*»
X
n
OPFfiOM «“Ta TF 1 IRD ADV
Camp Adair Sentry
10. 1944
Page Five
Their Names Were Once In Lights; Now GIs Give
1 heir Talent to Entertain Buddies at Our Post
Lodged in the nooks and crannies of the army there are hundreds of stage, screen
and vaudeville stars who have tourned from the footlights to Army duties far remove»’
from their professional lives*--------------------------- ■ - -
Four of the best "Backdrop" ar
tists in the business are now in the
91st Division. They are not “the
only oqes; but before they entered
the army they were tops in their
Stein, top-notch master oí cere
monies who has worked tiie North
western circuit for something like
ten years.
Ia; tile St. Louis Municipal
Opera House. H e was also with
Patricia Bowman, Harriet Hocter.
Vera Zorina and Gypsy Rose Lee.
lie was starred in "I ouisiana Pur
W ith Ballet Queens
George Sehwable, now in the chase,’' "1 Married an .Angel,” “By
There is 1st Sgt. John Burton. I entertainment section of the 91st
lupiter” and “Star and Garter.”
who used to execute those effort- ' Division Special Service Office, and a dozen other shows on Broad
less impossible twists and turns was one of the top ballet artists way ami every other legitimate
110 feet above the ground on a in the country , before he joined stage in the country. But in .his last
swinging trapeze. There is also the army, barring none. Born in -how, the musical comedy "By Ju
Teco George Sehwable, graceful the show business and dancing at piter” he quit his job to danc^ with
ballet dancer who did "pirouettes”; the early age of nine. Sehwable his new wife, the former Miks Cav
with Vera Zorina, famous screen has been at one time or another anaugh. The couple were featured
ballerina. And there are S Sgt. the dancing partner of all the in Los Angeles in exhibition ball
John Ratekin. actor, director, play leading feminine ballerinas in room and ballet adagio dancing.
right and dancer from Hollywood the nation.
Sgt. Burton, i now in the .')62ml
and Los Angeles and 1st Sgt. Ben
In 1939 he danced with Vivian Infantry, spent seven years under
the big tops on the proverbial fly
ing trapeze. He bus traveled ail of
the well-known circuits and had
some close calls as he chilled the
crowds with his daring antics in
the’clouds above a circus ring. He
played at the San Francisco Fair,
the New York State Fair, the Los
Angeles Exposition and a dozen
other top billing throughout the
nation.
Fell From Heights
“It’s a tough business,” he re
fleeted. "1'11 never forget ih»
night I »as playing in Celina.
Ohio. We were working 110 feet
above the ground when a guy
cable broke. The snap threw one
fellow all the way down and put
him in the hospital for several
months. But 1 was lucky. When
the cable broke, I went too, but
I fortunately caught another guy
wire and was able to break my
"But ! suppose the toughest show
we ever did was the night we wer<
doing the finale at the Loa Angele-
Exposition. The “riggin" was dam,
and as slippery as Oregon mui
Anil then just before we got oui
cue from the band, one of th<
cables kinked. The crowd was wait
ing and we had to go through with
it. But I was plenty scared his
there was a cold sweat on my fact
I always carried a lemon in my
wrist band and 1 hit on that. Luck
ily however, nothing happened ami
the act went over with a bang. But
the crowd never did know what
had been taking place tip there
where we were."
From the environs of the caliupy
and canvas, if is a far cry to the
profession of Sgt. Ratekin. HoJI;-
wood theatrical director ami actor.
I Continued on page 11, column
• ip, 1*5.1.
”
:
*
■
AN ABBREVIATED Gl IMFSE of four out of the many
pretarmy professional thespians now in the 91st Division. Diving
outfit the upper left corner is 1st Sgt. John Burton, big time
aeitnlL-l of the Big Top. ar.d the man holding Teel Jerry l.ake-
fish (ihviously a stand-in only) is Tec.l George Sehwable. ballet
artist. Directing Tec5 Gergory Estrada and Pvt. Vern Albertson
in the immortal scene from Borneo and Juliet is S/Sgt. John Rate-
kin who used Io do better directing for timee McPherson in Holly
wood. Playing the piano, singing .and composing all at once is
the versatile 1st Sgt. Ben Stein. Oregon entertainer.
--------*
Under Combat Conditions, 316th Bn
Builds 76-Foot Bridge in 4% Hours
on as the men worked quietly
By Teel Thomas C. Fesperman
Despite blackout, rain and the with the heavy steel were Major
hana-.-ing of "enemy" soldiers, of- > General William G. Liveway. com
ficers and men of Company* B.; manding general of the 91st Divi
316th Engineer Battalion, erected sion. and hi« side. Captain Fred S-3 operatives were loose, and
"commandoes" were using dyna
a 76-foot. 40-ton Bailey bridge in F. Lash.
four hours and 15 minutes of com-1 At dusk the Engineer» entered mite sticks as artillery. Booby traps
bat-like action last Friday night in the bridge area, quietly dispersed were also in abundance.
Before the job was done, mo-t
their trucks and equipment, put
Area One.
The construction of the heavy out security, and set to work. They of the "enemy" had been rap
bridge by the Engineers brought observed strict blackout discipline, tured. The bridge was completed
the 91»t Division soldiers well into kept the noise of such heavy work about 0115 Saturday.
After the men had finished the
their advanced combat training. , at a minimum, and kept constantly
erection, they dismantled the big
and marked a new phase in front on the alert against “attack."
Not knowing just what Action to bridge, reloaded it on their trucks,
line schooling.
• When the Engineers had com expect, but prepared for anything returned it to its place in the En
pleted their iob. it was nearly 0500 that might he thrown at them, the gineer training area, and turned in
Engineers weren’t too surprised a few minutes before 0500.
Saturday.
when, in the course of their work,. Company B's area was the quiet-
Interested Onlooker
- *
the ipkasvf-ted fouker«- they were targets at C9to«4v*Uakt-tn kpeVH y that Saturda..
‘55 MILLION OWN BONDS
Washington (CNS>- Fifty five
million Americans have purchased
one or more war bonds since Pearl
Harbor, the Treasury Department
announced recently when it re
leased figures of the nation's con
tribution to
drives.
Individuals at home, backing the
the limit, ________
have ac-
war overseas to
____________
counted for nearly 29 billion dol
lars of fh> 70 billions raised since
May, 1941, under the savings bond
program, the Treasury Depart
ment disclosed.
I