OCR Text |
Show REAVER PRESS 'F'n Bombing Crews From Texas, Oklahoma, Based in England, Pound Hitler's Europe IIJffPIFnFS Southwestern Boys Eager to Finish Job And Get Back Home Taes d ... ... int. ck.w plane is a of a medium welded five-- from the Southwest Texas link chain, in thestrongly conception of Sergt. Some of the men from a redistriand Oklahoma from the cat w. u. Morey of Kelly Field, Texas, bution center were entertaining at tie ranches and oil fields. ine five men navigator, mechanic, the Latin the other mid- Quarter night . . . When they finished they tipped the waiters lavishly and called over a to hand him bus-bo- y dollar a few . . . "Thank you. Lieutenant," he said, "but I couldn't accept any gratuity. Just waiting on you has been a pleasure. You see, I was wounded in your sector, discharged, and I'm now back helping the war effort by serving you and all other men in the war" . . . Then he opened his white coat and displayed his campaign ribbons . . the . The officers stood and saluted It was all very and thrilling. bus-bo- lumpy-In-the-thro- at A group of midtowners were gabbing about charges of "innuendo" over the radio, and a veteran recalled this Jimmy Walker story . . . During his first campaign for Mayor of New York, LaGuardia charged1 the popular Walker with all sorts of corruption, and Walker never wny snouia i mane his campaign for him? he said to a paL "I won't build him up. It would be fun, though, to ask him one question. What was he doing in Water-bur- y on July 16, 1928?" "Was LaGuardia there then?" asked the friend. "I dunno," replied Walker, "but if I asked that question he could deny It until he was blue in the gills. A lot of suckers would still believe there was something fishy about him and Waterbury!" Sid Sheldon reports that a company of boys from the Army Signal Corps were sent to the Induction station for overseas physicals. One of them (in the army three years) wandered into the wrong line and wound up being examined with selectees, rhe final doctor told him he was "But," protested the soldier, "I'm already in the Army!" "Nonsense," snapped the medico, "get dressed and go home!" The poor soldier got back into uniform, returned to camp and said nothing. How do you explain to a Top Sarge that you're ? 4-- Congress refused to put another heavy tax on horse racing. It im posed 30 per cent tax on night clubs where servicemen get real recrea tion. Racing has a powerful lobby in Washington, and the night club owners (with a 600 million dollar industry) had a very weak lobby. Some Chicago cafe people, how ever, sent the members of the Ways and Means Committee (and the Sen ate Finance Comm.) large posters. wmcn Durnea the legislators to a crisp because they know they are true. The posters show thousands of people throwing away their money at race tracks. The caption: "No tax here! They had a powerful lob by!' The opposite side shows men in uniform in night clubs enjoying themselves dancing, etc. The cap tion: "These boys are giving their blood and had no lobby. They pay SO per cent extra for their fun!" That tax is the highest on anything In our history. y . . Kyle Crich-to- e past experiences in the skies over Europe . . . spin their dreams of victory . . . and plan for a peaceful future back in their home towns in the Southwest. And I saw a look of determination on the faces of these men that made me glad I wouldn't be one of the enemy when these Yanks from Texas and Oklahoma take their bombers to the Nazis' invasion front yard. Alex Owen is one of these fighting neighbors of yours. He came all the way from Tyler, Texas, to man a gun in this war, and he's the kind of lad you'd like to know. Alex enlisted in the air forces back In 1941, after making friends with countless citizens of Tyler from behind the counter in "Men's Clothing" at a local department store. Today he is a veteran tail gunner with 39 missions over France, Holland and Belgium to his credit. And he wears the coveted Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and five Oak Leaf clusters. What does the Big Show mean to Alex Owen? Ask him and you'll get an answer as honest and straight's forward as a word of n n After a recent raid in Italy (ac cording to Irv Hoffman) an Army surgeon told the chaplain