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Show THE CENTERVILLE Service News and Notes THE CENTERVILLE NEWSETTE Issued Monthly at Centerville, Utah .... ........ Editor Associate Editor Vestil S. Harrison Lois Clayton From the Mail Bag Clinton S. Barber . Sports & Service News Alta Blood Clubs and General Cleveland Cook Organizations Eva Cardall Statistics and News Leonard Mitchell . . Staff Photographer We received the following from Netherlands Bill Evans, headed .... SEND NEWS AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANY OF ABOVE OR TO THE EDITOR, BOX 143, CENTERVILLE THE NEWSETTE REPORTS Hello, folks! I am one year old this issue! Thats why Ive grown a bit that and your splendid mother-lov- e and support. Ive some for a been around certainly Brought an amplitude of joy to a batch of brave and lonely boys and girls scattered all over the globe, too, they do tell. Naturally, it will cost a bit more to maintain me now that I have obtained my present stature, but my expenses had increased lately, anyway, so Im hoping the few dolone-year-ol- d! lars a month additional for my enlargement wront seem extravagant. I want to go on, giving my measure of pleasure to all of you, especially to our fighting boys and girls who are hungry for news of the old home town. Thank you all for your generosity during my first year! Since I last reported, the two Streeper servicemen and their family here at home have donated enough to pay for one issue at my original cost, and Les Beer kindly sent a money order for practically the same amount. I do hope I can be worth all the sacrifice your contributions must entail! Anyhow, we all have our fingers crossed while we see what happens. The following have also joined our happy family (some of donors since last report and thanks! Marley France, Herbert Haacke, Paul Selleneit, Lottie Harris, Joseph E. Williams, Raguel Barber, Florence Roberts, Terese R. Decker, Henry Naylor, Winona Rich, James Amo Kirkham, Charles Jones, Harold Doman, Seth Blood, Afton Cardall Anderson, Charles H. Smith, Milton Smith, Hilda Beer, Jennie Barber, Henry Barber, Laura Barber, Harold Law, Lottie Walton and Fred Cottrell. re-joine- d) JUNIOR WILLIAMS WOUNDED AT LEYTE Cpl. Thomas Junior Williams has had a variety of experiences. He received a citation from General MacArthur in the campaign east of Aitape in the New Guineas and then saw action in the Philippines. He was seriouslyinjured in the Leyte invasion, and his were parents hap-pmade very y a after susmonths pense upon receiving a telegram from the War Depart- ment. They have received a letter from him stating that NEWSETTE out- side of broken bones, cuts, and bruises, he was okay and not to all worry, that everything was fine. feeling right and that he was in the 27th He is now stationed General Hospital in New Guinea. East Indies: I guess you will sort of be surprised getting a letter from me, but I just want you to know how I feel about the little town paper. I call it the Gasette, but it sure is a nice paper and I really look forward to it. I was a little unfortunate not to get my August issue until about three days ago. That shows you what the mail situation is like at times over here. I had received the September issue about two weeks before. Theres one thing I dont go much for in the paper. You talk about people on picnics having cake, ice cream, spareribs and so on. Well, that sounds good to the stomach but is hard on us otherwise when we eat powdered eggs day after day and bully beef, and to top it all off we do have some good (?) army cooks. We have been fortunate to have some fresh meat twice this week. It is a rare occasion to get something like that. I have taken part in two invasions since the latter part of July. Have had a few experiences that I hope dont take place again. This island I am on now is a little different than New Guinea. I believe it is a little healthier and the jungles are not as thick and fewer of them. There are large coconut groves around so I have had my fill of coconuts. When we first got here, there were a few banana trees scattered about and we managed to get us a couple of bunches, but they are scarce now, for when you turn a bunch of G.I.s out well, there is nothing left. I have been hoping I would run onto Pork Randall or Jr. Williams, but havent had any luck. I understand that after i left APO No. 322, they both came in there. I hear from Stuart Smith and Doug Roberts about once a month, and we all are living for the day we can return to the best little place in the world. I am in good health and so far havent been sick since I have been overseas. There isnt any kind of to do, for you can look from your tent and see enough. About the only amusement I get is going down and watching the planes come and go. No souvenirs to pick up. I have picked a few small shells up along the beach and made my wife a bracelet or two out of them. Tell everyone hello for me and I hope we are soon back to see you all. Tell the staff members they are really doing a good job with the paper. sight-seein- g From France, Leslie Beer writes: For some time I have been going to drop a line and tell you how much I appreciate receiving The Newsette each month. You and your staff have done a wonderful job and with the coming year I hone it continues. In each copy there has been something to catch the eye. My favorite copy was the one with the picture of the ward and landscape. Just around the corner was home. My thoughts generally turn to Cen- terville as it was our home. Speaking for the family I can say our happiest days were spent there. From the looks of things Ill be wintering in France, which is not to my liking, but c est la guerre. It might be of interest to you to know that the spirit of the gospel has followed us in our travels. Being without a chaplain hasn t stopped us from holding a service. Before leaving the states we had group