Illinois Valley News, Thursday, March 29, 1945
Ernie Pyle With the Navy:
.Manila Wracked, Gutted by Spiteful Demolitions
Little Islands in Pacific
Prove to Be Pretty Big
Plain Draped Valance
With Sheer Curtains
C'VEN the plainest of straight net
I-4 or scrim curtains will take on
an air of elegance without being
too formal if you add a simple
draped valance.
Festoon rings at the upper cor­
ners of the window frame are all
that you need in the way of dra-
Yanks Rarely Make the Rounds;
Recreation Relieves Monotony
By Ernie Pyle
IN THE MARIANAS ISLANDS.—One thing that might
help you visualize what life is like out here is to realize that
even a little island is lots bigger than you think.
There are many, many thousands of Americans scattered
in camps and at airfields and in training centers and harbors
over the three islands which we occupy here.
««------------------------------- - -----------
Rarely does a man know many
people outside his
Even though the
islands are small
by our standards
they're big enough
that the individ
ual doesn't en­
compass them by
any
means. It
would be as im­
possible for one
man to see or
know everybody
on one of these
islands as it would
be to know everybody in Indianapolis
You could live and work in your
section, and never visit another sec­
tion (or weeks or months at a time
And that's exactly what does hap­
pen.
For one thing, transportation Is
short. We are still building furiously
here, such fast and fantastic build­
ing as you never dreamed of
Everything that runs is being used,
and there's little left over just to
run around in for fun.
And anyhow, there's no place to
go What towns there were have
been destroyed. There is nothing
even resembling a town or city on
these islands now. The natives have
been set up in improvised camps,
but they offer no "city life" attrac­
tions
As we drove around one of the
islands on my first day here, we
went through one of the Marianas
towns that had been destroyed by
bombing and shelling It had been a
good-sized place, quite modern too
in a tropical way It had a city
plaza and municipal buildings and
paved streets, and many or the
buildings were of stone or mortar.
In destruction, it looked exactly
as destroyed cities nil over Europe
tool; The same jagged half standing
walls, the stacks of rubble, the
empty houses you could see through,
the rootless homes, the deep craters
in the gardeivs
There was just one difference Out
here tropical vegetation is lush
And nature thrusts up her green- l
ery so swiftly through rubble and
destruction that the ruins now arc
festooned with vines and green ,
leaves, and it gives them a look of 1
being very old and time worn ruins,
instead of flesh modern ones, which I
they are
• • •
Finds Mar anas
Abound With Movies
An American soldier in Europe,
even though the towns may be "off
limits" to him or destroyed com
pletely, still has a sense of being
near a civilization that is like his
own.
But out here there is nothing like
that You are on an island, the na
lives are strange people, there's no
city and no place to go If you had
a three day pass you'd probably
s|M*nd it lying on your cot. Eventual­
ly, boredom and the "island com­
plex" starts to take hold
For that reason the diversions sup­
plied by the army are even more
important out here than in Europe
Before I left America I heard that
one island out here had more than
200 outdoor movies on it. I thought
whoever told that must be crazy,
fur in Europe the average soldier
didn't get a chance to see a movie
very often
i But the guy wasn't crazy These
three Marianas islands have a total
of 233 outdoor movies on them. And
they show every night. Even if It
isn't a good movie, it kills the time
between supper and bedtime
The theaters are usually on the
slope of a hill, forming a natural
amphitheater The men sit on the
ground, or bring their own boxes, or
in some of them the ends of metal
bomb crates are used for chairs.
You can drive along and some
times you'll pass three movies not
more than 300 yards apart That's
mainly
because
there
is
not
enough transportation to haul the
men any distance, so the movie has
to come to them.
There is lots of other stuff pro­
vided besides movies, too On one
island there are 65 theater stages,
where soldiers themselves put on
"live" shows, or where USO troupes
can perform Forty pianos have
i
:
i
,
been scattered around at these
places.
In Europe it was a lucky bunch
of soldiers who got their hands on
a radio. Over here in these small
islands, the army has distributed
3.500 radios, and they have a regu-
lar station broadcasting all the time.
with music, news, shows and
everything.
The sports program is big. On one
island there are 95 softball dia
monds. 35 regular diamonds. 225
volleyball courts and 30 basketball
courts. Also there are 35 boxing
arenas. Boxing is very popular,
They've had as high as 18.000 men
watching a boxing match.
