IBT Roundup - June 14, 1945 - China-Burma-India Theater of World War II

XX AIR FORCE REVEALS RESULTS OF ATTACKS Roundup Staff Article
  The full effects of the continuous B-29 raids over Japan were announced this week by XX Air Force and partially confirmed by Tokyo radio.
  U.S. figures stated that up to May 31 that 43 of Nippon's greatest war factories had been hit, with 73.3 square miles of industrial areas laid waste. The Japs declared one in every 18 individuals had been made homeless by the air raids.
  The figures continued to pile up as the 29's made four more raids this week. The Tokyo, Nagoya and Kobe areas were hit. Unlike previous incendiary night raids, this time the SuperForts came over in the daytime and dropped heavy bombs. Heavy damage was reported. P-51's flew escort duty.

ON OKINAWA
  In the meantime, the Jap garrison on Okinawa had been compressed into two dwindling pockets, containing 15,000 enemy, all that remained of the original garrison of over 82,000. Sixty-seven thousand Nips had been killed.
  Both enemy pockets were on the southern tip of the island. The Seventh Army and First Marine Divisions were attacking the flanks of one pocket, while the First and Sixth Marines were working on the other.
  The Japs continued their suicide pilot tactics around Okinawa. Two Navy destroyers, Morrison and Luce, were sunk. Navy carrier planes hit the suicide bases on Kyushu Island four days running.
  In Washington, Vice Adm. Mark Mitscher, commander of famed Task Force 58, said the Jap suicide bombing was just another word for dive bombing, except that it was more accurate. But he said only one percent of the attackers were successful, due to improving defenses.

IN PHILIPPINES
  In the Philippines, the Japs on Mindinao and Luzon were preparing for last stands. The 37th and 38th U.S. Divisions on Luzon were heading into the Cagayan Valley, while on Mindinao the 24th and 31st hit up the Talmo Trail. Earlier, an amphibious landing had sealed of Davao Bay.
  Gen. Douglas MacArthur announced landings by the Ninth Australian Division on Labuan, Brookston and Marua Islands, off West Borneo and 600 miles east of Indo-China. MacArthur columns now stand at the geographic center of Celebes, Bali, Java, Sumatra, Malaya and Indo-China.
  It was also announced from MacArthur's Headquarters that the Far Eastern Air Force has destroyed 80 percent of Formosa's war industries. Since there has been no recent reports of raids on air fields on Formosa, United Press said this might indicate Jap land-based air power might have been destroyed there.
  Meanwhile from besieged Japan came word that the Government had put internal administration on a basis of preparedness for invasion. Tokyo radio said homes would be converted into miniature fortresses, with instruction for last ditch defense being issued to all civilians, including women.

Vol. III No. 41 Delhi, Thursday, June 14, 1945 Reg. No. L5015

CHINESE CLEAR COAST Roundup Staff Article   As the first month of the South China offensive by revitalized Chinese armies ended this week, major drives in three sectors threatened to rout the armies of Nippon.
  Kept off-balance by a three-pronged offensive stemming from the Chinese Army's original victory in the battle for Foochow, the Japs had, by week's end, seen a 170-mile breach torn in their overland corridor from Korea by veteran Chinese troops moving from the south on the major Jap bastion of Liuchow in Kwangsi Province. To add to Tokyo's general discomfiture, the Chinese had rolled up the southern end of the Korea corridor, captured the Indo-China border town of Chungching Fu, 19 miles northeast of the important highway junction of Caobang, and were pursuing the Japs into Indo-China on an 85-mile front.

CLEAR COAST
  To the north, a Chungking communiqué reported the clearing above Foochow of a 105-mile stretch of Fukien Province coastline, which includes Sansha Bay, one of China's best natural deepwater harbors.
  By Monday, the Chinese had announced the capture of Futing, highway town covering the approaches to the major Chekiang Province port of Wenchow. Capture of Futing puts the Chinese 280 miles south of Shanghai. Only remaining pocket of Jap resistance in Fukien Province is the isolated garrison still holding out at the port city of Amoy, 300

BAHHHH

MARTHA VICKERS
Egad! Too Many Clothes.

miles northeast of Hong Kong.

MAJOR DRIVE
The major Chinese drive this week, however, was aimed at the liquidation of Jap forces resisting in Liuchow, former strategic American air base in South China held by the Japs for the past seven months. Kweilin, another former American air base 90 miles to the northeast, is expected to be the next Chinese objective after the fall of Liuchow.
As the Chinese increased pressure on all fronts, the harassed Japs lashed out with minor-scale counterattacks, all of which were turned back. Striking down from their major supply base of Ishan, northwest of Liuchow, the Japs launched four counterattacks in efforts to break the back of the Chinese drive aimed at Liuchow. By Monday, Chungking announced the fall of Ishan to the Chinese. On the Kwangtung-Kiangsi front, the Japs made thrusts 230 miles north of Hong Kong, in the Sinfeng sector, aimed at protecting the Canton-Hankow railway and strengthening their positions in the Canton area against invasion from the sea.

AAF USES HELICOPTER IN BURMA RESCUE

MERCY SHIP

Personnel of AAF, India-Burma Theater, assemble a helicopter at Myitkyina, four days after it left Wright Field, Ohio, in a C-54. Shortly after, the fragile craft touched down atop a jungled Burma peak for the first mercy mission ever flown by a helicopter in this neck of the war.

