EXPLANATION HOW INDIA-BURMA ROTATION POLICY WORKS
  We have received queries, gripes and underlined copies of the Roundup story of Jan. 13, 1944, announcing the 24-month rotation policy for this Theater.
  Summed up, they all ask the same thing, "What about rotation?"
  You know and we know that men are not going home at the end of 24 months. There is one reason: lack of replacements.
  You know our war casualties. You know we have men stationed on every continent and that the Army top strength has been set by Congress at 7,700,000 men.
  The War Department has stated that more than 5,000,000 men are overseas. Many of the men now in the States are troops returned from overseas or limited service men.
  Just last week Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson said every physically qualified man in the States is earmarked for overseas duty. It is from these men that your replacements must come, and the pool is not large enough to furnish enough replacements for every Theater. And naturally the combat fronts come first.   Continued

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GUARD DUTY PAYS   HQ., 78TH DIVISION, GERMANY - Two German prisoners were asked by Capt. Ralph Gero why the rest of their badly battered unit had not given up.   "They can't," one of them answered. "Guards have been posted with instructions to shoot anyone trying to surrender. Lots of the men want to surrender but can't get past the guards.   "Then how did you two make it?" asked Gero.   "It was easy. We were the guards."

Vol. III   No. 34     Delhi, Thursday,   May 3, 1945     Reg. No. L5015

SHANGRI-LA?   SAN FRANCISCO - (ANS) - It was opening day for the United Nations' Security Conference, and delegates of 46 countries were filing into the Opera House auditorium and taking their places.   Then, at 4:02 p.m., the band started to play Lover, Come Back To Me. Some of the delegates, thinking it must be the national anthem of some member country, started to rise, then when the majority remained seated, hastily resumed their chairs with evident embarrassment.

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FALSE ARMISTICE CELEBRATED IN U.S.; INDIA-BURMA G.I.’S REMAIN TRANQUIL

IT’S CAROLE CAROLE LANDIS What more? Burma Bridges Dive-Bombed By EAC B-24’s   HQ., EASTERN AIR COMMAND - With the monsoon only a fortnight away, pilots over the Burma operational area this week battled dense clouds, hail, driving rain, squally winds, and icing conditions in the aerial phase of the Allied southward drive to Rangoon.   Outstanding mission of the period was a record bridge-busting jaunt by B-24's of the Seventh Bomb Group, which destroyed or damaged 37 rail and road spans on the Burma-Siam railroad east of Thanbyuzayat. Using 1,000-pound bombs, the heavies unloaded 143 tons from altitudes ranging from 100 to 12,000 feet. THEY DIVE B-24'S   Some pilots smashed their tiny targets, bridges over dried streams and deep gullies between 4,000-foot mountain peaks, with a new technique developed by Col. Harvey T. Alness of Bayport, Minn., group commander, and Lt. Col. William Keys, of Elwell, Mich., operations officer, diving their huge bombers at the objective to release their explosives from low altitude.   Six other bridges received direct hits, but were not classed as destroyed because smoke from the bombs prevented damage assessment. Seventh Bomb men started this mission with a total of 98 bridges knocked out since December 27 and were looking forward to their 100th victim, but their extraordinary success boosted the number to 129. Light anti-aircraft and machine gun fire was encountered, scoring some hits on the airplanes, but no ship abandoned its target. RAIL CARS HIT   The Japs have been using rail cars with special auxiliary wheels which can leave the bombed-out trackbed and use the highways, and pilots reported seeing several of these, some of them directing machine gun fire at the attackers. Damage to the vital rail supply line from Siam increased in importance as the Allies drove farther south in Burma.   P-51 Mustangs of the Combat Cargo Task Force again ranged into Thailand to strike enemy airfields, starting more than a dozen fires at Ban Takli, 100 miles north of Bangkok, and three large fires at Koke Kathiem, 25 miles nearer the Thai capital city. The attack achieved such surprise that machine gun defenses were unmanned.   In southern Burma, B-25's of the 12th Bomb Group bombed the important rail junction of Pegu, 45 miles northeast of Rangoon, on three successive days, hitting troops and tanks from 300 feet altitude and also striking at barracks and stores dumps. P-38's set fire to buildings and strafed troop concentrations, tanks and a staff car in the same area. ZEROS BROKEN UP   The panicky enemy threw some of his carefully hoarded air strength into the fray as the Allies moved south. Four RAF Spitfires on patrol south of Toungoo tackled a formation of about 12 Zeros and broke it up, claiming one destroyed and one probable.   RAF Liberators dumped 295 tons of bombs in two missions against the Victoria Lake supply depot at Rangoon, and hit a dump two miles west of Thanbyuzayat. P-51's and P-47's hammered at targets in the combat area.

U.S. PAPERS BANNER
‘NAZIS SURRENDER’
ON CONNALLY STORY
Roundup Staff Article   False armistice rumors have been a dime a dozen this war, but the one from San Francisco this week quoting an official U.S. source that "surrender of Germany is imminent" seemed karat-studded with fact.
  So realistic was the announcement, later identified as having come from Sen. Tom Connally (D.-Tex.) member of the U.S. Security Delegation, that diplomats at the meeting broke into celebration, despite the hammering for order by Chairman V. M. Molotov of Russia.

SURRENDER REFUSED
  The story as given out by Connally, who has been closely associated with Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinus all week, stated Heinrich Himmler had offered to surrender unconditionally to the U.S. and Great Britain. It also said Hitler was dying and Himmler was acting as head of the State.
  Other sources said the surrender had been refused following a note from Josef Stalin on the grounds that it was a move to split Allied unity. Another objection noted was that it was doubtful if Himmler could control the surrender movement and make it national.

TRUMAN DENIED
  Whatever the truth of conflicting rumors, President Harry Truman thought the report important enough to allow reporters to quote him directly. he said, "There is no foundation for the rumor." Truman said contact had been made with Supreme Commander Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, and that there had been no mass surrender.
  The United Press said it had received a report that both Hitler and Josef Goebbels had been executed by Himmler, who had taken over the Government. It said Himmler had offered to turn over Hitler's dead body to the Allies.
  In the India-Burma Theater there was some premature celebrations in rear areas where Indian newspapers flashed a Reuter's report quoting the official American source. The theme played up by the Indian news wallahs was "Germans Surrender."
  However, there was no great celebration among U.S. troops as a whole. Although many G.I.'s were standing by their G.I. radio stations, the story was not broadcast since it had not been confirmed by official U.S. sources.
  In the U.S., it was a different story. Radio networks buzzed, newspaper offices clambered, and people celebrated all through the night.
  In New York, people gathered in Times Square, only to troop off dejectedly after it was discovered the rumor was just a rumor. There was even ticker tape and carnival spirit. In Jack Dempsey's restaurant strangers kissed and shook hands, comparative heresy in Manhattan.
  At Carnegie Hall, Fred Waring interrupted a concert to announce, "Germany has surrendered unconditionally." he continued, "People are now waiting for President Truman to go on the radio and make the official announcement."
  One cynic, interviewed by a walkie-talkie radio interviewer on 42nd Street, stated, "I haven't heard the air sirens which announce the end of the war. Until then, I'll believe the war is still on." He didn't discover until later how right he was.
  In Chicago, police leaves were cancelled and sailors at first were told to go back to their stations. The Chicago Tribune bannered, "Germany Gives Up." The Times said, "Germany Quits."
  In San Francisco the Chronicle and the Call-Bulletin came out with extras concerning the "surrender story."
  Minneapolis and St. Paul took the story without major demonstrations, but excitement ran high in the streets, railroad stations, and hotel lobbies.

ATLANTA EXTRAS
  The Atlanta Constitution and the Journal came out with extras. Thousands of people thronged Peachtree Street in a premature celebration. The bars were closed and several prayer meetings were held.
  At St. Louis, people cheered the news splashed in newspaper headlines. In Lincoln, Neb., taverns were closed. In Omaha, Neb., the World-Herald extraed, "Germany Surrenders; No Strings Attached."
  The Boston public was described as the coolest in the U.S.

