IX MSDTOHD (OREGON) MAIL THIBOTfB
Sunday. July 10, IS55
What Were MiMing Turncoats Lolke as
Hoys? Author TraveDs Far To (Get Answer
Editor's note: Thro yonnr Aneri
cam bavo turned back to their native
Und aiter tint choosing to cast their
lot with Communism. Whatever moti
vated them In the first place? Virginia
Pasley. a reporter for the Long bland
aewipaper Newsdsy. traveled 1S.0M
miles into 23 states to find the answer
for her book. "21 Staved." Here is
what she found oat about the three
turncoat GIs who have chosen to re
turn. Publication rights approved by Far
rer, Straus and Cudahy, New York.
PFC. WILLIAM A. COWART
Dalton, Ga.
Born Jan. 10, 1033
Protestant.
Three Yean High School.
Billy Cowart pestered his
mother unceasingly until she let
him quit school and enlist in the
Army. Shipped to Japan, he was
with the first soldiers thrown
Into the front lines when the Ko
rean war began. Within three
weeks he was wounded and cap
tured by the Communists.
For a time he wrote letters
from prison camp to everyone he
knew in his home town. Grad
ually the letters fell off. And
then the news came that Billy
had abandoned his native land,
decided to stay with the Reds.
"I've gone too far; I can't go
back," he told the only man in
the hut stilj on speaking terms
with him since he had become
pro-Chinese.
"He came over and told me
that he had just been to regimen
tal headquarters and had agreed
to refuse repatriation," said
James Wilson of Chattanooga,
Tenn., a returned prisoner of
war. "I tried to argue him out
of it. But he said it was too late;
that he didn't have any friends
anyway; that no one would talk
4 klm
What kind of boy was Billyll
r -l 51
He was an only child, adored
by his mother. His parents were
divorced when he was six.. He
saw his father only once more,
when he was 14. Friends said
his step-father "did everything
he could for the boy and treated
him as though he were his own."
In school his IQ was rated aver
age but he was in the lower
fourth of his class.
Wanted Attention
"He pretended not to care
about people but he really
wanted to be popular," one
teacher said. "He just went about
it in the wrong way. In his at
tempt to stand out he only made
himself look foolish. He would
wear old clothes, hats with trin
kets or bells on them to get at
tention. Or he would stay out
side the classroom until after
the bell rang so he could get
noticed by being late."
Billy participated in no school
activities or athletics. He had no
pals among the boys.
But he did have a steady girl
in a somewhat shy, adolescent
way. He carried her books, ate
lunch with her. He didn't date
her much in the evenings,
though he went to church with
her and talked for hours on the
telephone.
The girl was married after his
capture. His mother wrote him
about it. A cabin mate recalled
that about that time Billy swam
far out into a lake near the camp
with the idea of committing
suicide but changed his mind,
Later letters indicated he wasn't
badly shaken.
He worked in the textile mills
in Dalton. His former boss, J. F.
Calloway Jr., feels that anyone
who hasn't been subjected to im
prisonment and torture is not in
a position to condemn those who
cracked under it.
Things To Remember
"Bill was just a kid and he
was wounded," Calloway said.
"Remember that. Even those who
came back didn't know what
they were fighting for. As for
Billy, he hardly knew who was
President."
Billy's mother broke down
under the strain of worrying
over her. son. For a long time
she clung to the thought that this
boy is really not her boy, not
really the Billy Cowart who
marched off from Dalton so
proudly in 1949.
She thinks maybe the news
his girl married affected him.
"And then if they told him
he would be arrested when he
came back to this country, he
would have stayed over there
because Billy had a horror of
being arrested," sbe said. "He
was afraid of the police."
Looking back. Mrs. Green
feels that she left him alone too
much and depended- on him too
much:
"He did most of the housework
after school because my husband
and I were at the mills. And then
he worked too, at the mill and
at a sandwich shop because he
wanted to earn his own money.