that one poor fellow was beyond hope. The chaplain leaned over the wounded man and said: "My dear fellow, you are badly hurt. Have you anything to say or any word for your family?" "My inside coat pocket," moaned the soldier, painfully. The chaplain felt the pocket and removed a wallet. "Is this what you wont?" he asked . . "Yes," whis- pered the soldier, "I'll bet you THAI ' that I won't die!" He didn't. I j ' i j train, Inside, around a warm, stove, there is Ramon Western, a crew chief from Alvord, Texas. And next to him there is a young mechanic by the. name of Tnmmv Busselle, a Houston youth who used to play a saxophone in a home-tow- n orchestra. Then, to round out the Texas trio, there is Bob Allen, another Houstonian and an aircraft electrician. I wondered about that leeend on the door, and Tommy Busselle eave me the details. "We call it the 'Gangsters Roost because that explains how some of us ground crew chiefs get our eauiD- ment." (This with a wide erin olav. ing across Tommy's face.) "And as for the word 'Texicans that was pot-belli- "tribe." "He's my kid brother, Yoeman," Walt said. "Right now he's finishing up aviation training back home, but one of these days you'll be hearing fellow-Texan- "I wouldn't miss it for one helluva lot," he told me that day. "Sure, it's rough. We're not fighting a war with kid gloves on, man." 'Back to Tyler.' That was Alex's story, and it's much like the one I heard from another Southwesterner that day at this American bomber base in rural England. His name is Joe Shouse, an engineer-gunne- r from Coweta, Okla-homa small, friendly town 30 miles from Tulsa. Joe (officially, he is Staff Sergeant Joe W. Shouse) is a vet eran of 35 missions, and he says the coming invasion can't start too soon. Back in 1941 and part of 1942, Joe was a sheet metal worker for the Spartan Aircraft company, in Tulsa. uut when you mention postwar plans to the young Oklahoma gun ner he says he has put them all on the shelf for the duration. ' 1 m too excited about the job 1 ve got now," Joe told me that day in his Nissen hut "home" at this Marauder base. His and fellow-gunnelike to tell you how cool Joe is under fire, and after a brief conver sation with him you agree with them. And when I left Joe that day I figured I'd met the "typical" fight ing man from the Southwest. Then, a few minutes later, in another Nissen hut, I met other air force men from home your s"l a, MARAUDER soars through fleecy clouds over the patchwork countryside, en route to a bombing mission on the continent. The d is me lasiesi medium bomber in the world, with a speed of more man aow miles per hour, delivered by its two power engines. (All pictures official U, S. Air Force photos.) A d-6- 2,000-hors- the brain child of a sergeant from New Jersey who doesn't know how to spell Texans.' These 'foreigners' hand us a lot of laughs," he told me. Ramon Western is a Texan with a clear-cu- t idea of what he's going to do to help win this war. A crew chief, he sent one bomber. "Damita," on 40 missions to Hitler's tottering European fortress. Then, when the trim Marauder went down one day, Ramon took up the fight with a successor, "Damita II." He has been in England since June, vjtj, ana ne a oe as nappy as a DomDer m mecnanic knee-dee- p grease if the invasion started tomorrow morning. Before the war, Ramon worked his way through three years of school at John Tarleton Junior college, at Stephensville, and Texas A. 8c M. college. He lacks only a few hours' credit for a degree in agriculture, and when he gets back to Texas he wants to go back for that sheep-skiOnly this time he won't have to work his way, because he's bought a pile of War Savings bonds for that education. Wants to Go 'Jap Hunting.' And when the war in Europe is won, Ramon says he'd like to take his Marauder (always a crew chief calls the ship he works on "his ship") to the South Pacific and send it out I 'FRANCE The two Houston youths in that Nissen hut told me that those senti ments were theirs, in spades! Bob Allen, for example. Bob is an electrician for several ground crews at this field, and he FROM BASES In England, me dium bombers range deep Into Ger- doesn't kid himself about his sum mer sleeping schedule. "These summany, France and Norway, wrecking enemy