Image provided by: Deschutes Public Library; Bend, OR
About Abbot engineer. (Camp Abbot, Or.) 1943-1944 | View Entire Issue (July 16, 1943)
Friday, July 1 6, 1943 ABBO T ENG INEER Page Two Hard-Wcrking Abbot Engineers r % in s a n ir ' 'Top Sarge" to Hq. ERIC Men PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FOR ALL UNITS ON THE POST Founded May 21, 1943 A weekly new spaper published by and for the m ilitary personnel of Camp Abbot, Oregon, under supervision of the Post Special Service branch. All editorial m atter pertain ing to Camp Abbot is available for general release and rep rin t in other publications. All articles represent personal opinions and are not official news unless specifically credited to the W ar D epartm ent. All editorial m atter should be directed to the “A bbot E ngineer,” P ost Hqs. A nnex, Bldg. 202. Telephone E xt. 8. Copies of this official post new spaper distributed free to cam p personnel. Sub scription to the public, by m ail: SO cents for three m o nth s; six m onths, $1; ene year, f liO . The EN G IN EER receives m aterial supplied by Cam p N ew spaper Service. W ar D ep't., 205 E. 42nd St., N. Y. C. Credited m aterial may no t be republished w ithout perm ission from Cam p N ew spaper Service. 1st. Lieut. P. H. O’Brien...........................Director of Special Service 2nd Lt. S. D. Hopkins...........11th Croup, Special Service Officer 1st. Lieut. Wayne B. Leitzell 12th Group, Special Service Officer STAFF Cpi. Morrie C. Cuss.........................................................................Editor T 1 George S. F ly ...................................................Editorial Associate Pvt. Mary Graham ...............................................Feature Activities Pvt. Richard Shearin ..........................................Editorial Associate Sgt. Roy I.. R id er.................................................. Sports Coordinator Pfe. Bob H ahn..................................- ..............................Photographer Cpi. Harlan L. Weeks......................- ...... Hq. ERTC Correspondent Sgt. Zella I. Alien ................................................................ Circulation Photography and art work by Publications, Engineer Re placement Training Center, Camp Abbot, Oregon. ARE YOU GOING TO PEDDLE APPLES? After months of preparation, the first invasion of modern Europe by American troops last weekend electrified a world cher ishing the ideals of Democracy. We, who are in the Army, should think of our return to civilian life. Millions of men will return to seek the jobs they temporarily stepped out of in order to perform a more pressing assignment. Although most of us have jobs waiting for us, we must realize that there will be a period of revision and reorganization during which w ar industries must convert to civilian production. During this period, most of us will have to depend on our savings to tide us over. If we neglect to prepare now tor this inevitable period, we may find ourselves in straitened conditions. It is true that our in comes are in most cases far below that which we enjoyed as civilians, but nevertheless, preparation tor our re-entry into the world of business and industry, calls for a consistent savings pro gram, even though it may require our giving up certain pleasures we now enjoy. War Bonds, guaranteed by Uncle Sam, which over a 10-year period, return tour dollars for three dollars invested, seems a profit able method of making such savings. The various allotment plans afforded Camp Abbot personnel offers a painless and simple method of putting aside your savings. But whether you invest your money in W ar Bonds or put it in an old G. I. shoe in the corner of your foot-locker, some definite plan of savings should be followed, to serve as a bulwark against any period of unemployment or want. Let’s not have any soldier sell apples on street corners when we’ve won this war!—M.C.G. Many soldiers here are forgetting the necessity of maintaining attractive grounds within battalion areas. Cigarette butts, matches, and scraps of paper catch the eye of scrutinous officials. When there’s "policing” to do, bend, down, soldier and pick everything up! Petty thefts within barracks have been reported. This type of action undermines the "esprit de corps” of fighting men. If any article doesn’t belong to you—don’t "borrow” it. Leave it alone. 