IBT Roundup - July 26, 1945 - China-Burma-India Theater of World War II

Vol. III No. 47. Delhi, Thursday, July 26, 1945. Reg. No. L5015

USED TO TONGA LOS ANIMOS, COL. - The retreat from Burma that War Correspondent Darrell Berrigan beat in 1942 with Uncle Joe Stilwell was a slow, arduous task, so Berrigan decided to make up for it in 1945 by a speedy advance across America in one of the former CBI commander's prime possessions.
Berrigan was arrested by a policeman here last week for going through town at 70 miles an hour. Investigation revealed that the car belonged to Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell and was being driven to the West Coast.
Groaned Berrigan shelling out Rs. 31 As. 14 for a fine, "I took a helluva beating. But after the war I'll be back with my own car."

GEN. MERRILL LEAVES I-B FOR NEW ASSIGNMENT Roundup Staff Article Maj. Gen. Frank D. Merrill has left his post as India-Burma Deputy Commander for an "undisclosed and important assignment," it was announced by Theater headquarters this week. No mention was made either as to his destination or successor in command.

Merrill

Merrill has been Deputy Commander since Dec. 8, 1944, first under Lt. Gen. Dan I. Sultan, then under Lt. Gen. R. A. Wheeler.
Leader of the first American ground forces to fight against the Japs on the continent of Asia, the Marauder chieftain came up from the ranks. He enlisted in the Engineers and was pulled out of the ranks in Panama to attend West Point where he graduated in 1929.
When he was selected by Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell to command the Marauders he became one of the youngest ground combat leaders in the U.S. Army.
During the North Burma campaign, Merrill led his troops in their 800-mile trek from Ledo, Assam to Myitkyina, Burma, over some of the worst terrain in the world.
Following the fall of Myitkyina, Merrill headed the CBI Liaison Group at Kandy SEAC Headquarters. He returned to the U.S. on a special mission and on Sept. 5, 1944, was promoted to his present rank of major general.

OUTDOOR GIRL

Cathy Downs, Hollywood starlet, has been selected the outstanding outdoor girl of California for 1945. Cathy, who fills a bathing suit in the right places, stands five feet, six inches and weighs 122 pounds.

Merrill returned to the CBI on September 30 of the same year. He served under Stilwell until after the split of the CBI into two Theaters when Sultan made him I-B Deputy.
Merrill was formerly intelligence officer for MacArthur in the Philippines, but was on a mission to Rangoon on Pearl Harbor Day. He acted as Stilwell's liaison officer on the British front, after the arrival of Uncle Joe's mission to organize the CBI. He retreated from Burma with Stilwell in 1942.

A fair minded man and a good friend of the enlisted man departed this Theater. He asked us to pass along the following message of au revoir.
"There are so many people in the Theater that I should write and say goodbye that if I ever started I would not finish before the war is over. Anyway, I leave it with a sense of regret that many friends are being left here to sweat it out.
"To all the numerous people who did the work for which I may have received credit, I extend my thanks for what they have done. There are a great bunch of men in India-Burma who have worked without brass bands playing to get the impossible done.
"Particularly to the G.I.'s of the Theater - from the sergeant of the 45th Engineers who showed me how a sawmill could be operated from nothing to the M.P. sergeant in Delhi who arrested me for having my cap on the side of my head - I am saying goodbye with regret." - Frank D. Merrill, Maj. Gen., U.S.A.

WILL RESIGN

LT. COL. SEAGRAVE

Seagrave Plans
To Leave Army

By SGT. JOHN McDOWELL
Roundup Staff Writer
NAMKHAM, BURMA - Lt. Col. Gordon S. Seagrave, famed "Burma Surgeon" now in the United States on six-week leave, will resign his commission in the United States Army upon his return to Burma and take over the job of administrator for civilian hospitals in the Shan States, under the British Army.
This was revealed to me by Dr. Grace Seagrave, sister of the longtime Burma mission doctor, who declared this week that the United States Army had offered Seagrave's unit an Army hospital in China, but he had turned it down, feeling that his people in newly liberated North Burma needed him more.

1942 RETREAT
Seagrave and his Burmese nurses retreated from Burma with Stilwell when the Japs swept up from Rangoon in 1941. After being commissioned as a U.S. officer, Seagrave, son of American missionary parents, who had lived most of his life in Burma's jungles, took charge of the hospital at Ramgarh.
After Myitkyina, Seagrave followed the Chinese on into Central Burma, reaching the big stone hospital he had set up in Namkham in 1921 on Jan. 20, 1945.
Today, an American Army field hospital is set up in one portion of Seagrave's Namkham hospital, handling G.I., Chinese and Kachin Ranger patients. The other section of the Namkham hospital, now under the supervision of Seagrave's sister, handles patients from the nearby Shan and Kachin villages.

HOSPITAL SCHOOL
Also incorporated into Seagrave's hospital today is a school for Shan and Kachin children, with 225 students studying under Burmese teachers. Besides the unit at Namkham, Seagrave now has set up other hospitals at Hsipaw, Kutkai and Lashio.
His sister, who bears a strong resemblance to the little doctor, declared Seagrave is now attending to matters concerning the publishing of his sequel to the best-selling Burma Surgeon. This new book, which Seagrave, despite dissenting votes for his publishers, wants to title Burma Refugee, will tell of his experiences in returning to Burma.

Ed Gets Careless Again
Roundup Staff Article

After New York night club writer Ed Sullivan had accused ETO daily Stars and Stripes of popping off like a high school in allegedly rebuking Gen. George Patton for even mentioning a next war, the Army paper answered as follows:
"We could not feel outraged over the pin-prick of a minor Broadway columnist. One does not hunt rabbits with an elephant gun and one does not turn the full force of a major military newspaper against a night club journalist."
Stars and Stripes also pointed out they had never rebuked Patton, but that the article in question was received from one of their readers and printed in the letter column.
Careless reporter Sullivan also rebuked the Roundup several months ago for daring to infer all Hollywood characters were not perfect. Can't night club wallah Sullivan dig up any more bistro proprietors moaning about how much they lost on the curfew to fill his space, or does he enjoy taking potshots at overseas Service publications from the safety of his cushy Manhattan office?

Senate Probes Chennault Story
Roundup Staff Article

As the Senate Military Affairs Committee started closed hearings this week in Washington to find out what was behind the resignation of Maj. Gen. C. L. Chennault as commander of the 14th USAAF in China, Under-secretary of War Robert Patterson reportedly denied that the AVG founder had been "eased out" because of opposition from Chinese Communist quarters.
Army News Service stated that Patterson also reportedly told the committee that purely military reasons dictated the command changes in China preceding the resignation of Chennault. Army News Service also stated that "Patterson allegedly remarked that while Chennault was recognized as an expert tactical commander it was believed that Gen Stratemeyer was more capable of handling the logistics of the combined forces."

SHOVED AROUND
United Press wrote from Washington that many members of the Senate Committee expressed the feeling that Chennault may have been the victim of injustice. UP quoted one member as saying he believed Chennault "had been shoved around by Army brass hats."
Committee members said they wished to get the investigation underway before Chennault's reported retirement from the Army could become effective. Chairman Elbert Thomas (D-Utah) stated Chennault would be called before the committee as soon as he returns to Washington.

STRAT IN CHINA
In the meantime, it was reported from Chungking that Lt. Gen. George E. Stratemeyer had arrived to assume command of the USAAF in China.
Stratemeyer's post as AAF head in India-Burma has been taken over by Maj. Gen. T. J. Hanley, Jr., who will retain his ASC command. Hastings Mill will act as headquarters for both commands.
Heading the principle divisions of Hanley's staff will be Brig. Gen. John C. Gordon as Chief of Plans and Operations; Brig. Gen. Thomas B. McDonald as chief of maintenance; Col. Donald L. Hardy as chief of Supply; Col. Tracy Davis as chief of Personnel and Training; Col. D. D. Fitzgerald remains as Chief of Staff.

PASS THE AMMO After Fred "The Man" Friendly concluded one of his orientation lectures on the ETO at a forward base in I-B, he was congratulated by International News Correspondent Bob Considine.
Friendly shyly confessed he hadn't been able to go all out because Theater Chaplain Col. E. L. Trett was in the audience. "You know that Chaplain tried to ban cheesecake from the Roundup," he told Considine. "Boy, how he hates cheesecake."
"And he still hates it, sergeant," came back the voice of Chaplain Trett, who had been standing 10 feet away. Then the Chaplain turned to the G.I.'s in the audience, who were still crowded around, and asked, "You don't like cheesecake either, do you, boys?"
Came back the answer, "We sure do, Chaplain."

STRICTLY G.I. By Ehret

Shome dirty shon-of-a-gun shawed my bed in half.

Chinese Forces
Encircle Japs
At Kweilin
Roundup Staff Article

As Chinese forces advanced in an encircling drive on the former 14th USAAF base at Kweilin in Kwangsi Province, other Chungking troops fought to blunt a Japanese drive that was described as an attempt to seal the southeast coast against possible landings.
Kweilin was described as almost completely surrounded by the Chinese. The Chinese claimed to have six columns converging on the city at distances from 10 to 30 miles.
But on the so-called invasion coast the Japanese admittedly had made a 45-mile breakthrough opposite Formosa. The enemy advance started from a point midway between Amoy and Swatow, their chief strongholds between Hongkong and Chekiang Province into Kwantung and finally into Chaon, which was later re-claimed by the Chinese.

COAST UNDER SIEGE
In the tangled battling along the coastal areas, Amoy and Swatow were both described as being under siege by the Chinese. Swatow's garrison was under attack by planes from the 13th USAAF. Planes of the 13th were also described as joining with Navy aircraft in operations off Hongkong, which itself was heavily bombed during the week by Pacific-based USAAF planes.
In Burma, the British concentrated on the enemy defenses at the junction of the Pegu-Sittang Canals. The Japs were reported strongly dug in near Myitkyo.

