The Command Post - May 26, 1944 - China-Burma-India Theater of World War II

VOL. 1. No. 11 PRECENSORED FOR MAILING MAY 26, 1944

STILWELL BATTERS JAPS IN BURMA

CHINESE TROOPS TAKE MYITKYINA JUNCTION

  KANDY, CEYLON - After beating off a Japanese counter-attack, General Stilwell's Chinese troops on the western outskirts of Myitkyina have advanced to the junction of the railway and the road leading from the airstrip, says today's communiqué from S.E.A.C. Other units have effectively blocked the road between the airfield and Myitkyina proper. South of Myitkyina other Chinese troops repulsed enemy attack near Zigyun Ferry. Chindits continued to exert pressure south of the Mogaung, and during the past 48 hours have killed more than 100 Japs.
  East of the Mogaung Valley the Chinese 38th Division made considerable headway, and the Chinese 22nd Division took six enemy positions along the Hwelon River and further to the west. Both these units are making a drive to join with Stilwell before Myitkyina and close the nutcracker on the Japanese.
  South and southwest of Kohima our troops improved their positions on the ridges overlooking the town by occupying further enemy strongpoints. Our artillery was successfully engaging enemy parties moving in the hills.
  In the air U.S.A.A.F. and R.A.F. fighters and fighter-bombers of the Third Tactical Air Force, Eastern Air Command, attacked military objectives on the Tiddim Road blasting a portion of the road itself and tying up the enemy communication line. Enemy positions in Kohima, Imphal, Ukhrul and Somra area were being attacked successfully. Camps and store in the neighborhood of Fort White were strafed.
  Fighting a desperate delaying action in a hope that the monsoons will hamper the Allied attack against them, the Japanese in their North Burma-China frontier pocket are 'trading space for time,' New York Times correspondent Tillman Durdin reports.
  The exhausted and hungry ranks in this pocket, decimated by heavy casualties, are faced on almost every side by hostile forces. In the west the twin-forces of British-led Gurkhas and Chinese-American forces attack them, in the south, the British airborne forces sit astride their communication lines, and on the east flank along the Salween River they are confronted by the Chinese.
  The remnants of two divisions in addition to auxiliary units in this pocket are in a desperate position. Blocked in the south by the airborne troops and blanketed from above by the ceaseless activity of the Allied air forces the problem of supply and reinforcement is a major difficulty, and they have been outnumbered by the Allies.

PRELUDE TO VICTORY
NORTH BURMA CAMPAIGN OF
GREATEST IMPORTANCE TO U.S. By James Shepley   (Editor's Note: TIME Correspondent James Shepley recently returned to Commandtown after spending four months "On the Line" with Stilwell and Merrill. The COMMAND POST gratefully acknowledges this exclusive, authoritative interpretation of current activity on the Burma front.)

  General Stilwell's operations to chop off Northern Burma and lift the Japanese siege of China were at their climax this week. Success or failure should be clear within the next two weeks and at this moment the odds appear strongly in favor of complete success.
  Because, perhaps of a difference in news judgment or in reader interest in this area the display given General Stilwell's war in Commandtown newspapers results in a gross understatement of the Northern Burma campaign.

Importance Of Burma Campaign
  In the absence of a Channel crossing from Britain, there is probably no operation in progress on the World battlefronts right now of greater importance to the United States than the Northern Burma campaign. If Americans in India could read their hometown papers this week, they would know that they are now a part of a military campaign as dramatic and as important to the final outcome of the war as the historic battles for Guadalcanal and New Guinea.

Blockade Of China Being Lifted
  Chinese and American Infantry under the direct command of the war's newest expert in close-in fighting, Brigadier General Frank Merrill, have crossed the "little Hump" between the Hukawng Valley and the Irrawaddy River valley and have taken the Japanese airfield at Myitkyina. Airborne reinforcements of Chinese infantry were flown in and Myitkyina is now nearly in our hands. From the Salween River line to the east Chinese columns under the command of General Wei have been marching since May 10 to make contact with Stilwell's forces. When and if they do, and they should, the land-sea blockade of China will be lifted and the armies of Chiang Kai-shek will again have land communications with the rest of the Allied world. Down the Mogaung Valley towards Kamaing and Mogaung two divisions of Chinese infantry, the 22nd and 38th, are driving to close Stilwell's fist on northern Burma and occupy a line from which the new road to China can be protected.
  Almost as fast as the combat troops can advance, the road, built by American engineers commanded by Brigadier General Lewis A. Pick, is moving forward. Not many months after the last Jap has been killed in the Kamaing-Mogaung-Myitkyina pocket, American trucks, carrying American weapons should be rolling to China.
  Then General Chennault's Fourteenth Air Force, now supplied only by tonnage that the ATC can fly over the Hump, will let the Japs feel the full weight of American air power. Then, ground armies of Americans and Chinese will be in a position to smash through to the China coast.

Important Role Of Base Section 2
  These are the objectives of the present campaign for Northern Burma. They are perhaps the most direct threat to Japan itself we have made in the war so far. These are the reasons G.I.'s and their officers are in Commandtown today. They are moving guns and ammunition to Stilwell to open the road to China. And this week this base section is moving that tonnage faster than it can be used.
  It's an important war this base section is supporting, the most important now being waged against Japan. And having seen the results from the other end since the campaign started, I can testify that Buck Cheves, if officers and G.I.'s are doing a dammed important job and doing it well.

  Remember the days before you had to argue with a tough-looking supply sergeant that your khaki jeans were too long and you didn't have an eight-inch chest expansion to take in the shirt's slack?

  Remember, around this time of the year on Broadway in New York, Vine in Hollywood, Walnut in Philadelphia, Michigan Blvd. in Chicago, Woodward in Detroit - a sweet, demure thing would lure a dime from your pocket for a poppy?

  Remember, how you ogled the a.d.t. and hardly gave a thought to the dime or the poppy? Past events, occasions and bits of history didn't carry much impression to your mind. Life was easy then. Everywhere, everyone was saying, more or less, "He's on Easy Street now." The expression was typically American. And typical Americans didn't have a care. They lived as they wished, ate what they desired, worked hard, played a lot. They catered to their whims and each snared a bit of luxury such as suited fancy and mood.

