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About Regimental mirror. (Fort Benning, Ga.) 1943-194? | View Entire Issue (May 4, 1944)
KEEP ON YOUR OWN SIDE! Members of the Academic Reg iment were ordered this week to refrain from using the street running inside the cuartel along the second battalion, Third In fantry barracks. Troops, privately owned vehi cles and government vehicles as signed to the Academic Regi ment, when entering the cuartel from the east end, will turn to the right, and when entering from the west end, will turn to the left, according to the order. The speed limit within the euar tel will remain at ten miles per hour. HIJI’! HUP! HOVER! CPL. FELIX ALONZO, WHO HAS PUT ELEPHANTS AND lions through their paces in the “biggest show on earth." gives Rex, a member of the K-!> Corps, a workout in the main cuartel of the Academic Regiment of The Infantry School, to which he is assigned as a trainer with the WAG Demonstration unit attached to E Com pany. (Official U. S. Army Photo —The Infantry School.) Ex-Elephant Trainer First In Line For Circus Ticket First on line this week to get a free soldier’s ticket to the Hippodrome Thrill Circus, now playing in Columbus, was Cpl. Felix Alonzo, former elephant trainer of the "big top” currently handling dogs with the K-9 Corps out in E Company, Academic Regiment. “1 want to get a good look at that bear act,” said Alon- zo, who has been featured in “the biggest show on earth" and was born into a family of four generations of circus stars. "I just can’t stay away from the cir cus—even as a spectator.” A soldier now for three years, Alonzo was at the peak of his circus career during the thirties, when he was with the Ringling Brothers-Barnum and Bailey and Christy (Cole) shows,. His usual act consisted of putting his “bulls” (elephants, male and fe male) through the routine of headstands and marching to mu sic, with “Moduc”, his star, do ing a special dancing number. Garbed in the colorful breeches, tail coat and boots of circus life, Alonzo carried a “bull hook”, shaped like a lumber hook, which he used gently on the ten der part of the ears of his beasts to get the desired responses. Only twice did he ever have any serious trouble with his animals. * M w •'to a.«. ■ » 7 u. OF GA. LIBRARIES 7 A ff). — MTHDRAIM REGIME NTA L fasten | J VOL II ’ | “Once in Chicago ‘Rosie’, one of my elephants, got away and j invaded a parking lot,” Alonzo recalls, “and she pushed over two cars. When I arrived she calmed down. But there was a ! lot of explaining to do!” ’ CLAWED BY LION ’ Another time “King”, one of 1 his lions, got "moody” and swung I at the boss, tearing the corner ; of his mouth. “When they get that way, you [ have to turn the hose on them or use poles to keep them off,” says Alonzo, “but usually you . don’t have much trouble if you , know your business. You must , respect your animals, use the , proper tone of voice, show signs . of happiness when they do things right—praise is an important i factor in animal training.” In ’39 Alonzo started to sell his animals, knowing that he would soon be in uniform. After FORT BENNING. GEORGIA. THURSDAY. MAY 4. 1944 16 months with an Infantry ser vice company he was transferred, last summer, to the K-9 Corps. It was his first experience with dogs, but the methods used with all animals are basically the same, so Alonzo has fitted in well in his present assignment. The WAGs attached to E Com pany are a demonstration unit, and so Alonzo’s principal job is to help put on demonstrations (Continued on Page 5) Main Post WAC Ten Licks HC WACs 21-14 The Main Post WAC ten smashed out a 21-14 victory ov er the Harmony Church WACs Tuesday evening at the HC soft ball field in a free-hitting game that saw WAC I get 16 hits and WAC II amass 11 safe knocks. The star of the game was Frances Trueblood who had a perfect day at bat with five hits in as many times up. She also scored four of her team’s runs. Oswald and Horosko highlight ed HC play with a rousing circuit swat apiece. Academic Mother To Be Post Guest On Mother's Day “It’s wonderful,” said Cpl. Richard G. Marquardt, of B Company, when notified today that his mother has been chosen as the Academic Regiment guest for the postwidc Mother’s Day celebration on Sunday, May 14th. “I’ve never won anything in any contest before, but this more than makes up for it!” I Dick’s mother, who lives more than 3(100 miles away in Seattle, Wash., will be brought to Fort Benning by the post authorities, all expenses paid, on Friday evening, May 12th for a three-day visit with her son, his outfit, and his post. Twelve other mothers, chosen by lot by the various installations on the post, will also be present. All 13 mothers will be guests of Brig. Gen. William H. Hob son, post commander, at a dinner in Service Club number one on Friday evening. May 12th. Breakfast will be served for them at the mess of the Supply Division. Supply Detachment Number 1, at 8:00 a. m. on Sat urday, and they will then be taken on a tour of the post, watching troops in training and seeing how their sons go through a typical day at their various jobs. The remainder of Satur day will be spent with their sons at their own units. Special arrangements will be made by the Academic Regiment to "make Mrs. Marquardt feel at home” during her few hours with the regiment. On Sunday morning. May 14th, the mothers will be guests at the post-wide Mother's Day program to be conducted at 8:30 a m. in Doughboy Stadium and broad cast over WRBL, Columbus. There will be special music by the Reception Center and 176th Infantry bands, the Chapel Choir, the Reception Center Chorus, and a solo by S. Sgt. Rawn Spearman and short talks by Gen. Hobson and Chaplain (Lt. Col.) John W. Westerman In vocation will be pronounced by Chaplain Aaron Waldon, Jew ish chaplain, and the benedic tion will be given by Chaplain William Hunt, Catholic chaplain. Each outfit has chosen two al ternate mothers in the event that the parent who is the first choice is not able to attend. In the Academic Regiment the al ternates are: Mrs. A. M. Hasen frantz, of Kirkwood, Mo., moth er of Cpl. Olive M. Hasenfrantz, of WAC Detachment Two, The Infantry School; and Mrs. Grace B. Coates, of Titusville, Pa., mother of Sgt. Robert B. Coates, of Company E. Each unit in the Academic Regiment held a drawing last weekend, and the names of the winning mothers were forward ed to headquarters, where sev eral first sergeants, the com manding officer and the special service officer presided at the fi nal drawing. Noted Academic Playwright Goes To Infantry OCS Cpl Robert V Finch, well known writer of stage and radio plays who has spent most of his two years in uniform writing for Infantry School training films and radio broadcasts, left Com pany A of the Academic Regi ment this week to join the Third Student Training Regiment as an Infantry officer candidate. While waiting for his transfer he attended the Academic Regi ment’s non-commissioned offic ers school, leading the present class in marksmanship by firing 194 with the MI rifle and 187 with the carbine, qualifying as expert on both weapons Although most of his Army writing has been done anony mously for film strips and radio scripts, he has recently become well known to his fellow Aca demics for his part in the cur rent “Thirteen Weapons of War" radio program series, broadcast over WSB, Atlanta Finch, who once taught radio-piaywriting at the University of North Caroli na, collaborated with Lt. Thom as W Phipps in the writing of four of the scripts and has acted im all but one of the broadcasts to date. His career started in the early thirties when he acted in the March of Time broadcasts and several Broadwaj’ productions In 1939 his first full-length play, “Lucy Stone,” ran for nine (Continued on Page 5> O. C. ROBERT FINCH No 33