USO ISSUE AGAIN
Dear Roundup: I have a faint memory of a controversy which waged in the not-too-distant past between the Roundup and the newspapers in the States about the type of U.S.O. camp shows that were being sent to the C.B.I. The immediate issue at that time was the Ann Sheridan show which made a fast entrance and exit in the C.B.I. without playing to the bulk of the men.
Personally, I feel it's about time to raise the issue again. It's been nine or 10 months since the matter came to a head, and yet we've seen little or no improvement in the situation. I've been at a base, which incidentally is a fairly large one, for nine months now and during this period we've had one "name" show, i.e. the Pat O'Brien-Jinx Falkenburg show, and six or seven mediocre second-rate USO camp shows.
When the Roundup published its blast, the Hollywood commandos waxed furious that anybody should cast a slur upon the fair reputation of American show people. They resented the audacity of the ungrateful yokels from the wilds of Asia who dared to raise their voices to demand they be given fair treatment in this matter of USO entertainment. Some "name" personalities promised to show us that they would make the CBI one of their ports of call.
The big question on my mind is: "Where are the big name shows - The Jack Bennys, Bob Hopes, etc., who promised to prove to us Hinterlanders that they could and would come to the CBI?" I haven't noticed any big publicity spreads in the newspapers from home that any of these people were departing for the CBI to "do their all for the boys."
I've been fond of vaudeville all of my life and have seen many of the best acts in the business at the various theaters in New York. In my humble opinion the caliber of the USO shows sent to this theater are definitely Class B. We're seeing second-rate vaudeville with a first-rate build-up. No matter how you slice it we're still being fed pretty poor baloney.
I'm not trying to detract in any way from the hard work and good will shown by the hoofers who have played here in the sticks. However, hard work is not enough since we have many men here who work hard all the time. They only appreciate hard work in others when it fulfills its purpose. In this case, the work on the part of the hoofers lacks artistry.
The incident that prompted this letter was a show that played here last night called Canteen Caravan. It was a G.I. Special Service entertainment and was by far the best show to serve these parts. If the Army can organize such grand shows why can't the USO do the same? I'll admit they don't have the drafted talent that the Army has at its disposal.
The best shows to hit this section during the past year have been G.I. shows. Some of them were formed locally, while others, like Canteen Caravan, were assembled in the States. It's a sad commentary on the quality of the USO shows when I can truthfully make a statement like this.
I sincerely feel somebody should get this matter straight for the record and, of course, the Roundup can do it. These are my personal opinions only and, of course, have no official significance. - Lt. Frank J. Doly, APO 487.

G.I.’s In Calcutta Escape Cholera During Plague

CALCUTTA - During the recent cholera epidemic which plagued Calcutta, U.S. Army medical authorities were able to announce that not a single case appeared among American military personnel at a time when the civilian rate was 600 per week.
This was mainly due to the rigid attention and inspections directed at all eating places; the "out of bounds" list was the heaviest in Theater history. Water, in addition to being boiled, was ordered chlorinated, troops were cautioned about the peril, and the efforts paid off, as the report reveals.

RIGID INSPECTIONS
The rigid inspections are still continuing. Cafes and public eating places are being inspected at least twice a month under the supervision of Allied military police and medical departments, controlling the unseen enemy of cholera and dysentery, constant menaces in this area of the India-Burma Theater.

LAUNDRY MARK? 1332ND BASE UNIT - Sgt. Andrew E. Christian of the QM Laundry admits that nothing will ever surprise him again.
Christian was startled when the G.I.'s laundry bags began to reveal shorts of such brilliant hues that they would have put a pre-war Christmas necktie to shame. But last week, while sorting the laundry, Christian did a double-take that nearly broke his neck.
On top of the pile was a pair of pajamas, complete with Air Corps patch and sergeant stripes! Christian returned the pajamas with a note to the effect that the sergeant had better get his CBI patch on too.

Already in 1945 more than 600 inspections have been recorded in the city. The "in bounds" and "out of bounds" roster is constantly changing, depending on the failure on occasions to cope with the required sanitary conditions demanded. At present 50 places are "in bounds" and as many "out of bounds."
The food inspection team, which concentrates on dining room cleanliness, food handling, class of working personnel employed, and garbage disposal procedures, is a joint American-British committee. Known as the Allied Hygiene Committee, the board has two American and three British medical officers.

SOLDIER REPORTS
Incorporated into the inspection program are statistics and reports available from G.I. Joe himself. When a soldier contracts dysentery he reports the eating place he has patronized (including his G.I. mess). Periodic reports present the base surgeon with a basis for work.
Preventive malaria measures are also enforced. The malaria control unit which has 11 officers, 110 enlisted men and 3,000 Indians employed in combatting malaria breeding areas, reports that the malaria rate is currently low in the midst of a highly malarious area. The hygiene inspection team keeps a sharp eye cocked for these places.

BRIEFS FROM THE
BRAMBLES

By SGT. CHARLES CLARK
Roundup Staff Writer

Sgt. Omer T. Hovey, an ATC-wallah in Karachi, apparently lives in constant fear that some day, though it's quite unlikely, an occasion will arise when he will be caught shorthanded in the personal equipment department. To prevent such an event, he has, during 25 months overseas, crammed three barracks bags, three trunks and two shopping bags with practical items that might be needed some day. A showdown of one barracks bag recently revealed: roller skates, egg-beater, blackjack, ant paste, sharpening stones, washboard, tennis racquet, set of carpenter's tools, nutcrackers, metallic solder, sealing wax, collapsible camp stool - and a gasoline stove.

   *    *    *    *                 *    *    *    * Songwriter Pfc. Milton Groggins, of the 1328th AAF BU, has "sold" another composition to Maj. Melvyn Douglas, which will soon be used on an Entertainment Production Unit broadcast of On Stage. This latest effort is titled, aptly, I'm Ready For Someone Who's Ready For Love. Other Groggins melodies accepted by EPU were Got To Check My Rhythm and It Is May Aim To Please.

   *    *    *    *                 *    *    *    * Pfc. Eddie Abbott, Supply-wallah at the Bengal Air Depot, spent the past Friday the 13th up to his superstitious ears in 13's but still came through unscathed. Early Friday morning he was detailed to be a train guard on train No. 13 and handed ticket No. 13. He checked his finances, found he had Rs. 13. His dhobi brought back his laundry minus one item, leaving a total of 13 pieces. To top it off, he missed the train - by 13 minutes.

   *    *    *    *                 *    *    *    * A Civil Aeronautics Administration School will open shortly at the 1346th AAF BU to acquaint Army technicians with the regulations and requirements necessary for them to carry their service trades into civil life. Base Information and Education Officer Capt. Carl N. Hoerr explains, "Rather than have these men waste valuable time getting CAA licenses after discharged, they will return to civilian life with certificates under their arms."

‘Rolling Stores’ Bring Supplies To Pipeliners

CALCUTTA - A quarter-century old idea, two renovated freight cars and a quartet of G.I. couriers probably compose the Army's smallest supply depot on wheels, supplying the pipeliners along one sector of the world's longest pipeline which pumps fuel from Calcutta into China.
Pumping station crew living in the jungle and lonely outposts of the India-Burma Theater have to be fed; maintenance equipment is needed constantly; communications with headquarters in demand and the necessity for "mail calls" all made for an Engineer Petroleum Distribution Company re-employing the "rolling stores" system operated by itinerant peddlers years ago.

RAILROAD CONTACT
And along a section of the pipeline the railroad is the only means of contact with the outside world.
So was born the courier service now operating daily out of Calcutta, delivering "the bacon" and carrying Special Service equipment, official reports, fresh bread and meat, PX supplies, and the essentials for operating the stations.
Designing two freight cars, leased from the Indian railways, the vans complete with bed, mail section, compartment for supplies and an ice chest. The couriers live in their supply depot, moving up the line one day and back the next.
Postman, clerk, stevedore is the job of each courier and stevedoring 5,000-pound pumps, barrels of oil, generators and other heavy equipment isn't a postman's dream but part of every day's routine.

ARMY PERSONNEL
The couriers operating the "rolling supply depot" are Pfcs. Irving Watnik, Bronx, N.Y.; Harold T. Bishop, Phoenix, Ariz.; Cirildo Delgardo, Robstown, Tex.; and Norman M. Veland, Allendale, N.J.
Among the many customers traveling the Commuters Special, christened by Engineer and Signal Corps soldiers, perhaps the most popular is Sgt. George P. Thompson, Aurora, Ill., who operates from station to station with a movie projector, showing latest films to the pipeline circuit.

16 TEAMS TANGLE AT VOLLEYBALL

CALCUTTA - Chinese, Indian, British and American volleyball teams will meet in a 16-team invitational tournament here on Aug. 1-4, arranged by Special Service.
Silver cups will be given the last three remaining teams in the single-elimination affair.

TABLE-TENNISERS STAGE I-B MEET

CALCUTTA - Herb Aronson, Chabua, is expected to successfully defend his India-Burma table tennis championship in the theater tournament here this week-end, but strong opposition may come from Robert Rau. runner-up in the recent I-B tennis meet and a neat player.
More than 200 entries were received by Special Service for the three-day conclave of paddle-wielders, which will determine singles and doubles champs.
S/Sgt. Lazzlo Bellak and Tibor Hoffman, each with remarkable records in world table-tennis circles, including global championships, will stage an exhibition Sunday night at the matches at Monsoon Square Garden, 3B Outram Street.