  It will be May 30 again and as a soft voice on Main St., U.S.A. says, "Poppy, ten cents," the dimes will trickle just as easily into the tin containers, but even Lloyd's of London wouldn't offer even money that the folks back home won't be thinking of you, you and you - and all of us.

  They'll be thinking not of the poppy, but of the story behind it. They'll brush off the dust of history - at Gettysburg, at the Marne and the Argonne, then Pearl Harbor, today and tomorrow. Behind each is the American in uniform - determined, dogged, intrepid, masterful - A gun in his hand. But he'd rather be in the Yankee Stadium pouring out his lungs for a homer.

  History has at marked intervals called him away from his own ideas of the pursuit of happiness to correct by force the desire of others to have their ideas imposed on him. Nobody ever told them in the modern vernacular that "you'll be sorry." Now the Yank is once again in battlefields the world wide and poppies are being sold on Main St.

  So Memorial Day belongs not to the past any more but to the march of time as it crosses from the calendar the very days we are living.

  And we're glad that it's the Yank who can do the job to restore tranquility to the earth. We're glad, although he's not militaristic, that he can toss aside the plow, the wrench, the office pen, grab a gun and grenade and do himself proud.

  A day of tribute it always will be to those who shed their blood for a fine purpose, but to those of us who are webbed in this war today it remains a proud day to correct a sad detour in history. And no matter where

IT'S A TAKE In addition to the broadcasting of the bouts, which began last week, Mondays intersectional fights between the All-Star Commandtown team and the ATC boxers will be photographed by the cameramen of the INDIAN NEWS PARADE and will be shown in the newsreels all over India.

we go, folks will always say of American soldiers, "They're proud." Whether they say it with a snicker, with envy, with malice or with joy, let's always be PROUD - and keep the folks back home PROUD of us.

See you next Friday.
The Postscripter

U.S. TROOP CARRIERS MOVE DIVISION

  In one of the most sensational and at the same time most secret tactical operations in the Indo-Burma Front, Brig. Gen. William D. Old's Troop Carrier Command of the Eastern Air Command recently moved the entire Fifth Indian Division and their equipment from one part of the Burma Front to another.
  Not a single aircraft or man was lost in this remarkable operation. Twenty four hours before the movement began, the troops were in action against the enemy. Men and equipment were taken by road to the nearest airfield straight from the Front, loaded on to huge transport aircraft and flown to their new destination where in a matter of hours they were once again battling with the Japanese.
  A Press Note from headquarters of the Eastern Air Command tells the story of the successful military coup. "At dawn all that was visible on the airfield from which the move was to be made were two R.A.F. jeeps parked on each side of the runway. The silence was broken by the hum, then the thundering roar of aircraft engines filling the sky. The big Dakotas began coming in. One after another they circled the airfield. In quick succession they touched down and taxied to dispersal areas. R.A.F. and U.S.A.A.F. ground crews dashed into action, and within a matter of minutes they were refueling and checking engines.

PART OF AIRBORNE TROOPS
The Fifth Indian Division - troops, jeeps, guns, mules, food and ammunition - were transported by air from Arakan in Imphal front in couple of hours where they contacted the enemy shortly after arrival. The mule in the picture rather reluctant but was eventually persuaded to enter the plane.

  Meanwhile the aircraft, their doors open, were taking aboard their precious cargoes of men and equipment. Out from the bushes around the airfield came the hidden columns of British and Indian troops. They moved forward to the waiting aircraft.
  Mules, mountain guns, medical equipment, jeeps and trailers, heavy artillery, ammunition and all essential supplies for these units for General Slim's 14th Army were loaded on to the Troop Carriers.
  Everyone, from ground and maintenance staffs to pilots, from privates to high staff officers, was keyed up to the importance of the occasion. Aircrews volunteered for the job of shepherding the mules aboard; the mules were all blindfolded as they were led into the aircraft. In the main they stood the air journey very well.
  The transport crews, British and Americans - also helped to load the transports. Generals too, acted as "loaders."
  Brigadier General Old was there himself directing the work and watching the transports take off. There was no special briefing for the crews. A jeep driven by an American Captain dashed from one aircraft to another. He gave short instruction to the pilots and handed them their maps with the remark, "This is all the briefing you're going to get, boys - so good luck, and off you go!"
  Then the engines roared into life, and within half an hour of having landed the Dakotas were airborne again and heading for their destination. Within three hours they were back to take on more troops and equipment.
  Within thirty-six hours thousands of fighting men were moved from one battlefield to another - an operation, which, if conducted by normal road and rail communication, would have taken weeks.
  Co-operation between the R.A.F. and U.S.A.A.F. ground crews was largely responsible for the clockwork landing and departure of the loaded transports. Each helped to refuel and service the other's aircraft.

RICHARD F. BROMILEY

BROMILEY NEW STATION 19 COMMANDING OFFICER

  Lt. Col. Richard F. Bromiley, former Western Sector operations officer of the India-China Wing, Air Transport Command, has replaced Maj. Dean K. Given as commanding officer of ATC Station 19. Major Given was transferred to wing headquarters.
  The 28-year-old Bromiley, one of the youngest airbase commanders in the wing has set a 50 percent increase in tonnage as his goal for the base. He hopes the objective can be achieved by improved utilization of existing equipment.
  To promote teamwork, he has inaugurated a chart system which will familiarize each department with operations in other departments so officers will get an accurate picture "of what's going on."
  Colonel Bromiley, a 1938 graduate of West Point Military Academy, took flying training at Kelly Field after receiving his commission. After getting his "wings" he became flight instructor at Kelly and later commanding officer of a training detachment at Cocala, Fla.
  He served as director of flying at Gunter Field and then became director of training at Newport, Ark., a post he held until he became base commander there. He was air inspector with the Second Air Force at the Ardmore, Okla., Army Airbase for several months before coming overseas. He has been in the China-Burma-India theater since January.
  As a pilot, Bromiley is qualified to almost any type ship, including the ATC's four engine transports.

JERNIGAN NAMED BASE ENGINEER, SUCCEEDS JOHNSON

  Major Ottis M. Jernigan has been appointed base engineer to succeed Col. J. P. Johnson who will shortly return to Shangri-La after 31 months foreign service. Jernigan served as executive officer to the base engineer before assuming his present command.
  A native of Arkansas, Major Jernigan is a graduate of the University of Arkansas and holds a degree in Civil Engineering. He also earned an R.O.T.C. commission in 1927.
  Called to active duty in April, 1941, he did construction work and built airfields in the South. In civilian life, Jernigan was employed by the U.S. Engineer Department and specialized on river and harbor improvements in the lower Mississippi River.
  Capt. Alex Willard, Philadelphia, Pa., has been named executive officer, succeeding Jernigan.
  In taking over his new post, Major Jernigan said that the efforts and policy of the base engineers would not be changed; they would continue the engineer planning and service functions of the base section.