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ROTATION POLICY EXPLAINED
 Continued from top

  Men are still going home on rotation from this Theater, just as fast as their replacements arrive. Last month 1,277 made the Stateside boat. But you must have a replacement. This Theater supplies China. We must keep working at top speed to keep China in the war and increase her ability to wage war.
  Germany is on her last legs. The emphasis is to crush Japan as quickly as possible and get the war over with so that we can all go home. The objective of this Theater is Japan. Now, more than ever, it is essential every man here be at his post. That is why you cannot be spared regardless of your time overseas, unless there is someone to take your place.
  Briefly, this is how the India-Burma rotation policy operates: At the end of 24 months continuous overseas service you are eligible for rotation. You must then wait for your replacement. In rare cases, where no replacement is necessary, your organization commander can release you.
  Preference in rotation is given those with the longest overseas service and who have been longest in combat or on hazardous duty.
  Men who are rotated ordinarily will serve at least six months in the States before being sent overseas again. However, there is no guarantee.
  Certain key men in this Theater have been allowed a period of 45 days temporary duty in the States. To obtain this, they must sign up for a minimum of another year overseas. To obtain this temporary duty you must have served 24 months continuously overseas and obtain a release from your C.O. for the time required for the T.D. in the States. Three hundred and thirty persons went home on this plan last month.
  The War Department has recently authorized this Theater to return a limited number of ground combat qualified personnel. This number is over and above the regular rotation quota because replacements are present in this Theater. Only personnel who are combat qualified and who are serving with combat units can be rotated under this plan.

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Two Citations Awarded By XX Bomb Command

  XX BOMBER COMMAND BASE - Two awards, the Silver Star and a posthumous Soldier's Medal, were announced this week to personnel of the 20th Bomber Command.
  The Silver Star went to S/Sgt. Robert G. Foor of East Chicago, Ind., while the posthumous Soldier's Medal went to Capt. William W. Wyatt of San Antonio, Tex.
  Foor, top gunner on a B-29 on a Mukden raid, crawled through the tunnel to the front compartment when Jap fighters attacked at 24,000 feet. The gun had frozen and jammed while the formation was under attack.

FROSTBITE DANGER
  Fully aware of the danger of frostbite at that high altitude, Foor removed the panel of the forward gun turret and proceeded to work without parachute or gloves. He succeeded in charging the gun manually, enabling the bombardier to operate the front turret. Foor holds the DFC, Air Medal, and two Oak Leaf Clusters and has taken part in 19 Super-Fort missions against the Japs.
  The late Capt. Wyatt sacrificed his life in attempting to save his crew. Wyatt's plane began to ice up high over the mountains of Central China en route to Omura, Japan. The plane began to lose altitude and Wyatt alerted the crew to stand by.
  When the plane dropped to 13,000 feet, it stalled out and Wyatt issued the order to "bail out." Meanwhile, he struggled with the controls in order to level the spin of the airplane to the point where those parachuting out would have a chance of jumping clear.
  Seven members of the crew jumped to safety before the plane crashed. They were rescued later and told the story. Wyatt and three of his crew crashed to their death.

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B-29 FIRST-AID GIVEN BY RADIO DIRECTIONS
 BY HUGH A. CRUMPLER   United Press War Correspondent

  HEADQUARTERS, XX BOMBER COMMAND, INDIA - (UP) - Administering treatment prescribed by a medical officer by radio at this headquarters, two crew members of a B-29 returning from a raid on Japanese-occupied Burma saved the life of a third member of the crew.
  When the crew member was seriously wounded by shell fire over the target, Sgt. Patsy J. Grimaldi of Brooklyn, radioed the following message to his base:
  "Wounded man on board. Shot in neck. Can't move right arm. Think collar bone broken. Advise if possible."

MD DICTATES
  At the base, a medical officer, dictating to a radio operator, prescribed treatment which was carried out by Grimaldi and Gunner Sgt. Frank J. Fitzpatrick, Jr., Philadelphia, Pa.
  The following conversation took place immediately after Sgt. Grimaldi's call for help:
  BASE: Keep man quiet. Give one tube only of morphine and plasma as necessary.
  B-29: Having trouble giving plasma. It won't flow into vein. Makes swelling just above needle.

STRICTLY G.I.      By Ehret

CHANGES ARMS
  BASE: Put it in other arm in vein. Reason for swelling first time was that needle was not in vein. Pinch back the rubber tubing above the needle to determine if blood is drawn into the glass tube. This proves the needle to be in vein. If bleeding, put on pressure bandage.
  B-29: Have done so.
  BASE: Is he in shock and what is pulse?
  B-29: Unable to give plasma. Pulse is normal. Man is resting.
  BASE: How much blood has he lost? Moderate or severe? Mix all plasma in plane right away.
  B-29: Bleeding is moderate. Pulse rate is 89.
  BASE: Keep patient warm. Also on oxygen. Report pulse rate every ten minutes.
  B-29: Pulse is 76. (Ten minutes later) respiration a strong 18, Pulse 78 (Ten minutes later). Respiration 15, Pulse 78. (Ten minutes later). Condition is fair. Respiration 17, Pulse 60.
  BASE: Give no more morphine if breathing and condition are good.
  B-29: Pulse normal. Patient resting comfortably, continuing plasma, injured man in ship 542 doing okay. Not in shock.

GRIMALDI COMMENDED
  The radioed pulse and respiration reports continued every ten minutes during the ship's return trip. An ambulance met the plane at the airstrip and the injured airman was rushed to a hospital where he is now recovering.
  Sgt. Grimaldi, who is a member of the Billy Mitchell Group, Twentieth Bomber Command, sent back the messages as well as rendering first aid. A tactical mission report said he "is to be commended on the manner in which he discharged his duties under a trying situation."

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More Coca-Cola Due For Theater Troops

  Coca-Cola bottled in India meeting Stateside specifications will be available to the majority of American soldiers in the India-Burma Theater as rapidly as equipment now in the theater can be installed and put in operation, Lt. Col. E. W. Diller, chief of the Army Exchange Branch, Services of Supply, announced this week.
  One bottling plant, located in downtown New Delhi, is already in operation. A second plant will begin turning out "coke" shortly in Calcutta, with others scheduled for early completion in Chabua, Ledo, and one other forward area site as yet undetermined.
  technical specialists of the parent sales organization in the United States came to India at the request of the Theater Commander to install and supervise operation of the plants. Syrup, carbon dioxide, and the distinctive bottles are shipped from the United States, Diller explained.

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Gliders Carry Air Engineers For Toungoo

  HQ., COMBAT CARGO TASK FORCE, BURMA - Gliders towed by C-47's of Combat Cargo Task Force, Eastern Air Command, swooped in on the Toungoo airstrip in Burma this week with American airborne engineers aboard and by early afternoon cargo planes were landing on the newly-acquired field.
  The lead glider was towed by Lt. Col. Walter P. Briggs, Mesa, Ariz., commanding officer of a Combat Cargo Group that operates from the Arakan Coast. He returned in the afternoon to test the strip and landed the first C-47 to put down on it. Earlier, Col. Briggs had led another glider operation into Lewe while the Japs were still retreating from the airstrip area.
  One squadron at Toungoo was commanded by Maj. Loyal T. Penn, Superior, Ariz. His pilots included Capt. Patrick L. Owen, Uticas, Wash., Lt. Maurice J. Mitchell, Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Lt. Richard Littleton, Dallas, Tex. Lt. Littleton said that the trip was a bit rough. His crew chief was T/Sgt. Keith Tron, Marion, O., his radio operator was S/Sgt. John Dyer, Grand Junction, Colo.

STRIPS CRATERED
  All the gliders landed safely and the airborne engineers went to work quickly. The Toungoo airstrip, as well as the adjacent strips at Tennant and Kalaywa, which are connected by taxiways, had been deeply cratered by the Japanese in an attempt to deny the Combat Cargo Task Force their use. Fires were still burning in the airfield area a day after the C-47's and gliders swooped in.
  Although the landings were made on the Tennant strip in the Toungoo airfield group without mishap, Lt. Littleton reported seeing ground fire aimed at his plane from Kalaywa.
  An aftermath of the landings at Lewe on Saturday was an attack the following day by eight Japanese fighter planes. Some gliders were damaged. An American anti-aircraft unit arrived at the strip in trucks as the Japs were peeling off to strafe.

JAPS ATTACK
  The gunners opened fire from their trucks, and one Oscar, which had started to press home an attack on the column, veered off as the guns opened up on it.
  "I certainly sweated out that plane," remarked Lt. Robert D. Gardner, Charlestown, W. Va., who assisted

GRIEF KNOWS NO CLASS Genuine grief felt by all Americans is expressed in the faces of these women as they stand in the crowd watching President Roosevelt's funeral procession make its solemn way up Constitution Avenue in Washington.

in directing the ack-ack fire. The Oscars were attacked and driven off by Spitfires of the R.A.F. 221 Group.
  Lt. Gardner smilingly told of a British major who, as the planes attacked, came out of his tent with a cup of tea in hand and observed: "Cheeky, aren't they?" and then dived for his foxhole.
  The airborne engineers who made the successful landings at Lewe were led by Lt. Charles Craig, Seattle, Wash. In charge of equipment was S/Sgt. Patrick C. Becherer, St. Louis, Mo.