Heir Of Magic Tricks The late Houdini's famous secrets of escape and magic, willed to his brother Hardeen, will not be destroyed but have now been handed on to Sgt. Sidney Radner, following the recent death of Hardeen.
Radner, a well-known magician from Holyoke, Mass., was a former protege of Hardeen. "Under a special agreement with Hardeen," Radner says, "the magic effects that Houdini passed on to his brother have been given to me, including Houdini's most famous Chinese underwater torture cell, which I will demonstrate after getting out of the Army."
A member of the Army Airways Communication Service in Agra, Radner is now on DS with the Entertainment Production Unit in Calcutta and will soon tour the India-Burma and China Theaters with a magic show Seein' Ain't Believin'.
This week's article by Radner, exposing crooked methods used by expert card sharps in the Army, is the first in a series of three which the Roundup will publish. - Editor.

In the above photo, Sgt. Stanley Radner demonstrates the old trick of "dealing off the bottom" of a stacked deck. As the thumb slides the top card out and back, the middle finger pushes the bottom card out where it can be easily dealt.

Here the Houdini heir shows the "gambler's shift," used to counteract an honest cut of the cards. With his left arm he partially covers his other hand and distracts attention by reaching for an ashtray with his cigar, while his right hand manipulates the "top cut" to its original position on top of the deck.

Army Gambling Is Big Business, Warns Soldier Gaming Expert

By SGT. SIDNEY RADNER Roundup Gaming Expert

Gamblers don't gamble; they have a sure thing.
There's an old saying among professional card sharks - "Manipulation is more profitable than speculation." And this holds good in the Army as in civilian life, for it is not wise to assume that the gambler who has received his "greetings" will change his spots upon becoming a soldier.
It is not my purpose to advise that gambling is all wrong, but to point out that there are hundreds of ways in which the unsuspecting player or "sucker" can be trimmed neatly, whether he's wearing khaki or civvies.
There are regulations against gambling in the Army, but in the India-Burma Theater, as well as all over the world, a few of the boys will always get together for a few "private games." And whether a wide-open or friendly game, the opportunity to fleece the lambs afforded the professional gambler is just as great.
And don't say "it can't happen here." Already I have seen a number of crooked dice games and slick-dealing poker games. At one air base two dice games were being run simultaneously on a table with a board in the middle - and on both sides loaded and "flat" dice were being used.
And if you don't believe Army gambling is big business, take a look at catalogues from gambling supply houses. One midwest firm, which ironically calls itself the House of Fair Dealing, has in its catalogue a special set of instructions for G.I.'s overseas to order crooked goods such as marked cards, loaded dice, etc.

YOU CAN'T WIN
You can only beat a crooked game by picking up your dough and getting out of the game. If the gambler is working with the aid of a confederate (cons or shills) and a set of signals between themselves, they will always win.
Cutting the cards is no protection, but you can lessen the chances of getting skinned by stacked cards by cutting and ALWAYS COMPLETING THE CUT. If you don't, the gambler who has the stacked cards on the bottom of the deck will appear overly honest and just pick up the bottom half of the cut and deal off the bottom when it comes to his stacked cards (Top photo).
"Topping the deck" is a simple device where the dealer palms the top stacked cards and offers the rest of the deck to be cut. You can then cut or shuffle the rest of the deck to your heart's desire but when the cards come back, he will palm the top back on the deck and proceed to fleece you.

'BLIND' CUTS
Beware of "blind" cuts or fancy hipper-dipper manipulations which make it appear the cards are being cut two or three times in succession. This is usually done by the confederate on the right of the dealer. The groups of three or four cards get tossed around but always fall back on the table in their original order.
The "gambler's shift" requires slick handiwork and most gamblers depend on the psychological misdirection rather than on speed. As the dealer picks up the two groups from the honest cut he flips the top group back in its original spot in the palm of his hand. (Bottom photo)
Also beware of "crimped" cards handed to you for cutting. In shuffling and then squaring up the deck, the dealer will bend slightly the top group to the point where he wants you to cut them. Odds are in his favor you will cut at the "crimped" place.

RELIES ON SKILL
marked cards are not as common as of old. A good gambler relies more upon his skill with his hands than upon artificial means. Less skilled crooks will be found using this method. If a new deck is brought into the game, it throws him off and he will have to mark or "paint" the deck as he goes along with a special gamblers marking paint.
Next week I'll tell you some of the tricks of dealing off the bottom, seconds or from under the top card and from the middle. Also how gamblers "peek" to see what the next card or bottom card is.

Hunting ‘Army Style’ Nets G.I.’s Wet Feet, But No Tiger Skins

ALONG THE STILWELL ROAD - If you were to ask the next 10 G.I.'s you see what they'd like to do most right now, they'd tell you they'd like to be reclining as a civilian somewhere with somebody softly cursing their fingers through their hair.
Maybe, the 11th man, if you kept asking, would come up with some such quaint idea as digging for buried treasure.
But the 12th man, our soft-in-the-head hero, would get a bright Section Eight gleam in his eye and tell you, "By gad, sir, there's nothing I'd rather do right now then go out into the jungle and hunt a nice big tiger." Some people are like that.
Now there's nothing wrong with hunting tigers, if you have nothing better to do, but this is to disenchant those people who have been captivated by the idea. Those who make it their business to avoid tiger hunts can listen in, too.
The whole thing in a nutshell is that a tiger hunt, even a necessary one, is not all that it might be cracked up to be - unless, of course, you happen to be a rajah, and can go in for such pleasant trappings as elephants, trackers, beaters, and a drink-wallah lugging along a bucket of ice, a bucket of bourbon, and a bucket or so of soda.

LOAD AND LOCK
Okay, load and lock and keep your fingers crossed.
The stage for the so-called little dreams is set in Warazup, the sun-baked, monsoon-drenched little jewel of a cross-roads type of town - but lacking cross-roads down in deep Burma jungles at a point where the rough tough old Hukawng Valley ends and the Mogaung Valley begins.
Warazup is in the midst of "How Safe Is My Valley Week." The reason: Old Rajah, the man-eating tiger, is on the loose. He has reportedly killed one native, clawed up a couple of G.I.'s and snatched a basket full of pork and soya links, or something from a native returning from a local clambake.
The opening scene is pretty good. Great billowing flames roll out of big pots of oil and gasoline that have been placed in a snug little circle around each area, and you see the G.I.'s packing their M-1's, carbines, or pistols as they travel in groups over the 100 to 500-yard distance from their tents to the open air theater.
There's not much kidding about this sort of thing for Old Rajah has been seen in this very area and anybody who has ever tried to get any kind of sight picture with a weapon knows its pretty tough and it wouldn't be any easier if Blood and Claws happened to be roaring around in the bushes. In fact, when somebody says he'll keep you covered while you walk 75 yards in the dark, it doesn't sound like a bad idea at all, chum.

JEEP FOR JUMBO
Well, to sort of try to set the minds of people at ease and help break up the monotony of a long monsoon-season evening, a hunt was organized by Lt. Steven Muzik, a Road Headquarters man from Pittsburgh.
The expedition's elephant was a jeep with top off and windshield down; in place of beaters for scouring the bush, there were two spotlights hooked on to a storage battery. The weapons were four M-1's, one carbine and a pistol.
Then the party was off. With a flick of the wrist, the jeep was spun off The Road and straight for the bush. There were no roads, so we made our own. When the vehicle started through elephant grass so tall you couldn't see, everybody but the driver stood up. It was a bit crowded but clubby.
"Stop."
Fingers curled on triggers. Hearts went pittypat clump.
"We ran into a damn hole. Looks like a grave."
We investigate. Its a foxhole, so we back up, bouncing over some abandoned mortar ammo and just missing another foxhole. Like a fat beetle, we twist and turn through the deep grass around trees, one man sitting on the radiator looking for foxholes and the real thinking of landmines and booby traps that somebody might have left around.

LOOK FOR EYES
We get up on a little knoll and swing the lights around a little more, looking for two big eyes shining in the dark and hoping we won't see any. We are lucky. We don't. Nothing but swarms of flying bugs attracted by the lights. Then the trees get too thick and we turn around until pushing through the grass like a trout up a brook, we bounce onto an old combat trail. Now we can see a good 100 feet ahead. At the end of the 100 feet we come to an unnamed ocean wide enough to float the Queen Mary, but we make it.
There's a glare ahead and we round a turn to find three Garos armed to the teeth sitting between two huge fires burning in big pots.
"Salaam, sahib; see tiger?"
Two of the Garos are invited aboard and the hunt goes on. Even the fireflies have disappeared, which is OK because they sometimes confuse you when you're looking for eyes shining in the jungle. The Garos tire of the hunt and are dropped off at their camp.
We come to another undiscovered ocean. Smaller this time but deeper, and friend jeep comes a cropper. This is the proper time to be the driver of the jeep. He stays in the vehicle. Everybody else gets out and steps down shin deep into the water.

OVER THEIR SHOES
The job is to lift the jeep. Okay, so you take hold and start to grunt. Down you sink another foot until the mud starts going down the tops of your shoes. At the same time all four wheels start spinning as if the jeep were a B-29 trying to take off, and muddy water smacks you in the face. At this point the tiger is especially unpopular. Finally the jeep's back on solid ground and everyone climbs in.
"Let's try it again. I'm sure we can get through this puddle," the driver insists. But the other four men insist that they be the driver this time and the project is dropped. We go out on the Stilwell Road, at last, and cruise for miles. Looks as if Old Rajah's home playing poker tonight or out having a couple of tall cold ones somewhere.
In fact, the more we think of it, the more convinced we become that that's where we should be too. Three owls, a hawk, a monkey, and a small civet cat were the best we could put up. It is 2 a.m. or 0200 hours, as we say in the good old Army, so we decided, "The hell with it." So, if you ever go tiger hunting, G.I. style, pal, you've been warned. - PFC. JACK DEVLIN

IMPROVISED FROM SCRAP

Sgt. Lloyd V. Oellrick adjusts the improvised neck brace for his injured buddy, built in 40 hours from scrap material by the shop Engineers of an Assam Air Service Group.

