Hump Express - February 1, 1945 - China-Burma-India Theater of World War II

Vol. 1, No. 3 Published by India China Division, Air Transport Command Feb. 1, 1945

SUPPLIES FLOWN TO CHINA COMMUNISTS

North China Mercy Mission

The first planeload in the Yenan medical supply mission is unloaded. Included were sulfa drugs, surgical instruments and many other items, brought overa rugged route with but unserviceable check point.

ICD Carries First Red Cross
Medical Goods to Yenan, Seat
Of the Communist Government

Sulfa Drugs and Surgical Equipment are Included
In Shipment; ‘More Than I've Seen in
Eight Years,’ Dr. Ma Observes

  HQ., CHINA WING, KUNMING - For the first time, American Red Cross medical supplies have been flown to Chinese Communist headquarters.
Planes of ICD's China Wing carried the medicines by air to the remote and isolated seat of the Communists at Yenan. Included in the shipmentswere sulfa drugs, microscopes, X-ray equipment, surgical instruments and other medical supplies.
The supplies were delivered for the Bethune Memorial International Peace hospital, over which Dr. Ma Hai-teh presides at Yenan. He called the firstairplane load to arrive "more medicine than I've seen in the last eight years put together." Dr. Ma, an American from North Carolina who prefers to be knownby his Chinese name, has been with the Communists, both in the field and at their base hospitals, ever since his arrival in China in 1937.

Many Contribute
   Medicines involved were collected through the co-operation of the Chinese Central government, various agencies of which released part of the supply they had received from the American Red Cross. Transfer of them was approved by Central government authorities.
The agencies which turned over part of their Red Cross-donated medical supplies were the National Health administration; Ministry of Education;International Relief committees and the Chinese Red Cross, all of whom have received supplies regularly from the American Red Cross.
The supplies will be used to treat civilians as well as Communist soldiers injured in battle against the Japanese. A part of them will remain atYenan, while will be carried across several Japanese lines to field hospitals in the northeastern part of China, far behind Japanese dominated areas.

Hospital in Caves
   From Yenan on, the mule and the coolie will take over the job thus far carried out by ATC planes. Instead of hours, weeks will be required.
The hospital in Yenan, like almost all installations there, both offices and quarters, is in a series of caves. Leveled by the Japanese in 1939,the old city still is a mass of rubble. The caves provide bomb-proof shelter and are relatively warm in a cold land where fuel is scarce.
First flight of medicines to Yenan was made by Lt. Col. Floyd H. Davidson, Atherton, Calif., and Maj. Thomas D. Park, Dallas, Tex., ICD officersand both former airline pilots with years of flying experience. This experience stood them in good stead, for the last leg of the flight was made over milesof hills with the sameness of the sea. There are no landmarks, save one pagoda at Yenan, and that can be seen only for a short distance. Navigational aids to aircraft of course, do not exist. The short runway is in the bottom of a narrow valley.
Starting in Yunnan province, the flight is a long one with bad weather increasing on the trip's last leg, over mountains towering thousands of feetinto the clouds. Bucking ice and topping the clouds, a C-47 carried the medicines safely through, under the skillful piloting of Lt. Col. Davidson and Maj. Park.Crew members on the trip were S/Sgt. Tommy H. Eldridge, Dunn, La., radio operator and Cpl. Vander S. Morrison, Midland, N.C., engineer.

Yes or No? Take
Your Choice! It
Beats Everybody

Is there a mountain peak somewhere in remote Tibet that towers to a height greater than that of Mount Everest?
The rumor keeps cropping up, and the answer is maybe. First inkling appeared in print as a result of a gag between two operations officers at aChina ICD base. In front of the correspondent of a leading newsmagazine, they batted the rumor back and forth. He, smart fellow, wrote it as a rumor piece.Frankly, the two pilots who started the gag did not believe it themselves.
Then along came a major, in charge of a photo-mapping unit, who swore by all that's holy that he'd flown close to a peak that towered above him, while he was at 30,000 feet, according to his calculations.
If any pilot in the India-Burma or China theaters can positively say "yes" or "no," the HUMP EXPRESS will buy him a pair of north China de luxefur-lined earmuffs - or even a short beer!

Rescue Group Achieves Base Unit Standing
Saving of Downed Airmen Gets Shot in Arm in New Setup

   Bringing out downed airmen from the almost inaccessible Himalaya mountain region has become such a prominent part of ICD's operations that theSearch and Rescue squadron has been activated to full base unit status.
The new organization is known as the 1352nd and will be located at the 1332nd Base Unit. It is commanded by Maj. Donald C. Pricer. Assigned in India for almost two years, he has been a pilot, operations officer and an executive. Maj. Roland L. Hedrick will continue with the new unit as intelligence officer.

Safety Factor
   The unit will share part of the facilities of the 1332nd but will be complete within itself. Its assigned aircraft will include armed B-25s, C-47s for cargo dropping, and L-5s for evacuation and rescue from tiny airstrips in jungles and mountains.
Two main reasons are given for the formal activation of the 1352nd. First, increasing Hump traffic has necessitated greater facilities for rescue work. Second, past developments have proved that organized effort to bring back downed airmen is effective and necessary.
Records show that those who bail out over the Hump or in the trackless Assam jungles now have a better than three-to-one chance of returning safely. But it wasn't always thus.

Like Country Store
   Previous to October, 1943, rescue activities were sporadic and unorganized. Each station hunted for its own planes and pilots. Jungle tribes wereunknown and believed to be headhunters, fiercely quarrelsome and war-like. Experience has proved this untrue.
The search and rescue group soon established liaison with British Territorial officials and American missionaries who knew the jungle and mountainpeople.
By trial and error the organization grew until it had its own warehouses, aircraft and intelligence unit - everything needed to permit maximumaid to luckless airmen who hit the silk. Today, the 1352nd's warehouses look like a country store. Blankets, clothing, Bibles, and trinkets for barter line the shelves.
When an aircraft from any command reports trouble the unit springs into action. Once a fix is obtained on the probable position of the distressedship, search planes take off. When the crashed craft is spotted and if survivors appear to be on the scene, panels for communication are dropped. Physicalcondition of crew members is checked by the panel method, and if necessary a volunteer flight surgeon parachutes with medicine. Supplies and maps are dropped,directing the party out by easy stages, with instructions as to previously spotted food caches.
Some airmen are brought by L-5s, from tiny strips hacked from the jungle or perched on a mountainside, but most walk out - some taking as long asthree months. Still others have shot the rapids in native rafts and canoes, to return to their station and again take on the job of flying the Hump.

Rotation? Leaves? Mess?   Just Ask Morale Boards

   Promotions, furloughs, housing and mess facilities - and, of course, always in the foreground, rotation policy - all have had to stand the testbefore the recently created morale boards.
Effects of the morale program is evidenced by December reports in which almost half of the bases reported morale among their soldiers as "very high."
It always has been realized that morale could not just be turned on or off. Thorough studies of conditions constructive criticism and recommendations for remediable measures were the lines along which the program had to be built.

Handle Individual Gripes
   Early in October morale boards were established at each base in the division. Each board consists of seven officers. Generally they include thesurgeon, chaplain, administrative inspector, and special service, supply and service, intelligence and security and public relations officers.
These bodies meet twice each month to discuss housing, messes, medical care, recreational facilities and other matters which affect morale. Theygather their information from soldier councils, individual "gripes" and first hand information.
The boards make recommendations to the COs for action to remedy any particular gripes.