PFC. OTHO G. BELL
Hillsboro, Miss.
Born Jan. 23, 1931
Protestant
8th Grade.
Otho Bell was 23 on Jan. 23,
1954, the last day he had to
change his mind and go back to
his wife and the daughter he had
never seen, the farm in Mississip
pi where he had been raised.
Otho's mother was 23 the day
she died the day he was born
and Otho grew up feeling that
he had "killed -his mother" to
the point where he got the idea
he himself would die on his 23rd
birthday.
It isn't necessary to presume
that Otho's decision to stay with
his Red jailers was a decision
to die so far as home and family
and country were concerned.
Otho had other strikes against
him too.
He had not been educated, as
one teacher put it, "to the point
where he would be a good citi-
.zen of a democracy or would
be capable of judging what the
Reds told him."
On the other hand, he had
learned to do what he was told
and no backtalk.
"I could always scare him into
anything his father, Elbert A.
Bell, said. "And if I had the
chance I could have scared him
into coming back home."
Easily Scared
But it was the Chinese Com
munists, not Otho's father, who
had the chance to scare him into
doing what they wanted him to
do and they succeeded well
enough so that Otho, though the
only one of the 21 with a wife
and child, went behind the Iron
Curtain with the others.
Otho's father remarried when
the boy was seven months old
and there were six more children
by this marriage.
"He was just the same as my
own, I had him so young," the
second Mrs. Bell said. "Seems
like I though more of him at
times than the others.
"Otho was a good little boy.
He didn't fight with the other
children he got along too good
with them."
Bell Worked his boys hard on
their farm. He says Otho was "a
real good worker," strong and
healthy. The boy liked to hunt
for possum and squirrel in the
woods, fish the streams for cat
and trout. He didn't like school
and spent three years in the
eigth grade.
He enlisted shortly after his
17th birthday, lying about his
age. He didn't like it and his
father managed to get him out
but then he enlisted again a
year later. He still disliked
Army life. He phoned home
collect constantly, wrote for
money to come home on week
end leave. Three times he was
AWOL and sentenced to 77 days
hard labor.
Met Future Wife
Then he was sent to Fort
Lewis, Wash., where he met his
future wife, Jewell. They were
married a few months before
the Korean war started. He was
shipped overseas and their
daughter, Paula, was bora just
before he was captured in No
vember of 1950.
"He was real good to me,"
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Jewell said, -"he wouldn't let me
do any heavy work after we
knew the baby was coming.
After he got overseas he wrote
me five letters a week even if
it was only a line.
Jewell has been waiting for
her husband. One of the last mes
sages she received from him
asked if she and Paula still
loved him and added, "I am
wondering if you are planning
to marry someone else or still
want to be my wife."
Jewell wrote back that he
would always be her husband
and that Paula prays for him
every night.
PFC. LEWIS W. GRIGGS
Neches, Tex.
Born Aug. 2, 1932
Baptis
Two years high school
Mention Lewis Grigs in Neches
and they shake their heads.
"He was a strange one, ' a
neighbor said. "He stood aloof,
Didn't speak if he didn't care to.
-Town like this everyone knows
everyone else. Speaks to every
one else. But he'd just go along
with his head in the air.
Wouldn't .even look at you."
As in many rural communi
ties, most of the young people
who were children with Lewis
have scattered and gone. Those
that remain remember him as a
"lone wolf."
He didn't mix much with the
other kids," one girl said. "His
father was strict with him. Only
place he could go was to church
He wasn't like the rest of us."
Lewis went on a bus 18 miles
to a consolidated high school.
His last year, at 16, he was big
for his age, six foot two. He
played on the football squad,
made the B team and got a let
ter. He got an 82 in algebra but
barely passed his other courses.
One teacher said she thinks
"We didn't do everything we
could have for him."
Polite and Bored
"He seemed to be a boy you
couldn't reach," she said. "He
was quiet, withdrawn, polite and
bored. He was just there. He
didn't do his work. He just came
and that's all. He was . . . not at
all boyish. He gave me the feel
ing as I watched him from day
to day that he felt this was all
unnecessary."