CORNY STORY FROM ASSAM

  American airmen of a fighter group of Brig. John F. Egans Northern Air Sector Force are licking their chops in eager anticipation of an item which they've hitherto seen only in their wildest dreams. In a part of the world that knows only of rice paddies and tea patches, real, honest-to-goodness American corn is being grown on a plot of ground about 50 feet square.
  Capt. John L. Clarke is the Yankee "farmer" who nursed this unique Victory Garden. He had never grown anything before - not even a military mustache - but he is having remarkable success with seeds he obtained from an English tea planter. The corn is now 10 feet high and in a very short time airmen will be munching happily on sweet corn, which most of them haven't tasted for more than two years.
  Hazards such as enormous cows, goats, chickens, stray dog and night prowling jackals were overcome by Capt. Clarke. He had to use crude tools for plowing. His only previous plowing experience was on a golf course, with a niblick, but now that he has developed the knack, he's looking for more seeds. He hopes to plant a bigger and more varied Victory Garden in this country, which is being used as a spring-board to victory against the Jap.

More ‘Commando’ Planes For CBI

    LOUISVILLE, KY. (By Cable) - The Curtiss-Wright Corporation, aircraft manufacturers, announced last week that two more of their plants, the one at Louisville and the one at St. Louis have started making the U.S. Army's giant "Commando" transports, most of which are destined for the CBI.
  Both plants were recently converted and previously manufactured other types of aircraft. They supplement production of the "Commandoes" at Curtiss' two plants at Buffalo, N.Y. and the Higgins plant at New Orleans, La.
  The U.S. Army Air Transport Command recently authorized an announcement that Commandoes make up three-fourths of the serial fleet carrying war supplies to China.
  Commandoes went into service on the Himalayan assignment in the first week of May, 1943, after 30 of them had established a new chapter in aviation history by flying nearly 15,000 miles across the Atlantic, Africa, and the Middle East with pauses only for refueling.
  Bombs and ammunition, as well as everything else that is needed in that war theater, are flown to China in Commandoes. The planes carry drums of petrol and oil for Maj. Gen. Claire L. Chennault's 14th USAAF as well as personnel, weapons and food. On the return trip from China, the planes carry precious minerals, general freight and personnel.

SHADES OF RUBE GOLDBERG

  A busy little vehicle which bustles around the shop of one of Commandtown's Heavy Automotive Maintenance Companies defies description. The creation of T/Sgt. George J. Kalina and Sgt. Arthur F. Drouin, this nameless machine is a conglomeration of many salvaged vehicles. It has the engine, chassis and frame of a Jeep, the steering gear, brake drum for the boom, and the winch are Dodge parts, the wheels are from a British station wagon and the instrument panel and the lights are from a General Motors truck.
  It's a very handy little gadget to have around. Hauling engines, bodies, transmissions, transfer cases and about everything else that is heavy and bulky, around the shop, countless hours of manpower are saved.
  The boys are considering having their creation patented and sending the specifications to the Chief of Ordnance but haven't as yet decoded what nomenclature to use. (See picture page.)

GERALDS WIN SOFTBALL TITLE: WIND-UP LEAGUE

SET!
Schlichting of the Quakes gets set to hit the apple in the third inning of the game against the Geralds Sunday. Barnes is the catcher for the Geralds.

LETHAL LEFTHANDER
Jackson, one of the leading hitters of the Geralds, smashes out one of his hits in the fatal seventh inning against the Earthquakes in Sunday's championship game.

Batter Quakes In
Inter-League Tilt 13-4

  The Geralds are Commandtown's Softball Champions. Combining 10 hits, 11 walks and four Earthquake errors, they completely annihilated the 'Quakes in a hectic, seven-inning inter-league championship game Sunday at the Memorial field by a 13-4 margin.
  The Geralds started right off in the first inning as Raschke walked, and when Jackson singled, Raschke rounded third on the throw in and scored when Heritage threw wildly past third in the effort to nip him. Jackson scored the second run of the inning when Crosby smashed a sizzling drive over second base. They threatened in the second when they loaded the bases with no outs on two walks and the catchers bobble of Raschke's bunt, but Bryant stopped the rally with no tallies.
  The Geralds scored twice again in the fourth on two walks and a hit - the first run scoring on Robinson's single and the second coming home when Lisiewski licked the ball around in left field. Things were quiet until the seventh when the Geralds wrote finis to any bid by the Quakes by scoring eight markers.
  Thirteen men batted in the hectic Gerald seventh. Jackson opened the debacle by walking. Barnes was safe when the first baseman did nothing with his grounder. Anderson scored them both with a double. He came home when Dillon fields Ashby's bunt and heaved it past third. Walks to Peak and Wharton loaded the sacks. Ashby came home on Paris' easy grounder to first and, when the sacker missed the bag, McPeak slid under his throw. Wharton scored the sixth run of the inning when the catcher dropped the ball on a force play. Paris scored on Robinson's perfect bunt, and the eighth and last run tallied on Crosby's second hit over the Keystone sack.
  The game was placed under terrific tension which no doubt accounts for some of the poor play by the Quakes. They made errors and bad plays that they haven't shown before in the league schedule and probably will not commit again. The Geralds were in tip-top shape, and played like champions all the way. Paris was particularly effective and got nice support from his mates. Robinson made a beautiful backhand stab and off-balance throw of a drive in the third inning and Ashby was all over the short-field territory.

BUDDY MISSING? Have you a buddy somewhere in India that you can't locate? If you have, the Special Service Department of the AAF has recently inaugurated a system that is just what you have been looking for.
This personal locator system was started by Captain Lionel Layden, Special Service Officer AAF-CBI and is free from any kind of red tape. Any soldier who wishes to get in touch with a buddy of his has only to send the boy's name to Captain Lionel Layden, Special Service Officer, AAF-CBI, APO 671. Any information, like Army serial number, or branch of service, that will help distinguish your chum will be appreciated by the Captain, but in an extremity merely the name will do.