Rotation in Foreground
   Recently the rest camp situation has been improved. Laundry facilities have been put under GI supervision in many places to bring up standards.Promotions have been upped and special service activities and recreational facilities, expanded.
Rotation has been in the foreground since the establishment of the boards. A general policy has been announced and will be followed as closely as possible.

Dyeing Rats Isn't
His Business, But
He Does Good Job

1333rd BU, ASSAM - If you see a pink elephant, blame it on your brand of liquor, but if a blue rat runs across your tent it's the fault of T/Sgt. Thomas H. Maras, a draftsman in the rescue intelligence office here.
The rat received its new color one day when Sgt. Maras, of Highland Park, Mich., was cleaning termites out of a filing cabinet. As the cabinetwas moved, the rat appeared. Capt. John E. Albert, intelligence officer, covered the left flank with a crowbar and Sgt. Maras stood on the right with a raised axe. The rat chose to run to the right, and the sergeant swung.
The axe came down on a quart of blue ink, which splashed all over the office, on the sergeant's clothes and on the rat. The latter escaped, whistling "Am I Blue?"

1330th Sets Valley,
Base Records for
24 Hours of Flight

1330th BU, ASSAM - Tojo took a new licking at the hands of the 1330th's Humpsters this week when the base established new field and valley records for four-engine trips over the rock heap.
For two consecutive days the record-busting went on. The achievement for one 24-hour period showed that the boys exceeded their own field recordby 11 trips and the entire valley record by ten.
But what really scored was the fact that the last plane out to establish the new figure was the oldest crate on the field, and was making itsthird trip into China that day!

Merry Christmas
   Comes a Bit Late
     to GI at 1302nd

   IW HQ, DELHI - When the GI mailman handed Sgt. John Mullarkey a package from the States, the latter was pretty happy about it. Four weekspast Christmas, to be sure - but better late than never, decided the sergeant.
As he ripped off the inner wrappings of bright paper, he let out a startled yell. The fruit cake and peanut-candy inside the box were the worst mess of dried up sweets and rancid nuts he had ever seen.
Then his eyes hit on the postmark - Oct. 15, 1943 !
It was a Christmas package all right, but for the wrong Christmas. The present, mailed by Mrs. Algie Ward from Chicago, had been sent to Sgt. Mullarkey's temporary APO and for the last 15 months had trailed him as he transferred to different bases. In all, the box had crossed India three times.

KATZ

Advice from GIs in France
Tells Katz Sister Is Well

1348th BU, NORTH BURMA - From GIs in France to a GI in Burma have come two V-mail letters carrying the first cheering news in eight monthsabout the youngest sister of Pfc. Ernest Katz, German-born GI who works in the orderly room at this base.
The letters were written by ETO soldiers Marvin Saltzburg and Richard H. Arnold, who had met Katz's 21-year-old sister, Laure, on separate occasions, and wrote brief messages advising him that she was well. To the Burma GI it was the end of a nerve-racking period of worry.
Laure and Ernest have a brother, T/Sgt. William Katz, who was in North Africa, Sicily and on the Anzio beachhead and a brother-in-law who servedon Guam and more recently went ashore with the infantry at Leyte.
In '36 Ernest left Nazi-ridden Germany with another sister and made his way to America. Two years later, another sister and a brother followed,but their parents and youngest sister, Laure, remained in Germany. One day in October, 1940, Ernest Katz picked up a copy of the New York Times and read that all Jews in his native Palatinate and those in Badenia were being sent to concentration camps in unoccupied France. Ten days later, a telegramconfirmed the tragic news.
The barbarous treatment received by internees in the camps soon resulted in another telegram telling of the death of Katz's mother - due, he laterlearned, to malnutrition. While his father and sister, Laure, suffered the inhumanities of life under Nazidom, Katz and his relatives in the States were trying to arrange passage for the pair. But then came the invasion of North Africa in 1942, and France was totally occupied by the Germans.
From then on, Katz communicated with his sister through the Red Cross. Strict censorship limited his letters to 25 words, and mail arrived at six-monthintervals. After a short internment, Laure was released from the camp, but the father was sent to a hospital in Perpignon, and eventually to Poland. He neverhas been heard from since.
Some friendly nuns sheltered the young Jewish refugee girl and she found work as a child's nurse in Lyons. From her meager earnings she managed to buybread and send it to her sick father as long as her contacts with him existed. The nuns were a constant source of help and guidance to the victim ofintolerance. Then came, at last, the invasion of southern France, and the arrival of the GIs - among them Saltzburg and Arnold who have eased Katz's mindwith their reports that his sister is well.

Apprentice Grease Monkey

Junior (right) and Cpl. George Hanei at work on one of their assignments as mobile engine-change crew members. Junior doesn't malum the fine points yet,but the keen interest in her work displayed here, and great natural ability, will undoubtedly carry her on to fulfilment of her ambition to be a real greasemonkey.

Engine Change Crew
Sets Up Record Mark

‘Junior’, Native Grease Monkey Mascot,
Claims Share of Credit

CW HQ, KUNMING - Seven and a half hours was the new record time established by a mobile engine-change crew here this week in dismantlingand stripping a C-87 engine, building up a new one and mounting it.
By local standards - taking into account the hardly favorable conditions faced by understaffed teams here - the achievement is remarkable.
"Junior," the crew's monkey mascot whose name belies her sex, chatteringly claims her full share of the credit. Junior was adopted by Cpl. GeorgeHanei, member of the team, back in India when she was only three weeks old. She has a natural affinity for monkey wrenches and makes a pass at every one within reach. Hanei keeps her from throwing a wrench into the delicate vitals of Hump aircraft by locking her up in the plane's cabin while he works.
"But she's made up her mind," he says, "that by hook or crook she's going to be a grease monkey."
No place for softies, mobile engine change is packed with glamor and unforeseen adventure. Here, today, the crew may be off tomorrow on a special job to any of the remote China bases. It's usually pretty rough when the boys are on these missions, too. They sleep in the plane, eat out of mess gear, and work under primitive conditions, ordinarily without crew-chief stands or portable hoists. One crew was initiated in the tense, dramatic ordeal of having to bail out of a burning ship.
The record-breaking crew spent New Year's in Burma, only 30 miles from Jap lines, in country still scarred by the ravages of jungle warfare. Theybrought back all sorts of Jap souvenirs. "We'd have taken some Jap teeth," says Cpl. Tommy Abraham, "only the bodies were too messy."
As a whole the mobile engine change boys were relieved to get to a warm climate again. It was a real treat for Junior. Hanei says she had a regularfield day, hopping from tree to tree, and scrambling up the vines of her natural jungle habitat. She even went swimming with the men.

ATC Personnel Gets Back-pat From ‘Hap’ Arnold;
Envisions Postwar World Air Transport

Recognizes Contribution of Men Serving at Isolated Outposts

Gen. "Hap" Arnold, in a recent letter, called attention to ATC's pioneering of world air routes, its far-flung operations and the knowledge andexperience being piled up to benefit post-war airways systems.
Addressed to Gen. H. L. George, commander of the ATC, and brought to the attention of all its personnel, the communication read:
"The impressive body of knowledge and experience that is being stored up every day by the ATC is bound to result in enormous benefit to ourpost-war air transportation program. The methods, routes, and techniques developed under the extraordinary stresses of present-day war, when blended withthe technical progress achieved by the designers and manufacturers of our aircraft, will inevitably shorten the distances which today separate one nation from another. The ATC is certainly keeping pace with the great successes of the entire AAF in this fight."
Gen. Arnold also commented on the world-wide operations of ATC, with these words:
"From its first fledgling hopes to the smoothly-run intricate operation it has become during the last year, the Air Transport Command has come along way. Our combat air forces are accustomed to consider themselves widely traveled, but many out-of-the-way corners of the earth which have remainedcompletely unaffected by the war have come to know the pilots and planes of the ATC."
The letter recognized the contributions of the "men who fly long, hard runs with valuable cargoes of men and supplies and those who man theway-stations some of which are so remote and isolated that their names are all but unknown even to the inhabitants of the countries in which they are located." (Editor's note: What's he talking about; Assam, Burma or China?)