'I carving, stage designing, sculp ture, and handicraft. MORE ABOUT Through carefully planned and conducted tours to nearby points of historical interest, sold iers here will acquire a picture (Continued • rrom Page One) of the background of the Oregon • • range of instruction through cor region, its industries, its geolo respondence instructions. Ser gical formations, its pioneer lore vicemen enrolling and complet and its natural resources. ing such courses receive credits Group discussions w h e r e towards their high school or col khaki-clad citizens can meet and lege degrees, and also on their present views on modern prob Army Qualification cards. There lems, planning for the post-war are 64 courses offered by the A. world and develop the proper "esprit de corps” is another off- F. I. Abbotmcn can learn, through duty project to be rormed soon. dilligent application in a short Informational films, supple time, any of 10 foreign langu mented by lectures, also will be ages by means of phonograph presented. In a few days, bulle records and printed material. tin boards all over camp will be These language album sets will decorated with posters on the be available in the near future. six point educational program. Mathematics, business sub Maj. W alter L. Roche, Ninth jects and physics are to be Service Command W ar Bond of taughe in organized classes, with ficer, who accompanied Capt. the necessary textbooks provid Ivins here, expressed satisfac ed free of charge. tion with the camp-wide re- Encouragement of h o bb ies sponce towards the various types among Abbotmcn and women, is of allotments. He. too, conferred hoped, will result in the early with camp authorities relative formation of groups interested the campaign, now in process, in photography, radio, stamp col for Army men to begin and lecting, metat and woodworking, maintain a consistent savings model making, painting, wood piogram by buying a "share in G. I. Education ABBOT ENGINEER SUBSCRIPTION The Abbot ENGINEER can be sent to the home front for 13 weeks at a cost of 50 cents, or 26 weeks for $1. If you wish the ENGINEER sent home, fill out this blank, enclose money and forward via Messags Center or U. S. mails to: Abbot ENGINEER, Public Relations Office, Camp Abbot, Oregon. Send to ............................. Address City ...... State... NOT A FAKE SHOT When the ERTC was emerging from its construction stage, facilities tor unloading and moving railroad cars were unobtainable. As a result, these two Abbotmcn, first ERTC’crs to land here, had to do plenty of rugged work by brain and brawn. M Sgt. Bill V. Anthony and Sgt. Tommy Sim- erlink show how they used to move r. r. cars. Looks easy, well, it isn’t! (ENGINEER Photo by Hahn). FOUND: First ERTC Men Here, Anthony and Slmerlink The old adage, “Necessity is the mother of invention," took on a new significance for M/Sgt. Bill Anthony and Sgt. Thomas Simeriink of the Motor Trans port branch when the two ar rived here as a vanguard of troops from I-ort Leonard Wood, Mo., last March and began un loading equipment lor the new Engineer Replacement Training Center here. Anthony and Simeriink were the first soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood to set foot on Camp Abbot soil—or snow, as it happened to be. Both tried to be the first o f t the truck that brought them out from Bend. Simeriink won by a narrow mar gin. “When we started in to work, we had as high as IT carloads to unload each day and no crane or heavy equipment of any sort,’ Sergeant Anthony recall ed. “Metal pontons were a big problem. We finally solved it by pulling them over the ends of the coal cars in which they were shipped.” “For most of the work, we had a detail of only about 15 men from Service Command Units. That’s not much of a crew when it comes to unloading 17 box cars. There were no warehouse facilities at all, so we just had to leave the equipment in the open and protect it from the ele ments the best way we could.” "Housing also was a big prob lem,” Sergeant Simeriink point ed out. "We stayed in Bend, came to work at the crack of dawn and returned to town just in time to get to l>ed around 9 or 10 o’clock at night. The snow was more than two feet deep when we got here, and it start ed falling just alsmt every time you turned around, sometimes so thick you could hardly see.” Simeriink formerly was a resi dent of Youngstown, O., and was an inspector in a steel mill be fore induction. Anthony, a na tive of Earlham, la., formerly was a truck driver. He com pleted his third year of service this week. Both are members of Headquarters Company, ERTC. "Flying Tigers" Ace Visits Camp to Recruit Air Cadets Take it from bronzed, smart, slow-talking Maj. Eric K. Schil ling, f o r m e r member of the heroic air cir cus performing with the “Fly ing Tigers” in China and Bur ma, Yanks sta tioned in off- t