Syracuse-Wawasee Journal, Volume 40, Number 32, Syracuse, Kosciusko County, 8 June 1945 — Page 1

SyracuseWawasee Journal

volume 40. no. sa.

Tells of Life Now In Germany Since V.-E. Day, Chaplain Travis Purdy (captain) has been transferred to the Army of Occupation in southern Germany. He is a Wing Supervisor over chaplains, with headuarters at Kaufbeuren, about 30 miles southwest of Munich. His work there requires driving over several hundred miles and his letters tell of many interesting places. Here are exceprts from some of his letters: “This is the most beautiful country I have ever seen. How anyone could live amid such beauty and do such terrible, things is a mystery to me. It is like a huge park. Everything is kept so well and the sheep graze the mountains and roadsides till the valleys and hills appear to be mowed. The vineyards and orchards are in perfect trim and the villages are so clean, compared with our other travels. Great white clouds float across the hills and valleys and make marvelous pictures against the most wonderful pine forests I have ever seen. The Black Forrest is a dream of beauty. “Most of the large cities which had war industries have the factories completely leveled and many of the main sections are a mass of ruins one can hardly describe. Ulm was one of the worst I ever saw. The Krupp armament works was there. The beautiful city of Munich was hardly touched ' compared with those of the Munich, as you know, was the great city of the southern German empire and a very historical place. Hitler made his start there. “The Germans are the best dressed, housed and fed people we have seen. All that has been brought in from other countries has helped them, but the day of reckoning is coming. At present they are very courteous on the surface and both groups are leaving each other politely alone. “There are children in abundance. Large families have been made popular and the children are well cared for. The home is built around them. Our headquarters buildings here are all German homes from which the families have been compelled to leave. This house I am in is nice and everything is here as they left it, even the children’s toys, clothes, dishes, etc. I have a nice room all to myself and a good bed. German girls keep the buildingh clean and they put fresh flowers in every room for us. It’s hard to tell just how to take things, whether it is put on or real—time will tell. War is a terrible thing for any people. “We are having lovely weather here; the kids are in, swimming and all nature is wonderful. It’s like Bill Rogers once said when asked what was the matter with the world, and he said: “I dunno, guess its just the people.” How right. “When I really get into operation I’ll be on the road two or three days a wgek. I hope to get into Czechoslovakia, Austria and Switzerland, and to go all the way up and down the Rhine. The Alps are beautiful and every hour of the day they look different. Some of the fellows are catchiug the most wonderful trout out of the mountain streams, from 1-2 to 5 lbs. each. I have a good car to do my traveling in now. I found a little Opel 6-cyl. roadster and the service crew have it repaired and repainted in the army colors. At least I can travel in just one direction now —in the jeep it was twp-ways at once. “I am in another, camp now. This used to be one of the great Air a det Training schools, and it will be a marvelous place when we get it cleaned up. I got my Chapel and office set up today. It is one of the best arrangements I’ve ever had. For the larger services we use the camp theater. The chapel is large enough for special services, Jewish, Catholic, etc. Some of der Feuher’s boys have been working for me this afternoon. We have been working prisoners of war, civilians, displaced Poles, Checks, French, Belgians, some neutral Swiss and