factories, harbor instal- mer nights in England don't start till midnight . . . which means lations and railroad yards. we'll darned near work the clock towns . . . and their stories are the around, I guess. But I'll just put off kind you like to hear, too, because the shut-ey- e until I get back home." these neighbors of yours will all be And when he gets back, he says in the aerial front lines when the he'll probably finish this education big fight comes home to the Nazis. at the University of Texas. Then he There were three Tcxans in that wants to take up where he left off as Nissen hut, and as you approach its a field salesman for a heating sys front door you see this sign over- tem firm in Houston. head: "The Gangsters' Roost: TexiOne of the most colorful charac cans Included.' ters at this station is Walter Scott, a hut-mat- rs FLYING CADETS at Ellington Field, Texan, practice their radio code sending and receiving with the roar of the great motor thundering In their cars. These future bombardiers and navigator know that when thry are In air romhat they will have to hear above the crash of bom In, crackling of machine guns and booming of ark-ac- k as well as the hum of the engines. The flying school of Texas are turning out thousands of air corps men monthly. "Jap-hunting- e. big things from him. No. he's no lousy grease monkey like me . . . he's a bomber pilot, de luxe." And that's the story, as I heard it, of the Scotts' personal offensive against the Axis. Two McKinney Boys. Before I left this Marauder station that afternoon, I happened across a couple of aerial gunners who made me wonder if I were standing on Main street in McKinney, Texas. First, there was a fighting son of the Lone Star state by the name of Forest (Staff Sergeant Forest C.) Board, and before I had even gotten his name, I was introduced to Jimmy Ashley, another staff sergeant gunner. Both of these air force fighting men came from McKinney to fight their share of this war, and because their thoughts on this "Invasion Eve" are as genuine as a Texas handshake, I thought you'd like to know them. Forest is a veteran of 35 missions over enemy territory, and he's "daddy" of the McKinney duo, at the age of 33. Back home, he was a traveling salesman for a company, with a territory that stretched across Missouri, Arkansas, western Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi. men came the Fourth of July, 1942. The McKinney flier says it was nothing more than a coincidence that he enlisted on such a patriotic occasion but when you talk to him you get the idea that it shouldn't have happened any other way. "Let's get the job over with." the likable Texan told me, "because I'm anxious to get back on my old Job. Heck, I've still got my sample case . . . ana a list of my old bill-fol- d And there you have the real storv of how these fighting sons of Ameri- ca's great Southwest are moptinn the great challenge. There's a cleam in their clear, eyes. And there's determination in their straight-lookin- g hearts. Texan and Oklahoman together, they'll be over here until it's time to make the welcome trek back home. i7 : uu have a lam. space house that looks not fill it witoaEron"bAre?5 brackets on which you lmat: an attractive arrangem-?7 , iu I 0REW PEARSON Washington, D. C. More U. S. Troops for India? Certain senators, even including some of the President's supporters, a.3 oxvcicn snow, are irked over curtailment of the brackets in a quaint old- Australian army, simultaneous with heart design ovpr a "avenPon British requests that we send more the livinsr rnnm tu! "c center br; U. S. troops to India. markU 7 J 7 The British request was made by Field Marshal Sir John Dill, former British Chief of Staff, now liaison THM Til 1 officer in Washington. Sir John, perAO MATCH UK BRACKETS sonally one of the most charming 80REV (2 J V HOLES Jk ti and popular members of the British embassy, suggested to U. S. war chiefs that, in view of the Jap in vasion oi India, the unitea siaies might send more troops to that O J area. The reply he got was: "What about the tremendous army you already have in India?" Sir John had to admit that this huge British army is spread out through India largely for the purpose of preventing internal revolt. Senators who have learned about this conversation are all set to do some blasting, should the White House send more U. S. troops to save the British tmpire in inaia However, they probably won't have to blast, because the President himself is understood to feel strongly on that subject. l c t it. ui ecii nicnes wide with of the matching smaller brae! on eacn siae. me sketch it is io CUtOUt heart designcm)with a sham i. after boring holes with a ana du. Any school boy who the use of a copine saw nr m. " h- a jig saw may make ful brackets. 