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About Regimental mirror. (Fort Benning, Ga.) 1943-194? | View Entire Issue (March 9, 1944)
2 Veterans Os Aleutian Isles Attached To Company B Defense Command, Pfc. Kenneth Kellog (less) and Pfc. Ger ald R. Barnes read letters from home in the Georgia sun shine outside the barracks of the Academic Regiment, to which they are now attached (from the Fourth Infantry) while assigned to classification section of The Infantry School. (Ofiicial U. S Army Photo The Infantry School.) 1396 Academics Give $1372 To Red Cross Surpassing their 1943 Red Cross collection by more than SSOO, the officers and enlisted personnel of the Academic Reg iment of The Infantry School have contributed $1372.10 to the 1044 National War Fund. With 1306 persons participating, the donors thus averaged almost one dollar per man The bulk of the contributions was collected on pay day, Febru ary 29th, when a corps of vol unteers, including officers, enlis ted men and wives of the regi ment were assigned to the vari ous orderly rooms by the speci al service office. In a matter of hours more than half of the regi ment had contributed. 35 offic ers. 1355 enlisted personnel and fi civilians were listed on the roster of donors sent to the Field Director of the Fort Ben ning American Red Cross. Breakdown by units follows, 104 Academics Offer Blood To Red Cross Following is the list of Aca demics and WACademics who volunteered a pint of blood to the American Red Cross. As terisks (*) indicate those per sons who were actually selected as donors:— ENLISTED MEN ‘Tec 4 Benjamin F. Morris, Sgt John A. Reitschky, Tec 4 Benjamin A. Wells, Tec 5 Clar ence R Marconatt, • Tec 3 Her bert D. Butters, Cpl. Robert O. Behringer, Cpl. Arthur E. Ow ens, • Cpl. Robert F Smart, Pvt Carman J. Conti, Pfc. Le roy A Baker, • Tech Sgt. Her bert M. Somerson, S. Sgt. Har old A Blank, S Sgt Paul E. Vaniman, Cpl. Templeton D. Hil dreth, ‘ Cpl. Roswell C. Parker, Pfc Harold Johnson, Pvt Her vey E Maisonneuve, ‘ Tec 5 Edwin E White, Tec 4 Carmine J Lagnese, Cpl. Harry J. Pien schke. Cpl. Anthony Monteleone, ‘ Pfc Francis Klein, Pfc. James E Leonard, Jr., • Pfc. George Kantrowitz, Tec 4 Harry S Dombrowski, * Pvt. Benjamin Bardin, * Pvt Frank X. Ayers, * Ist Sgt. Judson N. Boggs, Jr., Pfc. Roscoe G. Bonner, *S. Sgt. Walter C. Peterson, Sgt. John C. Smith, Sgt. Charles W. Harris, • Sgt. Stewart A Downs, Sgt with the first figure represent ing tiie number participating, the second the total amount con tributed WAC One, 127, $140,12 WAC Two, 100, $lO5 00 Hdqs., 59, $60.00 Co. A. 103, $109.50 Co B, 125, $141.00 Co. C, 176, $171.35 Co D, 91, $91.31 Co. E. 123, $115.84 Co F. 163, $113.73 Co. G, 136. $149.00 Co. 11, 133, $131.35 SSD. 60. $37.90 All soldiers and WACs who have contributed the member ship fee of one dollar will be al lowed to wear the Red Cross emblem on the left lapel of the blouse or on the left pocket of the shirt until March 18th, when the Benning membership campaign will officially close Harold E. Archer, Sgt Leonard E. Frank, • Sgt R E Alkire, Sgt R L Blanke, ‘ Sgt. William G Estes, Pvt Horace E. Ellis, Cpl. Julian J. Niedbala. * Pvt James H. Richards. ENLISTED WOMEN ‘Pvt. Dorothy M. Bailey, Pfc. Frances Barison, * Pfc Helen B Berman, Pfc Viola M Book er, Pvt. Margaret L. Brock, Pvt. Vivian M Burke, Pfc. Rosalie Caskey, * Pfc. Genevieve R. Ci erlak, Tec 5 Colette S Conroy, Pvt. Agnes L Coomes. ‘ Sgt Marilyn P Crum, Pvt Betty R. DeLozier, Tec 5 Pearl M Dow. Pvt Viola Elfgen, * Tec 5 Louise Faith, Tec 5 Helen R Hopp. Pvt Wanda A Horosko, Pvt Jane R Hutcheson, • Tec 5 Lillian E Knotek, Pvt Caroline E Leopold. Pvt Emily I. Linton,Tec 5 Viola M. Meder, Pvt. Emeline M Michalski, ‘ Pfc. Florence M Miller, Tec 5 Alyce L. Orn, * Tec 5 Marie T. Oswald. Pvt. Rebecca O. Rom erill, Pvt Blanche L. Siegriest, Pvt. Marjcrie M Shulters, Tec 5 Harriet F. Sill, * Tec 4 Laura V. Taibi, Pvt. Rose M Vavra, Pvt. Frances G. White, • Pfc. Julia B. Young, Pfc. Elizabeth A