Longs for ‘Boom’ of Big Cannon in Field Artillery

By CPL. FRANK CLARK

1345th BU, INDIA - This is a story which could be fabled "Ode to the Boom-Booms" or "I Shoulda Stood in Ft. Sill" - as it concerns a man,who, for "security" reasons must remain nameless, and who is quite angry with the powers that be for taking him out of the artillery and putting him in the AAF.By his own admission, that boy certainly liked the big guns.
It seems that at one time, this man, like a few million others, received the note from Uncle Sam, reported for duty and promptly was snapped up by the artillery.
He became quite attached to the big guns - said he liked the way the earth would tremble when they went off. Perhaps he listened to too many go"boom" and sort of went "boom" himself, but that's another story.
Over a period of time he was shifted from one post to another, receiving all sorts of training on the big guns, until he could "knock the beads of sweat off a first sergeant's brow at seven miles."
Naturally, a man with his potentialities would be wasting his time in the States, so his outfit, big guns and all, was loaded on a boat and shipped overseas. He was in transit for some time, passing all the places where he thought the outfit would be needed most, until one day the boat docked in India. Like countless other GIs, newly arrived in India, he said, "Well, it could be worse, but where?"
The men unloaded themselves and their big guns, then proceeded to sit around the docks and wonder, "Where do we go from here?"
Unfortunately there didn't seem to be any place to send artillerymen in India, and this is where the five fickle fingers of fate fashioned themselves into an iron hand and hauled the whole gang into the Air Corps, which needed personnel.
This man isn't happy! He is driving a truck and no longer hears the big guns go "boom" nor does he feel the earth tremble beneath his feet, and he admits he couldn't hit the first sergeant's brow at even six miles now. His attitude is mirrored in the manner in which he guides his six-by-sixappropriately named "rocket," around the base.
Yep, some men like the artillery.

Souvenirs - Wholesale

The task of keeping scores of Jap weapons turned in to the I & S office at the 1333rd falls to S/Sgt. Glenn Kettner.After the weapons are checked they are soon on their way to the States via mail. They are top-notch as souvenirs.

GI Keeps Tab On Jap Articles
Sending Home Jap Skulls Not Permitted by I & S

1333rd BU, ASSAM - S/Sgt. Glenn Kettner, Fremont, Ohio, of the Intelligence and Security office here, finds it difficult to keep tabs on all the captured Jap equipment turned into his office for safe-keeping.
After the war a lot of GIs are going to have a nice collection of tokens to display on their mantle, but a Jap skull is not going to be one ofthem. Capt. Verne W. Carey, intelligence and security officer here, makes it clear that war souvenirs may consist of captured supplies and equipment, but that parts of Japs are strictly against regulations.
Sgt. Joe Woodward, of the technical supply office, was given two Jap bayonets by a friend who was in the Myitkyina and Bhamo campaigns. "I'm sendingthese home," he says, "to show the folks and everyone else back home that our boys here are doing a good job of disarming the Japs."
Other captured items belonging to men here and in the custody of the I & S office are shells, flags, assorted rifles, pistols, knives and piecesof enemy aircraft.

Shouldn't Happen To a Dog, What Happens to Him!

1332nd BU, ASSAM - M/Sgt. Richard E. Heffner, NCO in charge of space control for the priorities and traffic section of this base,goes about his job whistling tunelessly "What a Difference a Day Makes." In Sgt. Heffner's case it is not even a question of "24 little hours." His trouble was caused by a matter of mere minutes. He has been left in the lurch - and the lurch is a very poor place in which to be left!
All the men who arrived at the base with Sgt. Heffner, way back in December, 1942, are now Stateside, having drawn winning numbers in the rotation lottery, but Heffner still sweats out the special order bearing his name. He wanted to know why, so they told him.
Those eligible for rotation to date must have left the States on or before Oct. 31, 1942. Sgt. Heffner was aboard ship before the deadline, all right, but the ship remained anchored in a U.S. port until the early hours of Nov. 1.
So Heffner waits dejectedly with his packed duffle bag for the next rotation roster to come out. "If I'd known when what I know now," he said,"I'd have started swimming."

It’s ‘Back Home’ to China for
Johnson Family Reunion; ICD
Mechanic Works His Transfer

Life Story of GI Reads Like Halliburton Adventure;
Born in Shianyang Where Parents Were
Missionaries; Now Serving There
  1311th BU, INDIA - It took the war, the Army and the ATC, as well as his own personal request to bring 21-year-old Pvt. Donald Johnson, an aviation mechanic back to China and reunion with his family.
Johnson's life reads like a Richard Halliburton Flying Carpet adventure. Born in Shianyang Hopoh province, where his parents were missionaries,Johnson made his first visit to the U.S. at the age of three, when his family went back to Minnesota.

Had To Evacuate
   A few years "tour of duty" in the States and his parents resumed their missionary work and returned to central China. Johnson and his two sisterswere sent to an American boarding school in the Kikung Mountains of nearby Honan province. But the opening of the now-famous "China incident" called for movingagain, as the Jap advance up the Yangtze River valley after the sack of Nanking, caused all neutral women and children to be evacuated from the path of the Nip armies.
Johnson never will forget the railroad trip from Hankow to Hong Kong, in the company of refugees and evacuees of every nation. Although the Japs had promised not to bomb the international flag draped train, the passengers really "sweated out" the ride - for even at that time, Japanese treachery was wellknown in that part of the world.
Christmas morning of 1938 brought the family to the safety of the International Settlement of Hong Kong. After his family had settled, Don was sent to Shanghai where he spent his first year of high school at the Shanghai American school.

Back ‘Home’
   The war in the Far East was growing more and more imminent and the increasing tension, emphasized by the hurried defense preparations of the Britishat Hong Kong caused the family to seek the sanctuary of the U.S.A.
Johnson couldn't Enjoy Stateside comforts long. Shortly afterwards the Army called. After brief stops in Florida, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Ohio,North Carolina, he found himself on a troop transport - and in India.
Shortly after his arrival in the India-Burma Theater, Johnson learned that his father, who had picked up an M.D. degree from the University of Minnesota,was planning to come back to unoccupied China and resume his missionary practice. Johnson, Jr., who speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, put in his request for atransfer to his "homeland" and, after a short wait he was rewarded. So it's back to the old "hometown" and a reunion with his parents - something few GI'scan manage.

Her Name? It Beats Us!

Whozit? Your guess is as good as ours. We ran the photo up and down the aisles at HQ, asking guys who ought to know. "Nay malum," was the chief reply obtained. All we know is that our pinup for the week is a Paramount star, but the press agent neglected to name her. Some say she's Betty Hutton; others Jane Wyman. We say she's gorgeous.