  AAF HQ. - Capt. Frank W. Peterson maneuvered the helicopter through the maze of jungled Burma peaks and set the small ship down on a rough strip atop a razorback mountain whose sides fell off steeply to narrow valleys 2,500 feet below.
  Twenty-four hours later, after gas and oil had been air-dropped, he took off again, this time carrying a passenger: 21-year-old Pvt Howard Ross, ground observer at an isolated weather station outpost in North Burma who was suffering from a badly infected gunshot wound in his hand.
  This air evacuation mission, marking the first time a helicopter had been employed in rescue work in this Theater, climaxed one of the most amazing stories to come out of India-Burma.
  The story had its beginning when, after the forced landing of a B-25 on an isolated mountain-top in Burma, it was determined that a helicopter would be necessary to effect the rescue of the bomber crew, none of whom were injured. The request was made by radio to Army Air Forces Headquarters in Washington.
  A crew at Wright Field, Ohio, was ordered to begin the dismantling of a helicopter and, working all night, loaded it upon a C-54 cargo plane by the following morning. meanwhile, Peterson, a Wright Field test pilot was ordered to accompany the engineering crew to Burma.
  Four days later, the C-54 with its rescue mission cargo landed at Myitkyina, only to learn that the men they had been rushed overseas to rescue had already been evacuated.
  It was decided, however, to continue with the assembly of the helicopter as rapidly as possible in the event another emergency should arise.
  Late that night, Lt. Leo J. Kenney, commanding officer of the jungle rescue unit, awakened Peterson and told him that a member of a weather station located high on a 4,700-foot mountain in the Naga Hills had accidentally shot himself. Infection had set in and, with medical aid 10 days distant by mountain trail, air rescue had to be attempted despite the inaccessibility of the station even to parachute jumping.
  Assembly of the helicopter was rushed to completion the following morning. The afternoon was devoted to test hops, designed to take any kinks out of the aircraft. The following morning the rescue mission took off.
  Since the helicopter was not equipped with radio and Peterson and Lt. Irwin C. Steiner, another veteran pilot from Wright Field who accompanied Peterson, were flying over unfamiliar territory, the rescue ship was escorted by two L-5's piloted by T/Sgt. William H. Thomas and S/Sgt. Gibson L. Jones.
  Four times, the helicopter became separated from its guide planes, a low ceiling having enveloped the mountain country. But each time the planes renewed contact. Once the helicopter made three attempts before finally topping a 5,000-foot mountain peak. Another time, the ship ran out of gas and had to make a forced landing on a sand bank in the Chindwin River, where Peterson and Steiner sat down and waited for fuel to be air-dropped from the L-5's.
  Up in the air once more, the helicopter climbed up over rocky peaks which jutted sharp above matted jungle, finally landing at the crude air-drop field near the weather station just before running out of gas again.
  The next day, nine days after engineers began disassembling the helicopter at Wright Field, Peterson flew the wounded man out of the jungle.

STILWELL FORESEES STERN RESISTANCE

OKINAWA - Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell, chief of the Army Forces, said during a recent visit here that the U.S. will need a force of at least half a million to invade Japan proper.
He warned that even after Tokyo falls "we still may have to fight a long war against the Japs in Manchuria and China."

Trans-Himalaya Telephone Line Links Kunming, Calcutta
Roundup Staff Article

  It was ting hao with the Chinese, teek with the Indians and a "helluva good job" by the Americans, following Lt. Gen. Dan I. Sultan's announcement this week that telephone and telegraph communication is now possible between Calcutta and Kunming.
  The honor of the first call over the Asiatic hookup was given to M/Sgt. Robert D. Jenkins, who had been on the project 18 months in the I-B Theater. Jenkins made only a test call, to set up the initial greeting from China to Theater CG Sultan.
  Under the same climatic and combat hazards that were overcome to build the Stilwell Highway and the Pipeline, Signal Corps wallahs worked and cursed their way through Burma to China.
  Men were supplied by all means available and imaginable including elephants, boats, airplanes and

In this river crossing of a pole line south of Myitkyina, three men of the 3199th Signal Service Battalion work on the crossarms of a dead-end pole.

captured Jap trucks. At Kamaing the Japs airdropped supplies to them - since word had not reached Jap headquarters that their own units were forced to withdraw. During the monsoon, boats were the only means of transportation and seven men were drowned.
  The completed job is unparalleled in communication history in either peace or war. You can stand amazed at the immensity and difficulty of the project when you consider that a pole line had to be stretched from Calcutta to Kunming to complete the vast system that extends from Karachi across the Sind Desert in India.
  Initial construction started in April, 1943. With the opening of the Stilwell campaign to clear North Burma, communications work was sped up. One line was built east from Ledo through Burma, another was paired up from Calcutta to Ledo. Later, the two lines were joined to make one circuit. From Burma, the line was extended to China.
  The monsoons, disease and occasional Jap snipers, all took their tolls. Trucks bogged in the mud and pontons and elephants took their places. One outstanding feat was laying a submarine cable across the Brahmaputra.
  Signal Corps outfits taking part in installing modern communications in the Orient were:
  445th Bn., CO., Lt. Col. Carroll Scott (formerly the 430th Company. This is a Negro unit.)
  96th Bn., CO., Lt. Col. Robert Disney.
  21st Bn., CO., Maj. Edward F. Jaros.
  432nd, CO., Maj. Edmund E. Johnson.
  428th, CO., Lt. Col. Forrest H. Riordan, Jr., a Negro unit.
  The 430th Company started the work taking over from QM troops. Then came the 96th Battalion. Then four battalions, 31st, 432nd, 445th (into which was incorporated the 430th) and 428th arrived.
  With completion of the line, maintenance came to the fore. Rains caused short circuits, dust clogged the mechanisms, animals tore out the parts. Three Signal Service battalions were assigned to keeping the lines open. They were:
  3199th, CO., Maj. John B. Whitmore.
  3105th, CO., Lt. Col. Clyde D. Clancy.
  236th, operating at that time as a company, CO., Capt. J. Y. Kisinger.
  One of the pioneer communications battalions is the 835th Signal of Lt. Col. Morris S. Schwartz.
  Theater Commander Sultan, through the Roundup, wants to make known his admiration for the weary-eyed G.I.'s who gave of their sweat and labor to make messages possible and "keep them sending" afterwards.