STILL SCARED
  A veteran of the first glider operation in Northern Burma more than a year ago, Sgt. Becherer said, "I was just as scared this time as the first time." He has participated in more than five combat glider operations. Within 48 hours after the engineers landed, C-46's were using the strip.
  The activities of the gliders were under the direction of a glider expert from Headquarters, Eastern Air Command, Lt. Col. William H. Taylor.
  He took part in the famous Wingate invasions of Northern Burma last year and more recently assisted Normandy operation. For his work with gliders he was given the D.S.O.

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Satchelfoot Returns To Weeds, Moans About Armchair Generals
 By PHINEAS Q. SATCHELFOOT    Roundup Rotation Wallah

  (Editor's note: Pvt. Phineas Q. Satchelfoot, who has just returned from boomerang rotation, sat down to a "Roundup" typewriter this week upon his return from Uncle Sugar to tell all you fellows how the arm-chair generals are winning the war.)

  Brethren in khaki, yours truly (known more intimately around the better foxholes in the I-B Theater as "Old Satch") has only just now returned from a boomerang Stateside sojourn, manfully having surrendered such local pleasures as Spam, dhobi itch, and the affection of his first sergeant in exchange for 30 days of the terrible rigors of the Home Front.
  Old Satch, it says here in very fine print, is happy to be back in the fold.
  One of the several reasons for his ready acceptance to snuggle under the confines of a mosquito net again is his blessed escape from radio's war commentators.

THEY'VE MULTIPLIED
  During Old Satch's two years-plus in our neck of the global fracas, this peculiar breed has multiplied feverishly in Uncle Sugar like four pairs of virile rabbits cast adrift on a deserted island lush with carrots.
  Tuning in for such kilocyclic mind improvement as Mr. Anthony, Jack Benny and Frankie Boy Sinatra, a Stateside radio-addict, we learned during our visit, has no more chance of escaping the war commentator than keeping sand out of his shoes on a hike across the Sind Desert. From the Alarm Clock Club emcee's bright "good morning neighbors" (while you grope through the murky dawn for the Bromo Seltzer), until the final melodic strains of the Midnight Revue (as you put the finishing touches on the next a.m.'s hangover), the radio generals are industriously winning the war, every hour on the hour, pausing, reluctantly, only for commercials and station announcement.

HOW THEY DO IT
  Old Satch didn't have time to check the qualifications of the prophets who monopolize the mikes but offhand he's willing to wager Rs. 100 against a counterfeit anna that they consist primarily of:
  (1) A map
  (2) A box of vari-colored thumbtacks
  (3) A copy of the morning newspaper
  (4) A fertile imagination
  Of course, Old Satch is only kidding if he learns that they're allowed to sit around the table as consultants during the meetings of the Combined and Joint Chiefs of Staff. But he feels reasonably safe from the embarrassment of retraction, for it is obvious that only Chicago Stadium could accommodate such a vast assemblage.

STRICTLY PUZZLED
  Your correspondent was considerably puzzled one evening, while searching the wave band for Bing Crosby recordings, to learn authoritatively from three different commentators that Eisenhower's big, all-out smash on the Western Front was directed variously towards Bremen, Berlin and Austria.
  We mused, bemused, how the Allied war effort might be advanced by placing these brisk oral calisthenics simultaneously upon Hitler's breakfast table. Der Fuhrer would be as confounded as a dog trapped in a roundhouse, frantic which way to turn. (Or, as we strongly suspect, perhaps he's in that state of mind already?)

CRYSTAL GAZING
  From our humble observation, it is by the persuasion of their voices that the radio strategists contrive to "sell" their military crystal gazing and keep themselves in pocket. One (courtesy of Sudsy-Wudsies) shouts down all arguments with thunderous vocal authority.
  Another (sponsored by Fluffy mattresses) intones his information with the subdued gravity of the family undertaker. Others peddle their wares with brisk, Fuller Brush salesmanship snap. Some are as silk-smooth as confidence men selling the Brooklyn Bridge to credulous rustics. There is yet another school, members of which gasp for breath as if they've just rushed up 100 flights of stairs with Macarthur's latest plans clutched in their hands. Truly, their collective range is as wide as Joe. E. Brown's grin. You twists your dial and you takes your pick.

BELL NOT GENEROUS
  Old Satch has been very kind to the subject of this article. Not so generous is Jack bell, Miami Herald war correspondent, who wrote cholerically the other day before departing for ETO:
  "An amazing feature of our national reporting the past three weeks has been the cocksure attitude of radio commentators. If you listen to these fellows with any degree of confidence, they'll soon have you crazy. Each is so darned eager to be able to say he was the first to predict the end of the war that they all keep shouting optimism.
  "They've all been wrong for a couple of years, but give 'em time, and the American armies will make them right. All this optimism has been silly - and mighty tough on you folks who've had to listen to it to get your information."

LIKE STOCKHOLM
  A few paragraphs later, Bell squared off and added for emphasis:
  "From Stockholm - that city of more pure lies than any other in this war - come reports from men who just escaped from Berlin. They're always just escaping from Berlin to Stockholm. But they're no worse than some of our radio men who speak as if they were in Berlin only this morning and saw Nazis running for their holes in every direction."
  While civilians on the Home front have been conditioned by the easy school of time to the fantasmagoria of diversified and contradictory enlightenment concerning the war, a G.I. returnee is not so fortunate.
  To him, the effect of facing the oral barrage is analogous to thrusting a drug store clerk into no man's land between the Chinese First Army and the Japs below Lashio during the progress of hot and heavy fighting.
  Yep, it's a relief to come "home."
  Pass Old Satch another helping of Spam, please.

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COMBAT CARGO MEN SALVAGE WINGATE’S ORIGINAL GLIDERS

  HQ., TENTH AIR FORCE IN BURMA - Gliders of the famed Wingate Expedition of early 1944 once again have come to life.
  The ingenuity of a Combat Cargo Airdrome Squadron of the Tenth Air Force has salvaged the wrecked gliders that for a year lay worthlessly strewn on the Broadway airstrip, site of the first Wingate landings in Burma.
  The unavailability of mechanics stands for speedy and more efficient maintenance of aircraft resulted in the decision to utilize the previously considered useless gliders. Mechanics flew to Broadway and stripped the dormant gliders of all salvageable material, using acetylene torches to cut the glider frames. This scrap metal was loaded on a Combat Cargo transport and flown to a base in Assam, and was soon transformed and put into use as mechanics stands.

TYPICAL EFFORT
  This ingenuity in maintenance is typical of the efforts expended by this Combat Cargo airdrome squadron is establishing a record of high maintenance achievement. Since December, 1944, this unit has maintained and average of more than 98% for an entire squadron of aircraft in commission, and available for daily flight. Despite shortages of certain vital accessories, the squadron reached the pinnacle of maintenance in January, when 98.5% of the assigned planes were in operational use.
  Engineering personnel throughout the Assam-Burma region have marveled at this amazingly high maintenance. None has been more pleased with these efforts than ground troops fighting in Burma jungles. Men of the Mars Force, British, Chinese, Kachins, and Burmese, daily watch the open-door Combat Cargo transports drop food and munitions - vital supplies in their recent rout of the Japs in Burma.

SULTAN PRAISE
  Lt. Gen. Dan I. Sultan, Theater Commander, expressed the appreciation of men fighting in the Northern Combat Area Command for the excellent air supply effort in the following statement:
  "By establishing a supply line that need not be maintained on the ground and could not be cut, the supply squadrons enable a fluidity of operations unique in jungle warfare."
  This praise was in part a tribute to the ground crews of Combat Cargo who have worked night and day in an effort to keep this "fluidity of operations" at its highest level of efficiency.

SPEEDY ENGINE CHANGE
  Speed and efficiency are of prime importance in Combat Cargo maintenance. To facilitate speedy engine changes this Airdrome squadron has kept available built-up engines that can be slipped into position on the C-47 nacelles after the completion of the last mission of the day. By early next morning planes are ready for flight, without the loss of an hour of scheduled flying time.
  The engine build-up stands used in this operation were constructed by Airdrome Squadron mechanics. This unit has completed more than 35 engine changes during the last three months, in minimum time. Records for fast changes are being continually shattered. The most recent was a double engine change in three hours and 15 minutes by a crew of five men. The one-time dreaded engine change is now completed faster than the routine hundred hour inspection.