Zayac, * S Sgt Dorothy M REGIMENTAL MIRROR Bringing with them memories of combat with the Japs on Attu, the scarcity of women in Alaska, bad weather, bombing and sub marine attacks, ten men from the Fourth Infantry have been attached to the Academic Regi ment for temporary duty with classification section of The In fantry School. Although the hardships and unusual experiences they have undergone have written epics in to service annals, these veterans tell their stories sparingly, in cold, Simple terms—suggesting that along with patience which men learn in the lonely outposts of the world comes intense re straint. Pfc. Robert J. Eckstein, of St, Louis, Mo., for example, answ ers questions about the bitter fighting on Attu with pointed, compact sentences that tell more than the mere words mean Eckstein’s unit landed on Attu last May. MOUNTAIN FIGHTING “The first night we dug fox holes,’’ he says. “The next day we were in action. A mountain range had to be cleaned out Well, we cleaned it out ” One night when they had al most bottled up the enemy, some Japs broke through the American lines at one point “They bayoneted some of our men," Eckstein says, adding quite matter-of-factly, "and that was the biginning of the end for them.” He found that the best weap on in the Attu fight was the grenade, which he used in many mountain caves. In answer to the question it is hardest to ask and probably harder to answer, Eckstein says simply: “I think I got a few of them." JAPS GOOD SHOTS The Japs are pretty accurate shots, Eckstein recalls uncom fortably, and a large part of the battle was going after their snip ers. His training saved his life every time he had to take cover and still find a place from which he could shoot at the enemy Of ten his company advanced only to discover that the remaining Japs had committed suicide, usu ally by setting off grenades un der their chins. Similar incidents are told by Pfc. Welcome A Sunding. of Highmore, S. D.. who was in headquarters of the same battal ion in which Eckstein served. “But things just happened, there isn’t much you can tell," is the way Sunding sums it up. He worked the outposts and when there was a chance, climb ed up and down the mountains taking food to the front lines. There was little hand-to-hand fighting, it was mainly a matter of advancing ridge-by-ridge, sni per versus sniper, with grenades and rifle your best allies. “Mountain fighting in fog. rain, Goodell. ‘ S. Sgt. Janet C. Roy er, • Sgt. Frances Trueblood. • Tec 4 Sophia Barton, * Tec 4 Lilua Chancelet, ‘ Tec 4 Mil dred Johnson, • Tec 5 E. Ander son, * Tec 5 Zelma Dobkin, * Tec 5 Corinne Goudzward, * Tec 5 Alberta Hill, * Tec 5 Pearl S. Maissa, * Tec 5 Dorothy Ma lesky, * Tec 5 Frances E. Titus, Tec 5 Ethel Weatherbe, Tec 5 Harriet Zeiser, * Pfc. Claudine Coe, Pvt. Rose Brula, Pvt. Leona F. Congrove, • Pvt. June Freed, Pvt. Helen Glab, * Pvt. Marga ret Hunter, Pvt. Mary King, * Pvt. Edna Miller, * Pvt. Phyllis McClain, Pvt. Dorothy Moir, Pvt. Frances Strati. OFFICERS • Ist Lt. Allen T. Surtees, * 2d Lt. John Mayer. RECALLING SOME OF THEIR ADVENTURES IN the Aleutians and particularly the battle of Attu, Pfc. Wel come A. Sunding (left) and Pfc. Robert J. Eckstein look over a map of the Pacific in a dayroom in the Academic Regi ment. to which they are now attached (from the Fourth In fantry) while assigned to Classification of the Infantry School, i Ofiicial U. S. Army Photo —The Infantry School J sleet, snow, wind, and cold, where all the bad weather in the world starts from," is Sunding's description of the six days’strug gle his intelligence unit went through in the final phase of the battle. “WILLAWAWS” “During the storms, which Gls call willawaws," Pfc. Kenneth Kellog, of Kirksville, Mo., tells us, "the wind blew at the rate of 70 to 80 miles per hour." During his service on the main land and in the Aleutians his battalion kept up a strict train ing program, in addition to its outpost duty and beach patrol. One night a week there was a 15 