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About Regimental mirror. (Fort Benning, Ga.) 1943-194? | View Entire Issue (March 16, 1944)
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
