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Thursday, March 16, 1944
Mother Trueblood Is WAG Cook,
Daughter Is WAC Mechanic
Most members of the Woi
mothers who admire them for
But iti the Trueblood family
works the other way—while
serving in WAC Detachment
Fort Benning, Sgt. Lola K. True
blood. her mother, is with the
Air WACs at Greenville. Miss.
The youngest member of the
Trueblood WACs was taking her
basics at Daytona, Fla., in Feb
ruary 1943, when her mother ar
rived and served with her until
June. Air WAC Trueblood is
now a first cook, while Infantry
WAC Trueblood is a messenger
and driver in the Automotive
Section of The Infantry School.
Both are line sergeants, a rating
not commonly held in WAC
units, and both have applied for
overseas duty.
DEFENSE INSPECTOR
For Sgt. Frances Trueblood,
however, this is not her first ex
perience in what used to be call
ed a “man’s world.’’ She has
been a government inspector in
a defense plant, qualified to
handle precision and measure
ment instruments, and for eight
or nine years before her enlist
ment she was a prominent semi
professional athlete, averaging
better than three games a week
as pitcher or first baseman on
some of the finest teams in the
midwest.
As soon as she left the Paris
(Illinois) high school she signed
up with the Hoosier Athletic
club in Indianapolis as a basket
ball and softball player. Batting
680 and sometimes playing as
many as four or five games a
week, she helped her softball
team win third place in Indiana
in 1939, and the state champion
ship the following year. In 1939
the Hoosier basketball five also
won the Indianapolis title in a
league crowded with 14 topnotch
teams.
As a result of her record with
Hoosier she graduated to the Ill
inois circuit, playing for two
years with the None-Betters of
Chicago.
MOTOR INSTRUCTOR
When the war became a seri
ous matter for the serious-mind
ed women of America, Trueblood
gave up her semi-pro career and
studied precision measurement
at a defense school, took a civil
service exam, and worked for
SUPPLY SERGEANT HAROLD A. BLANK (right), Os A COMPANY, CHECKS
some equipment with his assistant, Pvt. Erwin Sikora. (Official U. S. Army Photo—The
Infantry School.)
man’s Army Corps have proud
volunteering for military duty.
of Indianapolis, Ind., it also
Sgt. Frances M. Trueblood is
Two. The Infantry School, at
Soldier Beautician!
PORT MORESBY (CNS)
Back home in the town of New
York Sgt. Richard Tarsias ran a
beauty shop. Here in New Gui
nea he is doing the same sort of
work.
Incapacitated for further com
bat action during the Buna cam
paign, Sgt. Tarsias opened Port
Moresby’s first beauty salon at
the request of Special Services.
His customers are American
nurses and Red Cross girls.
a year as an inspector. In Jan
uary, 1943, she reported for act
ive duty with the Women’s Aux
iliary Army Corps, and after fin
ishing her basics and the motor
course, became an instructor in
second echelon mechanics at
Daytona.
150 MILE CONVOY
One of the many highlights of
her military career was the 150
mile convoy trip which the mot
or WACs at Daytona had to
make. As a sergeant and a sec
tion leader. Trueblood was in
charge of ten vehicles.
While at Daytona she played
on the WAC softball team that
licked the SPARs decisively on
two occasions. At present as
signed to headquarters of the
Automotive Section expecting
eventual appointment to the
Academic Motor pool, she is a
member of the WAC Detachment
Two softball ten that will start
practice as soon as the weather
permits. Since there are wom
en’s teams in Columbus and sev
eral WAC squads at Benning, Jt
looks as if Trueblood will have
a busy athletic summer. That is
until she achieves her final mil
itary ambition of going overseas.
“I want to travel before I
settle down after the war,” she
says. “Service in the Woman’s
Army Corps has been a great
experience; above all, WACs will
know better than civilian women
exactly what the war was like
and what the post-war world
should be like.”
REGIMENTAL MIRROR
★ ★
SGT. FRANCES TRUEBLOOD. DAUGH j
TER OF A W'AC COOK. "SPOT CHECKS"
HER JEEP AT HEADQUARTERS. AUTO
MOTIVE SECTION. BEFORE TAKING
OFF ON AN ASSIGNMENT. (Official U S.
Army Photo—The Infantry School.l
r ' -
• : *^3 -■' W
jj
L 1
No More Transfers
To The Air Corps!
Effective at once, no applica
: tion for transfer to Army Air
Forces from officers or enlisted
men of Army Service Forces or
Army Ground Forces for the
purpose of air crew training or
ground crew training will be ac
cepted. and no examinations of
such personnel for flying train
ing will be conducted. All pend
ing applications upon which fi
nal action has not been complet
ed will be disapproved and re
turned to the applicant, accord
ing to War Department Circular
No. 93.
/ .....
F CO. MEN TRANSFERRED;
INFILTRATION ALMOST OVER
Two major steps were taken
by the Academic Regiment this
week to facilitate preparation of
all eligible men for reassignment
to units destined for overseas
under the policy of rotation of
troops.
Another 500 men went through
the infiltration course o n Sun
day, leaving only a handful of
eligible Academics still to go
through this final stage in field
training before reassignment
No more Sunday sessions on th<
infiltration course will be neces
sary to complete the job, accord
ing to Capt. J. E. Warren, regi
mental adjutant.
Al) of the regularly assigned
enlisted personnel of F Company
except the cadre, were transfer
red to E Company, leaving Com-
Blank "Marking Time"
For Shipment Overseas
Staff Sgt. Harold A. Blank, supply sarge of A Company,
considers his present assignment as merely "marking time,”
and hopes that he soon gets a chance to go overseas as supply
sergeant of a line outfit.
He feels that he owes a lot to the Army, that he has
learned self-confidence since he
has been in uniform, and now
he’s eager to get in his lick “on
the other side.”
“I really enjoy supply work,”
Blank says; “next to keeping
men well-fed, having them well
clothed is the most important
factor in morale.”
A native of Brooklyn, N. Y.,
where his family lives at 1277
Sutter avenue, he worked for
Prudential Playhouses on Long
Island before he was drafted a
little over two years ago He
took his basics at Fort McClel
lan, Ala., shot marksman on the
PAGE THREE
pany F in effect the unofficial
casual unit for the regiment All
personnel assigned to F now and
in the future will be either (1)
non-commissioned officers taking
the refresher course prior to
shipment, or (2) privates and
Pfcs being processed for reas
signment, or (3) incoming cas
uals awaiting assignment in The
Infantry school.
Lt Malcom E. Up teg raff was
also transferred from F to E. Lt.
P W. Powers remains as com
manding officer of the casuals,
with Lt. ,1. C. Greer as company
officer in charge of the non-com
missioned officers class. Lt. A.
T. Surtees heads the enlarged E
Company, now including all
Harmony Church personnel at
work in regular assignments in
the regiment and School
Enfield, and wound up in the
Academic Battalion. Studying
supply under M. Sgt. Brown—
“he taught me all I know”—
Blank worked up the ladder of
ratings until he earned his staff
last April. Once an “artificer"
himself, Blank insists that no
supply sergeant could get any
place without good assistants,
and gives Pvt. Erwin Sikora, his
helper from Milwaukee, much of
the credit for the way things run
smoothly in A Company’s supply
room