New Vehicles, Built for CBI, Arrive at Base
QM Officer Conducts Course For Demonstration Of Trucks

1304th BU, INDIA - This base has been allotted several of the new heavy duty trucks from the initial shipment of motor vehicles especiallybuilt for use this theater.
The vehicles were obtained through ATC and ASC ordnance and will go to the 1305th and 1345th as well as here. Supply and service experts anadditional allocation to be distributed to other ICD bases.
Since the equipment was completely new to this division a familiarization course for drivers was held here last week. Capt. B. F. Torrence,assistant division Q.M. of the supply and service section, assisted by motor transport officers from the three bases receiving the initial allotment, conducted the course, in which a score of enlisted men learned the rudiments of operation of the new truck. Cpl. Donald C. Deane, 1304th, a "gear jammer"with years of experience, demonstrated for the men.

‘I Go,’ Says Pilot, And Really Goes,
Amid Pals’ Groans

1347th BU, INDIA - A yarn has been kept alive concerning the first Hump flight made from here by a C-54. It owes its long existence, partly,of course, to the historic moment, but more so to an accidental pun.
When the time drew near for the first super cargo carrier to leave here for the trip over the Hump and back, competition for the honor was sokeen among pilots that Maj. George Isenhower, operations officer, was forced to resort to a short-straw selection.
At least eight pilots assembled good-naturedly and proceeded to "draw straws."
"I go!" triumphed Capt. J. E. Igoe, as he pointed to the leather name-plate on his jacket.
But the ensuing groans from the losers were not so much disappointment over losing the trip as chagrin over the implied pun.

Strauss Hits Jackpot; Gets Lab, Praise From General

KUNMING, CHINA - Cpl. Leonard P. Strauss, Long Beach, N.Y., has been going around looking like a traditional cat that swallowed the mouse.His satisfaction was due partly to the opening of the brand-new, up-to-date photo lab at this base, and partly to the fact that he was the recipient of a personal

Buzzards Strike Twice ! Not only lightning but buzzards strike twice in the same place.
It has just been revealed here that a C-54 recently damaged in a collision with a buzzard (HUMP EXPRESS, Jan. 18) had suffered a similarcollision with a buzzard as it - the plane, not the buzzard - arrived from the United States some weeks before.

letter from none other than Maj. Gen. F. B. Willby, superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Some time ago, photographer Strauss accompanied the general on an inspection tour of the Ledo Road and several other Allied positions in north Burma. That in itself was a memorable experience. The message, signed by Gen. Willby, expressed his pleasure and thanks upon receipt of the pictures takenon this trip.
The new lab is a far cry from the cubicle where Strauss had built a dark room with developing and printing equipment made out of old airplane partsand what-have-you. Asked about his new joy, he says, "It's O.K., but so darned complicated it practically runs men instead of vice versa."
Photography has been a passion with Cpl. Strauss ever since the day when, as president of the Long Beach high school photography club, he startedto aim his camera at everything and anything in Long Island.

Top Wallahs Laud Command
for Big Part in Operations

HQ., CALCUTTA - Gen. H. H. Arnold, Maj. Gen. Albert C. Wedemeyer, and Maj. Gen. Curtis E. LeMay were the authors of commendations onrecent ICD performance received at headquarters recently.
Gen. Arnold's back=pat for the division came in the form of a radio from Maj. Gen. Harold L. George, ATC chief, to Brig. Gen. William H. Tunner.It read:
"Personal congratulations of Gen. Arnold to all India China personnel for the greatest daily lift to China from India which took place on Jan 5. . .He directed that I convey his commendation to you and your personnel, and I wish to add my own to that."
Both other commendations had to do with ICD's work in support of the Pacific operations. Gen. LeMay tendered appreciation of "the splendidachievement of the Air Transport Command" which has helped him to meet his Pacific bombing commitments. while Gen. Wedemeyer lauded cooperation by all agenciescontributing to recent Pacific operations.

Off Duty College Attracts 300 GIs
At Calcutta Base

1305th BU, CALCUTTA - Enrollment of more than 300 students in 19 subjects has initiated a GI "off-duty college" here under the planof the U.S. Armed Forces Institute, it was announced this week by Lt. Thomas V. Mistretta, Jamestown, N.Y., information and education officer.
Some of the courses offered are modern business principles and management, fundamentals of advertising, English grammar, review arithmetic and Gregg shorthand. Classes will be taught by qualified instructors, and full credits will be issued on the basis of high school and college requirements.

Looking for Officer? It’s Probably
That Guy Cole You Seek

INDIA WING HQ. - If you haven't found that officer you were looking for, he's Lt. C. E. Cole.
That is, if you were looking for the supply officer, laundry officer, jungle ration officer, PX officer, purchase and procurement officer,salvage and reclamation officer, billeting officer or transient service officer.
Lt. Cole has not yet been designated special service officer, but to bring the total of his assignments to a round ten - also to prove that hissense of humor has survived - he has invented two more duties and hung up shingles announcing them. They read "Asst. Chaplain" and "Mr. Anthony, Sr."

Don’t Look Any Further

Lt. C. E. Cole peeks out from behind his ten signs, eight of which are pukka.

A Monument to Johnny
There's a monument in Assam today to Johnny Porter - the late Capt. John Porter from Cincinnati, Ohio, the grandest, bravest guy who ever flewthe Hump, according to his contemporaries.
Johnny's monument, if such it may be called, is the 1352nd BU of the ICD, the first rescue squadron, so far as can be learned, ever to be activated into a regular base unit. It's a separate command, with its own airplanes, personnel, administration and operation, whose job is to ease the lot of luckless crewmen who hit the silk over the Hump.
But why is it Johnny's monument? Well, Johnny was the guy, who back in October, 1943, was chosen to head the ICD's first Search and Rescue unit.Before that, not many crews had walked out. A few had and on their stories and other research it was determined that a regularly-organized rescue outfit was anecessity. Before then, any rescue work was "off the cuff," unplanned done by time-hungry pilots who had a yen to fly on their days off.
Then Porter came on the scene. With the help of the intelligence section he built "Blackie's Gang," the original search and rescue outfit. Pickingcrews who feared nothing, he organized systematic searches for every plane that went down. His outfit finally had its own planes, its warehouses complete with everything for dropping to grounded crews . . . blankets, shoes, Bibles, medicines, maps, signal panels - all you can imagine, and then some!
Not that Johnny did it all. The gang he picked and everyone around the headquarters of ICD, then in Assam, helped him all they could. But the greatdriving force of the enterprise was the fire inside the gang's leader. As Teddy White, LIFE correspondent wrote:
"Porter was one of those rare and shining characters who move through a group like a skyrocket in the night, trailing showers of sparks behind him."
One time near Myitkyina, then Jap-held, Porter looked below and saw on the ground a Jap Zero, with its pilot standing alongside. What did he do?He put his aging C-47 in a dive, pitched the controls to the co-pilot. Back went the side windshield, out went a Bren gun, and to his ancestors went the Japfor Johnny could shoot, too.
Everyone knew he'd finally get it, for the Jap hated him, personally. And he finally did! On his last search mission, flying through the Irrawaddyvalley, he was jumped by a whole flock of Zeros. He radioed his home base that he was being attacked, and the last words from his radio man were, "Wait a minute. Can't talk now. Gotta take a couple of shots at these sons of _____."
Johnny's days are gone. Presently with increased traffic over the Hump meaning still ore work for the rescue group and the proof at hand that sucha unit is extremely important, the new 1352nd BU is a necessity. And that unit has a challenge, a heritage and a history to make it proud.