Lewis' father was an electri
cian. He died while his son was
in prison camp. The family was
considered well-off in tiny
Neches but somewhat under
privileged by standards of the
nearby affluent town of Pales
tine. '
The town and rural children
seldom mix well in these con
solidated schools and Lewis was
no mixer anyway. He was never
seen with anyone else around the
halls of the school; he "never
paid the slightest attention to
girls."
After an incident on the school
bus where some of the other
students picked on him and
teased him no one remembers
why or what about he left high
school. His family sent him to a
military academy but he left
after six weeks. The day after
his 17th birthday he enlisted in
the Army.
In Yalu Withdrawal
He became a stretcher bearer
in a medical company and saw
Korean fighting until the disas
trous withdrawal from the Yalu
when he was captured.
He wrote a letter to the Pales
tine High School, urging the
students to help end the Korean
war. But it was phrased in
rather stilted language and no
one at the school thought that
Lewis had actually composed it.
His mother, a tall, spare wom
an, has refused to believe that
her son became a Communist of
his own free will. For months
she has refused to discuss him.
Returned prisoners of war
who were in camp with Griggs
agree that he was a "peculiar
egg."
"I felt kind of sorry for him
in spite of everything," said one.
"I don't think he was quite
right" ,
(See Story Page I)
Tropical Rainstorms
Cause Death in Mexico
Mexico City U.R) Three
days of tropical rainstorms have
caused death and destruction
and disrupted train and highway
traffic throughout Mexico, the
Communications Ministry has re
ported.
The city of Vera Crux was al
most isolated by ' floods with
several feet of water covering
the streets.
Big Chiloquin Mill
Plans Announced
By New Company
Plans for construction of a
75,000-foot per shift sawmill at
Chiloquin were revealed here
Friday by officials of Simplot
DeVoe Lumber company, a new
ly organized firm.
Articles of incorporation of
Simplot-DeVoe Lumber were
filed in Salem recently by J. R.
Simplot, Boise industrialist; E.
J. DeVoe, Medford lumberman;
Jim Davis, Shady, Cove logger,
and George Duff, plant manager
for Cal-Ida Lumber company,
Auburn, Calif.
The firm already owns timber,
97 per cent of it pine, on the
Klamath Indian reservation. It
has purchased the Howard Sal
vage mill at Cave Junction, and
will move it to the Chiloquin
site.
Construction work will be
started Monday, and the plant
is expected to be in operation
by Oct. 1. It will operate on a
two-shifts-a-day basis for the
first few months.
The campany plans a 6 acre
log pond to be filled from the
Sprague river, which is adjacent
to the property, and will build a
dry kiln and planing mill start
ing about the first of the year.
30-Acre Site
The mill will be located on a
30-acre site formerly owned by
Chiloquin Lumber company,
which went out of existence
about 1941. The site is. served
by the main line of the Southern
Pacific-Great Northern joint
railroad line.
Manager for the mill has not
yet been selected. Until a man is
chosen for the position, the mill
will be administered by Ernie
DeVoe, Medford lumberman
who is interested in the firm.
Simplot-DeVoe Lumber plans
to cut about 25,000,000 board
feet of timber in its first tract.
They are now seeking a logging
contractor.
Sale of lumber produced by
the Chiloquin mill will be han
dled . by DeVoe Lumber sales,
of Medford.
Officers of Simplot-DeVoe
Lumber are Simplot, president;
Ernie DeVoe, first vice-president;
Duff, second vice-presi
dent; E. J. DeVoe, secretary, and
John M. Dahl, Boise, treasurer,
Four Hurt, Auto
Destroyed in Crash
Four people were slightly in
jured and an automobile was de
molished in a one vehicle acci
dent on Central Point Market
rd., about 8:30 p.m. Friday.