Lt. Wilma M. Sowie reads her mail outside her basha at the 73rd Evac Hospital in North Burma, apparently finding the letter from her hometown, Taunton, Mass., amusing.

  ALONG THE STILWELL ROAD - A lanky, boyish soldier raised himself up on one elbow, turned over in the clean, white sheets of his hospital bed and with an appreciative smile said "You know, I never realized how much Army nurses have done until I was sent here."
  Such tributes, echoed over and over by newly hospitalized troops, bear evidence that nurses, living and working in the close confines of hospital grounds, have seldom been given full recognition for their achievements. Though typical of Army women in the same profession the world over, those who have been sent to the isolated jungle spots of Assam and Burma, have been faced with greater than average hardships and confronted conditions never touched in the classroom or study books.
  Soon after the advance section at Ledo was established early in 1943, nurses were introduced to the hazards, monotony and constant grind that all troops in this area suffered. Thanks to a vigor typical of American womanhood, they pitched in to prepare themselves for the bitter times ahead. Now, more than two years after they first arrived, many are still here, carrying on their work of mercy.
  A large percentage of the girls have more than ordinary reasons for doing their part in our struggle to bring peace to the world again. Many have husbands, sweethearts, fathers, brothers, sisters and close relatives in the Army and Navy. And on top of this, they have brought with them, from professional life, an innate sense of responsibility to their fellow man.

Sgt. C. M. Buchanan
Roundup Field Correspondent

  Like dozens of other nurses all over the Theater, who have had the bitterness of war brought home to them, Lt. Laura J. C. Linsley, of Plainville, Conn., now overseas more than a year, had a Navy husband who was killed in action in the Philippines. Lt. Dolores E. Maruper of Camp Hill, Pa., who left the States with the first contingent of nurses bound for the Ledo area, has two brothers in the service, one in Europe and the other in the Pacific. As she aptly put it, "I feel what I do is like adding something to a nursing pool, from which my own brothers may have to draw sometime."
  More fortunate than many, Lt. Georgia B. Meyers of Atlantic City, N.J., has been able to see her husband, a captain in the Engineers, twice in her 29 months overseas. The first time was in Iran where he was stationed, and the second time in June, 1944, when he came to India.
  Nurses take their duties in stride, deriving a deep satisfaction true of most medical personnel and are quick to chuckle at facetious situations. One told of the amusing and contrasting greetings received as she leaves her quarters to go on duty. "The bearers in best Indian fashion, seriously touching fingers to forehead, say, 'Salaam, memsahib.' The Chinese with a cheerful grin offer, 'Ha boo hao, missee.' But the G.I.'s greet us in a typically American way. They just whistle long and loud."
  Larger in numbers and more in evidence are the girls stationed in wards throughout hospitals. But equally important are the many who are trained to give anesthetics, assist in surgery, do clinical and laboratory work, supervise dietary requirements, physio-therapy and care for the sick and wounded being evacuated by plane.
  Nurses duties are clearly outlined by Army regulations. There is an old, well-established adage in the profession that an efficient nurse must be a good supervisor, a good bookkeeper and a good housekeeper. Girls in charge of wards are responsible for the receiving and recording of all orders relating to treatment of patients, proper administration of all medicines and treatments, procurement and proper serving of food, accurate preparation of all medical records, care and cleanliness of ward and responsibility for equipment.
  Experiences of the women in white parallel those of most soldiers living in the forward areas. many lived and flew close to the front lines and were subjected to the hazards of bombing and strafing. When the first girls arrived and each time thereafter that units moved forward as the Ledo Road and combat situation progressed, others slopped through mud and mire and lived in tents, bombed-out structures, bamboo bashas and temporary abodes. Candles, lanterns, muddy floors and leaky roofs were standard equipment.
  They recite the usual leech and snake stories, relate how monkeys chattered in the thicket overhead, leopards and panthers breathed outside the tents, and hoots, howls and screams emanated from the jungle, sending shivers down the spine. Ingenious plans sprung up to guarantee safety from real and imaginary intruders. One inventive young woman rigged up a rope that turned on the light and sounded a big elephant bell suspended in the air if the door was breached. Others

Lt. Zeryle L. Tase, St. Joseph, Mich., leaves her basha headed for the laundry. She is attached to the 73rd Evac with a unit that has served men of the Stilwell Road for more than two years.

