Saturday, December 4, 1943
56th Battalion
Has New 'Theme'
ABBOT ENGINEER
Survey Squad Completes Job
O f Interviewing G l's Here
An Army Services Forces sur-
vey team, composed of three of
Trainees of the 56th Battalion, ficers and 12 enlisted men con
commanded by Capt. H. W. An- cluded their assignment of inter
Cell, were welcomed with a viewing all assigned enlisted
brand new theme song when men, and members of the Wac,
they attended their orientation here Wednesday.
program’^ the Post theater last
The purpose of the survey,
Sunday morning. Written to the w h i c h is being conducted
tune of “We’re Shoving Right throughout the country is to fit
Off Again,” the lyric was sung men to the proper job to the best
by members of the unit, ac utilization of manpower that is
companied by the Camp Abbot possible. The survey is being
band.
conducted in co-operation with
1 the War Manpower Commission.
Here are the words:
Officers in charge of the unit
Bet you don’t k n o w where
visiting Camp Abbot were Lt. H.
we’re from,
O. Adams, Lt. A. N. Rude and
We’re tough Engineers, from Lt. M. Tinsley. The group was
the 56th We Come.
under direction of Lt. Adams.
Ready to fight for our rights,
We’re sweating to train, so
home in a kennel!”
strength we can attain.
We work and we play, all com
OVERHEARD: Chow hound?
mands we obey,
When we go forth to meet the Why, the guy eats like he was
mad at his stomach!
foe.
They’ll know we’re Engineers
It has often been said that
because we’ll blow:
Hell out of their shore posi brand new soldiers make the
best sentinels. That saying was
tions,
We’ll accomplish all our mis substantiated to some minor de
gree this week when a hurry-up
sions,
call came into MP headquarters.
The 56th is on the go.
According to officers and Seems that a trainee guard on
cadre of the unit, trainees al | post at the Wac area had yelled
ready have boasted they intend long enough and loud enough for
to make the 56th one of the the Corporal of the Guard to be
“singin'est” battalions of the heard nearly a half mile away.
And some passer-by merely drop
post.
ped into the MP office to report
I it.
Two men were immediately
dispatched to the scene, and
upon arrival were somewhat as
tonished to see a dozen or more
By Sgt. Curt Foreman
assorted soldiers lined up before
Maybe you think soldiers are the guard. These men had re
good at insulting each other. But turned their Wac friends after
try listening to the wimmin, the theater and such, but when
sometime. The dear creatures are they attempted to set foot on
extremely sharp at times . . . like 1 the Wac area they were stopped
for instance down to the Service * cold.
“My orders are to allow no
club that night. But maybe the
best place to begin is at the be males in this area after 11
ginning.
The more or less insignificent
situation to which we refer, and
W'hich, in some circles, is known
as the eternal triangle, concerns
a handsome, broad-shouldered
MP with a line this lyong, an at
tractive blonde who is employed
on the post, and a stunning bru
nette—a Bend girl—who might
be loosely described as a char
acter. Both girls are in dead ear
nest about the guy, and although
sheer discretion has prevented
the revelation of his genuine at
titude, a capable analysist would
arrive at the amazingly abrupt
conclusion that his plans, if any,
are of a strictly temporary na
ture . . . what with the war and
everything. And for a time, by
exercising rare foresight, he had
avoided that dreaded moment
when his two friends would
meet.
But, as it must come to all men
in these circumsiances, this mo
ment came to him. The brunette,
in quest of her handsome MP,
found him at the Service Club—
with the blonde. It was a crucial
test of the man’s ingenuity but
he met it with matchless tech
nique. Almost imperceptibly the
girls found themselves maneu
vered into polite conversation
over a coke. The blonde, how-
ever, enjoyed the advantage of
being the actual date of the eve
ning. This provided her with an
excellent opportunity to do a
little taunting, consequently the
verbal darts were flying thick
and fast.
About at this juncture, the
bonde, thoroughly enjoying it
all, snuggled near the guy and
announced to the other girl: K IJ if T R It I T l w in« w ars. In
picture at low er left corner
"You know, when the war is over tin-
ab u se »killed so ld iers operate
we’re going to be married and tile precision track er w hich
settle down on a little chicken s ig h ts m o v in g aircra ft. Speed
and direction o f th e fly in g plane
ranch in California."
The brunette shifted her gum. are tra n sm itted eie rtr ica d y to
Looking straight into the eyes th e trwckcMMtnted com p u ter
o w n in th e tow er right hand
of the happy blonde, she said sh
picture. T ins com p u ter a lso con
smoothly. "Chicken ranch, eh? sid ers heigh t o f th e p lan e, w ind
Really, dear, you’d be more a t , d irection and v e lo c ity , tem pera-
Notes From the
Bull Pen
The enlisted men were drawn
from various classification sec
tions throughout the Ninth Ser
vice Command.
Although reticient as to re
sults of the survey here, Lt.
Adams indicated that but a small
percentage of men seem to be
misplaced on this post.
The survey, which must be
completed before December 31,
will include various return en
g a g e m e n ts by interviewing
teams, and, following completion
of this particular job, a perman
ent committee will be organized
to make periodical surveys of
the camps throughout the NSC
to interview all ground forces
and command units.
o'clock,” the serious-faced youth
announced, “and I’m not aiming
to do it!”
The situation was soon clear
ed, however, when it was ex
plained that the boys are accus
tomed to escorting their friends
to the very door of the orderly
room, no less. But at that, the
guard was not easily sold. But
eventually, he resumed walking
his post in a military manner.