G.I.’S BUILD NECK BRACE
FOR AILING COMRADE

ASSAM - An improvised neck brace was designed and constructed here recently in 40 hours for a G.I. truck driver, who had broken his neck when his vehicle plunged into a sand pit. Sgt. Lloyd V. Oellrick, with the assistance of Pfc. Orville B. Robinson, both Shop Engineers in an Air Service Group, devised the brace from scrap material.
At the time of the accident the driver, accompanied by two officers, was driving down a narrow road in Lower Assam. It was late at night and he was in a hurry to get to his destination. He had difficulty keeping awake and, after fighting off sleep time and time again, finally dozed off, the vehicle hitting a soft shoulder and piling up in a sand pit.
He woke up two days later to find himself in a traction splint with a broken neck. He was in a cast for several weeks, then sent to a general hospital to convalesce. There the cast was removed and the patient stretched out for the first time in 12 weeks. But he needed a brace to keep his head back so the fractured vertebrae could knit together.
That was when the Air Service Group shop engineers stepped in and devised a brace comparable to any built by Stateside manufacturers.
Now the patient is going to his home in Springfield, O., thanks chiefly to Oellrick, who says, "The thinking time and labor were well rewarded when we saw the patient walking around with smiles and expecting, through our efforts, to go back to the U.S. soon, where the proper equipment is available to treat him."

JAG Eliminates Licenses, Taxes, Other Red Tape For Theater G.I.’s

By Sgt. ART HEENAN Roundup Staff Writer
When the Judge Advocate General's Department was established in the United States in 1775, the founders little dreamed that 170 years later their successors would be operating this branch of the Army in Imperial India.
Nor did they conceive of the vastness of the JAG Department, whose adjucation now extends to every part of the world where American forces are stationed. Here in the India-Burma Theater, as well as in other overseas installations, Americans are subject only to U.S. military law, and not to foreign courts.
In this Theater, the work of JAG started in 1942, when Brig. Gen then Col. C. C. Fenn organized the various activities under command of Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell.
At that time the JAG jurisdiction included China, since it was all one Theater. With the breaking up of the CBI into two Theaters, China organized its own branch. But it is the work of JAG here that concerns us.
The average officer and enlisted man accepts freedom from Indian taxation, not being subject to Indian law, not having to take out a driver's license and other privileges as something that inalienably goes along with his citizenship.

JAG NEGOTIATION
However, none of these privileges came about through divine right. They were all obtained through negotiation with the Indian Government by the Judge Advocate Branch of this Theater.
It was through negotiation conducted by the Theater Judge Advocate that you are now answerable to U.S. military law and not the Indian courts. The U.S. courts have exclusive jurisdiction to try members of the U.S. military or naval forces for crimes committed by them in India. You cannot be tried by an Indian court except at the special request of the U.S.
Through negotiation with the External Affairs Department of the Indian Government, the JA secured a waiver of the levy of the Indian income tax on salaries paid to U.S. personnel with the Armed Forces.
If it had not been for JAG and the willingness of the Indian Government to co-operate, you could have had to obtain local licenses to practice your profession or ply your trade. For example, a doctor would have had to obtain a certificate to practice here even if he were treating only U.S. personnel. A truck driver would have to obtain a driver's license from local officials.

NO REGISTRATION
If it had not been for JAG you would have to register every movement. Instead of piling on a train to hurry off to rest camp at the last moment, you'd have to first register with the Indian authorities, with all the accompanying queues and red tape. But U.S. personnel were exempt from the Foreigners Registration Act.
The privilege of franking your mail so it could go postage free was granted you by the Congress of the U.S. But in order to have that privilege operate here the Army had to obtain a waiver, again through JAG, from the Indian Director of Posts and Telegraphs. He granted the Army the right to operate its own postal system, and waived all custom formalities as to contents of the mail bags, either incoming or outgoing. Later permission was obtained for individuals to mail out presents duty free, with a limitation of one package per month per person, with no ceiling on value.
These are the most important of the privileges that have been obtained for you in this foreign land by the Theater JA and his men. Naturally, along with the work of our own personnel, goes operation and willingness of the Government of India to accord these privileges.
The JA Branch out here also has jurisdiction over claims, civil affairs, and courts martial. The court martial adjucation is the main function.
If you have been following the news at all lately you have seen some criticism of the Army court martial system. In practically all the criticism, the prime targets have been general courts martial.

PROCEDURE
Maj. Charles Chapla, who has been with the Theater JA office since 1943, explained how the procedure works in general courts martial. Since he's an attorney in civilian life we're going to explain it in our own words, as it's an old adage among newspapermen that if you quote a lawyer directly on legal matters and have a comma out of place, he's liable to sue.
Before any charge can be preferred in a general court martial, a thorough and impartial investigation must be made, by an officer appointed for that purpose by the appropriate commander. His findings and recommendations are reviewed by the Staff JA who then makes his recommendations.
If the JA finds that the evidence in the investigation report does not justify trial by a general court martial, with its heavy penalties, he will recommend trial by special or summary court, which have limited punishment authority. If there is not sufficient evidence to prove that the accused committed the offense charged, the Staff JA will recommend that the charges be dropped.

BACK TO JA
If the trial proceeds and the defendant is found guilty, the entire case goes to the Staff JA again. The Commanding General who appointed the court then approves or disapproves the sentence, usually in accordance with the recommendations.
In this reviewing capacity the Staff JA reads over the trial minutes to see that the rights of the accused have been protected. There have been many cases where the court's findings of guilty have been reversed or the case ordered retried because of legal error committed in the proceedings before or during the trial.
If the sentence as approved includes death, dishonorable discharge, or a penitentiary sentence, it must be reviewed by a Board of Review, which consists of three officers in the JAG office. Their review is, in turn, approved or disapproved by the JAG.
All these reviews are automatic and amount to the same thing as an appeal in civilian life. They are required before the sentence of the court is ordered to be carried out. Even in general court martial cases where the sentence is not as severe as above, every case must be reviewed in the JAG office, and if any prejudicial error is found, corrective action is recommended.

BRANCH OFFICE
In this Theater, JAG has established a Branch Office with a Board of Review. Under Col. William J. Baker, JAGD, his office performs for I-B and China the same review functions and duties performed by JAG in the States. Baker likewise performs for the two Theaters, in courts martial cases, the same functions as does Maj. Gen. Myron C. Cramer, the Judge Advocate General, with reference to courts martial in the States.
And just to spike an unfounded rumor that everyone is convicted in a court martial, acquittals on general courts martial run about 15 percent of the cases tried in this Theater. So you can see that military personnel are not only far from rail-roaded. They seemingly have greater legal protection than a civilian.
The court martial system is, of course, based on the Articles of War. It is interesting to note the fact that the Articles of War can be traced back as far as the reign of Richard the Lion-hearted. And during the reign of James II the British Army had the following in their Articles of War:
No officer can lie out at night except with the permission of his commanding officer.
Any chaplain caught drunk at divine services is liable to punishment.

STIFF FINES
And as recently as the 19th century the U.S. 52nd and 53rd Articles provided that any officer found guilty of swearing at divine services would be fined a buck, and an enlisted man approximately 18 cents.
The JA office has another function that is little known. Besides being legal adviser and lawyer for the Theater Commander, it also provides legal aid to the soldier. Out here when an officer or enlisted man has a legal problem at home he can step in and see the nearest JA.
He is advised, and if the cause is serious and needs attention in the States, the JA gives the soldier the address of the War Work Commission, sponsored by individual State bar associations. This chairman turns the matter over to a local attorney who handles the legal work by correspondence with the soldier. There is a fee, of course, but experience has shown that civilian attorneys have been more than reasonable.
Legal aid that can be provided over here is rendered by the JA on the spot. This work includes the making of wills and powers of attorney, plus rendering legal counsel.
But as Lt. James McConaughy of the Theater Office pointed out, "We have no such thing as a G.I. divorce. This rumor has gained so much credence that even officers who are lawyers come in and ask about it. The Army can't be that paternal. All divorce cases have to be handled through civilian courts."

EX-20TH BOMB HEAD ORDERED OVERSEAS

WRIGHT FIELD, O. - (ANS) - Maj. Gen. Kenneth B. Wolfe, Chief of Engineering and Procurement for the Air Technical Service Command, was ordered overseas for an undisclosed assignment this week.
Wolfe commanded the 20th Bomber Command in the CBI Theater when B-29's made the first strike against the enemy in June, 1944.

Ravages Of Monsoon Downpour
Headache For Road Engineers

By PFC. JACK DEVLIN Roundup Field Correspondent

ALONG THE STILWELL ROAD - All you had to do was take one look at what was left of the bridge and you felt a little sick.
All 400 feet of it was smashed and ripped out. It looked as if a giant had come along and stamped on the spans and then kicked the debris out of his way.
Here was the monsoon at its worst. In three days, the normally placid South Mogaung River, that flows past Warazup at mile 191 in Burma on the Stilwell Road, swelled up under the impact of torrential rains in the mountains until the crest raised 18 feet.
By the end of the first day it had already burst its banks. On the second day it was sweeping across higher areas, tearing out bamboo stalks and then reaching up and overpowering the big husky trees as their roots loosened in the soggy jungle soil. The muddy yellow flood picked them up where they fell and as the sluggish current grew stronger, they were carried rapidly downstream as the river took on more and more the appearance of a galloping mountain stream that had swelled to river size.

DEBRIS PILED UP
Some of the trees eventually snagged in jungle growths. Others riding straight in the flood, squeezed under bridges. Others turned sideways, jammed against the abutments and stuck making a dam effective enough to win the admiration of a beaver.
That's what happened at mile point 191. The debris piled up against the abutments, blocking the racing waters until it washed up over The Road at each bank and finally over the platform of the bridge itself.
The approaches went out first, but they didn't open big enough gaps to release the pressure of the water piling up behind the debris. Then one span went out. The second followed and within a few hours, the third was gone, too. With the obstacles gone, the water started to recede, slowly at first and then faster and faster.
The level was down where you could see the twisted spans and the white scars on the muddy wet tree trunks jammed against the remaining pilings. Big gravel and sand bars had washed up behind the mess and you could see the pipeline all twisted and bent winding through the wreckage.

