylight.

» " » ~ LAND is sighted low on the horizon, blending into the clouds. Planes appear .overhead. They're all friendly. Another convoy is going in, too. Nothing happens. There are some ships ahead.

The aeeompanying article,.the last of three was released by the censors after the first- announcement that Indiana's 38th“ division had

landed on Bataan. _ which fought in New Guinea,

The story tells of the experiences ‘of the 38th, on its way to a combat zone.

There's a battlewagon; and scores of destroyers. ‘The air now seems full of planes, even little grasshopper planes buzz along at vast height, waggling wings furiously, Nothing happens: It's almost disappointing. 2 mi 88 THE.JAPS didn't think enough of us to bomb us. Nope. They were scared of us. “ The truth of the matter is that af®this spot we have them pretty well licked. We have that allimportant control of the air. So we go in boldly in. broad daylight, and as night falls drop anchor in a harbor. Everybody's on deck now. No more hiding. Let ‘em come. There's enough firepower around here to blast the whole damned Jap air force to smithereens. And they come,

ae BET Priel roi YRipaate trefenyech: open BU RELY SE SS

for a nearby airfield.

» » . THE TROOPS stand silently and watch, afar, the flashes of bombs exploding. There's no sign of planes in the sky, except a few twinkles here and there. Ack-ack, probably. Nothing - else. These were the first shots fired in anger these troops saw. Nobody seemed impressed. Most of. the men slept on the hard steel deck that night, determined to share in any excitement. There wasn't any. n » n

THE NEXT DAY the ship steamed a little farthet into the harbor. : The men unloaded into LCT's. They tossed their heavy duffel

bags down, then climbed down a

swaying rope ladder. One man froze halfway down. Another swarmed up, grasped his belt to steady him. A short wade through kneedeep water and the. men were on

land again for the first time in,

weeks. Trucks took them to a cocoanut “grove, ‘miles away, and as the men descended, they were intro+duced to Philippine mud. “There ain't enough sand in that concrete,” one declared before unloading. The mud does, at times, look like unset cement. A gag traveled quickly: the ground is too thin to plow and a little too thick to fish.

» » ~ LATE AFTERNOON. Preparations for the night. Dig holes. Some men construct elaborate

* platforms upon which to sleep,

CERESEPITEh pret Most jast prepare to roll up“in a poncho and a blanket ‘and sleep on the ground, which seems soft in comparison with the steel deck that had been their bed. There’s hot water sojthe men can make coffee with their K ration powder. Good. It's dark.

SUDDENLY a bustling around. Flashlights. Going to move. A mistake. Wrong area. Snafu. The men who had prepared for the simple life jeer at those who made elaborate preparations for the night, Everybody wades through the mud and into trucks. An air alert. Lights out. No cigarets. Another signal. Maybe it means the alert is over. Nobody seems

eis EE

to know. A peep passes, heaghgh’s / ~shining.

» » ~ } “TURN OUT them lights or we'll shoot 'em out!” scream a couple of truck mates. “Listen to them.guys,” another voice declares. “Been here two hours and telling guys been here two months what to do.” For several days many men enjoyed yelling dire threats at violators of air-alert blackouts. Then the sport palled. Fhe—trucks—churned—miles—of mud on a road lined by trees, the tops of which were fantastically lit by swarms of fireflies. ” » tJ AT A-small Filipino town, the men unloaded in the darkness in more mud, I drew a bed on the concrete floor of what used to be town hall. Oh well, concrete couldn’t be any harder than steel. A {rip to the kitchen for coffee. It's near midnight. , “Outside is a tall Kentuckian on

‘ ported due in London today,

PAGE 15_ : Labor Trade Unions. Of Russia Loom -As Parley Issue

(Continued From Page One)

in Greece working on the ine volved social situation there; and 8 South African member, aah :

+ MR. HALLSWORTH emphasized

“~the opinion that criticisms of the

LET U re flected on the British trade union congress, which has been

+ the LF.T.U's

main support. Sympathy of - the French for the Russians was regarded as significant, It indicates the Mr. Perkins current trend of labor thought in France and foreshadows a similar effort when the conference of the new world trade union congress opens in London Tuesday. At this next conference there will be numerous -delegates from the C. I. O, rival of the A, F, of L. in the United States, and representatives of the Soviet trade unions. y Sidney Hillman and 12 or more’ other C.I1.O, delegates were res with preliminary talks scheduled to make certain of tliils American support, as well as. the French support, for the three dozen Soviet emissaries. - » »