ATC BOXING TEAM TO MEET TOP
LOCAL TALENT MONDAY NIGHT

  What promises to be the top boxing feature of the season will be presented at the Commandtown Football Stadium Monday night May 29th, when an All-Star boxing team representing the Eastern Sector of the ATC will meet a local team composed of former winners of the All-American bouts which have been presented every other Monday. The series of eight bouts are scheduled to start at 1930 hours.
  Top talent will be a dime a dozen as these two teams meet in the squared circle. The ATC team is studded with professional fighters, district and sectional Golden Gloves winners and experienced amateurs, while the local club is made up of as rugged a bunch of leather-throwers as can be found in any section.
  The list of the ATC team is headed by 1/Sgt. Ivory Lane, six foot three and a half inches and 210 pounds of rugged professional fighting man. Lane is a graduate of the Golden Gloves with two years of professional club fighting under his belt and he knows all the answers. An interesting night for any opponent. Another heavy is Sgt. Donel Henderson, six foot one and a half inches and 201 pounds. Henderson has had about ten fights and advance reports label him as big, tough and aggressive.
  At 185 pounds is Sgt. Eugene Smith who, with three years of amateur boxing experience is reputed to be an exceptionally clever boxer for a big man. Another highly regarded amateur is Pvt. Chester Karolewski. Packing only 170 pounds on an over six foot frame he is hard to hit, and his long reach makes him dangerous from outside.
  Three men will come in at around 160 pounds. The most experienced is Pvt. Charles grant. Though he has had only fifteen regular bouts under his belt, advance notice warns that he is a much better boy than his experience indicates. This short stocky boy specializes in an aggressive leather-throwing style that is hard to stop. In addition to Grant are Sgt. Lee H. Thompson, a fairly good novice with only a little previous experience, and Pfc. Spurgeon Cliffin who is young and fast with lots of work in the gym but as yet really untried in top-flight competition.
  In the 150 pound class ATC is sending down a ring-wise veteran of the fight game, a former Sectional Champion of the Golden Gloves from Gary, Indiana, Cpl. William Cox. In the same class is Cpl. Maurice Waters with a host

of appearances on amateur cards in back of him, fast, shifty and clever. The third of the ringmen in this weight class is Sgt. Kenneth Swann. Swann has a record of 35 amateur bouts, is a former runner-up in the Sectional Golden Gloves and has appeared in four tournaments in India.
  Two 135 pounders complete the team. Cpl. Lewis Ferraro is a former district Golden Gloves Champion with 18 fights experience, while S/Sgt. John Champa is a novice, but makes up for his inexperience by his willingness to get in there and mix it up.
  The "home" team will be picked from such well-known local favorites as Lester Carter, John Roberts, John Ellis, Don Pawvalski, Marc Osa, James Morgan, Roy Duckworth, Carl Jackson, Frank Szolis, J. Robels, Johnny Miller and Ray Aguirre. All of the boys are either former winners of the series of bouts here, or are new, highly-touted performers.
  As we go to press, how the boys are going to be matched or what is the order of events has not been decided. The ATC team will arrive here tomorrow morning and the men for the eight bout card will be picked after the weighing-in ceremonies.

New MP's Top Champ Geralds 4-3

  It seems as if any team with the name, M.P. has the jinx on the Geralds, because Tuesday night the usually reliable and sometimes brilliant defense collapsed completely behind the four-hit pitching of Paris and the new outfit took up where their predecessors left off and beat the Geralds in a warm-up game for Sunday's All-Star tilts by a 4-3 margin.
  Neither team was able to score for the first three innings as only thirteen men batted for each side. In the fourth, however, the new MP's got two runs without a hit. Miller and Monteroso walked to open the inning and Sears was safe on a fielders choice as the Geralds failed to nip Miller coming home. Monteroso scored the second run of the inning as Robinson was being retired. The Geralds tallied one in their half on a walk to Robinson and a single by the reliable Jackson.
  The MP's picked up the winning margin in the fifth as the Geralds did everything but eat the ball. Four consecutive errors were good for two runs and the ball game.
  The Geralds made a bid to pull the game out of the fire by grabbing a run in the sixth on a walk and Paris' double, but could only get another single tally in the seventh to end the game.
  This new MP outfit really has a hot team if personalities are to be considered. Pula, their chukker, is a former hurler for the Briggs championship softball team; Kuzava is a farmhand pitcher for the Cleveland Indians.

T/7 Hank Gould
AFTER IT WAS OVER: ALI BABA
SOLVES HAY-RIDE PROBLEM

  The Adjutant came up to me one morning and told me to pick out five intelligent men to represent our outfit in a quiz contest. He made a smart move in picking me. Now all I had to do was to round up four more smart guys, which naturally would have to be T/7's.
  I didn't have an easy time in picking the other contestants, but after a while I got the other four men. When the time came for us to leave for the quiz, I found that one of the men was missing. I found him asleep in his bed.
  I couldn't find anyone to take his place when all of a sudden it dawned on me. You guessed it, my bearer, Abdul. It was my last hope. When I told him about it, he told me he didn't want anything to do with contests as he still has some scars left from the boxing match I entered him in. After a tough scuffle, I handcuffed him into going but only after promising him that I'd take him back to the States with me when I go. I figured that by the time I leave this "beautiful" country, Abdul will be too old to travel.
  I gave the men their last minute coaching but couldn't get it into Abdul's head that two and two are four. "Two and two can't be four," Abdul whispered, "because three and one is four." After I convinced him of this great phenomena that both of them equal four, we were on our way.
  When we arrived at the scene of the battle of wits, we were really surprised to hear that the winning team would receive twenty five Rupees. We sure could use that money to go out with after the contest. My whole team had 7 annas and 2 pice all together, and of that, 7 annas and 2 pice belonged to my bearer. We didn't even have enough money to get back to camp via second class bus.
  The contest started by the opposing team getting the first question which was, "In what year was the War of 1812 fought?" After a few minutes of hard meditation our worthy opponents got the right answer. Then they slung a question at T/7 "Batting" Burke of our side. The question was, "What was the telephone number of the man using wheel barrow number 370 during the building of the Boulder Dam, night shift?" The Batter knew the answer to that one, was because it was his Uncle Ulick.
  It seemed that the easy questions were finding their way to our opponents and the hard ones liked us to miss on them. My team was holding their own though, even if Abdul was telling us most of the answers.
  The next question for our opponent was, "How much is 8 annas worth of beetlenut?" After debating over