WASTE PAPER DRIVE SAT. JUNE 16 A waste paper drive will be held in Syracuse Saturday morning, June 16. This is sponsored by the Girl 'Scouts, with Mrs. Karl Tauber, leader. Syracuse citizens are asked to tie up securely or put in a paper cartoon, all waste paper and all newspapers they may have on hand, and place them on front porch or in a noticeable place. Lowell Sharp, S.M. 3-c, U. S. Coast Guard, stationed at Rich-, mond, Calif., arrived here Tuesday night on a furlough, to visit his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fieldfen Sharp. He will be here unit 1 June 23. some Russian troops. It’s hard t< keep them straight. 40,000 prisoners were stationed here, but most are gone now. All prisons smell alike. Last Sunday it was so foul it was almost unbearabl but most of the smell’ is gone now after a good G.I. scrubbing and tons of filth removed. The old mattresses are awful, ami there is a pile as big as a house down by our barracks. I feel like I’m crawling—gave my bed a thorough dusting with bug powder and this room looks clean. However, one’s imagination does not have to work very hard to get the scratching in action. “Had a wonderful trip to another camp. The farmers only raise hay and pasture on the more level land. All the hills and rougher ground are covered with wonderful pine forests, and these are pasturered by herds of high grade Brown Swiss cattle. They build huge L or T shaped barns with the house in one end of the barn. The eaves on the barn over jet about four feet, and sometimes they have a balcony on the house end. There is an abundance of windows in the barn and on the house section the window's have flower boxes. The barn is constructed of thick brick or concrete with white stucco on the outside that is like driven snow. They literally live with their cattle. As you drive past the herds the cow bells, which nearly every Cow wears, makes a very sweet and quaint harmony. The bells are of various size's and they must be tuned to harmonize. “People here really prepare for winter. On our windows we have solid wooden shutters that fit tight, then double windows with about six inches between. All windows are hinged and open in. “May 25th. This has been a big day. I’ve visited three camps and seen many interesting sights. Down past Hitler’s beer parlor—up the street where he made his first march, past the place in Landsberg where he wrote ‘Mein Kamp,” and around Augsburg. We ran into a Nazi Colonel, a Captain, Sergeant and a nurse, in a German car, traveling on their own. When one of our outfit took them in they were fully armed. Had three loaded pistols, 4 quarts of liquor and a swell car. They finished the rest of their journey in the rear end of a weapons carrier. This Colonel was in charge of labor battailions, t£e kind they beat and starved to death —nothing soft about him. yet they are meek as lambs when they are taken. Their baggage was con’siderably lighter when our men go through. Only God will ever know what is justice for this Nazi outfit. Every day makes me more sick at heart as I see the destruction of Europe that they have wrought. They have ruined every» nation they overran —and the tragedy is that most of those I have seen don’t seem to feel any guilt for the havoc they have wrought. As I indicated before, Hitler drove out or destroyed his own best people or threw them in concentration camps. When one drives past these enclosures scattered everywhere it gives a person the creeps. Most of the notorious places are off limits, because of health reasons., but I’ve seen enough this week to make a person sick for years. “I haven’t had any mail for a .month and that is a long time. But I hope to pick my own packages off the Christmas tree at home this year.”

Bonds A weigh— By Sparling

CHURCH TRINITY EVANGELICAL Karl Tauber, pastor. I. J. Byland, S. S. Supt. Sunday school 9:45 a.m. Morning worship service. E. L. C. E. at 6:30 p.m. Prayer service Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Choir practice Thursday 8:30. a- . le SYRACUSE U. B. CHURCH Pastor, J. W. Jones. Phone 152. Supt.—Meta Bushong. Bible school 9:45 a.m. Preaching service at 11 a.m. and 7:30 pm. Prayer meeting Thursday 7:30.

akj pn a rn AkJ e the men of the united states CAMEKA-UKAMS MARITIME service in training

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(Above) "Heave-Ho, My Lads, Heave-Hof* Coordination le required for safety's sake in the manipulation of a lifeboat. U. S. Maritime Service trainees are taught the use of emergency and lifesaving equipment, thereby maintaining the safety standards of the Merchant Mali*. e (Right) Well-trained lads, their "boot camp" days behind them, leave the base to embark on their first trip with arms and munitions. Young men such as these, who with their brothers in the armed forces represent the best our country has to offer, now form the bulwark of the U. S. Merchant Marine.

SYRACUSE, INDIANA,' FRIDAY, JUNE B, 1»45.

GRACE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH Rev. E. A. Slottag, pastor. Sunday school 10 a.m. Church service 11:15. ZION CHAPEL U. B. CHURCH M. B. Knisel, pastor. Sunday school 10 a.m., Sherman Deaton, supt. Morning worship 11 a.m. -« “I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.’ MIRRA MOTH IMMUNIZER is the miracle product discovered by Dr. Geo. Washington Carver. Prevents moth damage or furniture regardless of frequent dry cleaning.—Thornburg Drug Co.