You’re Part of It!
"Superforts Raid Singapore" . . . "14th Air Force Sinks 5 Supply Ships" . . . "22 Jap Locomotives Blasted"
Day by day, newspapers back home chronicle the exploits of the XX Bomber Command, Gen. Chennault's Fourteenth fighters and bombers, and his Chinese-American Composite Wing. As these gallant airmen hit the enemy, his capacity to produce the weapons of war and his ability to transport such weapons to strategic spots diminishes. Slowly but surely, such action has its strategic effect.
Sometimes the Fourteenth moves in direct support of combat troops. Other times it blasts Japanese shipping around Hainan Island or the Straits of Formosa. And the Twentieth - what terror its B-29s strike to the hearts of our dangerous enemy!
To the airmen or ground personnel in ICD, such exploits are wreathed in glamor, and well they may be, for indeed the Twentieth and the Fourteenthare doing a tremendous job. But - don't forget your part in it!
The thousands of gallons of gasoline that it takes for s superfort raid are carried by ICD Hump-hoppers every day. The belly-tanks that giveChennault's P-51s their extreme range and the ability to hit far behind Jap lines in northeast China, too, are carried by our transport planes from India.

The bombs the Fourteenth drops, the film for reconnaissance cameras that make pictures before and after the raid, all go over the rockpile in a C-46 or C-87. The Chinese troops whose movements the fighters cover and the ammunition they shoot are transported by ICD too.
It's easier for the GI or officer in ICD who's stationed in China to see how closely he works in conjunction with tactical outfits than it is in Karachi. But the difference is one of distance, not degree, for grooming an airplane to carry a Fourteenth pilot across India has its tactical significance,too. The plane must arrive at its destination, safely and on time, or else the Fourteenth is short a pilot, or an APOC part that keeps an aircraft on theground.
There's a job to be done, every day in the week, every hour around the clock, in ICD, and you're in it. The better you do it, the more times theTwentieth and the Fourteenth hit the enemy. So keep pitchin'.

Keep ’em Rolling!
For want of a nail . . . "
You memory automatically finishes the quotation, ending with the line, "the battle was lost," the most tragic line in any war.
Today, the horse is used in only a few places. Almost everywhere, it's rubber, not horseshoes, that bears the burden as we fight around the world.Even on airplanes, tires are vital. Nothing can move without rubber . . . jeep, truck or plane.
Productive capacity in the United States has not increased. At the moment, new factories for rubber production are under construction, but it willbe nine months before they turn out a tire.
America's military leaders know this situation. Gen. Marshall has sounded the call. "Tire life must be extended by 25 percent," he warns adding thatthis can be done by the halting of abuses, coupled with preventive maintenance. And Gen. Eisenhower, reviewing the picture in Europe, uses these words:
"This is a war of supply . . . One item of surpassing importance is tires. Tire wear in this theater has exceeded all pre-combat estimates. As aresult, we now are faced with a tire shortage which will, unless drastic conservation steps are taken, deadline 10 percent of our vehicles by the first weekin February. I am not exaggerating when I say the war will be needlessly extended unless we extract every possible mile from our tires."
Maj. Gen. George, ATC's commander, and Brig. Gen. Tunner, of ICD, pass these words along to you:
So if you want to stay away from home longer, be careless. Drive jeeps and trucks recklessly. Don't take care of the tires on your plane, filling the cuts and lengthening tire life. But if you want to win the war as soon as we can, be careful where you drive. Inspect your tires regularly. Perform preventive maintenance. And think when you drive!

Bill Davis and Bill Davis

1347th BU, INDIA - The perplexed look on T/Sgt. Westell Malone's face is genuine. A mess sergeant he runs into double trouble distinguishing between the twocooks on either side of him. Left is Pvt. William A. Davis and on the right is Pvt. William A. Davis. Besides identical names the two have the same MOS and are in the same outfit. How about working them different shifts?

TEEK AND HI by Pvt. John Babnis

"Ten-shun !"

   1307th BU, INDIA - The first edition of HUMP EXPRESS has received an enthusiastic reception here. Officers and enlisted men alike arepepped up over the idea of having a newspaper devoted exclusively to ATC activities, and if this area is a criterion, the success of the EXPRESS in this partof the world seems assured.
   - RFP
Ed. - We're pleased, suh.

   1305th BU, INDIA - Distribution of the first issue of HUMP EXPRESS has left a fairly good impression but there is criticism about the unusualnumber of Hump articles in it, and they are too dry. Would suggest one full page of sports instead of a half page.
   - JWT
Ed. - Thanks for the criticism. If the various ICD bases send in the sports stories, we'll have a page of sports. We'll try to pep up the paper too.

A timid knock on the screen of the chaplain's door, and then entered a young man of medium height, black curly hair, his fatigue suit a bit soiled with grease and oil, his expression indicating deep concern and worry.
"Padre, I can't get my mind on my work lately," he introduced himself rather dejectedly. "There must be a reason for it," the chaplain answered.
"There is Padre. My twin brother is in another theater. We were parted about 14 months ago. This is the first time in our whole life that we have been separated. Neither he nor I are happy over the separation, and I think of him constantly, and it's just no good, Padre."
The chaplain remembered a War Department directive recommending keeping identical twins together and promised the young man that he would investigate the matter immediately. Making inquiries in the front office, the chaplain learned from the adjutant that a request for the reunion of these twins had beenpreviously initiated through channels. A request was forwarded to see what had been done. The answer was a copy of the orders, back-dated, ordering the twin into this theater.
On the following day, the local twin came into the chaplain's office again. The chaplain showed him the copy of the orders and watched the downwardcrease along the edges of the young man's mouth take a decided upturn. He beamed from ear to ear. He didn't say a word, but his happy expression and brightening eyes definitely spoke: "What a guy, this chaplain of ours. He's on the ball."
There was nothing to do but wait. Perhaps a couple of weeks would tell . . . But "the chaplain was on the ball."
The next night in one of the tents several of the enlisted men were in an interesting bull session, the local twin in their midst. There was adisturbance at the opening of the tent, and in walks a new recruit. The bull-session came to a halt. The local twin had his back to the opening. His companionsitting opposite, his mouth wide open, blurted out in astonishment. From the door to the local twin and back again his eyes kept switching, as he said, "Oh I should have listened to the doctor's advice. He told me that stuff would split my vision..." The Next moment the twins were in each others arms,hugging and yelling.
The next morning, the twins called upon the Padre. The fact assistant of the chaplain answering to the name of "Monsignor" stared in bewilderment."Padre, two people can't look that much alike, they just can't." The twins just beamed back in defiance, smiling identically.
They measured the same height, to the fraction of an inch, tipping the scale to the pound; their hair bushy, black and curly, even twisted inidentical ringlets. With little or no hips, their trousers hung and accentuated the rotund bulge just above the buckle revealing an identical good appetite forGI "vittles." They talked the same, walked the same, and enjoyed the same amusements. To the very keen observer, they offered one distinguishing mark.The original local twin is a corporal, the new delivery a buck private. As per request, both have been assigned to the engineer. They work on the same shift,and both seem to have a common faculty of becoming identically soiled.
The base chaplain, amused over the situation, invited the twins to go with him into the front office. The adjutant was bent busily over a few sheetsof paper. He casually looked up and down, and then sat bolt upright. "Gosh!"
The executive officer walked in and excused himself as he started to pass, not looking at anyone too intently. He walked two paces and spun around,staring. "Padre, what is this?" And he rubbed his eyes, with a rapid reflection apparently reassuring him that last evening had nothing to do with the present.He looked more intently, the twins grinning innocently.
The chaplain thought he would relieve the suspense.
"Major, sir, these are two of our boys."
"Yes," blurted the major, "so I- -I see. Now listen here, young men. We are very glad to have you. But don't either of you ever dare to get into trouble." Shaking his head and grunting, the executive officer stormed out of the room. As though we don't have enough trouble around here."
Thus were identical twins welcomed on this base. There is never a dull moment.
- Capt. Harry F. Wade, Chaplain, 1305th BU

‘Is That Your Chico, Joe?’