this one and after 2 of his team-mates whispered something in his ear, he guessed the right answer.
  Then came Abdul's turn. The question was, "Why is a pelican?" Abdul looked at me. I looked at the questioner. He looked at the audience, until finally the look came back to Abdul. "Because," said Abdul, "the higher he flies the much."
  This went on till the judge yelled that time was up and started to add up the scores of both teams. My side was all tense. We had the evening all planned and the money spent. We were going to dine and dance and really paint the town red, white and blue. There was even enough money to go back by taxi.
  Then the big moment came. The contest lasted for about two hours but the judge didn't last for over two minutes after he told us we lost. It was unfair to union labor. We didn't even get a consolation prize.
  There we were, stranded in a big town and not enough money to get "home." Abdul told me that we should all go on a good old-fashioned hay ride. No one paid any attention to him. We knew that we didn't have enough money to fool around and him talking about hay rides.
  We thought of all kinds of ideas of how to raise enough annas to get back. We even tried sending Abdul out to tell fortunes but no luck. Then out of a dark alley a native ran up to Abdul. It was his old friend Ali Baba. Abdul told him our troubles. He said that he could take care of everything.
  We all got back to camp by taking Abdul's original idea, taking a hay ride. Not an ordinary hay ride, but new style on top of a bull cart.
  The moral of this story is, never speak harsh to your bearers 'cause you never can tell when you may need a ride back to camp.

  Q. I'm in a post hospital where I have been confined since contracting venereal disease. My pay has been stopped, of course, but I'm worried about my wife's allowance. Has that been stopped too?

  A. No. Loss of pay during absence from duty caused by a venereal disease does not stop allowance of pay to dependents under the Serviceman's Dependents Allowance Act. The same applies to insurance payments, which are continued by the Army and later collected from the G.I. when he is restored to duty.

  Q. Can you give me some dope on the Armed Forces Institute's "accreditation" service, whereby soldiers can be aided in securing post-war employment in the Federal Civil Service?

  A. Well, in a nutshell, this service is conducted by the AFI to help GIs who are seeking Civil Service jobs. By putting their Army training or experience on record now, veterans who later apply for Federal jobs will be able to receive full credit, in appropriate Civil Service exams, for skills acquired in the Armed Forces. To be accredited, these skills need no be acquired in connection with an Institute course but may be the result of any Army training or experience. For more data on this service, write to the Armed Forces Institute, Madison, Wis.

“The Voice” In CBI
When Paulette Goddard and William Gargan were on their tour of China, Burma and India, one of the people who offered hospitality was a potentate who insisted that they dine at his palace. The Hollywood visitors accepted the invitation. They found the palace to be exactly as they had imagined it, with large, elegant rooms, furnished magnificently. Their host served an excellent dinner, on gold plate, with countless servants in attendance. The champagne was of rare vintage, and the liquers were they finest they ever had sipped . . . "And now," suggested the potentate, "would you care for some music?" Miss Goddard and Mr. Gargan nodded. "Come into my music room," they were told, and followed him into a room where their host inserted a coin into a juke box and let them hear Frank Sinatra singing "Sunday, Monday, Always."

JEEPS GO ROUND AND ROUND
DISPATCHERS HEAD IN WHIRL

  "bet you think the Pentagon building in Washington, D.C. is a busy place, well stick around a while and be amazed," mumbles Pvt. William J. Farrior, Columbia, Tenn., busily writing out a trip ticket for an impatiently waiting Colonel. Bill Farries and Joe Cross, the Brooklyn Kid, are the men responsible for making the jeeps go round and round, and their jobs as Dispatchers at the Base Section headquarters is by no means a pleasant one.
  For the past six months Joe and Bill have dispatched jeeps, command cars and trucks to all corners of Commandtown and neighboring districts.
  "If it's a nervous breakdown you want, this is the place to get it, bud," grins Joe, running out into the parking lot where he talks and gestures with his hands and feet to make the Indian driver understand just what he wants done.
  Meanwhile back in the little office, Bill is getting reamed by a lieutenant because there's no jeep available for the next fifteen minutes.
  "You should always hold one or two jeeps for important business," roars the Lieutenant.
  "Yes sir," gulps Bill, "that's what I tried to tell the Colonel."
  "I don't care if he's a General," yells the Lieutenant, "I've got to have a jeep at once."
  "You'll just have to wait a while," returned Bill, trying hard to control his temper.
  "I'll be upstairs, as soon as the jeep comes in give me a ring."
  About quarter of an hour later a jeep pulls into the parking lot and Bill is about to phone the Lieutenant when a Major comes tearing into the office. "Give me a jeep, quick, I've got to race down to the office, very important . . . ah, there's a driver, don't even change the trip ticket, you know my name, soldier, check it off your dispatching log."
  "That keeps on all day long," says Bill mopping off the perspiration. "Boy am I glad I don't have any stripes, I'd lose them six times a day."
  Joe comes bursting into the office and proclaims pathetically, "Boy, they ain't kiddin' when they say that this is a war of transportation. Say, Bill, lend me annas three, and hold down the battlefield while I get myself a bottle of coke."

TESTING . . . ONE . . . TWO . . .
Cpl. Jack F. Murchieson of Wichita Falls, Texas and Cpl. William F. Keating of New Haven, Conn., making a few minor adjustments on a test broadcast over VU2ZU, the Army Forces new radio station of this Base Section!

Station VU2ZU And
Crew Coming To You

  "This is station VU2ZU opening tonights program with a session of GI-Jive" is a familiar call heard every evening at six over the new and powerful U.S. Army Forces Radio Station; but not so familiar are the names of Cpl. Jack Murchieson, Cpl. Bill Keating and Cpl. Tom McLain. Yet these are the very men who make it possible for thousands upon thousands of radios to be tuned in, not only here, but as far off as Assam, Burma, and even China.
  Cpl. Jack Murchieson hails from Wichita Falls, Texas and has been interested in radio engineering ever since he was a small boy. Now he's chief engineer at VU2ZU assisted by Cpl. Bill Keating from New Haven, Conn. The trio is completed by Cpl. Tom McLain, Marieeta, Ga., who's also a wizard of the controls.
  Varied and popular programs are presented nightly in an enjoyable selection of top-flight entertainment. None of these favorite programs could be heard if it were not for the expert handling and untiring efforts of the men behind the controls. No radio station can successfully operate without its technicians, soundman and numerous other specialists who are instrumental in getting the show "on the air."