had water buckets and a variety of alarms designed to awaken them at the slightest intrusion.
  During the long and fierce campaign in northern Burma, these girls were faced with the grim realities of war as American, Chinese and British wounded poured into hospitals from the jungle battlefields. They worked hard, tiring hours, putting forth every human effort to save lives and promote the speedy recovery of the combat men.
  Nurses of an air evacuation unit flew into Myitkyina air strip during the battle, and in one instance Jap planes strafed the field as a nurse and medical technician were emplaning a wounded Chinese soldier. The patient was killed and the nurse, since returned to the States, was wounded, receiving the Purple Heart.
  Air evac nurses were the first white women in parts of central Burma. They flew out wounded Chinese, British, Indian and American troops from Myitkyina, Pangham, Mu-se, Kutkai, Lashio and spots along the railway corridor to Mandalay.
  Though they consider most of their trips routine, some have had narrow escapes. Flight nurse, Lt. Clara J. Dillon, of Des Moines, Ia., looked out her plane one afternoon just in time to see a Jap Zero with guns blazing, swishing past. An air battle ensued in which four Jap Zeros were shot down by our P-47's, but one American soldier on a transport flying nearby was killed.
  Great diligence and resourcefulness has been credited to the girls of this squadron in evacuating the sick and wounded from forward areas to Ledo. Flying a portion of The Hump, they are trained in administering oxygen and, with the help of a medical technician, care for 12 to 24 patients en route to hospitals in the rear. More than 20,000 patients have been evacuated by this unit with the loss of only three lives.
  They've looked after a wide array of patients and cargo in their trips to and from evacuation strips. They have a "dog-story" that failed to raise a disapproving brow, for it was a K-9 belonging to the Mars Task Force and being flown back for treatment of a foot infection. Like a good soldier, the dog sat quietly in the bucket seat, according to the flying nurse.
  One of the most difficult tasks calling for complete feminine ability at packing came when it was necessary to rush two pontoon boats along with 20 patients and their baggage to an air base. The flight nurse supervised the placing of the boats, one in the other, and found room for the men as well.
  Important among those in the forward section of the India-Burma Theater are the Negro nurses at the Tagap Hospital. Situated near the top of a 4,500-foot peak of the Patkai Range, these nurses have performed a grand service typical of their profession in caring for white and Negro patients, Indians and natives. Lt. Daryle E. Foister of Bedford, Pa., as well as others at the Negro sky top hospital, is serving her second assignment overseas. She was in Liberia for 10 months early in the war. All are graduate nurses, having long civilian experience.
  Though nursing schedules range completely round the clock, nurses live much as G.I.'s in forward areas and seek similar outlets of entertainment to break the dullness of jungle-bound months. In after duty hours, they lead normal lives, reading, writing home, seeing movies, engaging in bull sessions and occasionally having dates and attending dances.
  Many of the hospitals are located in areas rich in history both before and during this war. Hospitals at Shingbwiyang, Myitkyina, Bhamo and Lashio share the distinction of having been in or near areas where fierce fighting occurred only a short time previously. Pauline Hendershot, Crystal Springs, pa., nurse anesthetist at an Evacuation Hospital near the old Refugee Trail, where thousands of British, Burmese and Indians died while fleeing from the Japs, gained wide notice in the States when a photograph of her giving plasma to a wounded soldier was published in a drive to secure additional blood donors.
  Hospitals at Myitkyina, Bhamo and Lashio are staffed by nurses who have had ample opportunity to see the horrible devastation and destruction of modern warfare. Capt. Matilda E. Dykstra of Wakefield, R.I., is principal chief nurse at a hospital unit that has been in several spots in India and Burma, and is now located at a point that was hotly contested in the 72-day siege of the Jap bastion of Myitkyina. Foxholes and battered dugouts attest to the struggle that went on there.
  Many of the girls have seen wide service, not only at Army camps throughout the United States, but in many overseas stations as well. Lt. Olivette Hardin, of New Bedford, Mass., served in New Zealand for five months, then went to Guadalcanal before coming to Burma. Others have served in the Fijis, the European Theater, Africa and the Middle East.
  American Army nurses treating G.I.'s, British soldiers, Chinese pings, Indian Sepoys and Kachin Rangers, plus an assortment of natives, have found many amusing situations to lighten their daily tasks. Chinese troops, anxious to supplement the regular diet, slip out and bring in ducks, chickens and other foods, and prepare them in the wards.
  The Chinese roll noodles on the bed side stands, cook on small kerosene stoves, cut up peppers, onions and pickles for relishes. In one hospital the nurses found they had to issue the day's bread ration early in

Pfc. John W. Franey, Harrisburg, Pa., a Negro soldier burned in a gasoline explosion, is tended by Lt. Marie L. Schermann, Ottsville, Pa., at the 20th General Hospital, Assam.

the morning, as the Chinese soldiers insisted on having something to munch on. They must be watched with the greatest concentration or they will slip off to the movies or visit friends miles away.
  Such situations are quite distressing to the girls who put in long hours, giving them every attention, only to find they have disregarded the instructions and pulled off dressings, removed drainage tubes and damaged casts. The physio-therapist at one place wondered why the department was so popular and patients came long before their scheduled time. Then it was realized that the Chinese enjoyed the rowing machines, wall ladders and stationary bicycles greatly beyond any therapeutic value.
  One quick thinking flight nurse prevented trouble on a plane bound for a hospital in the rear. Two Chinese psychos were fussing and threatening each other. The alert nurse put radio earphones on the most belligerent patient and gave him Life magazine to look at. Luckily, a Chinese opera was being broadcast from Chungking which soothed his ruffled temper and averted further disorder.
  Most nurses are like G.I.'s in their reactions to duty. They do not feel they are heroes or doing more than any other Army group. They dislike being called "Angels of Mercy," but prefer to think that they are carrying on the traditions of their profession much the same as they did in civilian life. They feel a tremendous sense of satisfaction in being able to serve men who are sick and wounded far from home and grateful patients, especially those that have been in combat, frequently write letters of praise and thanks.
  Nurses wear their bars lightly, look forward to rotation and discharge, so they can rejoin families, friends and sweethearts. Many have boyfriends in the service and a few even admit to handsome civilians with whom they will share affections when they return. Now, both nurses and officers, they hope for the return of peace, so they can be just nurses again.

