CANDIDLY SPEAKING —
Who’s a souse?
By Maxine Garrison
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In post-war era –
Plane industry likely to make first ‘real’ czar
Engineer says auto makers are shackled with outmoded tools, dyes
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Loss of foot fails to stop Yank soldier
After killing two Germans, he’s wounded, but gets third
By James E. Roper, United Press staff writer
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Inside story of ‘peace now’ –
Pacifists seek aid of Congress for peace parley now
America Firsters have prominent role in growing movement to influence isolationist Senators, Representatives
By Thomas M. Johnson
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U.S. Navy Department (January 25, 1944)
CINCPAC Press Release No. 238
Heavy bombers of the 7th Army Air Force attacked Wotje Atoll in the Marshall Islands at dusk on January 23 (West Longitude Date). Approximately 50 tons of bombs were dropped. No fighter opposition was met, and all of our planes returned without damage.
The Pittsburgh Press (January 25, 1944)
ALLIES NEAR MAIN ROME ROAD
Yanks win battle for 4 bridges; Nazi attacks hurled back near Cassino
5th Army drives 12 miles; patrols may be across Appian way
By C. R. Cunningham, United Press staff writer
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Allies blast 10 Jap ships, 78 airplanes
Mighty air blows struck in Southwest Pacific, Marshalls, China
By Don Caswell, United Press staff writer
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Planes pound French coast 3rd day in row
Berlin reports Anglo-U.S. fliers over capital during night
By Phil Ault, United Press staff writer
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Present system confusing –
Income tax forms louden clamor for simplified plan
House committee will go to work as soon as conferees dispose of new bill
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200,000 may be available –
Students in uniform face call to east father draft
House committee finds little justification for thousands of assignments to schools
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Break for Jap-held Americans –
New delivery speeds mail to Far East prison camps
Army Air Force, U.S. Post Office and Red Cross collaborate on service already operating
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In Washington –
‘State’s rights’ supporters outfox federal vote leaders
By Thomas L. Stokes, Scripps-Howard staff writer
Washington –
Even if the fighting men could watch the show Congress is putting on in connection with the soldier-vote bill, they probably couldn’t understand it. Parliamentary maneuvers, filibustering and tricky amendments are being used by the coalition of Republicans and Southern Democrats trying to defeat the Green-Lucas-Worley Bill with its simple ballot.
Some members themselves are not clear about what is going on, beyond observing that the coalition backing the Eastland-Rankin “states’-rights” bill seems to have the advantage in slick maneuvers. Administration leaders appear inept.
To add to the confusion, a race has started between House and Senate to pass a bill first.
Adjournment of the Senate today out of respect to the memory of Senator Frederick Van Nuys (D-IN), who died last night, delayed its showdown vote on the bills.
The Senate took up the new Green-Lucas Bill yesterday. Immediately, Republicans led by Senator Taft (R-OH), with the connivance of Southern Democrats, started a filibuster to hold up passage until the House acts first on the states’-rights bill sponsored by two Mississippians, Senator Eastland and Rep. Rankin.
The House took up that measure today, operating under a special rule, framed by the coalition, which bars a record vote on the Worley Bill for a federal ballot, which Rep. Worley (D-TX) will offer as a substitute.
This was designed so that constituents of Republicans cannot find out how their Congressmen voted on this issue of giving servicemen an opportunity to vote easily. Southern supporters of the Eastland-Rankin Bill do not care who knows how they vote, but they are helping their Republican allies to keep their votes secret.
The coalition hopes to rush through this measure, which Secretaries Stimson and Knox say cannot be administered effectively since it is complicated by 48 state laws, in an effort to confuse the legislative situation in the Senate so that it will be difficult to act on the Green-Lucas Bill for a federal ballot.
The Senate situation is confused by the fact that the Senate itself once passed, a few weeks ago, the Eastland “states’-rights” bill.
Sponsors of the new Green-Lucas Bill, Senators Lucas (D-IL) and Green (D-RI), are anxious to get their measure passed first in the Senate, with the hope of a psychological effect in the House, but the coalition filibuster will apparently prevent that.
Republicans in the Senate revealed their new strategy, which is to insist that ballots for state as well as federal offices must be distributed to every soldier, even though Secretaries Stimson and Knox say the services can guarantee delivery and return only of a simplified ballot for President, Vice President and members of Congress.