leaders set apart for carryLord. Its ing on the work of the field days all just like the mission over again when we meet. From your service news and notes I have received a great deal of joy. Man, we really have them all over the world. Where I am at now its hard to find much of anything, let alone a Seasons Greeting card, so I would appreciate you giving my Yuletide Greetings to the people there at home. For my welfare I am well thats about all they will allow us to say. My activities are confined to the Infantry; doing the work a Heavy Weapons Company plays in the game of keeps. There isnt much more to say. Hoping this finds you in the best of health. Keep up the good work. HONOR ROLL - 84 Centervilles Honor Roll continues to grow. Yern Harker is now in the Navy at Farragut, bringing the number to 84. I had plenty of thrills, but the biggest was coming in contact with Barney Tingey on Guadalcanal. These are the words of MM3c Thomas W. Linge, husband of Mel-v- a B. Linge. Tom is now at the end y of a furlough after 16 months overseas. The ocean trips also gave me plenty of thrills, he continues. Going from San Francisco to Noumea, New Caledonia, it was exceptionally rough. There were times when, if we wanted to get from one side of the ship to the other, we had to crawl we couldnt stay on our feet. I was lucky, I didnt get seasick. The biggest danger was from enemy subs. We didnt have a convoy and had to take a crack at Our closest scrape several came on a voyage from Noumea to Guadalcanal. We got pretty close to Canal, escorted this time by a large convoy, when Jap planes came over and spotted us. We were to land October 10. The Japs somehow knew this, so left and notified their advance patrols to get ready for us. Our skipper crossed them up and had the convoy delay landing. As a result we didnt land until October 11. When we got there we learned the Japs had made a raid and would undoubtedly have sunk us had we landed on schedule. Tom entered the service December 7, 1942, and was at Farragut for boot training, Minnesota U. for 30-da- U-boa- ts. machinist training, Pleasanton, Calif., and then New Caledonia. He spent most of his time in the Solomons, including trips around the New Hebrides, Munda, Tulagi, Bougainville, and others, repairing motors of small craft. The Japs left a lot of ammunition and supplies on the islands they fled. The most interesting were their trucks, which have the steering wheel on the right side. We did a lot of our work driving these throughout the islands. Tom also showed the writer a couple of pieces of metal with Jap inscriptions on them which he salvaged from a Jap radio, and he remarks, I have been trying to find someone who might accidentally know a December, 1944 little of the Jap language so we can read the inscriptions. One of the most exciting tales of our servicemen is told by Lt. (j.g.) Golden L. Allen, husband of Helen Allen. Goldy has been over the pond for a year. I was an LCT commander in the South Pacific, he relates. My crew and I left Russell Island about 11 P. M. on a dark night, and headed directly south for Guadalcanal. Military regulations forbid lights on any craft at night, so it was hard to see if any other craft was approaching. We hadnt gone far when we saw vaguely four destroyers coming abeam our course. An LCT looks a lot like a surfaced sub at night, and we were afraid the destroyers might think us enemy craft and open up on us. We were somewhat relieved when they passed our stern and headed east. We traveled on until 2 A. M., when the destroyers returned in a westerly direction across our stern. We figured they were going back east toward Florida Island, which would put them on a course, and they would cross our bow. Destroyers are much faster and bigger than LCTs, so that if they clashed the LTC would be smashed to smithereens. The destroyers being on their strange course, we couldnt tell whether or not they would hit us. Since they were about 600 yards apart, I thought I could get my LTC between the first two, past them and further south so as to get out of their way and Z-li- ke also to stay on my own course. We tried to get through, but the second was coming too fasi and we had to pull back. I tried to get between the second and third, then the third and fourth, but each time they were coming too fast. In desperation I went parallel to the destroyers course and waited for the fourth to pass. About fifteen minutes later it crossed our bow at a terrific pace, and missed us by a close enough margin for us to shudder. With the narrow escape, and maneuvering around, we were so rattled we got off our course and were lost. We decided to slow down and wait until morning, as better visibility would aid us. When the sun arose, we continued on until a group of dive bombers came over and swooped low. Being off our course we were unidentified, and pilots of planes are always ordered to open up if in doubt. But then we were relieved to see them fly away; they had evidently identified us. A few days later we ar- rived at Canal safe and sound. Golden, who has been on several ships, but specializes in the LCT, entered the Navy November 16, 1942, and took the indoctrination course at U. of Arizona; after that went to ack-ac- k school at Quantico, and Pacific Virginia, Beach, Calif., then to Pt. Monterra, Calif. August 1943, it was overseas for him, spending most of his time at amphibious work in the Solomons as member of an LCT unit flotilla. He was skipper of an LCT for five months and was promoted to his rank January 1, 1944. I was thrilled to meet Arch Clayton at Noumea. We spent about three months in the same quarters, went to church and had our recreation together. Up for a short visit from Provo recently were the J. A. Kirkham family. With them came Cpl. Jim Kirkham, on furlough. Jim has been with the infantry at Mississippi for the past few months and expects overseas duty soon. |