Yes, it is his son, the shepherd falteringly answers Sgt. Howard J. Kleinsmith, Reading, Pa. (Sheep on ICD bases are welcome landmowers.)

Rugged Individualists

Pvt. Jesse Dean, ICD heavyweight, claims all-India crown after defeating another GI who had beaten civilian champion.

Known as "Roy King" in pre-army days, Sgt. Roy Becker of Milwaukee wows them in the Valley as comic of hot GI show.

Anything Can Happen Here...

Welcoming the popular and girly USO Show Unit 269, one valley station put on a terrific display of ballyhoo and buncombe, culminating in a mass formationled by this pachydermic super-drum-major.

His Honor the Staff Sergeant

To Sudhendra Ray (left) his boss is S/Sgt. Herbert J. Richter, but to home folks in Conger, Ga., he's still "Mr. Mayor."Entering the army in 1942, he was succeeded in office by rival he had defeated.

Records and Reunions

Broke crewing record on 1328th's "Banner Day": (above) Cpl. Hays, Pfc. Brown, Sgt. Dryer; (below) Cpls. Hutchinson and Hawkins, Sgt. Pemberton.

For first time in 3 years, brothers meet in ICD. Sgt. Dick Blue and T/4 Glen Blue met last when Dick was a civilian, Glen a two-month rookie, back in the U.S.

Rochester Remembers George

Rochester, N.Y., sports fans recall "Jimmy Fox," Airport stadium stunt man and race driver. Now he's Sgt. George Coccia, ICD motorpooler.

Jungle Jumper Takes Off

Search and Rescue squadron's "jumping shavetail." Lt. William F. Diebold, is ready to leave on another mission into Hump jungle.His only peeve was the photographer's request to look towards the camera and smile just as he was leaving the plane and before opening the 'chute.

‘Jumping Shavetail’ Is Vet
In Search, Rescue Work

   1333rd BU, ASSAM - An army job doesn't seem so bad when it involves hunting, fishing and swimming, but Lt. William F. Diebold, intelligence officer attached to the Search and Rescue squadron, does these because of necessity. After many jumps into the jungles and long weeks of hiking with a 60-pound pack on his back, the 26 year-old lieutenant has become a jungle veteran.
His first jump occurred within an hour after he arrived at this base for assignment to the squadron, when he participated in the thrilling rescue ofLt. Greenlow M. Collins, a P-51 pilot who went down in one of the Hump's most treacherous areas - the valley of the Gedu. Since then, the "jumping shavetail"has taken part in many other rescues and has compiled a score of adventures which would put a pulp-fiction writer to shame.

Colors for Raft-mate
   Snakes often have played their part in providing hair-raising incidents. Once while the lieutenant was leading a group of hillfolk along a junglepath, he barely missed stepping on a krait, one of the most dangerous snakes known. The snake struck the third member of the party, who died within a few moments.
Another time, while Lt. Diebold was alone, paddling down a jungle stream on a raft, a cobra dropped on the raft from a tree overhead. Thelieutenant jumped into the water, swam under the raft and came up on the opposite side, only to find himself face to face with the snake again. For an hour anda half he matched wits with the cobra, until he finally managed to ease it off the raft and continue on his way.
On the lighter side, Lt. Diebold relates his experience with a tribe of hillfolk. The village head-man took a liking to him and called all the villagers to meet him. The "shavetail," whose sense of humor rates second only to his love of adventure, taught them the lyrics of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" - and the chorus of villagers chimed in with "Ee-Ei-Ee-Ei-Oh."

Friend of Tribesmen
   By displaying courtesy and thoughtfulness, he has established himself as a friend to jungle tribesmen of the Hump country. On one occasion, one ofhis village guides, who had been carrying a 100-pound pack of supplies, was overcome by malaria. Lt. Diebold stopped the procession, gave him atabrine and coveredhim with his own GI blankets.
The "jumping shavetail" still likes to be referred to as such, though he came out of the jungle one day recently and learned he could change the color ofhis bars from gold to silver. He received the Soldier's medal last month.

Rube Goldberg Special

This could be a Kentucky moonshiner's hangout but it's a water distiller at the 1328th in Assam, which furnishes distilled water for batteries.Here T/Sgt. Lucas D. Gonzales and his Indian assistant run off a batch.

GI Operates Assam Still
With Sanction of His CO

1328th BU, ASSAM - T/Sgt. Lucas D. Gonzales probably is not the only GI in Assam who ever made a still but he is one of a few who operate one with the complete sanction of the CO. The reason is that the finished product is water.
Until the recent invention of a water distilling system by Sgt. Gonzales there had been a definite need for distilled water at this base. Sufficientquantities were unobtainable and unprocessed water was being used, causing damage to batteries and a resultant operational handicap.
The new water distilling system solves this problem. Using seven gallons of low octane gasoline, the apparatus piuts out ten gallons of water,enough for three days' operations. The product of Gonzales's device has been tested by the medics and found to be almost 100 percent pure.
Made mostly from salvage materials, the still works on a system of coils, cooling trays and old barrels and is heated with gasoline.
At the beginning Gonzales's greatest difficulty was getting sufficient output. The first model of his still was a small machine which wassuccessful, but did not produce sufficient water. So Gonzales constructed the present unit which distills more than three times as much as is needed.
Gonzales received his technical knowledge at El Paso Technical Institute and the Texas College of Mines. At this base he is NCO in charge of theelectrical shop in engineering.

Radio Ops Go To School at Assam Base
Old-timers on Hump Run Serve As Instructors; GI Is Chief

   1333rd BU, ASSAM - The Hump route demands from a radio operator all the technical knowledge he can apply. To educate those new to the Hump run, and to aid veteran, a school for aerial radio operators has been established at this base.
Some of the instructors are old-timers who know the Hump's peculiarities. Others are technical experts on a new navigational aid. All arecommunication specialists and many of them have completed the required operational hours over the division's air lanes. Combined, they offer an intensivecourse of instruction concerning all the problems encountered in Hump flying.

GIs Instruct
   Five instructors teach courses on homings, briefing and routes and continuous wave and voice procedure. They also cover the various types ofequipment and their use. Six other specialists give sole attention to the operation of the new navigation receiver.
All functions of the school come under scrutiny of T/Sgt. Julius Ginsberg, chief radio operator, and Sgt. John Weismus, chief instructor. Lt. H. W.Caming, flight communications officer, supervises activities.

Attend Between Flights
   Devised and built by the instructors, the gadgets used are unique in that they simulate actual conditions encountered in the air. The school'smasterpiece is a mock-up of two radio compasses mounted on a movable platform which enables GIs to demonstrate the use of directional facilities alongvarious routes.
Radio operators here attend the school between flights and are required to have routine checks monthly as well as weekly code checks.