MAINTENANCE AT NIGHT
  A large portion of the maintenance is completed at night under arc lights. No lighting system was provided the squadron upon activation, and the need for night maintenance resulted in a necessity for one. This illumination system was soon constructed from scrap metal and salvaged material by mechanics, and resulted in near daylight working conditions for night crews.
  The unusually high maintenance work if this Combat Cargo Airdrome squadron was officially recognized by the Tenth Air Force when Maj. Gen. Howard C. Davidson awarded it the "Meritorious Service Unit Plaque." The award was given for "outstanding performance of duty and for achievement and maintenance of a high standard of discipline."
  This citation was a tribute to the all to often glamorless ground crews of Combat Cargo who have excelled in their efforts to "keep 'em flying."

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EVEN WOMEN OF INDIA MALUM BROOKLYNESE

  HQ., 1345TH AAFBU, ATC - If it isn't already a matter of common knowledge, let it here be noted that the genus Brooklynite is a strange and varied creature, likely to be met with anywhere, so the recent experience of Pfc. Sol Seidman, himself one of the clan, at a recent squadron dance is hardly too surprising.
  Sol and a couple of buddies, lost amid the gaiety, laughter, lights, and music, spotted two attractive Indian girls, dressed in bright-colored saris and sitting in a corner, and decided to drop over and pass the time of night. Sol. however, found himself suddenly stumped for an ice-breaking remark. Should he try, "Well, I see they're tightening up the ghee ration," or "What do you think of this 'Frisco Conference'" or perhaps lead with "Who do you like in the third at Calcutta?"
  Stymied, he turned to a mate and remarked nostalgically, "Gee, I wish I was home, running for the BMT subway."
  One of the Indian maids brightened at this and replied in perfect English, "Yes, and probably missing it."
  Open-mouthed, the cosmopolitan characters then fired a row of questions, whereupon it developed the girls, sisters, were daughters of an Indian professor who had studied in America and married there. One had been born in Brooklyn, the other in Manhattan. In fact, the pair have been in India only five years and expect to return to Uncle Sugar soon, without waiting replacements.
  After this, the little group went to work verbally on the New York Giants and Noel Coward, and conversation never lagged from then on.

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INDIA-BURMA CHAMPS   Pictured above are eight of the nine champions of the All-Allied Serviceman's boxing tourney at Calcutta last week. Harry Augusta, St. Louis light heavyweight and former Service champion of Iran, was unavailable for the official photos by Ex-Roundup cameraman Jimmy Guillot.   Top row, left to right, Aaron Johnson, Rangoon, featherweight; Johnny Kent, RAF, flyweight; and Pvt. George Evans, Oakland, Calif., senior middleweight.   Second row: Cpl. Morris Strafford, Philadelphia, heavyweight; Cpl. Woodford Tousey, Twin Rivers, Wisc., bantamweight; and Dusty Miller, R.I.N., junior middleweight.   Bottom row: S/Sgt Jesse Sincere of Milwaukee, with cigar (Match-maker, promoter, ticket-seller, weather observer and press receptionist); Pvt. Johnny Miller, Stockton, Calif., lightweight; and Cpl. Ernie Copeland, New York City, welterweight.

I-B SPORTS NOTES

  Capt. George Lowe, former University of Illinois and Chicago swimming luminary, is lining the all-India swimming championship preparations into top-flight shape as the May 12-13 meet date approaches. The meet, first of its kind to be staged in the Theater, will be held in the year-old Agra pool, one of the finest in the Far East. Among the early entrants is Sgt. Edgar Bailey, Oakland, Cal., an ex-National diving champ. Bailey formerly performed in the Billy Rose Aquacade. The Agra Special Service section is planning several side events, including a visit to the Taj Mahal, for the visiting firemen.
  The 1328 AAF Base Unit in Assam has a corporal who has finally come around to admitting that "you can't win 'em all." After winning 36 straight ball games, Ed (Candy Arm) Powers took one on the nose the other day as he attempted to pull a Joe McGinty and pitch both ends of a double header. He edged through the first contest, 4-3, but his Yankee team fell apart in the second tussle, and the Special Service outfit got to him for 13 bingles to put the game away, 10-4.
  Other ATC sports shorts: Lt. Abe Lefky, former Wisconsin Junior Singles Champ, won the 1328th tennis championship recently, edging Sgt. Nate Jedof, Philadelphia, 6-3 . . . The chaplain at the same base, Capt. Bernard H. Scholzen, is an old semi-pro ball player. He played with the Racine belles, a hard-riding, gas-house gang, before going to St. Norberts college in northern Wisconsin . . . Johnny Evans highlighted the boxing show at the 1330th the other night in his debut when he knocked out Joe Hestor in the third round of their light-heavyweight match.
  Whatever team wins the 10th Air Force headquarters softball league crown won't have too much to crow about. It seems that the Gremlins, non-loop team in the same part of the Burma jungles, make a regular habit of beating the high echelon boys. Texas Billy Long, portsider for the Gremlins, has slugged through nine straight games as his team won each time out. Gen. Davidson's boys are conspiring to toss an all-star squad against the Gremlins, but their manager, Tim McAtee figures he'll have little trouble. He tells Roundup that he's claiming one of those mythical titles that seem to get more mythical as this I-B war goes on into the years.
  Cpl. Ned Steele, former pro champion of all table tennis stars in the U.S., is headed for Shangri-La after a tour of duty out here. Steele says he played ping pong - excuse me, table tennis, at practically every base in India and Burma while on tour with Cpl. Herbert Aronsom.
  Energetic Ernie Copeland, welterweight champ of the I-B, showed enough skill to Hank Armstrong to warrant signing him to a contract for post-war bouts. Copeland was seconded by the former triple-champion and proudly wore a new pair of trunks that Armstrong gave him. Copeland, a skillful young battler, was annoyed that we recently commented on a verbal blast from him, saying it made him "look like a wise guy." Buddy, in that ring he's plenty wise and we aren't arguing.

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House Of Representatives Hears
Mansfield Praise G.I.’s In Orient
 By T/Sgt. ARTHUR HEENAN    Roundup Staff Writer

  Rep. Mike Mansfield (R.-Mont.) wants U.S. military personnel in the Orient to know that their work isn't going unrecognized back home.
  The Montana legislator has written to the Roundup, enclosing extracts from the Congressional Record relating to Congressional comment on this Theater and China.
  "You've got a grand bunch out there," wrote Mansfield. "We appreciate what you are doing. Keep it up. I'm proud that I've had the chance to visit your area."
  Mansfield recently toured American installations in India, Burma and China and reported to the House on results of his tour.

TRIP ON ROAD
  He told of a trip along the Ledo Road from the Ledo railhead to Myitkyina. Commenting on the trip, he told his fellow legislators of the accomplishments of U.S. medical personnel along the Road.
  "In visiting the eight hospitals along the Road I found that the work being done in all of them was outstanding. There was one hospital which had no woman nurses and one hospital which would have a complete colored staff of doctors and nurses.
  (The Roundup is now in the process of gathering a story on the operation of this Negro hospital.)

TRIBUTE TO NURSES
  Mansfield paid tribute to the American nurses. "From the experiences of over 400 American nurses along the Road, I found that many of them had been out there one and a half and two years and more, and the remarkable thing to me was how they had been able to sustain their morale and do the fine work they are doing under the difficulties which were, and are, their daily lot."
  Mansfield told how the "QM Corps had developed a system of loading material in a very efficient manner and also a system of dropping stuff into the jungle with little loss."

PRAISES ENGINEERS
  The Congressman then went into further detail on his trip along the Road. "I crossed a number of rivers on pontoon bridges and observed the extremely good work being done by the Engineer battalions, both white and colored, all along the Road."
  Mansfield described the jeep trip from Warazup to Mogaung as "the roughest I have ever made."
  The Congressman said one of the chief complaints he had found both in China and along the Road was "lack of definite rotation policy. The boys feel they are the forgotten men at the end of the line. They resent the secondary status of their area in matters such as priorities and they are fearful of the let-down which will result at home when Germany is defeated."