Driver of the car was Willard
Wayne Reed, 22, on leave from
a ship stationed in San Diego
harbor, police said. He suffered
minor head injuries but was ex
pected to be released from Sac
red Heart hospital sometime yes
terday. All others were released
earlier after treatment. Passen
gers "included Jimmy Leroy
James, 21, also from the San Di
ego ship, Sharon Lee Barrett,
15, and Shelby Jean Anderson,
14, both of Ashland.
According to state police, the
car was travelling east on Cen
tral Point Market rd. at a high
rate of speed. Reed lost control,
and the car travelled 326 feet,
skidded 182 feet with the brakes
locked, crossed Bullock rd.,
jumped a shallow pit, and knock
ed down a telephone pole and
guy wire.
The vehicle was a total wreck,
oficers said.
The highest and lowest points
in the United States Mount
Whitney and Death Valley are
86 miles apart.
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Galaxies and Nebulae
By J. HUGH PRUETT
Astronomer, Extension Division
Ortfon Hither Education System
"I collect your articles and
keep them in a note book. There
is only one thing I don't like
about them. You put too much
emphasis on the positions of the
stars and little things like that.
I wish you would discuss planets,
stars, nebulas, galaxies, etc. Is
there any difference between a
nebula and a galaxy? M.F."
Many years ago at the re
quests of readers of this column
in several states, I started giving
a sky review for the first story
of each month. In such a review
I try to help the readers learn
the brighter stars and planets.
Our correspondent will find that
the remaining articles discuss
various topics and are generally
not "positional."
Nebulae Means Mist
The word "nebula" means
mist, or .cloud. Scattered over
the sky among-the stars, there
are several faint, hazy, white
patches which are barely dis
cernible to " the unaided eye.
These are spoken of as nebulous
objects. When telescopic aid is
employed, these become much
more distinct' and thousands of
additional ones appear.
In 1781 Charles Messier, the
French astronomer, compiled a
list of 103 such objects. He was
especially interested in the dis
covery of comets and wanted
the permanent nebulous objects
well located so he would not ee
getting them mistaken for
comets. One of his nebulae later
turned out to be a comet. His
listings are still used. Thus M27,
the well-known Dumb-bell neb
ula, is number, 27 on Messier's
list.
A real nebula is a mass of
glowing gas and dust of very
irregular form. Many of Mes
sier's supposed nebulae were
such only in appearance through
the optical aid he then had avail
able. Most of these later proved
to be open star clusters, globu
lar clusters and outside galax
ies. -
Used for Haxy Objects
The term "spiral nebula" was
long used for hazy objects of a
spiral form. The spectroscope
finally revealed their light was
not that of glowing gases but
of stars. But until about 1924
they were thought to be mem
bers of our own star system. In
that year Hubble used distance
measurements that showed they
were immense star systems sim
ilar to our own but far outside
of ours. Later, individual stars
were photographed in these dis
tant objects. The term galaxy is
now more properly used to in
dicate our own star system
(Milky Way system) of 100,000,
000,000 suns (our sun is a star)
Federal Funds Released
To Insure Mortgages
Washington U.R) President
Eisenhower has approved re
lease of an additional $35,000,000
in federal funds for insuring
home mortgages.
The money will allow the fed
eral National Mortgage Asso-.
ciation to make advance commit
ments to purchase home mort
gages insured by the Federal
Housing Administration or
guaranteed by the Veterans
Administration. '
as well as these outside systems.
Our galaxy is believed to be
about 100,000 light-years In di
ameter. This means that light
traveling 186,300 miles per sec
ond requires 100,000 years to
cross this immense expanse. Be
yond our galaxy there is enor
mous space deyoid of stars until
the next galaxy is encountered.
One of the nearest of these is
M31, the Great Andromeda ga
laxy, 1,500,000 light-years from
us. It is comparable to our own
in size. The most distant galaxy
revealed by the 200-inch tele
scope is 2,000,000,000 light-years
distant.
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