Editorial: Loot
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Synthetic feminine forms are post-war promises
Fetching figures like Hollywood’s will be sold over counters, so they say
By Lenore Brundige
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Roving Reporter
By Ernie Pyle
OKINAWA (by Navy radio) – Never before had I seen an invasion beach like Okinawa.
There wasn’t a dead or wounded man in our sector of it, medical corpsmen were sitting among their sacks of bandages and plasma and stretchers, with nothing to do.
There wasn’t a single burning vehicle. Not a single boat lying wrecked on the reef or shoreline. The carnage that is almost inevitable on an invasion was wonderfully and beautifully not there.
There was hardly anybody at all on the beach when we landed. The few assault waves ahead of us had pushed on inland. And all that vast welter of people and machines that make a beach hum with work were still many waves behind us.
The bulldozers and the jeeps had not yet arrived. There was no activity and hardly any sound. It was almost as though we were the original explorers.
Our little party, which was the regimental staff, moved to the foot of a bluff about 100 yards back of the beach. It was full of caves and our naval gunfire had made a rubble at the foot of the bluff. But several cave mouths still gapped open.
We decided to set up there until the colonel could get the picture in his mind, through information brought by runners, of just what was going on.
Kidded about his marksmanship
There were about a hundred men with us in addition to the officers. The men were under Sgt. Andy Anderson from Washington State. The first thing Andy had them do was to make sure there were no Japs hiding in the caves to snipe on us, for the first waves had gone through too fast to clean everybody out – if anybody had been there.
So, they would sneak up on a hole, with rifles ready. Then Andy would take out a hand grenade and throw it into the hole. But the first one hit the edge of the holes and rolled down outside.
Andy threw himself on the sand and all the rest of us lay flat. The grenade went off with a bang, but nobody got hurt. From then on, we kidded Andy about the fine display of Marine marksmanship he had given us.
In addition to being great fighters, I believe the Marines are the friendliest bunch I’ve ever been with. I’ve never had any trouble with people being unfriendly, but these Marines seem to have it bred into them to be pleasant and to make you feel at home.
Nothing like Okinawa had ever happened to them before. They’re accustomed to butchery on the beaches. They’d kept saying to me, “If you could just have been with us before, we’d have shown you some excitement.”
And I would reply, “Brother, I’ve had all the excitement I need for a lifetime. This kind of invasion suits me fine.”
The souvenir hunters
I started wandering up and down the beach. One boy was carrying a little vase in his hand, saying, “Here’s the first souvenir of Okinawa!”
He was James Cosby, pharmacist first class, of Cereal Spring, Illinois (All medical corpsmen with the Marines are actually in the Navy, you know). He had found the vase lying outside one of the burial vaults. It had blue Japanese characters on it.
Then I noticed a tall and heavily laden Marine, carrying a big roll of telephone wire on his shoulders and leading a white nanny goat, tied to a string. I stopped him, and said, “Would you like to have you and your goat in the newspapers?”
He grinned and said, “Sure, why not?”
He was Pvt. Ben Glover of Baird, Texas. He was a telephone lineman at home, and that’s what he is here. Linemen are always among the first ashore.
By evening of Love Day, scores of Marines had baby goats for pets and were leading them around. There are lots of goats on Okinawa and the little ones were so white and so cute that we animal-loving Americans couldn’t resist adopting them.
I saw one Marine who had commandeered a horse and had it carrying his pack. Another had a bicycle. By Love Day plus three, I’m sure they’ll be carrying little Japanese babies on their backs. Americans are the darndest people! Why can’t everybody be like them?
Gracie Allen Reporting
By Gracie Allen
HOLLYWOOD – Here’s an interesting bit of news. Gen. Eisenhower now receives as much fan mail as Frank Sinatra.
A lot of people will feel that that’s a strange comparison but frankly I don’t know which of them is the more dangerous profession. I’d just as soon face the Wehrmacht as a howling mob of bobbysoxers. And no German soldier has tried to tear off Gen. Eisenhower’s uniform and carry off his medals as souvenirs.
But I guess Gen. Eisenhower definitely tops Sinatra. Frankie only makes the girls swoon. The General has got the whole German High Command fainting.
Now, all the bobbysoxers will rise up and say that Gen. Eisenhower can’t “send ‘em” like Frankie can.
I disagree. Look how far he’s sent Patton.
Wallop Muncie, 14-0 –
Bucs’ batting power standout feature of training exhibitions
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Farley could have job –
O’Connor fades as possibility for czar post
By Joe Williams
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Requirements for war steel are critical
Allotments cut on maintenance, repair
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Defender photo supply, DuPont unit may merge
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Plea for Far East made by Indian woman leader
West urged to meet on common ground
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Two mentioned for loan job
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Japaner versenken weitere 17 Kriegsschiffe
Feindliche Flottenverbände ziehen sich zurück
Tokio, 9. April – Die Amerikaner haben seit Beginn ihrer Landungen auf Okinawa-Honto bis zum 7. April rund 600 Mann und über 100 Tanks verloren, während sich die Verluste der Japaner auf etwa 400 Mann belaufen.
Auch die Schiffsverluste des Gegners sind in den letzten Tagen noch erheblich gestiegen. Außer den bereits bekanntgegebenen Versenkungen verloren die Amerikaner noch ein großes Kriegsschiff unbekannter Klasse, drei Kreuzer, zehn Zerstörer, drei Minensucher und dreizehn Schiffe unbekannten Typs. Beschädigt wurden vier Kreuzer, vier Zerstörer, zwei Minensucher und acht Schiffe unbekannter Klasse.
Letzte Berichte vom Kriegsschauplatz in den Gewässern der Ryukyu-Inseln deuten darauf hin, dass sich die feindlichen Flottenverbände nach dem schweren Angriff japanischer Luft- und Flotteneinheiten mit erheblichen Verlusten in südlicher und östlicher Richtung zurückziehen.