WHAT MEN WANT
  The Congressman then brought a message from the G.I.'s in the Orient to their people at home. He said: "They wish their folks could be made to understand the viciousness of the enemy they face in the Far East and the amount of time it is going to take to defeat Japan. They are interested in getting a dirty job done and getting home.
  "They want to come home to 'Shangri-La' as they refer to the U.S. and get out of the places they are in

BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL In the Ordnance Section Hq., Air Service Command, everyone knows whose shoulders are bearing the burden of a special job at any given time.  Cpl. P. W. Scheidecke tips off his staff by placing an eight ball before the assignee.  Here Capt. J. E. Carter of Huntington, W. Va., is on the spot.  Behind him the enlisted contingent enjoys the spectacle.  Left to right, T/Sgt. Joseph Nigro, Yonkers; S/Sgt. Clarends Christ, Columbus, O.; WAC Sgt. Naamah Morganstern, Baltimore, and S/Sgt. Joseph Anderson, Oxford, Pa.

just as quickly as they can after the job is finished."
  Mansfield then told his colleagues of the work of the Air Corps in Burma and China.
  "The busiest airfields in the world are at Myitkyina, Chabua, and Kunming. The Myitkyina field was a marvel of efficiency. At Myitkyina there have been as high as 284 transports loaded and unloaded in a day, in addition to fighter and liaison planes coming on and off the field. In one 13-hour stretch there were 556 landings and takeoffs and during October, 1944, 195 transports landed per day."
  The Congressman told of his talk with Maj. Gen. Claire L. Chennault in Kunming. He said the colorful former AVG organizer and present head of the fabulous 14th Air Force said the tactical situation looked bad due to loss of advanced fields but that the overall picture was good and expressed confidence in the Chinese.
  Chennault told Mansfield that he had engaged more than 350,000 Japanese with his 14th Air Force and he hoped to draw in 150,000 more. (From the beginning of publication date back in 1942 the Roundup has told stories of how Chennault's tough airmen have made the roads and rivers of China a death trap for the invader).
  We have included only parts of Mansfield's report in this article. Due to space limitations, we cannot print it all.
  But it does get the point over to you that the Congress of the U.S. knows the work you are doing in the Orient and the conditions you have faced and are facing in doing the job.

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10th Combat Camera Took Meiktila Scenes

  A short time after the seizure of Meiktila, moviegoers in the United States saw vivid pictorial evidence of the taking of the important South Burma airfields there, prize of an airborne landing by the First Air Commandos, and their subsequent consolidation by British 14th Army ground troops.
  These dramatic movies were filmed by the 10th Combat Camera Unit, AAF, which operated in the CBI and later the I-B Theater for close to two years before a security veil was lifted and its presence became publicly recognized.

ACTION NEAR MANDALAY
  Lt. Charles N. Hockman, who recently earned a direct commission from the enlisted ranks, this week related to the Roundup how four members of the organization - Capt. Robert L. Bendick, former Columbia Broadcasting television cameraman; Sgt. John T. Kenney, who was awarded a Bronze Star during the legendary Wingate-Cochran show; and Cpls. Fred Mathison and Kenny Davis - recorded the action below Mandalay which encircled a considerable segment of Jap troops and unlocked the gate to Rangoon.
  "There was particularly rugged fighting at the airstrips," Hockman said. "And our photographers recorded P-47 attacks against the enemy only a couple of hundred yards in front of our own positions. At times like these, you give more that a passing thought to the wish that you were well dug in instead of standing out there in the open, armed with only a camera."

OFFICIAL PRAISE
  According to the lieutenant, the 10th Combat Camera Unit received high commendation from Washington for their vivid presentation of the Meiktila show.
  Some of the realism in the motion picture film Objective, Burma was achieved by the unit. It will be recalled that the Roundup recently published a feature article in which was told the part played by the India-Burma Siganl Corps in contributing to the Errol Flynn dramatization of the exploits of Allied arms in the jungle-infested Orient. Some of the dramatic on-the-spot scenes in the movie were also seen through the lens of the cameras manned by the 10th Combat Camera Unit, according to Hockman.

HOCKMAN DECORATED
  During the Wingate-Cochran operation, Hockman was decorated with a Bronze Star for participating in the defense against a series of Japanese attacks against famous Broadway airstrip, constructed, operated, and defended behind enemy lines in the heart of Burma.
  It was touch and go one week while the lieutenant was filming the action at the airstrip, and there were times when things were so rugged that Hockman was too busy aiming a gun at the Japs to point his camera in their direction.

KENNEY'S CLOSE CALL
  "Kenney, who participated in the Meiktila show, had the closest call at Broadway," said Hockman. "During an enemy air attack, a bomb burst so close to him that it busted up his camera. Miraculously, he was unscathed. For his work, Kenney won the Bronze Star."
  Mission of the 10th Combat Camera Unit is to record Army Air Force activities by movie camera in the India-Burma Theater, supplementing their efforts by still films. The organization is responsible to Washington.
  "You can hardly measure the work of the men in the unit by rank," declared Hickman. "From private to our C.O., all of the men are experienced cameramen, each capable of working by himself no matter where assigned. We have the latest equipment."

THREE MEN LOST
  "We've lost three men in performance of duty - two over The Hump and one over Rangoon.
  "We've been awarded a large number of DFC's, Air medals, and Bronze Stars.
  "We've filmed such activities as the aerial progress of the North Burma campaign, the Wingate-Cochran show, and the recent Meiktila operation, our efforts fanning to every nook and cranny of the Theater. The Wingate-Cochran operation recently depicted in the National Geographic Magazine, a superior job, was the wok of our unit."
  When the interview was concluded, you felt a lot of respect for the 10th Combat Camera Unit.

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			Colonels In ASC Get Promotion To Single Star   HQ., ASC, INDIA - Both West Pointers and thoroughly-schooled in the vital mission of "keeping 'em flying," Cols. Thomas B. McDonald and John C. Gordon have been appointed brigadier generals in the India-Burma Air Service Command under Maj. Gen. T. J. Hanley, Jr.   Gen. McDonald, graduate of the United States Military Academy in 1929, is completing his second year of service in this Theater. SERVICE OVER GLOBE   McDonald's overseas service has carried him to scattered parts of the globe. Prior to his arrival in India, he served in Africa and accomplished a mission in England in early 1943. He served in Hawaii from 1931 to 1934 and received his Air Corps training at Brooks and Kelly Field.   His present duties are as Chief, Maintenance Division of Gen. Hanley's Command, and under his direction, the gigantic overhaul plant for B-29 engines, eliminating this phase of fourth echelon work being accomplished in the United States, was established. GORDON HELPED FORM ASC   Gordon, a West Pointer of '31, has twice been decorated in this was with the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star Medal. He was one of the five officers who shortly after Pearl Harbor devoted himself completely to the formation and activation of the Maintenance Command, later designated as the Air Service Command and know known as the Air Technical Service Command.   A Command Pilot, Combat Observer, and Technical Observer, Gordon, 39, was schooled at Randolph, Kelly, and Maxwell Fields in flying and tactical strategy. He is serving as Chief, Plans and Operations Division of I-B ASC and is responsible for the effective co-ordination of the many bases which keep A.A.F. planes flying.

G.I. DESIGN FOR JEEP OF POSTWAR Left to right are Sgt. Harry Braun, St. Louis, Mo.; S/Sgt. Arthur J. Shonk, Delphi, Ind.; S/Sgt. Leonard Swanek, Ord, Neb.; Sgt. Marc L. Kinney, Denver, Colo.; and S/Sgt. Pershing Pitts, Cook Station, Mo., surrounding the post-war jeep designed and built by these five Ordnance soldiers at a shop along the Stilwell Road.  The salvaged parts of 12 vehicles were used in its construction and the entire job was welded.


STILWELL ROAD ORDNANCE BOYS 
BUILD SUPER-JEEP FOR POSTWAR 
By SGT. C. M. BUCHANAN   Roundup Field Correspondent
  ALONG STILWELL ROAD - Five fellows with an Ordnance outfit in the weeds of Assam decided they had heard enough about ambitious post-war plans of Detroit car designers. These resourceful G.I.'s determined to introduce their own post-war model now - when it will do some good in beating off monsoon rains and smoothing out rutted jungle roads.
  It all started when the jungle wallahs, S/Sgt Pershing Pitts, Cook Station, Mo., S/Sgt. Arthur J. Shonk, Delphi, Indiana, S/Sgt. Leonard Swanek, Ord, Neb., Sgt. Harry Braun, St. Louis, Mo., and Sgt. Marc L. Kinney, Denver, Colorado had an idea for a motor propelled bicycle. After one or two preliminary stabs in the field of two wheeled vehicles, they revised their plans along more ambitious lines.
  Why not design and build a super-duper car, streamlined, full of pep and above all comfortable? "Let's make a post-war jeep that will turn Stateside car manufacturers green with envy," the mechanical quintet added.

