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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.
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’ | “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
