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BASEBALL RETURNED
to the news with a bang this
week (Above) Fenno hits
’em out to Niebler. Lehner
and Cox during the Profs’
first 1944 pepper session. (Of
ficial U. S. Army Photo-- The
Infantry School.)
Vet Jap Fighters
Praise Infiltration
Course Training
Sneak tricks used by Jap snipers, the discovery that lots
of Japs are more than six feet tall, and the value of the in
filtration course for men going into combat were some of the
points discussed when two veterans of the Pacific campaign
got together in the Academic Regiment this week. Sgt.
George E Cole, of Cambridge,
Mass., who fought on Guadal
canal, and Pvt Cecil E Ross,
who won the Purple Heart for
wounds received in New Geor
gia, are among the scores of
soldiers returning from overseas
who have joined The Infantry
School under the policy of ro
tation of troops
“Most Americans believe that
all Japanese are small,” Sgt.
Cole said, “but we saw many
Japs who were more than six
feet in height Most of them
were members of the select Im
perial Marines, the Emperor’s
personal bodyguard They were
much better shots than the av
erage Jap—whenever a man was
killed by an Imperial Marine,
he was found shot square be
tween the eyes!”
SUICIDE SNIPING
The Japanese sniper seemed
to know that he was on a suicide
mission, Ross and Cole said.
They always found the snipers
tied to the trees. The only way
they ever got a sniper down
alive, the veterans recalled, was
to wound him and then go up and
cut him down
“They were always getting
behind our lines,’’ said Ross, who
was an ammunition carrier for
a machine-gun crew Often
when we went back for ammu
nition we found that some sni
pers had sneaked through the
lines and were waiting for us.
“At night they pulled all kinds
of tricks to unnerve you and
draw your fire They’d beat on
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VOL. 2
their helmets, they’d shout to
make you think they were fight
ing some of your men so you’d
come to the ‘rescue’.”
LACK INDEPENDENCE
The inability of the average
Jap non-com and even junior of
ficers to think for themselves
when cut off from higher au
thority was one of the many
surprising things ,they have
learned about the enemy.
“They don’t seem to know
what to do when their schedule
is cut off,” Cole recalls. “They
would actually consult their
text-books on the field of battle!
Most of them believe that if they
lose their leaders, they are lost
too—they were surprised to find
that such was not the case with
us.
“The American soldier is def
initely more independent,” Cole
added. “He can think for him
self, while the average Jap can
only obey orders.”
SNIPERS SUPERIOR
But the snipers, the veterans
warned, are not to be considered
"average Japs.” They are pick
ed men, superior in every res
pect, much better trained than
the regular Japanese soldiers.
They are such artists at camou
flage, Ross recalls, that some
times they were “invisible” at a
distance of 80 feet!
Good news for soldiers still to
“go over” was the statement by
Sgt. Cole that his comrades cred
ited the infiltration course and
(Continued on Page 5)
FORT BENNING. GEORGIA. THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 1944
Army Too Busy
To Celebrate Self
The Army will forego its usu
al method of celebrating Army
Day. April 6, this year. Thecus
torn of sponsoring numerous pa
rades and large dinners on that
day cannot be reconcile^ with
the War Department’s policy of
strict adherence to national con
servation policies in transporta
tion. fuel and food. Likewise, the
diversion of numerous units
from war-time tasks is inconsis
tent with the present intensified
war program.
TWO VETERANS OF THE PACIFIC CAMPAIGN SWAP YARNS ABOUT JAP
fighting while looking over a map of the Islands in the cuartel of the Academic Regiment.
Pvt. Cecil E. Ross (right), who wears the Purple Heart, and Sgt George E. Cole have join
ed the Academic Regiment under the policy of rotation of troops. (TIS Photo 1
Sutton Commended
For Score On .57
Sgt. John J. Sutton, of C Com
pany, Academic Regiment of
The Infantry School, has been
commended by Maj Gen C H
Bonesteel, School Commandant,
for his “outstanding exhibition
of marksmanship in the use of
the .57 mm. antitank gun" which
“has not been equaled before at
The Infantry School.”
Sutton attained a perfect score
of 200 while firing his weapon
on the 1000-inch Landon Anti-
tank Range during a recent rou
tine demonstration for officer
candidates. Although the 57 has
been fired at the School since
last August, this was the first
"possible” scored with the weap
on.
"Your high proficiency is all
the more commendable in view
of your previous perfect score
with the .37 mm. antitank gun,”
(Continued on Page 5)
No. 27