More power to him.
Films of Engineers Aboard
To Be Shown in U.S. Cam ps
Films showing the activities of
U. S. Army Engineers in Great
Britain are now being made in
the European Theatre of Opera
tions and will be released to
army Camps throughout the
United States soon, the War
Department has announced.
Entitled "Paving the Way to
Victory,” the film depicts the
construction of giant airdromes
now being rushed to completion
by Engineers in Great Britain.
Photography is being handled by
signal photo company camera
men.
Pago Three
that she had conquered this first
obstacle. Everything was going
By Sgt. Florence Bretinger
well.
and Pfc. Pat Rice
Then suddenly the worst of
—
things happened — a fire went
Keeper of the Flame or How out. Like the torch of knowledge
to Miss Bed-Cheek and Get j must be kept burning, so too
Away With It.
must each fire in each furnace
____
in each of the WAC buildings.
This begins a series of some-
So Suzy started to work on
embarrassing but all disgrunt the fire. She dumped a little
ling duties of the Army Women, j slag over the smoke. She saw
To a girl just out of college, or it wasn’t going to burn so she
a woman out of a home, many I stuck her quizzical head in the
of these jobs are quite new— furnace door to see where all
with no training for many this yellow smoke came from.
strange methods of attack are Suddenly she knew. Suzy was
adopted. The following is not very surprised w’hen the thick
at all unique:
iron door came off in her hands
Suzy ran down the steps and ' letting out t h e yellow smoke
out into the black night. She that burst into roaring flames.
beat her fists on her chest, took She was surprised when she
three deep breaths, and prompt found she had no hair, no eye
ly collapsed .
brows or eyelashes — not even
Oh well, she thought, straight teeth. Poor Suzy! No corn on
ening her face after tonight I’ll the cob for her.
be a much better woman. This
Suzy felt considerably deplet
is what has made the American ed but she kept on all through
women famous in history-endur the night, a real soldier. Her
ance and devotion to duty.
faithfulness is an example to all
Suzy, houlders straight and WACs—also the stunned look on
head high, marched over to the Suzy’s face when she crawled
coal pile. It was all slag. So in the barracks at 5:00 a.m. and
Suzy turned and walked the gave herself gladly to her
50 yards to the second coal pile maker.
near the mess hall where she
Yes, this is the way, the only,
knew there was always lump only, only way a WAC can miss
coal. She went very quietly, bed-check and still go free, pro
because she had heard the cooks vided she lives.
didn't like people taking their
cherished lump coal. But the
cooks were out, being popular ASTP Trainees Will Sport
girls, so S u z y filled her two Distinctive Shoulder Patch
buckets and staggered back to
A special shoulder-patch insig-
furnace No. 1 and No. 2.
nie has been designed for tne
Suzy was happy for a little more than 100,000 soldiers par
while until some unco-operating ticipating in the Army Special
WAC in the next barracks yelled ized Training Program at 209
that her pipes were cold. It was colleges and universities in the
then that Suzy learned she had United States, the War Depart
two more furnaces to stoke. In ment announced this week.
fact there were six to keep flam The insignie, selected from
ing.
several patterns by soldier-
Every 20 minutes Suzy walked trainees, will depict the sword of
to the coal pile, filled her two valor against a lamp of knowl
buckets, and walked to each fur edge. The sword and lamp are in
nace alternately. This became dark blue on a yellow, octagon
routine finally. Suzy knew then shaped patch.
W A C NOTES
Electric Gun Pointer Makes Dead Ducks of Enemy Planes
'cm foiling.
At left below is the tracker equipment which
, * .... ...........
follows moving aircraft. Below is the computer
which does the high speed arithmetic, le ft
obove is the gun which brings down the enemp
planes. Twelve Jap bombers were shot dowrs
with enl)T 88 shells by means of this pointer,
tn re o f th e e x p lo siv e ch a r g e
and the gu n itse lf, m uzzle veto
city and d rift lin u zzlr sp in I of
sh ell and th e d iffe re n c e in post
tfon lie tw een the track er and
th e gun . A ll th e se e le m e n ts are
tran slated Into electrica l Imp'll
se s and th e cn m n n ler fig u r e s
out ju st how to (mint the gu n in
n oth in g flat. I Hue ram at upper
righ t e x p la in s tin- op eration .
The track er (3 ) su p p lie s the
sp eed and direction o f p lan e (1)
to com p u ter (fit. f ornputer a lso
fig u r e s in a ltitu d e from heigh t
fin d er f2 1 , d istan ce Iwlv. ceii gun
and track er (G), tim e o f flig h t
o f sh ell (A ), m uzzle velocity o f
gun ( B i , drift f t ) , g r a v ity (I t),
air d e n sity (El, and w ind direc
firm and velocity i l l. Aft'-r c o n
sid e r in g all e le m e n ts th e com
puter se ts the sh elf fu se and 1
p oin ts the gu n ( 4 ) m i th e sh ell
w ill exp lod e w ith in leth a l d is
tance (3) o f th e m o v in g p la n e.
It all u sed to be don e m éch an t
r ia l) and w ith h ig h ly c o m p ii-
rated m ath em a tica l ta b le s. T h e
A rm y and Bel» T elep h o n e l a b
o r a to ries recen tly rev ea led tip-
new p oin ter at M urray HUI,
N. 4 .