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Show THE NATIONAL GUARD One of George Washington s most famous statements was this: "To he prepared for war is one of the most effectual ef-fectual ways of preserving peace. That should be remembered in the present troubled world. And it has an especial significance now that an aggressive effort is being made to build up the National Guard to its authorized strength of 682,000 men. The Guard is a volunteer, civilion-soldier organization, and it has a long and distinguished record of serviced It provides a priceless nucleus of trained men upon which an effective fighting force can be built in time of war. Units of the Guard were among the first to see action in the last conflict, and they fought gallant delaying actions while we worked against time to creat a gigantic army. And war is not the only emergency which the Guard is called upon to meet. In every disaster, from the San Francisco fire of 1906 to the ghastly' explosion at Texas City a short time ago, the Guard has done a superb job as a protector of life and property. prop-erty. To young men the Guard offers an opportunity to learn new skills, to improve old ones, and to acquire experience experi-ence in organization and leadership. Each member draws a full day's Regular Army pay for two hours of spare-time training a week, and for each 15 days of field training a year. To the community, the guard is a proud local asset. It represents public service of the highest order. |