PARTS ASSEMBLED
  For days they assembled parts from salvaged vehicles, line up the tools and material they'd need and poured over hastily worked out blue prints. Then followed three weeks intensive night work. Evening chow was bolted down and the five grease-covered, motor designers hammered, assembled, welded, sanded and painted their masterpiece until "lights out" made them quit.
  The finished product is a smart, sporty job with an outward appearance that defies comparison with existing models. The motor is a standard jeep power unit, but the regular jeep chassis was lengthened two feet to accommodate the heterogeneous body. Hood and fenders are from a 1942 V-8 Ford, the doors of 1940 vintage. The top is tin sheet, neatly tailored to fit the sleek body lines.

NEW NOTE
  Windshield and steering wheel were contributed by a 3-ton Canadian Dodge dump truck, rear window from a GMC cab job and front seat from a recon car. A Dodge and Ford supplied the modernistic instrument panel. Shock absorbers are GMC dump hoist springs. A new note in convenience and simplicity was introduced when the starter button, snared from an old Bren Gun carrier, was mounted midway on the left pillar within easy hand reach of the driver.
  The fellows modestly hinted that while other GI automobiles of the future have been built, they are rather hodge podge and lack the stamina, smart appearance and practicability of their own product. The entire car shouts modernity. It is of all welded construction - out of necessity the boys admitted, but a remarkably sturdy automobile has resulted. The propeller shaft required lengthening, so this was done by welding another piece to the old shaft.
  All told about a dozen different vehicles and pieces of equipment went into the post-war automotive marvel. "We even used a couple of air compressor parts," S/Sgt Leonard Swanek confided.
  After overcoming all mechanical obstacles, the G.I. automakers have run into an even more formidable difficulty. So far they haven't been able to obtain permission to "road test" their 1947 model on the famous Ledo Road. All proving ground tests have been confined to their extensive area with muddy, rutted roads. "If General Pick could just see this job," the fellows confidently remarked, "we're sure he'd be proud to have it on the highway."

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SULLIVAN’S SNACK BAR OPERATES FIVE MILES UP

  XX BOMBER COMMAND BASE, INDIA - Sullivan's Snack Shack, specializing in home made ice cream, fruit salad, and turkey sandwiches, is currently operating five miles up in the air over Jap-held territory.
  The Snack Shack is housed in Capt. Dennis J. Sullivan's Super-Fortress "800" of the Hellbird Group, XX Bomber Command. This huge B-29 can frequently be seen (by the Japs) soaring over Singapore and surrounding neighborhoods.
  In fact, it was while returning from a Singapore raid recently, with inner-cabin temperatures touching 90 degrees, that Sullivan had a sudden craving for ice cream "like mother used to make." His crew agreed that a cold dish of ice cream would be a perfect way to wind up a blast at the Japs.
  Back at base, Sullivan "acquired" an ice cream freezer, though hardly through official channels. With this safely aboard "800," he then appointed radio operator S/Sgt. Fred A. Hardy as ice cream project officer. Hardy's only "qualifications" were that he once worked for the Connecticut Power & Light Co., his hobby was taxidermy, and his name sounded something like "Fred Harvey," famed railroad restaurateur.
  Hardy "acquired" the necessary ingredients, wrapped a sack of ice in a blanket and when Snack Shack paid another visit to Singapore, dropped its bombs and headed for home, the radio operator's voice came over the inter-phone: "How about some ice cream?"
  On the next mission, Hardy added fruit salad and turkey sandwiches to the menu, for which he has been awarded the Edible Air Medal with Candy-Coated Cluster.
  And there is a rumor, though not confirmed by Snack Shack management, that the menu will include pie a la mode.

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OWL SHOW Capt. Pete Cummings, flight surgeon of the Tornado squadron, 12th Bomb Group, sets an owls broken leg, as Pfc. M. J. McCabe and Capt. J. W. Putnam hold the patient.

Wise Old Bird Gets First Aid

  HQ., 12TH BOMB GROUP, INDIA - With no one to sweat him in, a wise old owl, his landing gear unserviceable, recently made a successful crash landing at this bomber base, ending up in the basha of Pfc. M. J. McCabe, ground crewman of the Tornado Squadron, 12th Bomb Group, to whom the bird displayed a seriously injured leg.
  Having got the bird, McCabe took same to the squadron dispensary where the flight surgeon, Capt. Pete Cummings, rendered a diagnosis - oblique fracture of the femur of the right leg. Ether was administered to the owl to make it easier on all concerned, and McCabe and Capt. J. W. Putnam, intelligence officer, held the patient while Cummings operated. Capt. R. H. Hebner, engineering officer, served as anesthetist.
  The surgeon first sterilized the skin, then made an incision longitudinally along the axis of the medial surface of the femur; the muscles were separated to expose the fracture, which was reduced and set in place with brass wire. After sulfanilamide treatment to prevent infection, loose stitches were applied to approximate the skin edges, and the leg immobilized with tongue depressor splints.
  The operation on the owl, subsequently named :Migraine," was successful, although tragedy nearly rendered the task futile in the late stages as a result of an overdose of ether. Prompt artificial respiration breathing, however, and the latest bulletin on the bird's condition is "condition good."

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B-29 Radio Officer Sees Singapore Disappear Into Air

  A XX BOMBER BASE, INDIA - The navigator who called calmly over the interphone to ask for certain information received as an answer, "Hell, I couldn't piece these maps together if I wanted to."
  The answer came from Lt. Harold Vicory of Greenleaf, Kans., 23-year-old radio officer aboard a B-29 Super-Fortress who fortunately was not working with his legs crossed during a mission over Jap-occupied Singapore.
  "Enemy fir was very thick," said Vicory. "The Japs were really peppering us. I was at my desk with a packet of maps and charts when gunfire pierced the belly of the plane, zipped right between my legs, up through the top of the desk, through the maps, and shot out the top of the plane. It all happened pretty fast."
  After he had collected his wits, Vicory examined his maps to discover that the Malay Peninsula had disappeared in thin air.
  "They wiped themselves off the map and didn't know it," he exclaimed. "And just about that time, the navigator called back and wanted me to give him some information."

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Armed Forces’ Radio Stations Bring American Programs To I-B

Gene Kelly broadcasts over WOTO while playing first base.

Doing Great Morale Job
 Roundup Staff Article

  BHAMO - Our G.I. radio stations in this Theater are doing an exceedingly professional job. In Delhi, Calcutta, Kandy, Bangalore, Ramgarh, Agra, Ledo, Shingbwiyang, Tezpur, Jorhat, Gaya, Chabua, Karachi, Myitkyina and Bhamo, American air waves are carrying American programs to American troops.
  According to broadcasting experts with whom I have talked, at least three of these stations could prosper in the States as commercial enterprises on the basis of their entertainment value. One of them is our most forward station, WOTO, in the heart of North Burma.

MOVES WITH TROOPS
  The studio of Station Wings Over The Orient in Bhamo is operated by a handful of enlisted men of the 10th Air Force in an octagonal Signal Corps hut. The little building is only 18 feet in diameter; it can be set up within two days and torn down in one. When the troops move forward, the station goes with them. WOTO is only three months old but the little station has seen more celebrities than many a contemporary in the States.
  Lt. Gen. Dan I. Sultan, Lord Louis Mountbatten, Maj. Gen. Howard C. Davidson, Lily Pons, Andre Kostelanetz, Maj. Melvyn Douglas just to name a few, have either visited or broadcast over WOTO. Lily Pons, for instance, sang Estrellita and Ave Maria through WOTO to the men at the front. At that time the front wasn't far from Bhamo. Melvyn Douglas read from the Gettysburg Address.

KELLY AT MIKE
  The star of the station is S/Sgt. Gene Kelly. He is the comic manager, chief commentator, sportscaster, announcer, and scriptwriter all rolled into one. Kelly, who talks like Gabriel Heater (but by far not as hammy) is called The Wheel of WOTO on account of his six foot, seven inch stature. Kelly is over the Army height for induction and his Irish boils when people ask him, "Why the hell did you get in?"
  One of Kelly's most unorthodox stunts was broadcasting a baseball game while actually playing in the game. Gene had a regular switchboard breast plate around his neck. A very long filed wire, attached to a remote speech amplifier gave him freedom of movement.

