Show F I With Ernie P le in in Empty Sea Shore and Air Provide Unreal Setting Following Invasion t I I SOMEWHERE IN DV SICILY BY Wireless Wireless our Our fir first t few days jays aboard ship after the SiCilian Sic Sicilian Si Si- cilian ilian c landings were broken by many many things besides air raids raids- If MA M.A. A few v wounded soldiers were brought from shore for our doctors doctors doctors doc doc- tors tors to treat before the hospital ships ships arrived Important generals generals generals gen gen- came to confer on our ship We had fresh tomatoes and watermelon wat watermelon wa wa- t at the same meal We took little trips up and down the coast Repair parties back from the beaches brought souvenir souvenir sou- sou venir fascist banners and stories u of how poor the Sicilians were and how glad they were that the war was over for them The weather remained divine Our waters and beaches were forever forever forever for for- ever changing I 1 think it was at daylight on th the third morning when we awoke to find the Mediterranean absolutely devoid of ships except except except ex ex- for scattered naval vessels The vast convoys that brought us over had unloaded to the last one and slipped out during night For a few hours the water hater was empty the shore seemed lifeless and all the airplanes s had dis dis- appeared You couldn't believe that we were really at war war SAnd S v And then thim aft after lunch you looked out a again ain and here the sea was veritably crawling with new ships ships hundreds hundreds of them big and little Every Everyone one of them was coated o ted at the top with witha a brown layer like the icing on ona ona ona a cake which turned out when we drew closer to be decks crammed solidly with army vehicles vehicles vehicles ve ve- and khaki clad men We kept pouring men and machines machines machines ma ma- chines into Sicily as though it were a giant hopper The schedule schedule schedule sched sched- ule had all been worked out ahead of time On D day plus lUS such and such division would woul ar ar- rive A few hours later another convoy bringing tanks was due Ships unloaded and started right back for new loads The whole thing went so fast that in at least one instance I 1 know of the army army couldn't pour its men and nd equipment into the African embarkation ports as fast as the returning ships ar ar- ar- ar rived Unloading th these se ceaseless convoys convoys convoys con con- voys in Sicily was a saga The navy sent salvage parties of Seabees ashore right behind the assault troops and began reclaiming reclaiming reclaiming re re- re- re claiming harbors and fixing up be beaches ches for unloading The army worked so smoothly that at material material material mate mate- rial never piled up up upon on the beaches but got immediately on its way to the front The number number number num num- ber of vehicles that had to be landed early in the game to take care o of this was almost beyond conception We have stevedoring regiments regiments regiments regi regi- ments here made up of New NewYork NewYork NewYork York professional stevedores We have naval captains who in civil life ran world-wide world ship- ship salvaging co concerns cerns and made enormous salaries We run some ships up to the beaches we unload others at ports we empty big freighters by their cargoes to shore in hundreds of assault barges and amphibious trucks Great ships loaded with tanks have been known to beach and unload in the fantastic time of half an hour Big freighters anchored a mile from shore have been emptied into hordes of swarming clamoring clamoring clamoring clam clam- oring small boats in 18 hours when the same unloading with all modern facilities at a New NewYork NewYork NewYork York pier would take four days Convoys arrive empty and slip away for another load Men work like hike slaves on the beaches Bosses shout and rush as no construction construction con con- boss ever did in peace peace- time Speed speed speed You walk gingerly on big steel pontoon piers and you cant can't tell tella a naval lieutenant commander In coveralls from an army sergeant in a sun helmet Sometimes it seems as if half the men of America must be here all working working working work work- ing madly together M M MAnd And do you realize what it is Is' Is IsIt It is Americas America's long-awaited long p power of production finally rolling rolling rolling roll roll- ing into the far places where it must be to end the war It sounds trite when it is put into words but if you could be here and see you would understand how the might of material can overwhelm everything before it We saw it in the last days of Tunisia We are seeing it here We can picture it In inklings of the enemy collapse that in inevitably inevitably inevitably in- in lies ahead The point is that we on the scene know for sure that you youcan youcan can substitute machines for lives and that if we can plague and smother the enemy with an unbearable unbearable unbearable un un- bearable weight of machinery in these next few months hundreds of thousands of our young men whose expectancy was small can some day walk again through their own front doors |