• • •
Talkative Barber
Tells of Woe
pery fixtures. The diagrams show
how to cut and line the valance
which is pulled through these
rings. You can avoid piecings by
using 36-inch-wide material cut
lengthwise. A half width makes
the depth of the valance.
j
;
(
|
•
Postwar Sleeping Cars to Show Radical Changes
On one of these islands the other
day, I finally got around to getting
a month-overdue haircut.
My barber was a soldier, bar- I
bering in a tent, and I sat 1n an
old-fashioned black leather Japa- [
nese barber chair he had dug up |
on the island.
He had been trained in the con- j
versational school of barbering. >
and as the snipped gray locks fell
about my shoulders, there came!
forth from him such a tale of woe
and unkind fate as I have never j
heard in this world.
This barber was Pfc. Eades ,
Thomas from Richmond. K.v , near
Lexington in the horse country In j
fact Thomas was a horse-trainer be- j
fore the war. and was never a bar­
ber at all. He just picked that up .
on the run somewhere.
Well, Thomas has been in the
Pacific 33 months. It began to look I
as though he might as well count ,
on settling down for life, so some j
months ago he married a Scottish
girl in Honolulu. Shortly after that j
he was shipped on out here, and he
hasn't seen her since.
The morning of the day that I sat
In Thomas' barber chair, the army
wa. tending a few Japanese prison-
The new Pullman three-tier sleeper, to be used in postwar period, is shown in upper left. Lower left,
ers back to Hawaii by airplane *
They had to have guards for them the duplex-roomette railroad car is one of several new designs being presented to railroad officials by
So one of Thomas’ officers told him the Pullman company. lipper right, the traditional rectangular table arrangements give way to a modernized
he would put him down for the trip scheme in the new diner. Lower right, a redcap captain examines revolutionary method of handling luggage on
and thus he could get a couple of the new coach model.
days in Hawaii to see his wife.
T>e officer meant to keep his
word, but he had a bad memory
for names. So when he went to
write down Thomas’ name for the
trip, he actually wrote another guy's
name, thinking it was Thomas By
the time Thomas found it out. it was
too late
"I could have cried.” he said
And I could have too. I felt so ter­
rible about it I couldn't get it off
my mind, and was telling it to an
officer that evening.
"Oh." he said “I happen to know
about that. I'll go and tell Thomas
right away and he won't feel so bad j
We got orders not to send the pris- 1
oners after all. so the whole thing
was called off Nobody went.”
Which Is the kind of joy vou get
when you stop hitting yourself on
the head with the hammer
• • •
On that same island I ran onto a
couple of old Hoosier boys, who had ,
followed in my inglorious foot- '
steps at Indiana university.
One was Lt. Ed Rose, who was
«Utor of ' The Daily Student'' tn
1938. just as 1 was for a while in
PACIFIC
1922 Apparently it doesn't make
any difference what year you were
OCEAN
editor of "The Student.” you still
wind up in the Marianas islands.
American navy, marines and in­
The other was Lt Bill Morris from
Even in conquered German territory. Pvt. Harold W. Barnes of Cen­ fantry, supported by tank corps,
Anderson, Ind , who graduated
continue to advance Island by island
from our illustrious alma mater in terburg. Ohio, finds time to put into practice the knowledge acquired toward Tokyo. Map shows how new
on
a
farm
at
Centerburg.
He
was
right
at
home
when
he
found
the
new
1942. Both the boys are mail cen­
landing gives the American forces
sors out here Life is kind enough litter of pigs at a farmhouse near Sindorf, Germany, and helped to
control of the entire Philippines.
to them, and they haven't much to pull them through their first days under American occupational rule.
American Fanner in Germany
kick about.
Just as I was leaving, they came
and thrust a package into my
hands, and said would 1 accept a
little gift from the two of them? It .
was a dark poisonous liquid with
which you're probably not familiar. '
but one which is much sought after
out here.
A fellow does feel like a neel ac-1
cepting bountiful gifts from stran­
gers But I figure I've been a heel
for a long time and it's too late to ,
reform now. so I grabbed the gift
and fled before they could change
their minds Thanks again, boys.
Nazi Type \ir Raid Shelter
G.I.s Nearer Japan
New Big Ten Chief
•
ing else to shoot for
Of course it's probably too
early yet. and the war on both
sides of the world too desperate, to
set up a final mission total where­
upon a B 29 flier goes home tor good.