Buckeye Sergeants
Volunteer Overtime
As Hump Radiomen

1330th BU, ASSAM - There's one way of showing the folks back home - and everybody else - how anxious you are to get back to Uncle Sugar, and that's to volunteer for double duty over the Hump. Two Ohio sergeants, Howard A. Behm, of Columbus, and Hugh E. Stanley, of Cleveland, have done it.
Behm and Stanley both have accomplished nearly 250 missions, in almost 900 hours of operational flight, as Hump radio operators. Both havereceived the Air Medal and DFC with one oak leaf cluster each.

New Show Wows Audience at 1327th;
Pantomimist Stars

1327th BU, ASSAM - A new and original stage show, directed by Sgt. Ely Landau, Brooklyn, and presented to the personnel of this base and nearby hospitals, has all the earmarks of becoming the hit show of 1945 in the theater.
The prize of the show was a pantomime by Sgt. Roy Becker, Milwaukee (see photo section) that left the GIs hysterical with laughter. Not since"Hump Happy" staged its humorous satire has a show received such tumultuous applause, encores and comment.
The cast, composed entirely of 1327th personnel, was personally commended by Lt. Col. Harry Gowins, CO.
Sgt. Becker, under the name of "Roy King," was a feature comedian with "Pappy Trester and the Screwballs," a novelty orchestra, for five years inMinnesota prior to entering the army.
Sgt. Eddie Bauer, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., a professional magician who appeared in the White House on three "command performances" for President and Mrs.Roosevelt, held the audience spellbound with feats of magic.

Townsend and Friend

Blackie, Himalayan Bear,
Makes Wrestling Partner

1325th BU, ASSAM - Prowlers around this area would encounter something they didn't bargain for if they tried to enter this domain without being announced.
They would come face to face with a 200-pound Himalayan black bear, who keeps a watchful eye for intruders. With teeth that could cut heavy insulatedwire and paws that could crush almost anything, "Blackie" is more than a match for any man - except S/Sgt. John Townsend, of Los Angeles.
Sgt. Townsend, a cook at Assam Wing HQ, befriended Blackie nine months ago when the bear was a two-week old cub. As Blackie grew, the friendship grewand the sergeant became his only companion. Others who dared to enter their sanctuary were met with lashing paws and snarling teeth.
Among Blackie's accomplishments are guzzling beer out of a can, walking on his hind legs, scaring Indians and wrestling with Sgt. Townsend. Standingon his hind legs, in readiness, Blackie awaits the signal and the wrestling match begins. During the bout, the bear makes use of his teeth, gripping thesergeant's arm or leg. Townsend considers this fouling and punches Blackie in the kisser. The bout usually ends with Blackie the victor.
Sgt. Townsend finds this an interesting way to while away the time here. His only regret is that he won't be allowed to take Blackie with him when he returns to the States. The cook is the former owner of the Webster restaurant in Los Angeles and knows a good steak when he sees one.

Volleyball in China, Too!

ICD BASE, CHINA - Cpl. E. E. Moor, Dunellen, N.J., radio operator, goes up after a high one on the volleyball court here.Recently arrived in this theater, Cpl. Moor was surprised to find that he could pursue one of his favorite sports at this forward China base.He works in the radio section.

Varied Athletic Program
Adds Another Sport
Inter-department Volleyball League Organized at 1305th

1305th BU, CALCUTTA - Competition in volleyball, softball and basketball is mounting among officers and enlisted men, with volleyball the newest sport to get underway. An Inter-department league consisting of ten teams was organized this week, and the officers' team copped an early leadwith three wins.
The Weather squadron still holds the lead in the second half of the softball loop, with six wins. Base engineering is in second place, with fivevictories and one loss; priorities and traffic is third with four wins and two losses.
The Skyliners, base cagers, have won one game and lost two in Commandtown competition. They dropped a close 35-30 decision to the MPs, then edged out the strong Camp H quintet by 30 to 24 and bowed in the third tussle to a determined Air Depot five, 52 to 37.
Although as yet no tennis courts have been built at Skannal field, officers and enlisted men may sign out equipment for use elsewhere. Officersand enlisted men have also taken part in many golf tournaments in Calcutta.

36 Games Won by ATC Flyers;
Ask If They’re Champs

1327th BU - The ATC Flyers, post baseball team, which has won 36 games and lost only eight, has called upon HQ, Calcutta, to determine the championship of India.
Cpl. John Shaffer, who is hurling for the Flyers, was the property of the Cincinnati Reds before Uncle Sugar muscled in and picked up an option on his contract.
"Lefty" Shaf earned his reputation by winning 18 out of 21 games. Eight of the victories were shut-outs. This is claimed to be a record for theIB and C theaters.

Planters’ Baseball Enters Second Half

1327th BU, ASSAM - The second half of the Tea Planters' Baseball league play at this base opened recently with a record crowd of GIs attending. The ATC Flyers defeated HQ Service Group, 18 to 3, while the QM Harlem Blazers defeated the Blockbusters 9 to 5 and the Service Group Beestriumphed over QM 'B' Co. by 29 to 0.

Defeated in Oxcart Bowl

They lost the Oxcart bowl game to the Station hospital, but it was for a worthy cause - the Indian Red Cross. members of the ATC Eagles, representingthe 1311th were Pfc. Joe Polinsky of Fairport, Ohio; S/Sgt. Frank Kesser of Newark, N.J.; Pfc. Donald R. Case of Edson, Kans.; Pfc. Charles Riggles, Greenwood, Ind.; Sgt. Al Salay, coach from Buffalo, N.Y. and Cpl. Jack Maddox of Experiment, Ga.
(Not all in partial picture)

ATC Eagles Drop Game
In Oxcart Bowl Classic

1311th BU, INDIA - With Indian urchins running through the stands begging for "baksheesh," the Oxcart Bowl crawled into its proper nichealongside the gridiron extravaganzas of the year as the Station Hospital Medics trounced the 1311th ATC Eagles, 12 to 4, before a wildly enthusiastic, yet confused Sunday crowd of 1,000 of the Indian citizenry. The game was sponsored by the special service office with the entire proceeds donated to the local chapter of the Indian Red Cross.
While the crowd never had seen an American football game before and was even more baffled by the six-man touch variety played by the GIs, thespectators cheered every play wildly and left the scene apparent converts of the American fall sport.
The Eagles got off to a 2-0 lead in the second period when player-coach Al Salay caught Johnny Carpani, captain of the Medics, behind his own goalline for a safety. The Medics kicked from their own 20-yard line and the Eagles put on their only sustained march of the afternoon, which finally petered out on the enemy's eight yard line.
Carpani, Medics star, put his team back into the game as he caught the second-half kickoff and raced 90 yards to a touchdown, weaving his waythrough the entire ICD team, urged on by the loud "teek-hais" from the stands. Carpani scored again on a long pass in the third quarter, sewing up the gamefor the hospital.

Escapes Injury in
Two Theaters Till
Cow Takes Toll

1330th BU, ASSAM - Pfc. Otis Lee Dobyns, of Golden, Colo., wore three battle stars won in two theaters, but it took a sacred cow to cause him his first injury.
Dobyns, whose service with an Air Corps service unit and ATC had taken him to Africa, Tunis, Italy, Egypt, Sicily and finally to India, had comethrough it all without a scratch.
Driving a GI trucks, he found a cow in his way. The effort to spare the cow injury cost the unscathed veteran his first.