The new Green-Lucas Bill provides that transportation shall be provided for these state ballots, as well as the simple ballot, as far as may be possible, but with priority given to the simple ballot.
The Republican spleen against the two Republican Cabinet members broke into the open yesterday when Senator Taft accused them of “running for a fourth term” so they could continue in office, and said he did not believe what they said about delivering state ballots.
Governor Bricker to address Spanish War veterans
United Spanish War Veterans of Western Pennsylvania will have John W. Bricker, Governor of Ohio and Republican presidential candidate, as guest speaker at the annual McKinley Day dinner Thursday night in the William Penn Hotel.
John F. Barry, national inspector general of the USWV, announced the dinner is a sellout.
Other guests will include County Commissioner John J. Kane, Col. Robert G. Woodside (past national commander of the VPW), Guy V. Boyle of Indianapolis (national head of the USWV), Charles I. Shaffer of Somerset (department president), Hattie B. Frazenfield (national president of the Auxiliary), County Legion Commander Michael A. Fisher and Dr. William A. Knoer (Allegheny County commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars).
Edward S. Mathias, judge of the Ohio Supreme Court and a past commander of the USWV, will accompany Governor Bricker here for the dinner.
Roving Reporter
By Ernie Pyle
In Italy – (by wireless)
The A-36 dive bomber squadron that I’m with is living well now but that hasn’t always been so. In fact, this is the first time they’ve been in a building since they went into combat six months ago.
They have flown from 10 different fields in those six months. They have lived in tents, under trees, and in foxholes. They have lived in mud so deep the planes had to be towed to the runway, and in dust so thick they had to take off by instruments.
They have flown from fields so close to enemy lines that they could fly a bombing mission and be back in 10 minutes. So close in fact that ground crews could stand on the fields and watch their own planes going into their bombing dives.
Once, here in Italy, the air over their field was so full of wounded planes from other stations that the squadron commander had to get out and act as traffic manager, deciding himself which planes were in greatest danger and should be allowed to come in first.
Pilot turnover is high
The turnover of pilots is high in any combat outfit – partly due to casualties, but mainly due to the system of relieving pilots after a certain number of missions. It would be unusual for a combat airman to be overseas more than a year, at the present rate.
Take this squadron of Invader dive bombers, for instance.
They came into combat just six months ago, yet today only three of the original 50 pilots are left. Twelve have been casualties, and the rest have finished their missions and gone home. The three originals will be homeward bound in a few days.
These dive bomber boys have compiled some statistics about their operations. They find that a new pilot, starting in to build up the required missions for going home, has about a 75% chance of coming through safety, and if shot down he has almost a 50-50 chance of becoming a prisoner.
A dozen times, during my stay with this squadron, pilots have voluntarily brought up the subject of how wonderful the enlisted men are. The men take a terrific personal pride in their planes and they work like dogs keeping them in good shape.
The enlisted men of this squadron are an extremely high-class bunch. Being trained technicians, they were mostly at least 25 at the beginning. You could put officers’ uniforms on half of them and never know the difference.
Yearn for news from home
While I was on the field, they pumped me about conditions and politics at home, and about the end of the war and the peace, as though I were an information bureau.
These mechanics are fully conscious of three things about their jobs – that their life is immeasurably better than that of the infantrymen and that they should be grateful; that the pilot who flies out to battle is the one of their family who really take it; and that pilots’ lives often depend on their work. The result is that they work with a great conscientiousness.
When a favorite pilot fails to come back the enlisted men take it as hard as do the officers, and mechanic whose plane has been shot down is like boy who has lost his dad.
The ground crews have quite a spirit of rivalry. Recently two ships were running a neck-and-neck race for the most missions flown. Then one of the ships came back so badly damaged it had to be worked on for several days and it fell way behind in the race. It almost broke the crew chief’s heart.
Examples of zeal
Here are two little examples of the zeal with which the enlisted men work:
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As the planes were taxiing out one day for their daily mission, it was discovered that the tire on the tail wheel of one was flat. Ordinarily it would just have been left behind. But the crew came running, other crews pitched in to help, and they had a new wheel on the plane by the time the next-to-last ship of the squadron was taking off.
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Often, during hot times, the squadron will fly two and three missions a day. One day a plane came in full of holes, but not basically damaged. Usually, it would take a day or two to patch the holes, but in their excitement and pride of accomplishment the crews had that plane patched and ready to go on the next mission an hour and a half later.