VU2ZU DAILY RADIO PROGRAMS

While the studios are still under construction, Station VU2ZU broadcasting in a test capacity, presents the following programs for the current week:

A GROWING FAMILY -
Pictured with one of India's famous cows are these five natives of Greensburg, Pa., who found each other in various outfits around Commandtown. Left to right are (standing) Capt. Robert E. Guest, 1st Lt. Thomas C. Pratt, Jr. and Cpl. Stephen Phillips; (kneeling) Pvt. Robert R. Marshbank, Jr., and Cpl. Joe DePrimio. Another Greensburger, M/Sgt. Jack Schrader, was at a rest camp when the picture was taken.

Are You From Greensburg?

  It shouldn't take long before there are enough "Greensburgers" in the CBI theater to start a club.
  Greensburg, in case you haven't heard, is a city of 30,000 in Pennsylvania. Already a half dozen of its native sons have stumbled onto each other accidentally on the streets of Commandtown.
  First to meet here were Capt. Robert E. Guest, chief of the statistical control division of the India-China Wing, Air Transport Command, and 1st Lt. Thomas C. Pratt, Jr., SOS liaison officer with the Engineers, one of the 10 Engineer officers who started the work on the Ledo Road. They met recently in front of a hotel here, after searching for each other for months. They found plenty to discuss - including their one-time rivalry over the same gal in Shangri-La.
  Guest and Pratt were roommates in 1936-37 at Carnegie Institute of Technology and each knew the other was in the area but not the specific location. Guest has been overseas 13 months and Pratt, two years.
  Pratt recently found another Greensburger, M/Sgt. Jack Schrader, now with a Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, whom he had met on the boat en route overseas.
  To this threesome has been added Pvt. Robert R. Marchbank, Jr., supply clerk with the Air Service Command; T/5 Joe De Primio, radio operator with a Signal Company, and T/5 Stephen Phillips, supply clerk with a Medical Detachment.
  The Greensburgers no have their eyes peeled for 2nd Lt. William Knepper who they believe is in this area. They also have discovered that Miss Patricia McDonald, another hometowner, is with the Red Cross 100 miles away.

GI'S TO CUT
BIRTHDAY CAKE

  One hundred and thirty-seven GI's will be the honored guests at the May Birthday Party at the "Rest Nest," ARC service club at Camp T, on Saturday, May 26th. The committee, headed by Mary Elizabeth Johnson, Minneapolis, Minnesota, have arranged a very attractive program, with gifts for the birthday boys and a special supercolassal birthday cake. Refreshments will be served to the special guests and all those attending.
  Occupying a place of honor in the club house is a new States register. The attractive 500-page volume is intended to bring home state groups together in the camp.
  A group of GI carpenters under the leadership of Sgt. Schneiderman are making extensive improvements to fortify the club against the coming monsoons. The sidewalls are being sealed, the ceiling is being stripped and an extra room is being added.

‘Little Panther’ Show
Wows Camp Audience

  A capacity audience applauded the "Little Panthers Variety Show" at Camp T last Saturday night. The show was entirely a Camp T production, aided only by the charms and talents of the camp's Red Cross girls.
  Sgt. Lyman Lord directed the show and also got some laughs as black faced comedian while Miss Mary Johnson of the ARC was the lovely leading lady.
  Base fiddler Pfc. Eugene McGhee, Cpl. C. C. Anderson, Cpl. Jesse Adams, Cpl. James Manning, Pvt. William Spence provided the musical background, and the show was expertly MC'd by Cpl. W. C. Bell.
  The production was under the supervision of Lt. Lissman, Special Service officer who was assisted by Miss Frances Todd of the Arc.

Amateur Nite Success

The combined talent of the Laundry battalion and H.R.C. was used this week at the Cosmos Club in an hour and a half show that would have done credit to one of Major Bowes productions.
First prize in the "amateur nite" went to Sgt. William Willmore who sang Sylvia and This Is Worth Fighting For; second prize went to Cpl. Douglas Jones, the "H.R.C. Sinatra," and third place went to Pfc. Lockly. "Jack of all instruments" William S. Taylor, Cosmos Club director, acted as MC.

Gen. Hanley Lauds Merchant Marine

  Monday was national Maritime Day in Shangri-la by official proclamation of the President, which served to focus attention on the vitally important role played by the American Merchant Marine in substantially aiding the Air Service Command of the USAAF to service and supply the Air Forces in the CBI Theater.
  Speaking in tribute to the Merchant Marine, Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Hanley, new commanding general of the ASC in CBI said, "More readily than the folks at home, we can appreciate the titanic efforts of our Merchant Marine and its intrepid crews because we serve at the end of the longest supply line - 16,000 miles - in military history. We know by the very fact that our troops arrived here that their jobs are fraught with danger. We have sailed with them and we greatly admire the job they are doing.
  "From half-way around the world, we must add our own tribute to their additional success in being able to deliver at many critical times the necessary bulk equipment so essential to the prosecution of the air war against the Japs in this theater. Although not a military arm or service, they share the risks and perils. Their teamwork with the Armed Forces is an integral part of the scheme to victory."