4 these gr opears nas prepare-actual size pattern for all the DiJ una ui wiu uracKeis, With C0IES uucvuuua iui wuiuiig, assemDling acs isiiuis. ine lines ot tnese bracket! bo weu proportioned tnat you will bee to own them. Ask for Pattern 263 m close 15 cents, which covers con mailing. Address: KAISER'S NEW PLANE Very little has been heard of tlw giant wooden transport plane" which Henry Kaiser proposed building more than a year ago. However, the plane is nearing completion though with no thanks to the navy. Behind the scenes, the navy has done all it could to block the plane and at one time proposed cancelling the contract. Some insiders attribute this to pressure from the Martin bomber plant, which has already constructed a giant flying boat, Mars, for the navy. However, the new Kaiser wooden transport plane will be so big that the Mars could almost be carried inside. Its fuselage alone will be big enough to hold a freight car. Its wing spread is 100 yards and it can carry a pay load of 60 tons, in addition to gasoline. At one time, the navy got so in sistent that the contract for the plane be cancelled that famous record-holder Howard Hughes, now a partner of Kaiser's, had to plead with the RFC to let him continue. The big flying boat is being financed by RFC funds, and Hughes actually promised to put up a $500,000 per formance bond in case of non-ffillment of contract, plus a guaran-te- e to pay all costs personally be yond a certain date. The big plane should be finished early in the summer. MRS. RUTH WYETH SPEAK! ueaioro huis Enclose 15 urawer New Tej id cents for Pattern No. J Name Address StJosep: ASPIRIN WORLD'S LARGEST SULU Judge States All of the 83 past and pred justices of the Supreme Cod the U. S. have come from states, and 42 have been from 6 states: New York, Massac setts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tend see and Virginia. o STOP OB 6 FARMERS GET A BREAK Chalk up a score for Congress. Tbe comedy qolz man Lyndon Johnson of Texas and starring Economic Czar Fred Vinson in helping the farmer on the price of eggs; also in cutting the profits of dried-eg- g manufacturers to the tune of several million dollars a week. It happened through a queer quirk in price ceilings. The price on dried eggs had been fixed by the OPA at THURSDAY NIGHTS 25 cents a pound, but meanwhile the 10:30 P.M. E.W.T. price at which farmers were sellto dried-egtheir the eggs ing processors dropped from around 40 on the entire BLUE net:: cents a dozen to 20 cents a dozen. Despite this drop in price, the dried- CONSULT YOUR egg processors continued to get the LOCAL NEWSPAPER benefit of the high ceiling price, while buying eggs from the farmers McKesson bobbins, inc. at one-hawhat they did before. CALOX TOOTH POWDEX The spread between what the BEXEl VITAMIN B COMPLEX CAKIH4 farmers got paid and what the egg processors sold for was so great that the processors were making money at the stupendous rate of Shroud Is Bridal Gown a week $6,000,000 until Texas In it is the custom for Johnson Japan Lyndon stepped in with pro to make a bur! woman tests to Judge Vinson. The latter engaged has now upped the price which the shroud for herself. She wear? first when she is married, farmer gets for his eggs. g t lf t-- when she is dead. RUSSIAN WEARINESS U. S. officials just back from Rua. sia report a war weariness among the Russian people. This is not to be confused with military strength f ty ii or weakness. Obviously, the milin Incrn I I'M Ifo&fr tary machine is operating with an efficiency such as never before. N Iff II For 25 years. Russia has been torn by war. revolution, or internal strain. Even during days of peace, the severe economic effort deprived the ordinary citizen of many elementary comforts of