ARMY LICKS MONSOON
The river was still up about seven feet and was sliding past at a good seven or eight miles per hour and that's why when you looked at it and the damage it had wrought that you felt let down and wondered how and why they would ever get through the much needed convoys to China.
Thereby hangs the tale of how the Army's licking the monsoon and making the Stilwell Road the all-weather road that many people said was impossible.
In a number of hours after the old bridge was destroyed, a new one was back over the swiftly moving waters and the convoys, taking advantage of the layover to check thoroughly and tune up equipment were again on their way to China and the war.
It's not as simple as that. Actually it's a tough fight in which the Army Engineers take their share of belts on the chin and get bounced back on the ropes. But its the monsoon that's taking the final count.
In the case of the South Mogaung River Bridge, it was a matter of rushing in ponton equipment from Myitkyina and Ledo because of the magnitude of the task. Without even wasting a second glance at the washed out bridge, the Engineers went to work putting in a brand new ponton model.
Just how bad is the monsoon season this year? The answer is that it started late in North Burma and quickly made up for lost time. In some places, they have had 40 to 50 inches of rain in less than two weeks, approximately the same amount of rain that New York City, for example, gets in an entire year.
As a result of the downpours, the Engineers have had their hands full for a few days. The approaches to the North Mogaung River bridge went out, too - but it took only four hours to erect Bailey bridging so traffic could resume. They got the bridging by salvaging parts of the South Mogaung River Bridge.

SELECTION SLIDES
At Mile 85, The Road became so saturated with water that a 75-foot section just slid down the mountainside like a gob of melting ice cream. Bailey bridging came to the rescue again. It took just three hours to throw a 100-foot span over the break - the first time, incidentally, that bridging has been used for such an emergency.
At other points along The Road there were landslides, but as fast as they were discovered by patrols working in shifts around the clock, dozers were hastened to the scene and paths were opened quickly.
Near mile 109 a river rose 14 feet after a deluge of 12 inches of rain in only 48 hours and both approaches of the bridge there went out. Within a few hours after emergency bridging reached the scene The Road was open.
"The monsoon is a real problem - don't ever forget that - but we've got it licked," summarized Maj. E. E. Browning, district Engineer at Warazup Road Headquarters, and a pre-was associate of Maj. Gen. Lewis A. Pick, builder of the Ledo Road and flood control expert.
"I've spent 18 years working on all the tough rivers back in the States, but I have never witnessed anything like I have seen here.
"Last year, we didn't have the complete file of information we have now. But this year we know pretty closely how much rain to expect and the volume of water we will have to intercept in this particular valley. All critical points have been overcome. And I venture to say that the Hukawng Valley is possibly

TRUCKS TO CHINA

CHUNGKING - (ANS) - More than 10,000 American trucks have arrived in Free China since the Stilwell Highway opened in January, Sao Tang Pao, organ of the Chinese Army, reported this week.

the most treacherous you will find anywhere."

LITTLE PIPELINE WORRY
Even the pipeline operators aren't worried by the monsoon. They've had a minimum of trouble. Their most pleasant surprise came at the South Mogaung River where their bent and twisted pipe failed to break with the bridge and continued to deliver the goods.
The Signal Corps, keeping communications open, gets most of its troubles from falling trees that knocked out their telephone wires. But these are repaired quickly and during the interruptions, radio breaches the gap.
The main thing is that the convoys, like the mail, may occasionally be delayed but they come through, hell or high water.

HEAVY MAIL POUCH

CALCUTTA - Letter writing is the chief pastime of soldiers in the India-Burma and China Theaters when it is considered that troops in the combined theaters receive some 12 million letters while penning another 14½ million during an average month.
Incoming letters, weighing some 145 tons, when placed end to end would reach from New York City to Havana, Cuba, a distance of 1,400 miles. Outgoing letters total better than 120 tons.
In the parcel post department, the average soldier receives two packages for each one he mails home, according to figures released by Maj. John C. Eppard, base post office CO.
More than 500,000 parcels are received while the outgoing cargo totals 225,000 for an average month.

Who’s Kidding
On This Yo-Yo?

PSYCHOPATHIC WARD, 10TH AIR FORCE, BURMA - Now that the nasty ole Jap has been chased from Burma skies, many members of the 10th Air Force have taken to more peaceful pursuits to while away the monsoon days.
These valiant veterans of the wild blue yonder are playing with their yo-yos.
Believing in strength of union, these combat weary transport and fighter pilots, plus a few ground wallahs, have organized the North Burma Air Task Force Yo-Yo Club, Capt. Alan MacMurray presiding. Each evening, members gather in the Operations Office and play with their yo-yos to their heart's content, while President MacMurray conducts his daily class in the varied types of yo-yoing.
Cynical kibitzers, attending these nightly meetings, suspect the whole demented display as a plot to get the yo-yoers a ticket Stateside. Some consider it just another form of jungle madness.
But even so, as MacMurray explains, "It's oodles of fun."

‘BROTHER RAT’ SHOW
WILL TOUR THEATER

CALCUTTA - Brother Rat, successful stage and screen comedy, will soon be hitting the banana and ricepaddy circuit of the I-B Theater by the Entertainment Production Unit, the first legitimate Broadway show to play in the Theater.
With a cast of 18 - three gorgeous gals and 15 G.I.'s - the John Monks - Fred Finkelhoffe howler about life at the Virginia Military Institute is now in its final rehearsal phase.
Scheduled to travel the entire length of the I-B Theater, a hitherto impractical task for show units of this size, EPU has greatly reduced the weight and bulk of the sets by stretching the canvas over wooden framework which can be collapsed into small parcels. This affords air travel to remote areas in the up-country regions.
Lasting more than two hours, the EPU production is further enlivened by the addition of many original songs and musical numbers never before presented here or in any other overseas theater.
Jean Debear of Broadway and radio heads the cast of Red Cross girls and soldiers, with Peggy Nevin, Glenn Turnbull, formerly in Hey, Rookie!, Robert Crawley, of Army movie experience, and Edward C. Perry, another graduate of G.I. films.
Working now on a full-time basis, the EPU launches Brother Rat as the forerunner of many coming hits - Musical and dramatic - soon to be roadshown to jungle and swamp-bound I-BT-ers.

Ruby Test Explained
A jewel expert, who prefers to remain anonymous, has explained to the Roundup a simple test to discover whether you are being sold a ruby or whether some sharper is palming off colored glass.
"I believe this will prevent such incidents as happened recently in Burma when G.I.'s bought colored glass from air field lights under the impression they were rubies," he said.
Here is the test:
Get a piece of cardboard, the larger the better. Poke a hole in the cardboard about a quarter of an inch in diameter. Hold the stone directly under the hole. But be sure to hold the stone at an angle, so the light coming down through will penetrate the side of the stone and not directly through the top.
Then examine the light rays refracted from the stone on the bottom side of the cardboard. If there is a double light pattern, that is, if the glints cast out appear in a series of two spots together, then you have a ruby.
But if there is only a single light pattern; that is, if the glints cast out appear in a series of single spots, you do not have a ruby. Sunlight is best, but a strong light or flashlight will do.

FAMILIAR SIGHT

Uncle Joe Stilwell is at home again, with his old campaign hat on, clad in fatigues and back on the fighting front against the hated Japs. Here Uncle Joe checks a map with Col. William D. Bentley, 10th Army Air Force officer. They are standing beside the L-5 plane in which the colonel piloted the general over the Okinawa battleground. Stilwell's new command is the 10th U.S. Army.

MARS TASK FORCE
FORMED AS CADRE

The famous Mars Task Force, which chased the Japanese from Burma in a trek of 350 miles and helped clear the old Burma Road, is no more.
Dissolution of the combat team, which was flown to China over the Himalayas after its mission in Burma, to serve for several months with the Chinese Combat Command, was announced by Lt. Gen. Wedemeyer in Chungking. He said they would act as cadre or liaison groups.
Known officially as the 5,332nd Brigade, the Mars Task Force was formed as a long range penetration combat unit composed of the 475th Infantry, drawn from the original Merrill's Marauders, veterans of the Myitkyina campaign, 124th Cavalry, a Texas National Guard unit, and other groups.

Tribune Lauds I-B Roundup

NEW YORK - (UP) - The Herald Tribune's sports columnist, Al Laney, who calls Roundup "one of the earliest and still one of the best of newspapers for the troops" with "one of the best sports pages to be found at home or abroad" printed Lt. Sid Rose's description of his entry into New York this week.
Rose is a member of the Roundup staff.
"Reporter lands at LaGuardia Airport, just four crowded days out of a West India aerial port of debarkation. Takes subway from Flushing to Times Square. It reminds him of the suburban train from Juhu Beach to Churchgate Station in Bombay. Only difference, Churchgate Express is more comfortable.
"Confidently the itinerant journeyman turns into the first hotel for his third U.S. meal. Decides to visit Radio City. The movie is A Bell For Adano. Line two blocks long. He saw the movie in India three weeks ago anyway. No Line."
Anyway, Rose saw the Cubs beat Flatbush twice.