ONE EACH, CORPORAL WAC, MODEL M-I

CPL. HENRIETTA A. WILLIAMS
Military Nomenclature Too Formal

She's Always Up In The Air About Her Work
Roundup Staff Article

  Though WAC Cpl. Henrietta A. Williams is often up in the air about her work with Lt. Gen. George E. Stratemeyer's AAF Headquarters, there haven't been any complaints.
  That's because Cpl. Williams is the only WAC in the India-Burma Theater on flying status. If you will permit the old fishwrapper to indulge in a bit of free and loose whimsy (We feel so damn repressed these days.)
  The heroine of this journalistic effort also can claim another distinction: She was the first WAC enlisted woman to set her delicate feminine G.I. tootsies on the soil of China.
  This history-making incident occurred in the course of Cpl. Williams' travels as instructoress in the operation of a new type of navigational aid which has proved of great value on the treacherous Hump route over the Himalayas, where rugged terrain and dirty weather have been greater menaces to aircrews than the Japanese.
  In a specially-equipped plane operated by the Communications Section, Cpl. Williams (and along about here we're of a good mind to call her Henrietta, military procedure to the contrary notwithstanding) makes frequent tours of the tactical units in the Theater in order to instruct both officers and enlisted men. Henrie -er, ezxcuse Cpl. Williams is an assigned aircrew member and flies an average of approximately 80 hours each month.
  When she was an undergraduate at the University of Washington, Cpl. Williams expected to become a clothing designer. But the war made her decide to look for a job as a draftsman. As a result, she drew blueprints and did original drawings of machinery in the Seattle-Tacoma Shipyard for about two years after she won her sheepskin.
  The corporal enlisted in the WAC in April, 1944, received her basic training at Fort Des Moines and was assigned as mechanical draftsman to Victorville (Calif.) Army Air Field.
  At Victorville, Cpl. Williams (cess to this formality) became interested in special navigational aids. She was shipped overseas as a draftsman and assigned to the Communications Section of Headquarters, AAF in India, when she arrived here early this year. Her first assignment was making special maps of South East Asia to be used for this new type of navigation. Since then, she has flight-checked the maps all the way from the Bay of Bengal to Chungking, accomplishing considerably more than merely decorating the inside of an airplane.

Stars & Stripes Seeks To Unveil Mystery Of I-B
By SGT. ART HEENAN    Roundup Staff Writer

  The Army daily newspaper for the ETO, Stars and Stripes, decided to let its readers know about Asia, so they sent a correspondent to the India-Burma and China Theaters.
  He is Andy Rooney, who has been delighting in the glorious Indian summer the past week and a half.
  Wearily wiping his brow with a wet handkerchief, Rooney said he had received no instructions as to what type of story to send from Asia. The choices have been left to him.
  "Most of the boys in Europe have only a hazy impression of the CBI," he sweated. "The Stilwell Highway is familiar but just where it goes and why is a puzzle to the average G.I."
  We told him this would undoubtedly bring tears of sorrow and dismay to Education and Information, sworn to the stern task of instilling the why and where of everything into the G.I. mind. Rooney's comment was, "They were too busy in Europe to be interested in anywhere else."

WORKS FOR ELDRIDGE
  Rooney works under Lt. Col. Fred Eldridge, fabulous character who founded Roundup. Eldridge, who was irreverently nicknamed "The hand" prior to leaving India-Burma, is now managing editor of Stars and Stripes and, according to Rooney, operating in his usual big time style.
  "I recall Eldridge as surrounded by phones," sighed Rooney. "Everywhere there were phones. Eldridge has

STRICTLY G.I. By Ehret

"AND DON'T STEAL JEWELS - MALUM?"

a habit of issuing orders in two at once then hollering over a third one, 'Gimme Johnson in Munich or gimme Smith in London.'
  "His main job there is keeping the brass off our neck. He's doing a fine job, too."
  Rooney was mildly curious about the origin of Eldridge's nickname, "The Hand." He is only mildly curious about anything, having been with the First Army from D to V-E Day, which aided him in compiling over 100 points.

NAME EXPLAINED
  We explained that the six foot two Eldridge had given up his editorship of Roundup to act as Uncle Joe Stilwell's personal liaison man with Supremo Mountbatten at Ceylon. Here without knowing it, he had gotten the training that was to aid him in Paris. We also explained how he had left there to go to NCAC and publicize the fighting men on the Burma front.
  But from wherever he went would come Signal Corps wires to Delhi advising as to Roundup policy and story play. So he came to be called "The Hand," always feeling the pulse of public opinion and mischievously tweaking the editor's delicate sensibilities from afar.
  "Well, you've told me more about my boss than I've told you about ETO," said Rooney. "By the way, in view of your past editorials on Hollywood stars, you'll be interested to know movie darlings over there were always complaining Stars and Stripes didn't give them enough publicity."
  So on that patriotic note, we closed the interview.