mile march, half of it across country. Every Saturday morn ing there was a swift five-mile hike with the "Arctic pack"- which includes a sleeping bag GOOD HUNTING For men who like big-game hunting, though, a furlough in /Maska has its advantages, ac cording to Pfc. Gerald R Barnes. Minneapolis, Minn., who trained in the States with the famous 79th in the desert and then, strangely enough, wound up in Alaska Barnes spent a seven day furlough traveling on skis and snow-shoes, and bagged a moose and lots of upland game. "There must be millions of ducks and geese up there," he recalls, but his warm memories freeze again when he remembers too the nights he walked guard, four hours at a time, in 70 de grees below zero! All of the normal pleasures of a pass or furlough were denied the men in the extreme out posts. A fair steak, according to Barnes, cost over six dollars, a hamburger set aGI back 85 cents “And I saw no girls for 14 months," Eckstein adds glumly The loneliness of the far north in which they were stationed the regiment was. at various times, scattered over most of the Defense Command—-is the key note of the story which Pvt William R. Perrin, of Oregon City, Ore., tells of a certain day when.... “We saw the first ship of the year slip through the ice field at Nome, Alaska We ravenously devoured the fresh vegetables, meat and eggs the ship brought Type ‘C chow is nourishing, but of course it gets tiresome.” he laughs. “Why, we very happily got raw potatoes from the mess hall to eat from the fresh rations that came that day. The first ship of the year is a great event at Nome.” SUBMARINE ATTACK While in Alaska most of the men were exposed to enemy at tack. Pfc. Leroy A. Baker, of Searcy, Ark., says that his unit was bombed, while Pfc John T. Price, of Skellytown, Tex., says his outfit was one day shelled by Thursday, March 9, 1944 Gls Are Invited To Participate In Orientation Enlisted men and women in terested in taking active part in the orientation program now under way in al) units of the Academic Regiment have been invited this week to get in touch with Lt. John Mayer, ori entation officer “We are particularly looking for men with overseas service who would care to describe their experiences at the weekly meet ings,” Lt. Mayer announced Since the orientation program is scheduled for one hour per week in each unit for the re mainder of the war, there will be time for every soldier to par ticipate. the lieutenant points out. The plan for the series is that once discussions are under way. the enlisted men will take the initiative by frankly bringing up questions about the nature and purpose of the war and its ori gins. Open discussions will be encouraged, with an analysis of the war news of each week as the take-off. Soldiers who would like to study special material in prep aration for leading or priming discussions should see Lt. Mayer in the special service office at headquarters, or take up the matter with their company of ficers in charge A survey of company day-rooms has revealed that much excellent material is already in the magazine racks, while maps and charts outlining the news are to be found in great abundance A library of films is avail able and will be circulated to the various units as the pro gram develops Starting with the next issue, the Mirror will run a series of brief articles and maps as part of the Army-wide drive to make sure that the A merican soldier understands why he is in uniform Hollywood Helps Hollywood (CNS)—The Hol lywoorf Victory Committee sent 1,562 movie actors more than a million miles to make 12,619 ap pcarances before servicemen last year, the committee has an nounced. These figures nearly double the organization's first year accomplishments. a submarine. Sunding and Ec stein, who saw most of the action of the Fourth Infantrymen at tached to the Academic Regi ment, were even bombed one night four months after the Jap land forces were cleaned out of Attu. “It ruined a perfect poker game," they recall.