OLE OSMOSIS VS. BAHRAS

Fink Bitterly Bemoans
Ingratiating Ingrates

As a T/O-stymied T/7 without delusions of grandeur, you might expect old Os' to feel a spirit of close kinship with bahras. But he might confess that it is with pardonable cause that he wavers in his confidence toward these dark-hued gentlemen's gentlemen. This stems from the bitter experience of losing his first bahra - as well as Rs. 174 - to a Limey corporal in a crap game, later discovering to his disillusionment that Abdul, for such was the knave's name, had loaded the dice against him. Fortunately for old Os' peace of mind, he learned the other day that the Limey's pocketbook, watch, fountain pen and his set of false teeth had vanished in the night - an do, too, by sheer coincidence, had Abdul.
However, because other G.I.'s have enjoyed more conspicuous success than your sad sack correspondent, the Boss had ordered me to turn out this squib on bahras and to write sans prejudice.
Before American troops arrived in I-B, it is true that bahras were a joy and a solace, combining the outstanding attributes of Arthur Treacher and P. G. Wodehouse's immortal Jeevees. Flick an ash off your cheroot; they'd spear it before it hit the ground, a la Joe DiMaggio. Think about a long cool burra gin; they'd have it at your elbow, genii-like, just as you'd determined to order it. They'd watch you closer than the early boid glues his peepers on the woim, anticipating your slightest whim.
Came the Americans and the resultant corruption of the bahra to a lackadaisical, baksheesh-hungry character with more faithful regard to his own comforts than to those of his sahib and with a passionate love of the sack.
Abdul (and at this point I idly wonder to what use he put the corporal's choppers) is a typical example of your present-day bahra. Before the Americans arrived, Abdul was ekeing out a precarious existence reading palms and selling feelthy postcards to tourists. With the boom in the bahra market, he forsook these dubious interests to join forces with the Americans, who could not resist the temptation of being able to write home that they had hired a personal valet.
There is a short period of time during which the Abduls are strictly on the ball, shining your shoes to such a brilliancy you can shave yourself in the reflection and making your bed with more solicitude than a maid at the Statler. But this is a snare and a delusion. Once having ingratiated themselves into your favor and having demonstrated their indispensability (by now you are helpless and completely unable to lift a finger in your own behalf), there is a premeditated campaign at the end of which Stepinfetch would be put to shame.
About this time a mother in Kashmir is nigh onto death's bed or a son in Ranikhet is getting married. Your Abdul, with brown eyes deep pools of concern, requests a week's leave, sahib. You speed him on his way with a train ticket (first class, which he exchanges for third, pocketing the change). Rs. 10 for expenses and your considerate best wishes. If he returns within a month, consider yourself lucky. Naturally, he expects to be paid his wages in full for all the time he is AWOL. Probably, he had a high old time in his village, which is only seven miles down the road.
Meanwhile, your cigarettes mysteriously disappear, your razor shows signs of use, and misuse, and items for which you send him to the shop rise sharply in price.
But you are still able to write the folks you have a personal servant.
Which old Os' fervently hopes remains true.
For he believes the handwriting is on the wall.
Give some of the bahras with whom he's had dealings a few more months and old Os' will wager you'll be waiting on them.
V-J Day can't come too soon.

A THOUGHTFUL BLUEPRINT
President Truman's June 1st speech before Congress - significantly entitled The Task Ahead - was at the same time (1) a thoughtful, incisive blueprint of the continuing intensive effort required in the months ahead to bring the Japanese to their knees and (2) perhaps the clearest word picture yet drawn about the tremendous achievements accomplished thus far during World War II by the magnificent American fighting man and the Army of Production that supported him.
More than that, however, the President's speech explained some of the thorny problems arising out of Redeployment and Readjustment, interpreted the why for demanding unconditional surrender and answered a number of vital questions presently occupying the national interest.
Because, of necessity, overseas news coverage of the President's speech was condensed, its full impact was not accessible to troops, to whom its breadth of import should not be lost.

“ WE ARE RESOLUTE - - - ”

To the Congress of the United States:
The primary task facing the nation today is to win the war in Japan - to win it completely and to win it as quickly as possible. For every day by which it is shortened means a saving of American lives.
No one can recount the success of the forces of decency in this war without thinking of the one man who was more responsible for victory than any other single human being - Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Under his guidance, this great Nation grew to be the most powerful military force in all history.
Under his leadership, the Allied strategy was developed which broke down Hitler's fortress, crumbled Germany itself into ruins and unconditional surrender and has brought us within striking distance of Tokyo.
But there can be no peace in the world until the military power of Japan is destroyed - with the same completeness as was the power of the European dictators.

Mass Movement
To do that, we are now engaged in a process of deploying millions of our armed forces against Japan in a mass movement of troops and supplies and weapons over 14,000 miles - a military and naval feat unequalled in all history.
I think it appropriate at this time to inform the Congress and my countrymen of some of the problems, difficulties, and dangers which confront us in finishing this war - and how we expect to meet them.
Those who have the heavy responsibility of directing the Nation's military efforts do not underestimate the difficulties of crushing an enemy defended by vast distances and animated by desperate fanaticism.
And yet, we have adopted what is a new development in military history. In the face of a conflict with a numerous and fanatical enemy we have undertaken during the next twelve months to discharge approximately two million of the best soldiers the world has ever seen.
The program for the defeat of Germany was accomplished with an accuracy seldom attained in war - yet we had but little margin at the finish. On April 1, 1945, the last American division to arrive in France entered the battle line.

Identical Strategy
The strategy of the war in Europe was to have all the men that could be effectively deployed on land and sea to crush the German military machine in the shortest possible time.
That is exactly what we plan to do to Japan.
Up to the time of the collapse of Germany the United States Navy, under the superb leadership of Fleet Admiral King, was carrying on two great campaigns thousands of miles apart from each other - one in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific.
These campaigns were distinctly different. The Atlantic campaign consisted essentially of anti-submarine and amphibious operations. Even as the war nears the end, our Navy had to cope with a submarine blitz which was intended to hit our coast in April.
The Pacific campaign has involved to a major degree all the surface, air, amphibious, and submarine aspect of Naval warfare; but antisubmarine operations have played only a subordinate role.
At one time in 1943, the United States Navy was employing over 1100 planes in its anti-submarine warfare in the Atlantic; and, in mid 1944, over 900 ocean-going escort vessels.
All of our escort vessels have been, or will be, sent to the Pacific, except for a very few to be retained in the Atlantic for training purpose or to meet any remotely possible emergency.
Our Navy, in addition to the miraculous job of convoying our endless stream of men and materials to Europe, did its full share, under over-all British naval command, in amphibious operations in that theater. The use of its landing craft and carriers, and the fire support of its battleships, cruisers, and destroyers, made possible the landings in North Africa in 1942, in Sicily and Italy in 1943, and in Normandy and southern France in 1944.
Even before the invasion of France, some of our Atlantic naval force had already been sent to the Pacific. After our troops were firmly established ashore, fighting ships were moved to the Pacific as rapidly as they could be released from the requirements of the European and Mediterranean theaters and from anti-submarine warfare. The Japanese have already felt the presence of those ships - and will continue to feel it more and more.

"... we can thank ... our fast carrier task forces."

Four Naval Phases
In the Pacific the naval campaign has gone through four major phases.
The first was the defensive of 1941 and of the first half of 1942, when we fought in the Philippines and the East Indies, in the Coral Sea, at Midway and in the Aleutians.
The second was the offensive-defensive in late 1942 at Guadalcanal.
The third was the limited offensive in 1943 when we advanced slowly through the Solomons and re-took the Aleutians.
The fourth was the full offensive of 1944 and 1945 when the forces of the Southwest Pacific Area under General of the Army MacArthur and those of the Central Pacific Area under Fleet Admiral Nimitz made their great seaborne sweeps to the Philippines and Okinawa.
During this time the Navy has fought four full-scale sea battles; the Coral Sea, Midway, the Philippine Sea last summer off Saipan, and the three-pronged Battle for Leyte Gulf last October.
The Japanese surface Navy has now been reduced to a fraction of its former self. We have driven their ships into hiding and their naval aircraft back to their shore bases.
A large part of this success is due to our present carrier-based air power, which has permitted us to carry forward, for many hundreds of miles at a time, the air cover that is needed for a successful amphibious attack. The carriers that made possible these enormous strides were laid down in 1940 - a year and a half before we entered the war. Had they not been started then, our fast advances in the Pacific could not have occurred until much later.

Enemy Shipping Scourged
The Japanese merchant marine, in spite of a large program of building, has now been reduced to less than a quarter of its pre-war size. In fact we have sunk more Japanese merchant tonnage than they had at the time of Pearl Harbor.
For this and for the reduction of the Japanese Navy, we can thank our submarines, our Army and Navy shore-based aircraft, and our fast carrier task forces. Today, no enemy ship can proceed between Japan and her southern conquests without running the most serious risk.
The outstanding feature of the Pacific war - the one which sets it apart from all previous wars - has been the number of the amphibious operations.
We have constructed a great fleet of special vessels for this purpose: attack transports, attack cargo ships, landing ships and landing craft. These ships make it possible to put troops and equipment ashore on open beaches in the minimum of time.
The Navy has a great share in every amphibious attack. For instance, one attack which involved landing 45,000 troops required the use of 125,000 naval personnel. In general it may be said it takes two to three sailors to put one soldier or Marine ashore. It takes half a million tons of naval shipping for each division in an amphibious operation.
The Navy is now engaged in a series of grim tasks: a battle of attrition with the Japanese Air Force in the waters around Japan and Okinawa; a tightening of the blockade of Japan; redeploying its own forces from Europe; aiding the Army to redeploy; and preparing for the climactic operations yet to come.
As we approach the enemy's homeland, the density of his air power naturally becomes greater and greater. A year and a half ago, the enemy had more than 5000 operating airplanes to guard perhaps eighteen million square miles of area. We could attack wherever we saw that the defense was thinly spread. Since then, we have reduced his total air power very much, but the area he is now forced to defend has been shrunk so much more quickly by our rapid advance, that the density of his air power is four or five times as great as it was.
This means tough fighting in the air. It means the loss of ships. It means damaged ships that must be replaced or brought back thousands of miles for repair.
We at home can hardly imagine either the delirium of Japanese suicide attacks on our troops, airfields and ships, or the heroism of our men in meeting them. As we approach the main islands of the enemy the damage to our ships and the loss of our men are becoming more severe. In the future we shall have to expect more damage rather than less.
In carrying out its future tasks the Navy will need not only all of its present great fleets, it will need additional vessels. These vessels are now being built - partly to replace anticipated losses in future operations and partly to reinforce the fleet for the final operations it will have to conduct in enemy home waters.
The Navy is deploying all but a handful of its men from Europe to the Pacific. But unlike the Army, the Navy, after the collapse of Germany, did not have a surplus of personnel. There cannot be even a partial naval demobilization - until the Japanese are defeated.
The Navy still needs civilian laborers, particularly in the yards where ships are repaired. Working continuously under the concentrated air effort of the enemy, the fleet suffers daily damage. Many vessels have come back wounded in varying degree. To tell the number would give information to the enemy but the number is substantial. The Navy must get these ships back into the fight with the least possible delay.