ATC G.I. HERO TO CHINESE VILLAGERS
By Cpl. ROBERT WHITLEY

  1338TH ATC BASE UNIT, CHINA - An American soldier took a stroll through the little village near this field three months ago; and as a result of what he saw an unusual humanitarian venture was brought into being.
  While Pvt. Jack Pitts was taking some pictures to send to Austin, Tex., a little, scrawny child appeared in a doorway he was passing and beckoned him inside.
  He followed and was led to a tiny dark-walled room where a young mother lay in bed, her right side completely paralyzed. Be her side was a bewildered farmer-husband and a wailing tot very much in need of maternal care.
  The woman became afflicted with infantile paralysis a month earlier, and the local doctor, unfamiliar with this malady, had resorted to blood-letting at all the joints along the afflicted side. She was literally a parchment-covered skeleton; the blood-letting points had developed into ugly sores; she was delirious with fever.
  This particular section of China is honeycombed with natural hot springs. Familiar with the great faith placed in this form of therapy in America, Pitts, who had had a few first aid courses in the Army, decided to act promptly because the woman was obviously near death.
  With the help of several coolies, whom he paid himself, Pitts had the young mother transported to a spring a mile distant for a daily medicinal bath over a period of two months.
  Today, three months later, the girl can walk without the aid of crutches, the sores are completely healed and she has gained 20 pounds.
  Now, in recognition for what they consider a miracle, the people of the village have formed a fund from their meager purses and have acquired a room where Pitts conducts a daily sick call. Out of his own pocket, the G.I. has purchased basic first aid supplies and installed a bed with an adjustable head rest.
  He has started a wholesale drive throughout the village to improve the sanitary conditions. Fly traps and mosquito nets are in evidence.
  His fame has spread through adjoining villages, and scores of youngsters and their tottering grandparents walk miles to be there for his morning sick call.
  The villagers realize that Pitts is giving of his own time and out of his own pocket. When he is on his way down to his dispensary, they rush to their doorways or windows to call happy greetings to him.

GATHER 'ROUND, DEAR READERS

  If this be propaganda, make the most of it, chums.
  Gather 'round close while the Roundup strikes a journalistic blow against malaria.
  Of course, no one can stop you from skipping today's class. But don't expect to get any sympathy from us if Miss Anopheles Mosquito, a very treacherous wench, dunks her bill into your epidermis for a quick snack after dusk.
  The reaction, we promise, will not only be prompt but acute. Ask any G.I. who has had a bout. He'll tell you from sad experience that you'll have malaise (which means you'll be sick as hell_. you'll lose your appetite, have headaches, get pains in your stomach, shoot your lunch (if you can eat it in the first place), suffer the miseries of diarrhea, chills and fevers. Buster, it's a physiological jackpot.
  We're drumming this into your ears, class, because the malaria season is now with us.
  The Medical Corps doesn't expect malaria to be eliminated among U.S. Army personnel. Here in India, where the local population in some areas is almost 100 percent infected, shooting for that goal would be like trying to hit the moon with a bean shooter. But with proper malaria discipline, the rate can be reduced. Stringent control measures have already pared incidence to a figure scarcely hoped possible.
  Don't adopt that it-can't-happen-to-me attitude. Take all the various precautions your commanding officer orders. That is, unless you feel that you'd enjoy a case of malaria. Frankly, we'll pass.
  Above all, take your atabrine. The Roundup was once accused of batting on the side of evil for advocating atabrine. Wild rumors suggested that atabrine caused sterility and made the skin permanently yellow. Fiddlesticks and nonsense. The substitute for quinine (discovered to surpass the former medicine) cures malignant malaria, suppresses recurrent malaria and has much effect upon the body as a box of cough drops.
  Class dismissed.

Legion Vets In Kunming

  KUNMING - A group of weary, starving veterans of the French Foreign Legion reached an American Army hospital here after an epic 650-mile fighting retreat from Indo-China.
  Suffering from disease and malnutrition, the Legionnaires struggled through the jungles and hills for nearly two months, leaving some of their comrades along the trail, killed by the Japs.
  At the end of the journey, only two-thirds of the original force of two battalions remained.
  The Legionnaires were suffering from typhus. Some had no shoes. Food supplies were limited. Despite their condition, some carried their comrades the final 100 miles.

This is the first planeload of men to return to the United States from the India-Burma and China Theaters on the point system for discharge. Here they are in New York, where they were landed at LaGuardia Field by ATC. Left to right: Front row - Sgt. Versal Bridges, Sgt. Evert Phillips, Pfc. Joseph Brown, Pfc. Joseph Mooley, T/5 Jesus Alajo, Cpl. Gregpry J. Smith, T/5 Edmund B. Lawler. Back row - Pvt. Robert Comfort, Pfc. Yertis R. Bay, Pfc. Edward J. Kensland, T/4 Harold K. Stebbins, T/4 Frank L. Trusty, Sgt. Harry, T/4 Robert V. Van Horn, Sgt. Harry J. Wright, Cpl. Anthony O'Shea.

I.B. SENDS 1,535 TO U.S.
Roundup Staff Article

  Indicative of the careful groundwork laid for carrying out the Army's V-E Day readjustment plan in India-Burma, 1,417 enlisted men and 118 officers were sent back to the United States for eventual discharge during the month following the end of the war in Europe, Lt. Gen. Dan I. Sultan, Theater Commander, announced this week.
  Average score of the enlisted men returned to the States was 92, seven more than the War Department's critical score of 85.
  Not all the highest point holders a being released immediately in this Theater, it was revealed. In the case of organizations having a high percentage of 85-plus point men, the highest of these have been or are being released. The others, even though their total point score is above the 85 deadline, will not be returned home until replacements arrive.
  Personnel officials charged with administering the readjustment program are now screening total scores of all officers and enlisted men in the Theater. When completed, these compiled scores will be sent to Washington where a permanent V-E Day critical score will be determined. It was indicated in readjustment headquarters here that the permanent score will likely be released about July 1.