Four Accepted For U. S. Service Evelyn Sawyer, 20, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lester Sawyer, has been accepted for services in the U. S. Navy Waves, and will leave for training June 28th. Stanley Hoopingarner, 17, left Wednesday for Indianapolis, to join a group of naval inductees enroute to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. Joe Rapp, Jr., has received notice to report Saturday in Indianapolis, from where a group will leave for Great Lakes Training Station. Laddie Laughlin left here last Friday for the Great Lakes Training Station to start his service in the navy. , METHODIST CHURCH Glaude M. Fawns, minister. Worship at 10 a.m. Sermon topic, “Ebenezer.” Music by the choir. Junior church at 11 a.m. Church school at 11 a.m. Youth Fellowship at 11 a.m. Choir rehearsal each Thursday evening. Children’s Day exercises has been postponed until-j June 24th. CHURCH OF GOD Pastor —Rev. Harold Mishler. S. S. Supt.—Oliver Hibschman. Sunday school at 10 am. Worship service at 11 a.m. Worship service at 7:30 p.m. Prayer service Thursday evening at home of Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Hibschman, 8 o’clock. Mission Circle meets with Mrs. Oliver Hibschman Thursday af- ' ternoon. CHURCH OF BRETHREN" 5 ’ Rev. Noble Bowman, pastor. Guy Symensma, S.S. supt. Sunday school 9:30 a.m. Morning worship 11 a.m. B.Y.P.D. and Christian Workers meeting 7:30 p.m. Preaching 8:15 p.m. Aid all day Thursday at the church. Everyone welcome.

MARITIME DAY 1945 reminds the Nation of the deeds of the gallant men of the United States Merchant Marine throughout this war. Hidden behind the many stones of their accomplishments of solving the largest transportation problem in the history of the world, is the fact that thousands of young men have been trained for their part in this job by the United States Maritime Service. They have arrived at great coastal training stations from every State in the Union —to be trained as seamen, boatswains, engine-room men, purser-hospital corpsmen, radio operators, and steward's mates, so they can capably man the ships of our mighty merchant fleet Maritime Day is a salute to these men—Partners in Every Invasion . . . Supply Line of Every Attack! ; 1 WK®!

(Above) The 10,OOMee Üborty shin, 1 "Amertoa»Maxtaer"ooave«todfcru~M I a U. S. MarUtae Servtoe tratotae I afiorde actual eea esporieaoo to 400 Itiaiaoee weekly. Aftw wooh. I drill aehore, the protective «ercha»t I eecuaea receive their talitol esperieece I ei Me al »ea aboard hoc dedte.

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> News From the Boys in U. 5. Service

RECEIVES CITATION FOR SERVICE ON BATTLESHIP Virgil C. Smith, S.F. 2-c, of Lake Wawasee, w’as recently awarded the following citation by the captain of the battleship, aboard which he is serving off Okinawa: “Ctitation: For excellent service in the line of duty during an air attack on April 12, 1945, in which a Japanese suicide plane crashed into his ship. By his prompt and efficient action, he contributed materially in minimizing the damage, to his ship resulting from fires and flooding. His conduct gives evidence of his value to the naval service.” He has been in the service two years, 21 months of which have been spent aboard ship. He is a veteran of 17 battles, the big battlewagon aboard which he is serving, taking part in nearly all of the Pacific engagements. Seaman Smith's wife and 2% years old son, Billy, and his father, Charles C. Smith, reside at Lake Wawasee. WAR BOND DRIVE FALLS SHORT The Syracuse, Wawasee and Turkey Creek township war bond drive fell short, and Leesburg has now won the honor in going over its quota firsts in this county. This is the first time that this community has failed to win this honor, since all six previous war bond drives, Syracuse has always been first to reach its quota. Right now, we lack only one good “E” bond customer to reach jour quota and come in second place. Milford is also near its quota and can win second place, putting Syracuse back in the ranks with those other tail-enders such as Warsaw. After last week’s Journal was out, on Friday, Saturday and Monday, over $20,000 worth of bonds were purchased, but this spurt fell short. It has been a case of too many waiting until the end of the drive instead of buying early. “Don't wait longer for the other fellow to buy that last big bond.” stated N. C. Blocker, on Thursday morning, “but PLEASE everyone who has not bought, come in and let’s finish this thing up in good style with about a 50 percent oversubscription.” Don’t ask, “When does the 7th war bond drive end?” It’s ON RIGHT NOW! And we need the help of every citizen! BUY BONDS! NEW CONSTRUCTION RETARDED ON CONTROL ORDER Despite the relaxation of Construction Limitation Order L-4 I, new home building, remodeling, maintenance and repair will be held back by the rigid lumber control order L-335, according to the Indiana Lumber & Builders’ Supply association. Lumber dealers are placed in a very embarrasing position at the present time. Lumber control Order L-335 allows the dealer to sell only ten percent of the lumber he sold in 1944 as “free lumber,” namely, without priority ratings. Even when lumber for new construction within homes was limited to S2OO per year, there was not enough “free” lumber to meet demands. New Order L-41 will raise new construction permitted without a priority rating from S2OO per home to $1,000; and commercial stores to $5,00; and on Industrial building to $25,000. The new order thus giyes the customer only a “hunting license for no more lumber is now allotted the dealer than under the former order, and this supply was not sufficient to supply the demand. Last Sunday evening, relatives and friends numbering more than 40, attended a party in the Andy Armbyuster home in honor of Sgt. and Mrs. Geo. Butt. A social time was enjoyed and ice cream and cake was served.