Morse Invents Heating Device For Gyro Use

M/Sgt. Gets Recommendation For Award Before ‘Rotating’

1327th BU, ASSAM - The life span of a delicate gyro instrument on transport planes has been increased from less than 50 hours to anaverage of more than 200 hours by an invention of M/Sgt. Carson C. Morse.
M/Sgt. Morse, whose home is in Marion, Ohio, was the instrument section chief of this base before he left on rotation for the States. One of the major headaches of the section was trying to keep gyro instruments in repair. They would fail in flight after a few hours, owing to extreme changes in temperature encountered in the run to and from China over the Hump.
The average life of the gyro has been stepped up by the use of the pre-heater to more than 200 hours, and in one instance an instrument has been in operation for over 1100 hours.
For his achievement, M/Sgt. Morse has been recommended for the Legion of Merit by his commanding officer, Lt. Col. Harry M. Gowins.

The Colonel Comes Home from the Hunt

The eyes are open, but the big cat isn't alive. Bagged in a hunt near the 1311th, he lies on the jeep of his killer, Lt. Col. Lee L. Willey.A veteran sportsman, the colonel calls the neighborhood of his field "one of the best hunting spots in the world."

Irony and an Autograph

A soldier who received an ironic injury gets an autograph from an illustrious singer. Lily Pons and Andre Kostelanetz dropped in to see Pfc. Otis Lee Dobyns,of Golden, Colo., hospitalized at the 1330th BU, and left their autographs.

Flew Under Bridge in Plane With Gal On Wing;
Now Shows Pilots Safe Way

CO at 1311th Is Ex-stunt
Flier, Pioneer Air
Line Pilot
(Ed's Note: This is the third in a series of articles on ICD base COs.)
1311th BU, INDIA - The truant who grew up to be a truant officer has a counterpart in ICD. Here the once devil-may-care stunt pilot of"Hell's Angels" and "Dawn Patrol" is training pilots the safe way to fly the Hump route to China.
The ex-stunt pilot is Lt. Col. Lee L. Willey. His command is the check-out school for Hump pilots at 1311th BU. Lean and friendly Col. Willey, 42, is a familiar figure on the flight line, where he gives close personal attention to the instructional program, talking to his pilot-instructors and student-officersas one pilot to another.

1,000 Hours On Instruments
You won't find Col. Willey doing any Immelman turns, spins, and barrel rolls today. His full time is devoted to showing pilots how to get thereand back, how to fly with instruments over 20,000 foot peaks, defying icing conditions and treacherous winds.
Instrument flying has long been of keen concern to Col. Willey. He has logged over 1,000 hours on instruments in actual weather, out of a total of14,000 flying hours. At one time he was instrument flying instructor for Eastern Airlines and later served on a board of officers which rewrote AAF Regulation

50-3 and set up the AAF Instrument Flying school at Bryan, Tex., after making a study of instrument flying proficiency.
"But, I am even more concerned with the general handling of the airplane," he says, "because instrument flying won't help you unless you can get the plane back on the ground."
Col. Willey learned to fly in California in 1924. After completing the course he bought the school. His partners in this early venture were JackFrye and Paul Richter, later president and vice-president of TWA. With the slogan "guaranteed to solo for $250," the school, known as Aero corporation of California,soon was training 160 students a month. Col. Willey was chief instructor, with five pilots to assist him. Their ships were the old Jennies (KM4D), ThomasMorris Scouts, SE5s, and old Standards - all ships developed during World War I.

Movie Pilot
It was during this period that Col. Willey became interested in stunt flying, teaching acrobatics to the more daring students. He was a member of "13 Black Cats,"a group of movie stunt fliers, who flew the photographic ships or participated in movie dogfights. He flew in "Dawn Patrol," "Lilac Game," "Hell's Angels" and"Wings." He flew for newsreels for stunts such as exhibition parachute jumps and plane changes in mid-air. One of his greatest thrills was the time he flewArt Gobel under the

Flew Dogfights in Movie
Thrillers; Conducted
Test Flights
Colorado bridge at Pasadena with a girl on the wing. In 1926, the Willey-Frye-Richter combination expanded operations to air lines by pioneering the Los Angeles-Tucson run as Standard Air lines.
In the fall of 1926, Western Air Express bought the school and the air line. Col. Willey stayed with Western and flew all their lines duringthe ensuing eight years. From 1932 to 1934 he was chief pilot for the line and handled all pilot check-outs.
In August, 1934, he transferred to Eddie Rickenbacker's Eastern Airlines, flying various runs until 1942.

Conducted Test Flights
Commissioned in the Air Corps in 1942, he was assigned to the Office of Flying Safety. For six months he represented that office at the big C-54,B-24, and B-17 plants on the west coast. He conducted test flights and made factory follow-ups on each aircraft accident in which factory responsibilitywas probable.
The Flying Safety office next sent him to the 2nd Air Force as flying safety officer, where he demonstrated the B-24 and B-17, including all emergencyprocedures. He conducted accelerated service tests on a bombsight and on automatic pilot. In November, 1943, he was transferred to the 20th Bomb Squadron ascheck-pilot on B-29s. He flew the superforts until May, 1944, when he was transferred to the ATC.

BROAD VIEWS By Pvt. Kin Platt

"Hello.....Yes.....This is the office of Strategic Planning....."

P & T Offices Consolidated
at Base in Assam

Combining of Passenger, Freight Terminal
Is Feature Of Setup

   1327th BU, ASSAM - The priorities and traffic section here, under the direction of Maj. Fred Strauch, Jr., has undergone a wholesale change in its physical makeup.
Formerly located in operations, one mile from its warehouse where trucks had to be dispatched, P & T now has been moved to the runway itself.Here each aspect of its function is in a centralized location.
The office, passenger and freight terminals, additional fuel loading ramps, weights and balances, and a repair shop for damaged tie-down equipmentare all set up to facilitate quick loading and unloading.

Taxi Strips Built
   Prime benefit of the new location is the ability of incoming and outgoing planes to receive and discharge loads from a ramp adjoining the terminal. Necessary taxi strips were constructed for the purpose.

Transient Facilities
   In keeping with centralization is the nearly-completed modern passenger terminal calculated to suit the most discriminating taste. Set off bythe striking mural work of Lt. Nicolai V. Kuvshinoff, a prominent pre-war artist, this room will boast indirect lighting, rugs, writing desks, lounge chairsand magazine racks.
Passenger planes, like cargo ships, discharge their loads at this consolidated freight-passenger terminal, enabling transients to obtain quickertransportation to billeting and mess facilities. In the event time does not permit leaving the terminal, passengers will be supplied K rations and fruit juices.

HUMP EXPRESS is the official newspaper of the India-China Division, Air Transport Command, APO 192, c/o Postmaster, New York, N.Y., and is published by its Public Relations office. Camp Newspaper Service and Army Newspaper Servicefeatures are used, reproduction of which is prohibited without permission of CNS and ANS, 205 East 42nd St., New York, 17, N.Y. Other material is submitted by staff members, ICD-ATC base Public Relations sections and other soldier correspondents. Printed weekly by the Hindusthan Standard, 3 Burman St., Calcutta, India, and distributed each Thursday. Passed by U.S. Press Censor for mailing.

Military transport schedules over India for cargo, personnel and mail . . . maximum tonnage of essential war materials over the Hump . . . movement of troops and supplies in support of tactical operations in China . . . evacuation of the sick and wounded - these are the missions of ICD-ATC.

FEBRUARY 1, 1945

Original issue of HUMP EXPRESS scanned and photographed by Bill Stanley

Copyright © 2020 Carl Warren Weidenburner

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In Memory of CBI Hump pilot Russell Frederick "Fred" Stanley