I-B SPORTS NOTES

Having pushed aside all competition in a field that started with 40 teams, two outfits are now locked in a death-battle for the Upper Assam softball championship, according to Capt. Roland Savilla, who writes Roundup to extol the greatness of that circuit. The Rangers, an ATC outfit, will vie with the Stallions for titular honors.
The Rangers went 16 innings to beat the Whellers, 5-2, and move into the finals. The Stallions stopped the All-Stars, 6-4, behind good pitching by Dick Ecles. Their playoff series will be staged on hospital recreation fields so the patients can attend.

Calcutta reports the big U.S. Forces swimming pool will be opened during this month, adding another prime attraction to those already existing in the city by the sea. This pool, which will accommodate 1,000 persons at a time, is near the race track on the Victoria Memorial gardens. It will be open six days a week and has dressing rooms for women, enlisted men and officers. Surrounding the huge pool is the customary vacation layout of horseshoe, volleyball, ping-pong, archery and basketball playing fields . . . The pool will use a modern filtration plant and holds more than 1,000,000 gallons of water. Adjacent to it is a sister pool for British and Indian troops.

Lt. Fred W. Fies, of APO 690, regrets that Roundup didn't identify the two piscatorialesque queens on the sports page of the May 31 issue. He asserts they are Poni Adams and Barabar Bates (You're right, Lt., and now for the $32 question) and additionally he declares he actually dated Miss Adams last summer and she has a "rare combination of beauty and brains." Roundup readers could see the beauty. We accept friend Fries comment about her brains and I.Q. which he labels as "terrific."

FOR SHAME, ATC SHAVETAIL SCORE LOWER THAN WACS
Roundup Staff Article

  We're informed by an official ATC announcement from Calcutta that a second lieutenant is eligible for discharge on two less points than an enlisted WAC.
  ATC, which conducts the Readjustment Plan in its own backyard, pays enlisted men an unexpected tribute by rigidly holding the non-commissioned ranks to the War Department's interim score of 85.
  In fact, according to the rather startling announcement, enlisted men require more points than any officer to be eligible for discharge.
  Says the announcement: "Minimum points required for consideration for discharge are 85 for enlisted men, 36 for flight officers, 42 for second lieutenants, 58 for first lieutenants, 65 for warrant officers and 70 for captains and field grade officers, figured on the War Department scale."
  However, the ATC throws a drenching dash of cold water on its personnel who are contemplating packing their barracks bags. It is emphasized that "very few" would be severed from service in I-B, due to expansion of operations. No one, said the announcement, would be released from the India-China Division unless a replacement was present in the organization to which he is currently assigned.
  Meanwhile, a copy of the Midland Field (Tex.) Airscoop arrived in the Roundup office this week. The point system arrived at was identical with that announced by ATC in this neck of the war, except that the enlisted men's interim score was reduced from 85 to 80.
  But second lieutenants are still eligible for discharge with 42 points, compared with 44 for enlisted WAC's.
  Oh, the shame of it.

14th Heavily Hits Former Air Base

  CHUNGKING - Maj. Gen. Claire Chennault's 14th Air Force hit Jap-held Liuchow, former American airbase, with one of the heaviest raids of the year this week. The blow was made in co-ordination with the Chinese ground drive.
  Other smashes during the week continued from Peiping in North China to the coastal railroad of French Indo-China near Touraine. Jap communications, locomotives, rolling stock, bridges, rail installations, river shipping, truck convoys and troop concentrations were hit in the Kweilin-Liuchow-Pinglo triangle.
  Other fighter-bombers swept the Laohokow and Kingmen areas on the southern Honan front.
  Meanwhile, the revitalized Chinese Air Force, equipped with American planes manned by American-trained personnel, blasted targets in Kwangtung, Hupeh, Hunan and Shansi province.

ARMY GAME
COMES TO INDIA

  REPLACEMENT DEPOT NO. 1 - Not only are Indians being introduced to the American language and habits, but they are being subjected to the old Army game - buck-passing through channels.
  From the weeds comes the story of the firing of a coolie worker at a replacement depot. The procedure went something like this:
  The colonel made an inspection, found beer bottles lying around. The colonel brought the major out to see the beer bottles and the major called on the lieutenant in charge of the transient area. When the lieutenant had been conducted on a tour of the littered area he paid a visit to the sergeant in charge of native labor. A few minutes later, the sergeant sought out his private first class assistant. In turn, the G.I. cornered the native labor foreman who proceeded to fire the coolie in charge of keeping the area in question clean.
  Progress has come to India?

DIPLOMATIC
STILWELL'S REPLY

DETROIT - After Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell made a speech before 1,400 officers and civilian officers

Stilwell

of the Detroit Ordnance District at the Book Cadillac, some one asked whether he thought that the Communists in Russia and those in China would join forces actively and aggressively in the near future.
  Uncle Joe, mindful of the stars on his shoulders, weighed the question solemnly.
  Then he gave his answer - loudly, clearly, for at least two minutes.
  But his answer was in valuable Chinese, after which he smiled, winked and sat down.

'AVAST THERE,' PILOT EVACUATE BOAT LOAD BY AIR
By LT. KATHERINE HACK, ANC

  STILWELL ROAD - Our medical Air Evacuation Squadron recently initiated what we believe to be something new in technique - taking out a boatload of patients by air.
  One morning in Myitkyina, we found ourselves with about 20 patients, a willing pilot and a plane with "little cargo" to go along.
  The "little cargo" turned out to be two boats. Comparing their size with the plane's interior they might just as well have been called ships. I believe the nomenclature is Higgins Pontoon boats.