WALTER SCHEVENELS, Belgian secretary of the I. F. T. U,, reported that the council session brought together 70 delegates fron 13. countries—some with “governments in exile” in London. ~—Trepresenting 22 million organ= ized workers. The council invited as observers representatives of Austrian and German refugee trade union groups, whose organizations were demolished by Hitler. The American representativé, Mr. Watt, called attention to the statement of Gen. Eisenhower, supreme allied commander in Europe, that German workmen could have ase surance, with surrender of the Nazis, of freedom fo organize along accepted trade union lines. Mexico, regarded as important in the [Latin American labor movement, was not represented in the ILF.T.U. meeting, ale though Vicente Lombardo Tole dano, Mexicafi labor leader, is ia London. This may indicate the swing of ‘Latin Americans away from the I.F.T.U. afAd A. F.of L conservative influence toward the new world organization and the C.1.0.

guard. He's as jittery as the fireflies in the tree under which he stands. .

Sh po HIS VOICE sounds like a stuck record: “I got 75 rounds: of ammanishun. There's guards every 10 feet. They'll shoot you quicker'n hell. They're all trigger happy. I ain't kidding you, boy. I got 75 rounds of ammanishun. There's guards...” and so.on. He volunteered to protect us on the way, but we didn’t meet a single one of his [trigger-happy mates, “They're all around though. They got 75 rounds of ammanishun. . . The night was clear and outside the fireflies danced in the trees. And faintly could be heard our friend, the guard: “They're trigger~happy. I ain't kidding you, boy. I got ...”

THE END

Er

ination of all stringers and the majority of bulkheads: |"

Operation 13 Simple LABORATORY METHODS, offered by the ATSC as a basis for factory production, are not directly applicable. Modified , techniques will reduce curing time to a few minutes. Fabricating processes will be developed and improved, The basic simplicity of operation, its adaptability to a contibuous process and the minimum of man hours involved, however, seem to offer great advantages to. commercial fabricators. 0 From a military viewpoint, ATSC engineers look to plastic as the likely structural material in combat planes of the future. Because of better streamlining, increased aerodynamic efficiency is possible with plastic. No bolts or rivets interfere with external surfaces. Col. F. N. Moyers, chief of the aircraft laboratory, flew the initial hop of the BT-15, first ship to be equipped with a successful plastic primary structure, on March 24, 1944. Service tests are being given this ship, while in the laboratory is being constructed a new laminated plastic fuselage for a BT-13. Similar principles but different techniques ‘and materials are going ime the fuselage and wings of the BT-13.

By Eleanor Roosevelt

Among these migratory. workers, the group. which interests me most is, of course; the children. There are just a few facts about them which I think the general public should realize, because they can be! duplicated in practically every state where migratory workers-are used in rural areas. “Most children over 6 are pickers as well as their parents,” says the Consumers’ league report, "“‘and spend long hours in the fields—rarely less than 10, not

We are concerned about child labor,’ I am told, but apparently not about child pay, for the report continues: “The young children are not listed on the payroll, !- since payment is usually on a piece work basis. The more they can p! the greater the family income “At one New York camp,” the report also states, “60 school-age children were working in the field ony| school days long after the school term had begun. Little or no effort seems to be made in most local ties to enforce school -attendance laws for’ these migrant children” In other words, we are bringing up the illiterates of

TE ain:

By MICHAEL G. KATEN Written for the United Press NEW YORE, Feb. 2—I am writing this story in the office of the United Press who were very

nice to me during my” ordeal of being first for my brother Omero and whe will also notify him by special wire that I won. (The message Michael sent to his brother was “I made it for you.) I started out Jan. 28, at 8 p. m. and parked at the entrance of the Lincoln tunnel © waiting for 12 noon Feb. 1 to open. I had quite a time, : » o » THE WEATHER was cold. At times I thought it was not worth it, but I had with me six plate of spegetti, 12 cups of coffee ahd water. nv But two hours ath

changed to birdseye spageti: The

coffee was fit for a hot day in’

July. The water I broke up with an ice pick. I woke up one solid piece of ice. I then went in the booth to thaw out. 6:30 a reporter came to see if I was still alive so to make sure he! took some pictures of me. I then sent for some breakfastt. ” ” »

JUST BEFORE opening time Miss Mary Harrington a very charming and beautiful reporter from the United Press arrived to share the horers with me. Looking at her I didn't feel cold any more, ' : In one article it stated that I was afraid my car would fail me at the last rainute. That worried the heads of the port of authority, Worrying they sent a guard to see that the car started. It again proved to me that finer people can’t be found. 1s| The time came that 1 should get

it was |

' AM MY BROTHER'S KEEPER—=QOF RECORDS’

Soldier's C

aim on Firsts Unbroken

“firsts.”

him to England.

him.