Workers Needed
We have in our Navy yards the machinery and mechanical equipment to deal with the mounting load of battle damage. But civilian workers are needed now in ever increasing numbers. I know that the patriotic workers of the nation will rally to the aid of the Navy in this emergency as they have rallied in past emergencies. For they know that every day saved in getting a damaged ship back into service shortens the war and saves American lives.
In the air, we have shown what America can do with land-based planes and with carrier-based planes - in strategic bombing and in tactical bombing.
We are now able in Germany to investigate and examine the results of our strategic bombing. In spite of the most desperate resistance of the Luftwaffe and in spite of murderous barrages from anti-aircraft guns, the American and British Air Forces smashed at German industry day after day and night after night until its support of the German armies caved in.
Our strategic bombardment did a complete and masterly job of destroying the sources of strength of the German Air Force and the German military machine. Our bombers dried up the flow of vital oil and gasoline supplies not only to the German Air Force, but to the rest of the German Army and to German industry as well.
We have had experience too - deadly experience for the Nazis - with our tactical air forces as distinguished from strategic bombing. They wrecked the bridges and roads, the railroads and canals on which the German army counted. Germany's best panzer divisions - entire Army Corps, in fact - were immobilized.
The air force of Japan is not as strong an opponent as the Luftwaffe. Japanese industry is neither as great nor as scattered as Germany's. The planes we are using and will continue to use against Japan will be larger in size and more powerful in action than our bombers in Europe.
Our Army planes and our Navy ships and planes are now driving Japan out of the air, and when our strategic air force reaches the Pacific in full might it will demolish the enemy's resources of production. Our strategic bombardment of Japan is now well beyond its initial phase. The missions of the Twentieth Air Force are mounting in size and intensity. Substantial portions of Japan's key industrial centers have been levelled to the ground in a series of record incendiary raids. What has already happened to Tokyo will happen to every Japanese city whose industries feed the Japanese war machine. I urge Japanese civilians to leave those cities if they wish to save their lives.

Air War Planned
Our tactical air forces, experienced and battle-wise, will soon be ranging over the Japanese homeland from nearby bases.
The Japanese air force will be shattered by our Army and Navy fliers as surely and relentlessly as the Luftwaffe. The concentration of Japanese industry, so long an advantage, will now contribute materially to Japan's downfall.
The Army Air Forces began its redeployment last December when a heavy bomber group returned to this country from Europe, and received B-29 training before moving to the Pacific. The following month a B-25 medium bomber group came to this country and proceeded, after training, to fly A-26 attack bombers against the Japanese.
During the last month twenty bombardment groups have received orders to move from Europe to the Far East by way of the United States.
Our ground armies, our corps and our divisions have followed the best traditions of the American soldier for courage and skill; and their leadership has been of the uniformly high quality which results in victory.
The United States has been fortunate in having as the Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy a man of so great experience and ability as Fleet Admiral Leahy.
We have also been fortunate in having at the head of our land and air forces men like General Marshall, General Eisenhower, General MacArthur and General Arnold. They have provided the inspiration and the leadership for all our Army operations.
The American soldier of this war is as brave and as magnificent as the American soldier has always been. He has the initiative and ingenuity he has always had. But in this war he is a better soldier and a more successful soldier than he has ever been before. For in this war he has gone into battle better trained, better equipped, and better led than ever before.

Stranglehold Broken
In the face of the formidable Nazi hordes which had secured a stranglehold on Western Europe, our armies, shoulder to shoulder with those of our Allies, forced a landing on the shores of France. In the short space of eleven months they drove the enemy from France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Holland and forced him to unconditional surrender in the heart of his own homeland.
To the south our troops and those of the Allies wrested North Africa from the Axis, fought a dogged advance through Italy from Sicily to the Alps, and pinned down a force that otherwise could have brought substantial aid to the enemy on the eastern and western fronts.
The heroism of our own troops in Europe was matched by that of the armed forces of the nations that fought by our side. They and the brave men in the underground movements of the occupied countries-all gave their blood to wipe the Nazi terror from the face of the earth. They absorbed the blows of the German military machine during the many months in which we were building up our expeditionary forces, and they shared to the full in the ultimate destruction of the enemy.
The same courage and skill which brought about the downfall of the Nazis are being displayed by our soldiers now fighting in the Pacific. Many of them are veterans of the grim months following Pearl Harbor.
Since 1942 our Army troops and Marines in the south Pacific have thrown the enemy back from his furthermost advances in New Guinea and the Solomons, have traveled 1500 miles up the New Guinea coastline, have conquered the Admiralty Islands, Biak and Morotai. Meanwhile, Marines and Army troops have been cleaning up in the Solomons and the Palaus. In October of last year these magnificent achievements culminated in the landing of our troops in Leyte. Four months later they freed Manila.
Westward across the Central Pacific other Marines and Army units, in hard fought battles, have forced the Japanese back four thousand miles. Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Guam, Iwo Jima have been the stepping stones. Today Army and Marine divisions are slowly but steadily sweeping the Japanese from Okinawa.
All of our campaigns in Europe and in the Pacific have depended on long lines of communications and upon quantities of supply unheard of in prior warfare. One of the marvels of Allied achievements has been the organization, guarding and operation of these world-girdling supply lines.
For this we have to thank management and labor in our war industries, our farmers and miners and other Americans - who produced the equipment and supplies for ourselves and our Allies; the gallant members of our Merchant Marine - who transported them overseas under the guns of our Navy; and the men of our Army Service Forces - upon whose work in clearing ports, rushing up supplies, and constructing roads, railroads, bridges, highways, and gasoline pipe lines, the fate of battle often depended.

"... planes will be larger and more powerful."

Magnificent Medicos
There are also included in our experience in this war miracles of saving human life as well as miracles of destruction of the enemy. Since the invasion of Africa in November, 1942, in all our operations in Europe and in Africa, we have lost about 1600 soldiers from sickness. In the Civil War the Union forces, never more than a third as large as our forces in Europe, had 224,000 deaths from sickness. In the three years since April, 1942, the Army forces in the disease-infected islands of the Pacific lost fewer than 1400 men from sickness.
Surgery in this war has reduced the percentage of death from wounds in the Army from 8.25% in the last war to 4% in this one. This is due to many factors: the high professional skill of the surgeons and nurses, the availability of blood and blood plasma, penicillin and other new miracles of medicine; the devotion of the Medical Corps men who rescue the wounded under fire, the advanced position of surgical staffs right up behind the front lines.
Shifting our ground and air strength from Europe to the Far East presents transportation problems even greater and more complicated than those involved in the initial deployment of our forces to all parts of the world. Millions of men and millions of tons of supplies must be moved half way around the globe.
The movement of troops from Europe has been swift in getting under way. They are coming by ship and they are coming by air. Every day the process of transfer gains momentum.
After the first World War - when the only problem was getting men home and there was no bitter, powerful enemy left to fight - it took nearly a year to complete the evacuation of 1,933,156 men. This time the Army Transportation Corps and the Air Transport Command plan to move 3,000,000 troops out of Europe before a year passes.
It is not easy to visualize the volume of supplies that must precede, accompany, and follow the soldiers going from Europe and the United States into the Pacific. To maintain our forces in Europe the Army shipped across the Atlantic 68 million tons of equipment and food-nearly eight times the total shipped in all the first World War.
Now we must reclaim all of this equipment that is still serviceable. We must supplement it with new production. And we must make shipments of comparable size to the Pacific over supply lanes which are three times as long as those to Europe.

Fighting Men's Needs
The initial requirement of equipment for each man fighting against Japan is about six tons and an additional ton is needed each month for maintenance.
Finding the ships to transport these supplies is not the only difficulty. We must continue to develop in the Pacific new harbors and bases out of practically nothing, install roads and build power systems.
Great as these problems of redeployment are, we are not losing sight of the human aspect in shifting men from one side of the world to the other. Wherever it can be done without slowing down the pace of our projected operations in the Pacific, we are deploying our soldiers by way of the United States so that they may have a chance to visit their homes and loved ones before they go on to tackle the Japanese.
On the basis of present estimates, only a small fraction of the men now in Europe will have to go directly to the Far East without first stopping off at home.
The remainder of our present European force will go to the Pacific through the United States, will be assigned to necessary military duties in this country, will be discharged, or will be kept in Europe for occupation duty. Most of those who will go directly to the Pacific are in supply and service units whose presence in the new theater is essential to the immediate construction of harbors, bases, communications and airfields - from which to step up our blows against Japan.
The Army is mindful that those who come through this country want to get home with the least possible delay once their ship docks or their plane lands. Everything is geared for speed to accomplish this at the air and sea ports. Within twenty-four hours in most cases they are aboard a train at government expense bound for one of the nineteen Army Personnel Centers, where the men immediately eligible for discharge are separated from those who are destined for further service.
Men who are to remain on active duty are promptly "ordered" home from the Personnel Center at government expense, for a period up to thirty days, plus travel time, for rest and recuperation.