FIRST BOAT ANCHORED
  The problem was how to get the patients, crew and boats inside the plane and back to Ledo. The coolies got to work and maneuvered the first boat into the plane. It was placed as far forward in the cabin as possible.
  The second boat was placed inside the first, the two being securely tied down. The question now was, where to put the patients. All except one were walking cases with no extraordinary ailments.
  So a baker's dozen of Chinese and Indians and their baggage were assigned the second boat. The bulky tents, bedrolls and barracks bags were placed around the boat to make it as comfortable as possible for the voyagers. As a potent afterthought, T/3 McLaughlin added a large empty bucket to the boatload just in case they got "seasick."

ALL ASHORE THAT'S GOING
  The remaining patients, mostly cast cases, were seated on the last tier of bucket seats back of the boat. They seemed very comfortable, support being given here and there by blankets and musette bags. The sole litter case was placed upon the floor at the stern end of the boats and the litter firmly tied down.
  The trip was uneventful except that three of the voyagers got sick. Their companions seemed to find this hilarious by the amount of laughter that passed amongst them as they passed the bucket. Such is the episode of the sea-and-air combined operation.

CHOPSTICKS
ENIGMA TO CHINESE

  1338TH BU, CHINA - Here's one for Ripley's Believe It or Not.
  One of the coolie laborers who works on this ATC base was unable, as a child and adult, to learn to eat with chopsticks.
  Most Chinese children can wield a mean pair of chopsticks when they are still too young to walk, but this poor fellow was unable to master the tricky art and has to go through life eating with a wooden spoon.
  According to the interpreter he is in all other regards a highly-respected citizen in his little, nearby village and he himself, is somewhat proud of his distinction.

JAPS IN BURMA GIVE
GROUND SLOWLY

  RANGOON - Japanese forces, which have fought bitterly in the past six weeks trying to hold open the route curving northeast from Pegu around the Gulf of Martaban in Burma to Thailand, continued to give up ground slowly this week.
  The British made one advance of 35 miles along the Thazi Road in the escape corridor, seizing the hill station of Kalaw, according to a Southeast Asia Command communiqué. The Japs have also withdrawn from strong prepared positions at Milestone 18, on the Toungoo-Mawchi Road, in the same area.
  However, the Allied Command announced that the Japs, trying to seize a British position at Mokshitwa, were thrown back after making three fanatical night attacks. Mokshitwa lies 14 miles northwest of Pegu and nine miles west of the Mandalay-Rangoon Road and rail lines.

By SGT. CHARLES CLARK
Roundup Staff Writer

  For several weeks, Pvt. Joe Sullivan, member of Sabatu rest camp cadre, literally suffered a pain in the neck. Doctors at Sabatu treated him for a while without success and then sent him to New Delhi for further treatment. Sullivan spent two days in the Delhi hospital, undergoing blood tests, injections, et cetera, ad infinitum. The pain persisted. Then Sullivan dropped into an Indian barber shop for a haircut.
  "Head massage, sahib?" Sullivan said yes, didn't mind if he did.
  The barber, in his inimitable manner, grabbed Sullivan's head in both hands. A few warm-up twists, and then - whack! A judo-like blow on the neck.
  That did it. The pain was gone. *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *   Latest my-but-ain't-it-a-small-world story: Maj. Arnold Chase, a Procurement Officer in New Delhi, recently returned from the ETO after a stint of temporary duty. While waiting at the Paris airport for a plane to take him back to India, he was approached by a Red Cross worker. Was the Major going to New Delhi, she wanted to know. Then would he please take a note to her husband? Naturally, said the Major. When she handed him the envelope and he saw the address, he well-I-be-damned, "I know this guy!" The addressee was his old, old friend (and boss), Lt. Col. G. W. Power, Chief Procurement Officer, working in the same office with Chase. *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *   Baksheesh University, latest G.I. institute of higher education, has opened its doors to members of the 305th Air Service Group. An information and Education project, the school offers four subjects: Business administration, taught by Sgt. George Cramer; blueprint reading under Sgt. Earl G. Hammick; mathematics, handled by Sgt. Richard De Jerf; and basic English and grammar under Cpl. Lamar McLeod. Other courses will be added to the curriculum later. *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *   Yankee Doodler, newsy tabloid for the APO 690 area, tells the sad story of a sad man, 1st Sgt. Raymond T. Roady, who has missed the boat home by the proverbial skin of his teeth. The good sergeant is 39 years old and has a total of just 84 points. It's a tough situation, but as Editor Dave Osborne optimistically points out, "the war can't last forever." *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *   Point-laden, homeward-bound G.I.'s of the First Convalescent Camp at APO 689 were guests of their less fortunate comrades at a recent farewell party, complete with sweet music, food-fest and lovely women (Red Cross variety). Entertainment was provided by a local pipeline band, a Special Service orchestra, a Negro vocal group and a G.I. magician.

The Roundup is a weekly newspaper of the United States Forces, published by and for the men in Burma and India, from news and pictures supplied by staff members, soldier correspondents, Army News Service and United Press. The Roundup is published Thursday of each week and is printed by The Statesman in New Delhi and Calcutta, India. Editorial matter should be sent directly to Capt. Floyd Walter, Hq., U.S.F., I.B.T., APO 885, New York, N.Y., and should arrive not later than Saturday in order to be included in that week's issue. Pictures must arrive by Friday and must be negatives or enlargements. Stories should contain full name and organization of sender. Complaints about circulation should be sent directly to Lt. Sidney R. Rose, Hq., U.S.F., I.B.T., APO 885, New York, N.Y. Units on the mailing list should make notification of any major change in personnel strength or any change of APO.

JUNE 14, 1945

Original issue of India-Burma Theater Roundup shared by CBI Veteran Douglas MacLeod

Copyright © 2009 Carl Warren Weidenburner

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