Before he joined the army Omero Katen made a- hobby of He tried to be the first person across new bridges, the first to go through tunnels and the first patron in hew movie houses. - He had 250 “firs Us™ to_ his credit before the army sent

Yesterday a new section of the Lincoln tunnel was opened. Omero Katen previously had written a letter to authorities in New York asking that his brother, Michael, be allowed to substitute for

The arrangements were made and Michael Katen waited 40 hours in an unheated automobile ‘at the tunnel entrance to be sure that his brother's reputation was upheld. patch Michsel describes his experiences. '

»

In this unedited dis-

A LINE started to form in back of me. It started with a jeep going to Ft. Dix with three soldiers, A sailor came to me and asked . if I would take hitch hikers which

Lt. Fisher Sends Word From Front

LT. GENE H. FISHER, son of Mr, and Mrs. Ora Fisher, 929 N. Campbell ave, fought in the attack on Germany by _ the lst division, 26th infantry, in Belgium Jan, 26

The lieutenant, a graduate of Technical high school and former student at the University of Southern Califor ni a, : landed in Lt Fisher France last December and later was sent to Belgium. His last letter, dated New Year's day, said «tat he “was fine but the od weather was fierce and they all

| would be glad

© I am wondering

he was one, so he turned out_to be the first hiteh hiker to ride in the first car that rode Through the tunnel,

I was also first to pick up a |

hitch hiker, - I hope this does not mar my brother's record? . » » »- !

IN MY CAR rode the United Press reporter, and the sailor,

slowed down to have pictures taken. Than we continued on to the toll booths. As we rode through, I sang The Rugged Cross. X When asked why said

“I don't know maybe it's

to calm my excitement or the

nice company.” *

We finally reached the toll | . booths and there, brother, was

my most exciting moment of my life. With 50 cents in my hand. : a.» - I WAS paying the girl and 25 photographers were there to take

: pictures.

well, I posed with that 50 cents so long that I froze my hand.

“In fact while I am writing this

“story my hand is num. phat that cashier is calling me ot: me. Deeayse bey frose

| at the hospital. ‘Now, | 85 working in 24

I had no objections

At- | the entrance of the tunnel I |

+1 sang, ~T |

thinking | |

Billings’ WAC's Note Birthday

THE WACs at Billings General hospital celebrated their first anniversary yesterday. A year ago, 22 WACs went to work: in the eight medical offices there are different -departments, They represent 30 states.

Among them are Pvt, Emma Boggs, 3231 N. Meridian st., and Pvt. Irene B., Kennedy, 5005 Ev-

anston ave,

*HANNAH+¢

Wo

We, The Women— . Psychology

0 TM CHM LRU Bh Ane ck far bi

Course I's

Good for Dad:

By RUTH MILLETT

IN WASHINGTON, D. C., th health department is setting up a school for expectant fathers. Wouldn't it be a good idea if servicemen who are fathers were offered — during their “waifing™ periods when fime hangs heavy on their hands—a course on child psychology, ese pecially slanted to prepare them to meet their offspring when they return home? Wife after. wife confides that when her husband returned on leave or for duty in the sta after a year or two of foréign service, ‘his children were complete strangers to him.

He didn’t know what to- expect of them at their present ages. He didn’t make allowances for the fact that. the children, in his ab« sence, had suffeged from being moved around, from the insecu= rity of having a father snatched away, etc.

-

ONE WIFE said her husband couldn't seem to understand at first,. when he returned after a two-year absence, that there was a child in the family to be cone sidered. He had been free of family responsibilities for so long he found it difficult to remember that going out in the evening ine volved getting the baby fed early, hiring-a baby sitter, ete. Other wives have found that their husbands believé they have spoiled the children, not .realizing that it is difficult for a Mathes to handle all d line alone, to handle all qu ns exactly - she would if sheshad a husband's. suggestions to help her. : - "nn

* AND FATHERS who wanted “Mary and the kids to go home to Mother and Dad for the dura tion" are shocked to learn that too much attention and too many