Show THEY DREAM OF i RETURNING HOME L I Soon Boon It will be Christmas and American Ameri Amerl- American can boys all over the world will want I Ito to dine home Meanwhile Meanwhile- An American boy Is Js slowly cutting his I way through a tangled Jungle Each step forward is three feet down the mud sucks and pulls at his boots as he advances advances advances ad ad- vances tortured step after alter step He lie brushes Insects from his eyes to peer I Into the dense jungle masses ahead and I at lit either side alert for Japanese snipers He lie reaches a fallen tree stops to rest closes close his eyes a few lew seconds Into his 11 I I mind comes a picture of crowded side- side walks Its It's five o'clock Christmas shop shop- I pers pees and workers hurry through the streets he hears the tinkling bell of ot a Salvation Army Santa Claus for a moment moment moment mo mo- mo- mo ment he smells the crisp cold air and feels the glow from the bright store window A bullet whines past him Somewhere In Germany a boy bo from Vermont Is fighting from rom house to house In the strewn rubble-strewn streets As he advances advances advances ad ad- vances cautiously waiting for the next shot from ahead or behind he du ducks s In Into Into Into In- In to a doorway For a second he relaxes The snow on the rubble suddenly becomes becomes becomes be be- comes a a picture of Vermont hills quiet peaceful serene lIe He sees his town snow feathering the elms candles shining In windows awaiting the Christmas carolers who are singing at the far end of the street On a hillside In northern Italy a kid from Chicago considers himself lucky lie He wont won't have to dig a foxhole tonight lie He crawls Into a small cave out of the I bitter wind As he falls asleep exhausted he hears the wind howling around the rocks It sounds like the wind roaring off Lake Michigan and he dreams hes he's back home The Christmas tree lights are on and Mom and Pop are sitting around listening to Sis play Silent Night In the Pacific hundreds of miles mile from anywhere a boy from Kansas peers Into the night Since the Jap attack that morning his sub is disabled It barely moves In the water no one dares think how long It can keep afloat No one knows whether the next planes will be rescue planes planes planes-or or the Jap planes re returning re- re turning The surge of the sea continuous ous Incessant becomes a wheat field the waves of ripe grain rising and fallIng falling falling fall fall- ing as the wind ripples over them I What are we doing at home What discomfort have we Are we cold Are we hungry Are we homeless Or are we weI deciding to make this a old good luxurious Christmas Did we buy I that 50 handbag for tor sister Did we buy the fur coat for mother Did we buy that new china to dress up the Christmas Christmas Christmas Christ Christ- mas table Did we decide not to go to work today I I How flow m many ny of the simplest things we weare I Iare are asked to do are we doing Are we we I saving waste paper Collections are at atan I Ian an time all low Are we saving waste waste fats Even red points In exchange no I longer bring In the necessary amount Are we contributing blood to the Red RedCross RedCross Cross bank Many appointments made madeI I I are never kept more appointments are aree I never made Are we buying more War 1 I I Bonds Donds Redemptions are higher than I ever before Production has been falling In war i plants Absenteeism Is Is' high There are still strikes for whatever reason Justifiable justifiable Justi Justl- flable or not In peace time the excuses dont don't sound so good right now Our I obligations our responsibilities t to our our boys all over the world are weighty I I If the Japs return to the kill will the Kansas kid have the ammunition to to stave them off again Will the re rescue e I planes not come because they're still In Inthe inthe In the factories Will the barrage precedIng preceding ing lug the boy In Cologne fall silent because be because because be- be cause the batteries are out of shells Will the kid on the hills of Italy freeze to death In his cave because he has no I blanket to wrap around him Will the boy In n Burma die because we didn't bu buy enough War Bonds at home All of us in our hearts know whether we are doing our share whether we are fulfilling our moral obligations to the millions of Americans scattered around the world In a struggle for survival survival- theirs and ours |