They're going to have to go to
rest camps and then come back for
German air raid shelters have been working overtime thanks to the
more missions a couple of times American air forces. Photo shows Pfc. Archie Bakay. Akron, Ohio, left;
before they finally go home But no and Pfc. C harles Smart. Franklin. N. C., with guns alert as they
rest camp goal has yet been set inspect one of the typical shelters In Duren, Germany. They are Infantry­
men of the 104th division of the I'. S. 1st army.
priate curtain and drapery styles
all types of windows with cutting
making methods fully illustrated. To
a copy enclose 15 cents with name
address direct to:
for
and
get
and
MRS. RUTH WYETH SPEARS
Bedford Hills
New York
Drawer 10
Enclose 15 cents for booklet “Make
Your Own Curtains."
Name_______ —----- ------------------------------
Add ress------------------------------------------- —
How Sluggish Folks
WHEN CONSTIPATION makes you feel
punk as the dickens, brings on stomach
upset, sour taste, gassy discomfort,
take Dt. Caldwell's famous medicine
to quickly pull the trigger on lazy “in­
nards”, and help you feel bright and
chipper again.
DX CALDWELL'S is tha wonderful sen­
na laxative contained in good old Syrup
Pepsin to make it so easy to take.
MANY DOCTORS use pepsin prepara­
tions in prescriptions to m?ke the medi­
cine more palatable and agreeable to
take. So be sure your laxative is con­
tained in Syrup Pepsin.
INSIST ON DR. CALDWELL’S—the fa­
vorite of millions for 50 years, snd feel
that wholesome relief from constipa­
tion. Even finicky children love it.
CAUTION: Use only as directed.
DR.
CAIDWELL'S
SENNA LAXATIVE
contaimo syrup pepsin
.N
WHY QUINTUPLETS
always do this for
CHEST COLDS!
To Promptly Relieve Coughing —
Sore Throat and Aching Muscles
Whenever the Quintuplets catch cold —
their chests, throats and backs are rubbed
with Musterole. Powerfully uothing —
Muaterole not only promptly relieves
coughs, sore throat, aching chest muscles
due to colds —but
helps break up
eonffettinn In upper bronchial tract, nose
and throat. Wandrrfulior frown-ups .too!
also
In 3
Strengths
MUSTERQLE
PAYS BIG
Help alfalfa.cloven and soybeans make
greatrr profits. Inocuhte the seed with
NITRAGIN.You give these crops more
vigor to grqw faster, fight weeds and
drought, and make bigger yields of rich
feed. You help build soil fertility. With­
out inoculation, legumes may be soil
robben and their growth stunted.
INOCULATE ALL AL/ALT A, CLOVE« S, SOY­
BEANS, LESPEDEZA WITH NITRAGIN
NITRAGIN costs about 10 cents an
■ere, takes a few minutes to use. It's
the oldest inoculant • • • widely used
by farmers for 45 years. Produced bv
trained scientists in a modern labora­
tory. Get NITRAGIN, in the yellow
can. from your seed dealer.
Fliers in \rrtl of Best Goal
One of the things most needed tor
morale among fliers over here is the
setting up of some kind of goal tor
them. The setting of a definite num­
ber of combat missions to be flown,
whereupon they would automatically
go back to a rest camp.
The way it is now. they are just
flying in the dark, so to speak
They're just going on and on until
Fate overtakes them, with noth­
•
Once-proud Manila joins the cities of the dead, wracked and gutted by battle and the spiteful demoli­
NOTE—This curtain idea is from the
j tions of the Japs. The stately buildings which formerly housed government and industry are now largely hol­ 32-page booklet MAKE YOUR OWN CUR­
low shells. The marts of trade echo only to the crash of falling timbers. Reins of the civil government return TAINS by Ruth Wyeth Spears. This book­
let shows you the newest and most appro­
j to the Philippine commonwealth, and the battered capital binds its wounds and looks forward to a rebirth.
F»EE bootlots toll how to g„. bettor rash. Nod
end soil bo.idiet loevwes. Wr.to N oddrau below.
Northwestern university, who has
just been appointed commissioner of
the Big Ten conference. He has re­
signed from Northwestern.
ng STEAM C* . MB g BUTA MlBMia ILM