Brig. Gen. William D. Old, Tenth Air Force Chief of Staff, now wears the most famous pair of general's stars in the U.S. Army Air Forces, as a result of the recent Senate action confirming him for the new rank. The stars were pinned on Old by Brig. Gen. Clayton Bissell, commanding general of the Tenth Air Force. They are the same stars that Mrs. Bissell sent to her husband in Chungking last year and they were pinned on Bissell's shoulders by Brig. Gen. John Magruder, head of the first American Military Mission to China of this war, at a ceremony on the roof of Gen. Stilwell's house in Chungking. When Jimmy Doolittle passed through Chungking after the Tokyo raids last April, he received notification of his promotion to brigadier general and Bissell pinned them on Doolittle. Leaving Chungking, Doolittle stopped at a base in China, where Brig. Gen. Claire Chennault had just received word of his promotion so Doolittle put them on Chennault because they were again the only pair of stars around. Last fall, Caleb V. Haynes, now commander of the India Air Task Force, was made a brigadier general while serving as bomber chief for Chennault. Again they were the only stars on hand and so Chennault pinned them on Haynes. Realizing their sentimental value, Haynes returned them to Bissell, who once again pinned them on a new brigadier general when Robert C. Oliver, head of the Theater's Air Service Command was promoted. Oliver returned them to Bissell. When Old gets his own insignia, they will again be returned to Bissell. |
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Here's an informal shot as Allied leaders conferred in India. Left to right: Brig. Gen. B. G. Ferris, Field Marshal Sir John Dill, a British naval officer, Lt. Gen. H. H. Arnold, Maj. Gen. R. A. Wheeler, Gen. Ho Ying Chen, Field Marshal Wavell. |
Gen. Arnold, Chief of United States Army Air Forces, uses gestures to emphasize a point to Field Marshal Dill, who is a member of the Allied staff in Washington. |
Caught in an earnest discussion, Field Marshal Sir Archibald Wavell, Commander-In-Chief, India, flexes his arm as he chats with Lt. Gen. Brehon Somervell, chief of the entire U.S. Army Services of Supply. |
There was plenty of opportunity for private confabs. Here Gen. Arnold flashes a smile as he listens to Field Marshal Dill. Arnold was president Roosevelt's official representative; Dill spoke for Prime Minister Churchill. |
Another two-man conference takes place as Field Marshal Wavell and Gen. Somervell are caught in informal poses. |
Leaving their colleagues for a moment, Lt. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell and Field Marshal Wavel, take time out to make a hasty comparison of notes on a phase of the important discussions that followed the meetings in Chungking. |
Gen. Chen, Secretary of War and Chief of Staff of Chinese Army Forces, exchanges greetings with Gen. Stilwell, who, in addition to being U.S. commander for this theater, is also Chief of Staff for Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. Watching are Field Marshal Wavell and T. V. Soong, a member of the Pacific War Council in Washington. |
More discussions that will later become big headaches for the Japs. In the foreground is Gen. Arnold, Brig. Gen. Clayton Bissell, Tenth Air Force Chief and Field Marshal Dill. Behind them T. V. Soong, Gen. Wheeler, and Gen. Stilwell. |
The lighter side of a serious and important meeting. Gen. Arnold relieves the tension with a humorous remark, proving that generals maintain their sense of humor even when shaping world destiny. |
The group of conferees closes in again, more conscious of the camera, as they prepare to break up the conference. The cameraman let us down on this shot - he didn't give us a caption. Anyway you've got a better idea of how generals look when they get together to figure out future trends of the war in this part of the world. |
Extolling the Infantry's glory; They loved to enlarge or a Cavalry charge And make it the theme of their story. The boys in the tanks are beginning to rank And the caissons keep rolling along While pilot and plane will always attain Full credit in story and song. The news-hounds adore the parachute corps; The medics come in for their praise; But there's one bastard crew, a forgotten few, On which glory's light doesn't blaze. They spend their dull hours in forecasting showers And judging the height of the clouds, But their anticipation of precipitation Effects no cheers from the crowds. The problems climatic are not so romantic As shooting down Japs from the blue. But you bet your last dollar the fliers would holler If the weatherman failed to come through! When the Bomber Command has a mission all planned, And are set to raise hell with the Japs, There's a question of whether all's well with the weather En route to that spot on the map. That's the weatherman's call to get on the ball, And get all the dope for the flight; He can't play the breaks, or slow for mistakes No guessing - He's got to be right! When there's nothing to clear he will sit on his rear He's lazy, that point is conceded; He'll loaf on the job, and he'll jawbone an ob. * And he ain't worth a damn - 'till he's needed. - Corp. DON H. FIELDS * Weather forecast |
INNOCENT BYSTANDER And by their course his course has reckoned; When cataloging this and that Puts warring first, mere woman second. But when he goes to nip a Nippon, This above all things else id true - He means it - TERRIBLY - when he says: "So long, Babe. I'll be seein' you." - Lt. ELIZABETH SHAUNTY Of divers thoughts unpleasant to pursue After we had promised we'd allow No distance to extinguish love's red hue. I've been faithful (not through choice I know). Long, sleepless nights when memories would roll On embers flaming crimson from love's glow. Venturing throughout my very soul. Enough of me - but, you - have you been true? Your pen says "Yes," and I should have no fear Of such - but then I recollect we two United - when your husband wasn't near. - Corp. SID LICHTMAN |
MADAME CHIANG INVITED TO ADDRESS CONGRESS WASHINGTON - In a statement disclosing that Madame Chiang Kai-shek will soon visit Washington, Senator Tom Connally, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said, "It is my hope and pleasure that she may be able to address the Congress or the Senate. At the first opportunity I shall extend an invitation on behalf of the Senate." The House voted unanimously of Feb. 10 to recess to receive Madame Chiang, who is in a New York City hospital undergoing treatment. She is reported to be making favorable progress. She has received a number of visitors recently, including Mrs. Roosevelt. |
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who was killed in China on March 14, 1942. First American to give his life in CBI. |