* The Journal Is The • * “Home" Paper for the * * Northern Lake Region. •

$1.50 A YEAR

Miami Beach, Fla., June 4. — Cpl. Wallace A. Bortz, of Syracuse, Ind., has arrived at Army Air Forces Redistribution 0 Station No. 2 in Miami Beach for reassignment ' processing, after completing a tour of duty outside the United States. During his processing, he is housed in an ocean front hotel and enjoys abundant facilities for rest and recreation in this year-round benificial climate. Corp. Bortz was a radio operator with a Signal Corps detachment during 27 months in the China-Burma-India theater pf operations. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Wert Bortz, of Kale Island. Syracuse, and entered the army in May. 1942. His wife is living at Gary, Ind."

With the 38th (Cyclone) Division in Luzon.—-Pfc. Marlin A. Main, husband of Betty R. Main. Syracuse, Ind., has been promoted to Corporal Technician. He is a member of Service Company, 152nd Infantry, and saw action during the 38th Division’s 16-day battle for heavily fortified Zig Zag pass, east of Olongapo. He has been overseas 16 months and served previously in Hawaii. New . Guinea and Leyte. May 23, 1945.—Just a few lines to let you know that on May 21st 1 met Nelson Wogoman at the 108th Station hospital here in New Guinea. He wafc doing guard duty at the hospital. On Tuesday he got off and came to the C. W. S. training center and spent the day with me. It was great to find another Syracuse boy over here. We both have bad colds but otherwise are Okay. We look a little yellow because of the pills we have to take to help us fight malaria.’ Mhlaria is carried by mosquitos anld we have plenty of those around here. It rains here quite often. The 1 natives are getting quite smart. A native will come up and ask, “Hey Joe. you got cigarette?” and after you give him one, he then asks if you would give him one for his brother, and before you get done you wonder how many brothers he has! There is another boy here, Pfc. Willard Robinson, from Nappanee. Nelson and I are planning to see him soon.—-Pvt. Phillip E. Prough. According to a printed account of the activities of his division, sent home by Corp. Dale Goon, former Syracuse high school student, the young soldier has been very busy. His parents now live on R. R. 4, Warsaw. His unit, the 12th U. S. armored Division, was borrowed from the 7th army to augment Gen. Patton’s thrust into Germany, to lead the 3rd army drive to the Rhine cities of Ludwigshafen, Speyer and Germersheim. Known as the Hellcat- division, the 12th halted only when the Jerries had been pushed across the Rhine and contact had, been made with the 7th army,; coming from the south. The division averages 20 to 25 miles a day in its swift forward’ movement. In one week, March 18 to 25, the 12th took dozens of towns captured a£out 6,000 prisoners, and disarmed half again as many more. The 12th division was activated in September, 1942, at Camp Campbell, Ky., and later trained at Camp Barkeley, Texas. Every state in the Union and the Territory of Hawaii is represent- r ed among its personnel. FORMER CITIZEN HERE DIES AT ELKHART Mrs. Maude Gordy Light, 68.widow of Joseph Light, died last Tuesday in her home, in Elkhart. She was born in Syracuse. Ind., July 3, 1876, and was married to Mr. Light in 1895 in North Webster. The couple moved to Elkhart 46 years ago. Mr. Light passed awey in 1935. Surviving are three sons, three grandchildren; 1 brother, Emmett Gordy, nd a sister, Mrs. Hattie Willard of North Webster. Funeral services were ield Thursday afternoon in Elkhart, with burial in Rice cemetery. Mary Claire Pracht, who has been attending school at Lake Forest, 111., is home now for the summer.