The Human Side
The period spent at home is not charged against the man's furlough time nor is it classed as leave of absence. It is "temporary duty", and the soldier draws full pay for the period. His only instructions are to have the best time he knows how until he reports back to the Personnel Center. That is what I mean when I say that we have not forgotten the human side of redeployment.
Relatives and friends of servicemen can do their part in this program by not crowding around the ports and personnel Centers through which the men pass. The men will get home as soon as is humanly possible. Troop movements on the nation's railroads will become increasingly heavy from now on. I ask for full public cooperation in preventing any aggravation of this burden on domestic transportation, for it would slow down the rate at which soldiers can be reunited with their loved ones.
At the same time as we step up the movement of men and munitions to the Far East, we have been exerting every effort to increase the number of ships available to return men to this country for discharge.
Three hundred and sixteen cargo ships are being converted to help soldiers get out of Europe faster. They are not the most luxurious ships ever seen, but they will get the men home. In addition, the British are letting us use their three proudest passenger liners - the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mary and the Aquitania.
These, added to fifty of our own transport vessels, eight hundred bombers and transport planes, and such ships as we are able to use out of the German merchant fleet, will make it possible to bring men home for discharge without interfering with the main job of transferring troops and equipment to the war against Japan.
The Army's system for selecting the soldiers for release to civilian life represents a democratic and fair approach to this most difficult problem. A poll was taken among enlisted men in all parts of the world. They were asked what factors they believed should be taken into consideration in deciding who should be released from the Army first. More than 90 per cent said that preference should go to those who had been overseas and in combat longest, and to those with children.
The Army spent two years developing a program of point credits designed to carry out these views expressed by the soldiers. It checked and rechecked its program, and made comprehensive surveys in order to make sure that the plan would achieve the objectives.
The system applies equally to the members of our Army in all parts of the world. It embodies the principle of impartial selection that we applied in drafting our citizen Army and that we shall continue to apply in meeting the manpower requirements of our armed forces until Japan is defeated.
By reducing the strength of the Army from 8,300,000 to 6,968,000 and by maintaining the Army calls on Selective Service at a level substantially higher than requirements for actual replacements, it will be possible to restore to their homes during the next year a total of two million officers and men, including those who will leave because of wounds, sickness, age and other specific causes, as well as those who will leave under the point system.
To accomplish this while continuing to be liberal in the deferment of men thirty years of age and over, it is the Administration's policy to induct all non-veterans under thirty years of age who can be replaced and who can qualify for the armed forces. Many of such men who have thus far been irreplaceable will become available for induction when the plants in which they are working are cut back or when they can be replaced from time to time by cutback-production workers and returning veterans.
In the three weeks since the point system became effective 2500 officers and 33,000 enlisted men and women from every theater of war have received final discharge papers at Army Separation Centers. During June, 50,000 high-score men are scheduled to leave Europe for this country, and 33,000 are scheduled to come from the Pacific and Asia. The great majority of these, a few days after they arrive, will be civilians again.

Reason Explained
Let no one be under the delusion that these discharges are being authorized because the war is nearing an end or because we feel the Japanese are easy to beat. They are being made because our military leaders believe that we can reduce the overall strength of our Army at this time without jeopardy to our cause in the Pacific or to the lives of the men fighting there.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff, after consultation with General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz, have decided that our Army can deliver its heaviest blows in the Pacific and win final victory most quickly with a strength which a year from now will be about seven million.
By maintaining our Army at this size, we shall be able to more than double the force we now have in the Pacific and hurl against the Japanese an overseas force larger than the 3,500,000 men who united with our Allies to crush the Wehrmacht and the Luftwaffe.
These are the men who will be carrying the fight to the enemy, but obviously they cannot operate effectively unless there are adequate reserve troops in training in the United States, and also an adequate base from which our advance troops can be supplied and serviced.
It is our plan that every physically fit soldier in the United States who has not yet served overseas be assigned to foreign duty when he completes his training or, if he is fulfilling an essential administrative or service job, as soon as he can be replaced by a returning veteran. This has been the Army's policy since the beginning of the war. It will be rigidly adhered to in the redeployment period.
If it were not for the overwhelming ascendancy established by our air and fleet units, we should have to send many more men to the Pacific than we now intend. The Japanese have more than four million troops under arms - a force larger than the Germans were ever able to put against us on the Western Front. To back up this Army, they have several million additional men of military age who have not yet been called to the colors. We have not yet come up against the main strength of this Japanese military force. The Japanese army is organized into 100 combat divisions. Its air force, despite the heavy losses it has suffered, still comprises over 3,000 combat planes. We are cutting heavily into Japanese aircraft production through our Superfortress raids, but Japan remains capable of producing planes at the rate of 1,250 to 1,500 a month.
Army casualties on Okinawa from March 18 to May 29 totaled 3,603 killed and missing and 14,661 wounded. The Marines in the same period reported 1,880 dead and missing and 8,403 wounded. Navy and Coast Guard losses were 4,729 killed and missing and 4,640 wounded, an overall total for all services of 10,221 killed and missing and 27,704 wounded. Japanese deaths were nearly six times as great as our own. On May 29, the total of Japanese killed on Okinawa was 61,066.
That is an example of the increasing toughness of this war as our troops get closer to Tokyo.
It is this kind of fighting we must be prepared for in our future campaigns.

PREMIER KUNIAKE KIOSO
"... their dreams of conquest
are shattered."

Foot Soldiers Do The Job
All of our experience indicates that no matter how hard we hit the enemy from the air or from the sea, the foot soldier will still have to advance against strongly entrenched and fanatical troops, through sheer grit and fighting skill, backed up by all the mechanical superiority in flamethrowers, tanks and artillery we can put at his disposal. There is no easy way to win.
Our military policy for the defeat of Japan calls for:
(1) Pinning down the Japanese forces where they now are and keeping them divided so that they can be destroyed piece by piece.
(2) Concentrating overwhelming power on each segment which we attack.
(3) Using ships, aircraft, armor, artillery and all other materiel in massive concentrations to gain victory with the smallest possible loss of life.
(4) Applying relentless and increasing pressure to the enemy by sea, air and on the land, so that he cannot rest, reorganize or regroup his battered forces or dwindling supplies to meet our next attack.
Of course the differences between the war in Europe and the war in the Pacific will cause differences in war production. The composition of the army will be different, as will the equipment issued to troops. There will be changes in strategic plans and in replacement factors.
Until the expanded pipelines for the Pacific war are filled, and until equipment arrives in substantial amounts from the European theater, war production must continue at a high rate.
The Navy program will continue on an even keel.
There has been a sharp reduction in the program of the Army Air Forces.
Similar sharp cuts in the program of supplies for our ground troops are now being put into effect. Some new items of equipment will be added. The emphasis will be shifted in others.
Thus, there will be a decreased production in heavy artillery, artillery ammunition, trucks, tanks and small arms.
There will be increased production in aircraft bombs, atabrine, steel barges, wire and insect screening cloth, combat boots, cotton uniforms, amphibious trucks, raincoats, distillation units, radio relay units, special railway equipment, and motorized shop equipment.
In a number of important items there will be little change in demand for an indefinite period. These include food, clothing, petroleum products, lumber, and certain chemicals. It is likely that all these will remain on the critical list. Leather is tight. So are textiles. There is a shortage of cotton duck and fabrics for clothing. The food problem has been accentuated by the steadily increasing numbers the Army has been called upon to feed.
Accordingly, production for the Japanese war cannot be taken as a matter of course. It will require a high percentage of our resources.
War Production Board Chairman Krug has stated that during the balance of this year, our munitions production will run at an annual rate of $54,000,000,000, which is almost equal to the rate of 1943, and more than nine-tenths the rate during the peak of 1944.
With these production objectives before us, we must not slacken our support of the men who are now preparing for the final assault on Japan. War production remains the paramount consideration of our national effort.

Enemy Will Suffer
These then are our plans for bringing about the unconditional surrender of Japan. If the Japanese insist on continuing resistance beyond the point of reason, their country will suffer the same destruction as Germany. Our blows will destroy their whole modern industrial plant and organization, which they have built up during the past century and which they are now devoting to a hopeless cause.
We have no desire or intention to destroy or enslave the Japanese people. But only surrender can prevent the kind of ruin which they have seen come to Germany as a result of continued, useless resistance.
The job ahead for this Nation is clear.
We are faced with a powerful Japanese military machine. These are the same Japanese who perpetrated the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor three and one-half years ago; they are the same Japanese who ordered the death march from Bataan; they are the same Japanese who carried out the barbarous massacres in Manila.
They now know that their dreams of conquest are shattered. They no longer boast of dictating peace terms in Washington.

Japs Still Hoping
This does not mean, however, that the Japanese have given up hope. They are depending on America tiring of this war - becoming weary of the sacrifices it demands.

"It is not easy to visualize the volume of supplies ..."

They hope that our desire to see our soldiers and sailors home again and the temptation to return to the comforts and profits of peace will force us to settle for some compromise short of unconditional surrender.
They should know better.
They should realize that this Nation, now at the peak of its military strength, will not relax, will not weaken in its purpose.
We have the men, the materiel, the skill, the leadership, the fortitude to achieve total victory.
We have the Allies who will help us to achieve it. We are resolute in our determination - we will see the fight through to a complete and victorious finish.
To that end, with the help of God, we shall use every ounce of our energy and strength.

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 Major Floyd Walter, Hq., U.S.F., I.B.T., APO 885, New York, N.Y. and should arrive not later than Saturday in order to be included in 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 Capt. Drexel Nixon, Base Section, APO 465, New York, N.Y. Units on the mailing list should make notification of any major change in personnel strength or any change of APO.

JULY 26, 1945

Adapted from the original issue of India-Burma Theater Roundup

Similar, better quality images of Dr. Gordon Seagrave, Gen. Frank Merrill and Cathy Downs have been used in this re-creation.

Copyright © 2018 Carl Warren Weidenburner

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