h e • beaten posts hypo their morale by serv Maj. Eric K. frequent ings of s u e li Schilling favorite Ameri can d i s h e s as fried chicken, apple pie and frozen straw berries. Maj. Schilling recently return ed from Africa, where he was for 10 months operations officer for the Army Air Corps. He visited Camp Abbot last week in connec tion with a special recruiting mission for aviation cadets. Nearly 40 Camp Abbot soldiers were interviewed by Maj. Schil ling and their applications have been forwarded to the CAB in Portland. Ore., for consideration. “Life in the African desert is SHâffCF ¡S no picnic,” he said. “The spirit among all of the men at our post and those which I visited was healthy and enthusiastic. These fliers and mechanics can dish it out as well as take it. Majority of the time—they dish it out.” Speaking of "dishing it out” prompted the form er member of Gen. Chennault’s staff to extend praise, “gobs of it” to the Army Supply Service for ferrying in foodstuffs from QM depots. "Food is a vital ingredient to sustain the proper morale of troops.” he added. “Frequently, the men were served frozen strawberries .fried chicken and deep apple pie just like Mom used to bake.” Despite the variance in cli mate, American troops attached to Army Air repair bases, turned out the work in typical precision like manner. Enlisted men and officers be low the rank of captain are eli gible for transfer to the Air corps providing they pass the physical and mental exaxmina- tions. America’s future" through War day at 1500. PROTESTANT S E R V IC E S : Bonds. Post Chapel at 1000 and 1930. 54th BN. SERVICE: New C H U R C H RITES trainees in the 54th Bn. will be (Post Chapel is Bldg. 208 on allowed to attend this special ser Group Ave., near Center Street.) vice in Chapel 1255 at 1830. JEW ISH SERVICES: Post CATHOLIC CHOIR PRAC TICE: In Post Chapel Thursday Chapel. Friday at 1930. CATHOLIC SERVICES: Until at 1930. further notice Mass will be said PROTESTANT CHOIR PR AC • Sunday at 1630 at the Post TICE: Post Chapel, Wednesday at 1930. Chapel. L. D. S. SERV IC E: At Chapel BIBLE CLASS, Post Chapel, No. 1225. 11th Gp. Chapel Sun Monday at 1330. By C’pl. Harlan L. Weeks (ERTC S ta ff Correspondent) He’s “tops”. That’s what they say about M/Sgt. Wilmer R. iBub) Shaffer, first sergeant of Hq. Co. ERTC. And when we say “they” it is taking in a lot of ter ritory because Shaffer is first sergeant to one heck of a lot of men. At one time, the Hq. Co. of Fort Leonard Wood, of which he is a graduate, was called the “largest single company in the US arm y”. Today, the Hq. Co. at Abbot isn’t too far away from the same figure. Shaffer has a difficult job coordinating the whereabouts of a good many hundred men all assigned to the various sections of the post, but only a few to the company it self. The actual number of men assigned to the company does not total thirty. All of the men working in the many sections and divisions “room and board” in Hq. Co. and are under the genial supervision of Sgt. Shaf fer. He hails from Russell, Kan., where he was a bank cashier be fore his induction into the army on April 29, 1941. He went through the Fort Leavenworth induction station and was sent to Fort Leonard Wood for his basic with Co. D of the 26th Engrs. After graduating he was assigned to the message cental of the Sixth Gp. and moved Hq. Co. as a corporal in Oct. ot 1941. After a couple of weeks at the ERTC message center he went to the company as clerk. Later in the same month he was made personnel sergeant and moved up the ladder of promo tion to sergeant. He won his staff and later his technical ser geant’s rating in Oct. of 1942 in the same job. Two months later he was named m aster sergeant and assumed the duties of first sergeant of the company. At that time there were nearly 800 men in the company. Shaffer is a former collegiate basketball player, having won three awards at the University 4T' Kansas. KNEW WHAT SHE WANTED Cpi.: When I told that girl my father was very wealthy she refused to marry me. P vt.: Didn’t make any difference, huh? Cpi.: She’s my mother now! A bbotizers PIN-UPS FOR CHIN-UPS / Vi - W FF SO NICE TO COME HOME TO —Third camp civilian employe chosen to wear the mythical string of pine cones symbolic as an Abbotizer is this winsome miss who works in the post- office. VITAL STATISTICS: Name: Helen Moore. Age, 19. Weight, 115 lbs. Height 5 5’. Color Hair: Dark Brown. Color Eyes: Brown. Home town: Bend. Favorite Color and Flower: Blue and gardenia. Hobbies: Dancing, Singing and Fishing. Favorite Sport: Badminton. She gets most of her mail from a “male” named Jack.