PLAYS BROADCASTS
  The game was between the Rotation Ramblers and the Burma Bums. Kelly was playing first base for the Ramblers. The experiment, possibly the first in the history of baseball, was a red-letter day for Bhamo's sports fans. There was only one occasion when Kelly had to have his assistant take over. That was after a long hit, which involved running from home plate to third base. Then he had to catch his breath.
  Such experiments are typical of Station WOTO. Kelly and his gang are trying and succeeding in being original and highly professional. They try to take the edge off hot, tropical nights with their programs and from first hand experience I can say they are doing just that. The phone rings from six in the morning to midnight and the usual question is, "What is the time?"

PLENTY PHONE CALLS
  Other phone calls turn in local basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball scores and scoops on the fighting front. WOTO commands enthusiastic volunteers who either monitor foreign language broadcasts or hang out in their spare time around the Public Relations Offices of the various outfits.
  One of the WOTO original programs is Wot-Open House an unrehearsed amateur show every Saturday night. As nearly every G.I. has the radio bug, the studio on this particular night draws them like a magnet. Lately a fellow up for court martial for chronic kleptomania came to the studio to plead his innocence. When he left the studio it became poorer by pinups, tools, and electrical equipment.
  Finally, a few words about the personnel. Sgt. L. C. Desuardins, brother of the famous Olympic diving star, was in charge of setting up the station. While Kelly prepared the news and sports departments, his eager deputy, Sgt. Jack St. John, took care of the musical features.
  S/Sgt James A. Gogarty handles the transmitter. And let's not forget Kelly's other helpers: T/Sgt. Al Maggio, in civilian life a Morse telegrapher, who works until 3 a.m.; Sgt. Eddie Zachariah, the gentle Syrian who looks like a prize fighter; Sgt. Mickey Fedor, who composed for the station an original 10th Air Force song.

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ASSAM INTERCEPTION WINS 80TH CITATION

  HQ., EASTERN AIR COMMAND - The 80th Fighter Group of the Tenth Air Force has been awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for the "alertness, courage and skill" shown by its pilots when they shot down all but one of a formation of 15 Jap bombers and 25 fighters attempting to raid the Assam oil refineries on March 27, 1944, it was announced this week by Lt. Gen. Dan I. Sultan, Theater commander.
  Long famed as the "Burma Banshees," the group, now commanded by Col. Sidney D. Grubbs of San Antonio, Tex., is the oldest USAAF fighter unit in the Theater. Originally equipped with obsolescent P-40's, 80th pilots have shot down 58 Japanese planes, with three probably destroyed and 27 damaged; and also destroyed eight on the ground, with six probables. Lt. Eugene Hammer of Neal, Kans., with five Japs to his credit, three of them in one day, is leading pilot of the group.
  Group personnel have won a Legion of Merit, 10 Silver Stars, 210 DFC's, 357 Air Medals, 21 Purple Hearts and eight Soldier's Medals. Only one pilot has been lost to enemy aircraft.
  Since February, 1943, the 80th has worked as "flying artillery" with Allied ground drives in Burma, hitting targets only 30 yards in front of American positions during the Myitkyina siege. Ground personnel on the captured airstrip there could see the bombs and ammunition they had loaded on the fighters being used against the enemy.
  Lately the group has turned its attention to Jap bridges in Burma, knocking out a total of 177 by dive-bombing, glide bombing and a new technique of their own called "buzz bombing."
  Concludes the citation, speaking of the March 27 interception, "The exceptional bravery, audacity and flying skill of the pilots of the 80th Fighter Group, together with the superior maintenance and services provided by the ground personnel, made this outstanding action possible and reflects credit in the highest degree upon military forces of the United States."

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By SGT. CHARLES W. CLARK Roundup Staff Writer   Sgt. John R. McDowell, Roundup's ole reliable in the Ledo area, comes through with another snake story (no column's complete without one). Seems there were four officers playing a friendly game of poker in a dimly-lit tent, all the while taking liberal slugs at their jungle ration. Hours later, with the foursome filled to the larynx, a python (It's always a python, never a common garter snake) slithered into the tent, completely ignoring the For Officers Only door mat. Naturally, the officers took offense at this brazen breach of military courtesy, hastily kicked the python outside, and resumed their card-playing. The snake, shaken but not discouraged, re-slithered into the tent with fangs bared for business.   At this point, says John R., the officers rose, unsheathed their jungle knives and with shouts of "Death to the invader!" proceeded to carve the pesky python into small chunks.   As mascots, dogs, birds, tiger and bear cubs, and monkeys leave Pfc. Oscar Paulson cold. To him "man's best friend is an otter," and so he's acquired same for a pet. Paulson, member of an ATC outfit in Assam, says Otto (the otter) has only one fault. "He won't eat anything but fish," reports Paulson. "If I could only wean him to something more easily procurable . . . something like Spam, for instance."   Nurse Lt. Stephanie Louise Kordeck and Capt. Orr Y. Portebnya were married in North Burma recently, culminating a two-year courtship that began in Ramgarh, India. After a short honeymoon in Kashmir, writes our society reporter Sgt. Arthur J. Goldstein, the newlyweds, both 28-month veterans of the I-B Theater, will go to the States on rotation.   It's a dangerous thing to do, but the 1328 AAF BU up in Assam has gone out on a limb with a couple of claims to glory. One concerns Capt. Victor (Pop) Henly, who has completed his "tour of duty" and rotated home. At the age of 41, Henly is believed (by the 1328th) to be the "oldest or one of the oldest pilots in the India China Division, ATC." The second assertion is based on the laudable achievement of Lt. Robert DeHart, who, at the tender age of 20, has also completed his "tour of duty" and is now awaiting orders to go home. The 1328th contends DeHart is the "youngest or one of the youngest pilots in the Theater" to finish required missions.   Winding up a 45-day home leave, Capt. Alfred T. McHugh, adjutant of ADMAC in New Delhi was spending a delightful afternoon in Miami, strolling about the beach with his wife and getting a sun tan. Deciding that this outing should be put down on film. McHugh offered his camera to a passerby, an elderly, nondescript individual wearing a bathing suit, and asked if he would mind taking their picture. The stranger grunted that he did mind. McHugh insisted in tones polite but firm. The old boy finally agreed, snapped about nine pictures and waddled away. Then a friend of McHugh's rushed up blurting off the information that their "photographer" was none other than Maj. Gen. Bluurp. McHugh caught the next plane.

RUBIES ARE RED

It's a ruby bright of the brightest red
For all the world to see;
It couldn't be white, it couldn't be blue,
And it's set in a sapphire sea.
It's volcanic ash has been brought to life
With the blood of dying men
No ground more sacred foot for foot
Except Jerusalem.
The age of chivalry is gone?
And all the knights are dead?
Then, stranger, tell me why it is
That Iwo Jima's red.
I'll answer you - you seem to pause -
They're the bravest of the brave
Before or since Pierre Bayard
Broke sword with knight or knave.
These boys, good friend, and boys they were,
Before they lived were dead.
Their warm young blood is the answer, sir,
Why Iwo Jima's red.
There's not a stone set in the sea
Of value half as much.
The Third and Fourth and Fifth Marines
Have paid to make it such.
So when the bard creates his lines
And the artist paints his scenes
Of the highest chivalry of man,
You'll see U.S. Marines.
- WILLIAM S. BOWDERN, Chaplain, APO 885.

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334 WAC’S SERVE
IN INDIA, CEYLON

  WASHINGTON - (UP) - The War Department announced this week that 15,546 WAC's of the Corps' total strength of 94,000 are serving overseas, including 334 in India and Ceylon.
  Other distribution includes, European Theater - 7,030; Southwest Pacific, including Australia, New Guinea, Dutch East Indies and Philippines - 5,255; Italy - 1,612; Guam and Hawaii - 206; Africa and Egypt - 596; Alaska - 103; and Bermuda, Labrador and British Columbia - 394.

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Shipping Dearth May Delay Wife Transit Home

  The Roundup has received several queries concerning an Army News Service story that appeared in our columns and in Yank announcing that the Army would provide transportation home for wives whom soldiers married overseas.
  We have had no amplification of the story, except a later statement from Army News Service that it might take between one and two years to get the wives back to the States. Transportation for wives is, of course, dependent on the shipping facilities.
  Transportation for dependents is found in Circular Number 18, outlining Theater marriage policy. The applicable part reads as follows:
  "Transportation for dependents will be provided only when in the opinion of the Theater commander, the facts justify it, the military situation and other factors permit, and only in accordance with law and Army Regulations. Attention must be emphatically directed to the shortage of shipping facilities for dependents and that such shortage may continue indefinitely."