From Comedy To Commander

  ATC BASE STATION 20, INDIA - From photographic technician on the Mack Sennett lot in Hollywood, to head man of an airbase is the story of Lt. Col. Joe Mountain who recently assumed command of this station of the India-China Wing, Air Transport Command.
  Colonel Mountain, now in his early forties, is a native of Kansas but he's been on the move so much since he was four that California might claim him as her native son, by virtue of his "record" ten year residence there.
  Early in his adventurous and diversified career, Mountain was an aerial photographer and he was employed as a photo technician on the movie lot of Max Sennett, famed for the cinema comedies.
  He spent three years with the criminal investigation department attached to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office and then tried his hand at the typewriter as a reporter, also in Los Angeles.
  Hi interest in aviation dates from World War I, at the close of which he enlisted as a flying cadet. He obtained a reserve commission as a lieutenant in 1928, which he held until called to active duty in 1942.
  In 1927 he became co-pilot, and later first pilot, with the Link Trainer organization. He held the post of executive officer at the Link four-engine flying school at Albuquerque, N.M. He later headed the intercontinental training division of Transcontinental Western Airlines.
  Like the famed Lawrence, Mountain journeyed to Arabia - first in 1934 and again in 1935. he worked as flying photographer and second in command of an expedition for the research wing of the Standard Oil Company of California. During the first junket Mountain's primary mission was exploring and mapping the area.
  When the expedition returned in 1935 it was rewarded by discovery of a sea of "lost" oil fields in Hassa province, on the Persian Gulf. The party also uncovered gold mines which once had been work by the Midianites, long forgotten tribe. This exploration resulted in the mining exploitation of 30 new districts along the shores of the Red Sea, by the American Smelting and Refining Company.
  The first operational training officer for the Air Transport Command, Colonel Mountain now holds that post in the India-China Wing, in addition to his command of this airbase. In the latter capacity he succeeds Maj. Thomas R. Coyne who now commands Station 8, ATC.
  Mountain's wife, who writes romances for fiction magazines, lives at Mamaroneck, N.Y. with their young son who is just starting grammar school.

G. I. Shakespeare
(C.B.I. Edition)

(Editor's Note: The following autobiographical poem was dashed off by Pvt. Irving Howard Asen, former aerial engineer, based at Station 12, India-China Wing, Air Transport Command,)

A GI'S DIARY

Jap attack ↓
In December
"Pearl Harbor"
I remember
Join Army
Drill Daily
Forward "harch"
Learn flying
In June
Fly by sun
Fly by moon
Me do
All things
Me get
Silver wings
Get plane
One transport
What a beauty
Fly ocean
To Asia
Many lands
Not Caucasia
Come to India
Bust crew
Sent to China
Put in office
No more fly
Chained to desk
Me oh my →

Work all day
Sleep by night
Me no play
Me just write
Eat all rice
Drink no whisky
Jing bow juice
Feel so frisky
Go sleep
Dream of love
Fly home
Like a dove
War over
Leave China
In States
Nothing finer
Ding How (hot dog)
Far from China
Wake up
Sun beam
Look around
Only dream
Boo how (very bad)
Leave the sack
Go office
Aching back!

(Editor's Note: Again a poem from the anonymous nurse in answer to the scathing poems of Sgt. Ed Long.)

APOLOGIES ACCEPTED

Enough is enough - my GI friend -
This bartering must have an end.
They gave us bars, so we must wear 'em
Then we get insults, but we must bear 'em.
Don't ever believe for fairness' sake,
Gold bars do not a prison make.
There - just in case you haven't heard,
A woman's right is the last word.

HOLY ROLLER Names of all descriptions may be seen on the vehicles driven by military personnel around Commandtown. But the other day a new one caught the eye. On the front of a jeep driven by Chaplain Thomas J. Mattingly is inscribed in bold lettering the name "Holy Roller."
This is the third in the line of Holy Rollers, the Chaplain explained. The first was a Plymouth sedan that he used at Camp Maxey, Texas; the second was a command car he had on maneuvers at Louisiana, and now the third is the jeep which he uses officially here.

EM CLUB IN MAKING

  Arrangement are being made for the development on an enlisted men's service club at Station 19, India-China Wing, Air Transport Command, it was announced this week by 1st Lt. N. Robert Wellens, special service officer at the base.
  Site for the club will be a three story brick building on the post. Because plumbing and electrical wiring have to be installed, it probably will be about a month before the club is ready for use, he said. Lounge furniture has been requisitioned, radios and victrolas will be available and a snack bar will be built, according to present plans.
  Wellens also reported that a swimming pool for officers - identical to that for enlisted men completed some time ago - will be finished shortly. Volunteer enlisted men are preparing the 60 by 25 foot reservoir, building platforms and constructing a small water chlorination device.
  News reports, prepared by the base intelligence and security office, are broadcast over the public address system by Wellens before movies shown at the post theater, as another phase of the special service program.

JOB OF THE WEEK

  Two GI's have just returned to Headquarters from a week's field trip, who can safely be said to have one of the most unusual jobs in the Army. They have been commissioned by the commanding general to capture and classify a complete collection of India's poisonous reptiles.
  Neither of these GI's are tyros at the job: Pvt. Sherman M. Barret, of Hollywood, California is an old hand at the game, did this type of work in the States snaring rattlesnakes, cotton-mouth, et al, for the Dallas Zoo and other organizations while Pvt. Robert J. Burns of Des Moines, Iowa got plenty of practice on maneuvers in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
  Nor is this any mere whim, this hunting down snakes. When a collection is assembled both boys will make a tour of the Army camps, posts and stations lecturing on the recognition and the combating of India's poisonous reptiles.
  On the first trip the boys bagged a four and a half foot Cobra and a seven foot Daus, in addition to smaller snakes. As we go to press they are off on another trip in which they hope to snare some Kraits, Russell Vipers, Pit Vipers and some Pythons. They were unarmed last trip, but this time are going "heeled" on the chance that they may be able to add a tiger skin to the collection.

LIKE A LETTER FROM HOME

STATION 6, ATC - Lt. Audrey Rogers, of Burkburnett, Texas, chief nurse of the Air Evacuation squadron stationed here, has come to the conclusion it really IS a small world.

READY FOR ACTION
Lt. Audrey Rogers prepares her plane to receive patients evacuated from the fighting front.

  She reached the decision the other day when her assistant handed her a bundle of bandages packed by workers of the Harris County Chapter, American Red Cross, at Houston, Texas, only a short distance from her home.
  She couldn't help thinking that she probably knows personally many of the volunteers who worked on the bandages, because she took her training at the St. Joseph Infirmary in Harris County.
  The Texas bandages brought a twinge of nostalgia also to other Texans in the evacuation squadron - Maj. Morris Kaplan, of Byran, commanding officer of the unit; Lt. Jeanette Gleason, Houston; Lt. Bernice McDonald of Burkburnett, and S/Sgt. Joe Lea, of Marshall.
  The evacuation squadron is attached to this station in the India-China Wing of the Air Transport Command. The evacuation unit cares for patients flown to base hospitals behind the fighting lines.

(Editors Note: Hey soldier, if you have trouble trying to think up things to put in your letters back home, the letter printed below is intended to help you. Merely clip it out, sign your own name at the bottom, and send it home. Or, we don't even mind your "lifting" a paragraph or two. It's all yours!)