life. But now, they see victory around the corner and want it to come quickly. Beyond that, they see security coming from cooperation with the other big powers of the world giving them the time necessary to Feather Money build up a state in which, In the Santa Cruz islands in H according to the precepts of the Soviet philoso- South Seas, wives are bought phy, the dignity of the individual money made of feathers. can be recognized and enjoyed. -- DON'T LET METiRY-GO-ROL'N- if".. H THI EYETHlftARsRj fitapD robust youth who proudly boasts s Indian (Semithat he is nole and Delaware tribes) and then adds, grinning: "The other 25 per cent of me is as Irish as Paddy's pig." Walt (or "Chief," as he's known at this field) is one of the crack crew chiefs in his group. His ship, "Baby Bumps," has gone out on 53 missions without turning back, and the Chief, who is a former oil field roustabout from Dewey, Okla homa, is plenty proud of that record. Walt likes to talk about such things as the coming invasion, and the day when he can go back to the Oklahoma oil industry. "Well, I volunteered in this man's army, didn t 1? the "Cruel blasted out. "And until this war's over in both leagues I'm goin' to stick it out." When the war in Europe is all wrapped up, the Chief wants to take his Marauder over to the South Pacific (with Ramon Western, his crew chief pal from Alvord, Texas) and send it out against the little yellow men. Then Walt says he'll be ready to head back to Oklahoma. Is he going DacK to the oil fields? "Hell, yes, is the cmers reply to that one. As I was leaving Walt with his second helping of steak and potatoes that day, he told me that I should have met the real hero of the Scott honor. 'JzZT"? of Collier's once wrote "the novel is a dying literary form. Stories are best told via straight reporting or bieg" . . . Kyle's first novel, "The Proud People," is in its 3rd year old printing . . . Eighty-seveS. S. McClure (founder of the old McClure's mag) will receive the Order of Merit plus $1,000 cash prize from the Nat'l Institute of Arts and Letters . . . Stanley Richards' new play script (a cartoon in three acts) is titled: "Marriage Is for Single People" . . . When Billy Rose hears d about some heel or he marks the name down on his ver long "Drop Dead List." . re-liv- in n. The Intelligentsia: Tommy Harmon, the hero, will do a book on his war adventures for Crowell . . . Poet Joseph Auslander's "The (poetry in epic form) is his best . . . Senator James A. Mead's book, 'Tell the Folks Back Home," will arrive May 8th via Appleton-Centur- pilot, bombardier and gunner ny ana tight as one. I talked to a score of these fliers at a Marauder bomber station rural England. I heard them ON HOMEFRONTa three-fourth- o the Big Town: Williston Rich of the Time mag factory tried for years to convince his colleagues there that Bob Hope would make an Interesting profile By SGT. JIM SVVARTZ JR. . . . But he was . . . always Released by Western Newspaper Union, a t So he went on a short holiday, and mi me tender beauty ot an the bosses suddenly decided that surrounds this English spring Hope should be given a salute . . . The piece was prepared by the guy American medium bomber pinch-hittinSo station, but the fighting men for Mr. Rich from the U. S. A. are too busy So Reader's Digest what? with their big job to notice it picked it up and sent the pinch-hitte- r a check for $1,0001 Most oi tnese ieiiows come g U CJudge SarTi Rosenman now occupies the suite of offices vacated by the late Marvin Mclntyre, White House secretary. Rosenman had only a tiny cubicle under the eaves . . . White House intimates suggest that the President doesn't intend to nil Mac'sprobably place. Insti-aof three secretaries (Steve Early. "Pa" Watson and Mclntyre) he will have onlv turn' r,ii,, e Rosenman as counsel If FDR Intended to run again, he be might more anxious to fill the vacant post for-mer- ... CONSTIPATION SLOW YOU UP .:. .1 i. Ho 111 irrit.M. um f.-- do - chew h..h FEEN-A-MIN- Uxativ rhewlng-eu- ikI the Simplrc, brfor you gc taking only in accordnnct wilh directioni ilef p without "" Nex morning gentle, , "lief, helping you feel ewell !!"?-.Tastei good. i and economical. A generout f anu'T FEEN-A-M1N- 1 P' FEEN-A-MIN- FIEN-A-BJINT- ft O"1"" I lo y |