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GERMAN MISSIONARIES RESCUE 14TH AF PILOT

  KUNMING - Four German missionaries who pursued their work in remote Chinese villages throughout the war saved the life of Lt. James Heitkotter of Mountain View, Calif., a 14th Air Force pilot, when he had to bail out over a treacherous Red River gorge in Southern Yunnan.
  Heitkotter was returning from a sweep over the Gulf of Tonkin after dark when his P-38 sputtered. As he left the plane his leg was slashed by the tailboom. It was laid open to the bone, but, nevertheless, he managed to open his parachute. He landed on a mountain slope where all night he lay in agony, saving his morphine until midnight.
  Chinese peasants brought word of his accident to two German missionaries, a man and his wife. The Germans, whose home is Munich, found Heitkotter after an all-night search, carried him to their home, and relayed word through the German Sisters to two missionaries further on, who in turn telegraphed 14th Air Force Headquarters.
  When an engineering and a medical Captain arrived at the remote mission six days later, they found two "enemy aliens" personally tending Heitkotter 24 hours daily, administering their scanty supply of drugs, and applying hot and cold compresses. Heitkotter, weak from loss of blood, could not walk out.

BUILD CUB STRIP
  So the German missionary and 150 students from his school spent five days building an L-5 Cub landing strip on the bank of the Red River.
  The medical officer said, "On the sixth day, when the Cub planes finally found their way in through the clouds and lifted us out we felt like leaving people that we had known all our lives. I don't suppose they were real Germans - they had been away from Germany most of their lives. Their only interest seemed to be working with the Chinese, among whom they had built up their church, and they were hardly kept posted on the war in Europe."

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JAPS MAY NOT FIGHT IN RANGOON AREA
Roundup Staff Article

  The end of the war in Burma was seen drawing near as the British 14th Army drove within 36 miles of Rangoon, with reconnaissance reports not revealing any major defense works at the city, termed by Associated Press of India, "an indication of the absence of intention to fight for the capital."
  The Associated press said the Nips had been observed evacuating Rangoon by land and sea.
  In the swiftest advance of the entire Burma campaign, armored spearheads of the 14th plunged 64 miles in one day this week.
  The units moved along the Mandalay-Rangoon Railroad against only light opposition. They were aided by guerilla forces, which were among and all around the Nip defenders.
  U.S. B-25's blasted Jap positions around Pegu, 42 miles northwest of Rangoon and fires were reported blazing in the Rangoon area following other B-25 raids.
  On the west flank of the main drive, other 14th Army troops moved through the rich oil fields region to within nine miles of Thayetmyo on the west bank of the Irrawaddy River.

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NEW STORY ANGLE

  EASTERN INDIA AIR DEPOT - Last week's Roundup feature wishing for new story angles in the Theater got a prompt response this week from the editors of India Ink, Army weekly here.
  In a letter to the Theater fishwrapper, they detailed the unique story of a little orphaned leopard cub, adopted by rug-conscious G.I.'s of the base after its mother was shot.
  "But," said the India Ink wallas, "dis we send you pictures of ye stalwart hunter with foot on head of spotted beast? Were you snowed under with stuff about glittering green eyes in the jungle black? No. We waited."
  And the cub, contrary to the standard story formula, did not prosper and wax fat. He sulked and waned. Refused his eyedroppersful of canned milk. Then, a really new angle. His owners made a John Steinbeck arrangement with their bearer's wife, newly a mother, for the cub's nourishment. Still no good.
  Now there will never be a Roundup story of the faithful pet awakening the troops by night to find the basha in flames. Nor will some 1950 Clyde Beatty stick his head in the leopard's mouth for the bored press. Not this beast. The damned thing just died.

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TO GREENER CORNFIELDS

Roundup Staff Moves With Full Field Gear By S/SGT. KARL PETERSON    Roundup Staff Writer
  The Roundup moved this week and we all feel much better. As a result of a secret agreement reached at the Yalta conference, the staff of the fishwrapper was transferred more or less intact from Theater headquarters to SOS, and this week's issue is published on the run as our editorial offices make the trek from Delhi's Queensway Pentagon to the gloomy vastnesses of Canning Road barracks.
  No change in policy is comprehended in this little administrative detail, however, and personnel in literature-starved areas where the Roundup is read will continue to get the same scintillating collection of gagged-up news, misspelled names and pictures of Hollywood gals extraordinarily gifted by Nature. (Plus, of course, photos of some new generals - guess we know which side our hardtack is oleo-margarined on.)

ZERO HOUR
  "This is it," said the editor in a tense voice, and in the ensuing silence one could hear the ticking of his shockproof, Swiss-made turnip as the hands crept slowly round to Zero hour. Then it was over the top and the staff stoutly attacked a two-and-a-half-year accumulation of gummed-up typewriters, dilapidated furniture and waster paper, throwing same out the office window to be loaded by coolies onto a waiting truck. An early hitch developed when we began heaving out back issues of the Roundup, the coolies would look at these, shake their heads sadly and throw them back in, but a truce was soon arranged.
  Corners of the editorial sanctum untouched for years were searched. Behind the picture file cabinet, beneath a mixed pile of cheesecake art and back issues of the Christian Science Monitor, we found an old grey-bearded bhisti who claimed he had been left over when the Tenth Air Force left town and wanted to know where his per diem was.
  The business manager stood by, with crayon and foolscap, making a careful inventory of the goods, which included the following items:
  1 M.P.'s billy club
  1 Indian clay water jug (broken)
  1 battered campaign hat, with issue black necktie tied around it in a memorial bow.
  1 autographed pinup picture from well-known Hollywood star, airbrushed, to remove chubbiness.
  1 portable typewrite case (empty)
  1 bottle of Bromo-Seltzer
  1 Wright & Ditson No. 6 iron.
  104 "Super-Comics" books and one issue of Fortune.
  3 empty paste pots and a broken pair of shears.
  ½ can of peanuts.
  1 catcher's mitt.
  1 moth-eaten helmet liner.
  1 complete file of the Floresville, Tex., Herald-Chronicle.
  1 map of Tunisia, showing battle lines on April 18, 1943.
  478 pictures of Jinx Falkenburg.
  2 coke bottles.
  1 well-thumbed Thesaurus and a slightly-used dictionary.
  1 sheath knife with case.
  45 pipe cleaners.
  1 dribble glass, courtesy Boffo Novelty Co.
  1 copy of The Philosophy of Immanuel Kant.
  1 used second class ticket on the East Indian railroad from Howrah to Moghul Sarai.
  When the last busted chair had been thrown aboard, the Roundup crew piled on top like Ganges pilgrims atop a loaded bullock cart, and the truck rolled slowly off. The longtime offices of the weekly shelf-liner were left to their emptiness, ghosts of traditions, wall lizards, and the dirt pushed under the rug every morning by our faithful sweeper, who has written his last guest column for us.

NEAR LATRINE
  The new corncrib proved to be a deserted, second-floor sleeping bay, where the Roundup, in a burst of truth revealed, was installed just outside the latrine. There was trouble at first, when the local coolies, after checking our orders, insisted they were Signal Corps coolies and not authorized to unload our goods, but a requisition for SOS coolies was expedited and pushed through channels, and we had beaten The System.
  Amid scenes of that familiar chattering confusion these husky henchmen, 18 or 20 to a desk, carefully spotted each staff members behind a pillar or in a dark, unventilated corner, and the wheels soon began to turn. A glance out the window proved the adjacent bays were still used for quartering troops, so blinders have been requested for the female help around the office, whose modesty must be considered.
  From all these operations, one of our society editors is missing, but is believed to have arrived safely in friendly territory.

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The Roundup is a weekly newspaper of the United States Forces, published by and for the men in Burma and India, from news and pictures supplied by staff members, soldier correspondents, Army News Service and United Press. The Roundup is published Thursday of each week and is printed by The Statesman in New Delhi and Calcutta, India. Editorial matter should be sent directly to Capt. Floyd Walter, Hq., S.O.S., I.B.T., APO 885, New York, N.Y., and should arrive not later than Saturday in order to make that week's issue. Pictures must arrive by Friday and must be negatives or enlargements. Stories should contain full name and organization of sender. Complaints about circulation should be sent directly to Lt. Sidney R. Rose, Hq., S.O.S., I.B.T., APO 885, New York, N.Y. Units on the mailing list should make notification of any major change in personnel strength or any change of APO.

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MAY  3,  1945    

Adapted from the original issue of India-Burma Theater Roundup shared by Linda James

Copyright © 2009 Carl Warren Weidenburner






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