A SOLDIER WRITES:-

  Received you letter this morning and, of course, I was glad to learn that you and Dad are going to be able to get away for a vacation this year.
  Now here's a surprise for you - I'm planning to spend a couple of weeks at a mountain resort, too. No kidding. I'm planning a vacation, and at one of the most beautiful spots in the whole world. You didn't know that soldiers overseas could go away for a couple of weeks every year and not do a darn thing but relax and enjoy themselves, did you?
  Well, the Army knows that soldiers, like other people need a rest. Perhaps we need to go away more than civilians. Anyway, U.S. Army rest camps have been established in various sections of India and once every year every soldier gets a two week vacation.
  Not only do these interludes keep the soldier physically and mentally fit, but they also increase his efficiency and keep him from going "stale" at his work.
  I'm going to Darjeeling which is 7,000 feet up in the mountains - actually up in the clouds. It's cool there now, soldiers wear wool clothes and sleep under two or three blankets. Which will certainly be a welcome change after the torrid temperatures of Commandtown.
  The Darjeeling rest camp is located on the very top of a mountain peak right in the heart of dozens of tea estates. Darjeeling tea is famous throughout the entire world.
  You know how much I like to go horseback riding and how I've missed the bridle trails since I've been in India. Horses are the most important transportation medium in Darjeeling and I expect to make up for all the riding I've missed since leaving the States. A friend of mine who just returned from the rest camp told me that he rented a horse for over two hours in Darjeeling for less than one dollar, which is certainly reasonable enough.
  He also said the food - or "chow" as we call it - is very super there. And the big attraction id fresh milk. That's because the Army is so strict about cleanliness and pasteurization.
  The American Red Cross has a nice club-house at the rest camp where soldiers can read, write letters or play games in the evenings. There's also a fireplace in the club around which the boys exchange stories and think out loud about their mothers, dads, wives and girls.
  Naturally, I'm quite excited about going to Darjeeling and can't wait to get started. One of the novelties of the trip is going up the mountain in a tiny train pulled by a very small steam engine which doesn't look much bigger than a toy. For five hours this miniature train winds in and out of the hills, always climbing. I'm told it's quite an experience.
  Although we're thousands of miles apart. Mom, I get a kick out of planning a vacation at the same time you and Dad are doing the same thing. Of course, my planning is a lot easier. I don't have to worry about any of the details. The Army takes care of everything for me. And that goes for paying the bill, too. So there's nothing for me to do but have fun - and I'll have no trouble handling that department. Love, Your Son

Show Comes Off The Road

  After putting on 24 shows in 14 days, the seven-man troupe sent out by the Special Service Office has returned (tired but happy, to Commandtown this week) from their trip through the posts, camps and stations in the "bush."
  They put on shows in wards of hospitals, Red Cross canteens, and on makeshift stages in open-air theaters. In other areas where the entertainment facilities were even more limited they performed from trailers and the backs of trucks in the best "show must go on" tradition.
  Traveling by plane, train and truck the versatile group had to meet and overcome the difficulties of travel in the up-country areas in order to put on their shows. In one spot they missed connections and had to hitch-hike to their destination to present the performance on time.
  The members of the troupe are: Cpl. Harold Harris, M.C., Sgt. Edward Koenig, base, Pfc. Joseph Maloney, drums, Pvt. Frederick Lempke, guitar, Pvt. Henry Oshinske, accordion, Pvt. William Hodges, vocalist, and Pfc. Alfred Weiner, magician.

MORALE BUILDERS
Some of the reasons why Commandtown's GI's flock to the Red Cross Clubs are pictured above. They are (L to R) Teddy Morgan, New York City; Jean Murray, Cork, Ireland; Kay Crandall, Dallas, Texas; Mary Jane Young, Detroit, Mich.; Marjorie Cast, Cleveland, Ohio; and Georgia Schulte, Oregon, Mo.

MIGHTY MITE
T/Sgt. George J. Kalina, Chicago, Ill., and M/Sgt. Thomas B. Hutton, Okla., demonstrate how their "what's-it" is used to move heavy materials from one part of the shop to another. The vehicle has been entirely constructed from salvaged material.

OLE SWIMMIN’ HOLE
Hot and dusty GI's greeted by this sight as they emerge from a plane at ATC's Station 19 near Commandtown. Believed to be the only one of it's kind in the CBI, the pool was constructed from the remains of an old basement and some scrap material by volunteer GI workers under direction of the Special Service Officer. The pool is 60 feet long and 20 feet wide with outdoor shower and footbath just out of the picture on the left.

NICE GOIN'
Sig. Serv. BN, Co at APO 465 dance. Capt. Robert Q. Berg, Commanding officer, Springfield, Ill., Sgt. Sam Hasselberg, Chicago, Ill., Major Richard E. Barrett, Oklahoma, Sgt. Marcus D. Pratt, Buffalo, N.Y.

GI MARKSMANSHIP SCORES
Flushed from the tall jungle grass, the tiger was wounded and charged the party that consisted of (L to R) Sgt. Simon Thole, Pfc. Ray Mills, Cpl. Minard Jones, 1st/Sgt. Kenneth Chapman, Capt. Didrik Sannes, M/Sgt. Chester L. Hamsher, T/Sgt. Calvin Graham, Cpl. Edwin H. Hurd and Pvt. While F. Powell.

U.S. PLANES TAKE OFF IN MONSOON
Despite rain and mud of the monsoon season in India, cargo planes of the U.S. Army Air Force's Air Transport Command prepare to take off on their regular flight to China, delivering supplies to the Chinese Army and the 14th U.S. Army Air Force in China. Flying in all kinds of weather, over one of the most difficult and dangerous air routes in the world, flyers of the Air Transport Command maintain round-the-clock flights which transport more freight to China than was transported over the Burma Road in the peak month of operation.

THE COMMAND POST. Published weekly by the Headquarters of Base Section 2 for military personnel only. Lt. Lester H. Geiss, Director, S/Sgt. Harry Purcell, Editor; S/Sgt. Jesse Sincere, circulation; Sgt. Maurice Pernod, news; Sgt. Bernard Cohen, drama; Pvt. Adolph A. Reibel, reporter. Printed at the "Patrika Press"

MAY 26, 1944

Original issue of THE COMMAND POST shared by Linda James

Copyright © 2009 Carl Warren Weidenburner

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