CBI Roundup - October 8, 1943 - China-Burma-India Theater of World War II

VOL. II NO. 4 REG NO. L5015 DELHI, FRIDAY OCTOBER 8, 1943

\ LEAVES OF AUTUMN (AND ZEROS) FALL

ALL THIS AND BOYER, TOO

When Hollywood caption jockeys submit pictures like this, they make the mistake of writing: "Luscious Marjorie Lord appearing in Charles Boyer's Universal production For All We Know." Rather, we wimmin-starved CBI-landers maintain, the suave Boyer ALSO appears in the flicker.

14TH WINS AERIAL DUEL

B-24'S BOMB JAP BASE OF HAIPHONG,
THEN BAG 29 INTERCEPTORS
    As the leaves of autumn were falling in China on the first day of October so were fluttering earthwards, shattered, blazing and spinning out of control, 29 Japanese Zero planes confirmed and 14 more probables as a result of a vicious aerial duel with bombers and fighters of the 14th Air Force.
    In the last of three communiques from Forward Echelon Headquarters, the story is told of one of the heaviest bombing raids of the war in the Far East against the vital Jap base of Haiphong and of a Nip interception which resulted in aerial hari-kiri.
    Liberators accurately struck at the power plant, warehouses and docking facilities at Haiphong with more than 50 tons of high explosive bombs before the interception was made. heavy clouds of smoke billowed skywards 5,000 feet, attesting to the success of the bombardiers.

FIGHTERS GET THREE
     As the B-24's departed from the target area, they were attacked by two formations of Zeros. According to the communique: "Our fighters (P-40's and P-38's) engaged the first formation of from 10 to 15 Zeros, preventing a frontal attack and destroying three, with three probables and two damaged."
    The other Nip formation pressed its attack on the rear element of the bomber flight with a force estimated to be from 40 to 50 fighters. In a running battle that lasted for 40 minutes, the B-24 gunners destroyed 26 confirmed Zeros and additionally, listed 11 as probales and three as damaged.
    In this latter engagement, T/Sgt. Arthur J. Benko (read Benko's story below) converted seven Zeros into funeral pyres to boost his total of decisions to 16, greatest toll of enemy victims registered by any bomber gunner in the U.S. Army Air Forces.

BUSY MR. BENKO
    Reilly O'Sullivan, of the Associated Press, talked to Benko after the raid. "It was the busiest time I ever had," the raw-boned, blue-eyed gunner told him. "They say the fight lasted more than half an hour, but it only seemed like a few minutes to me."
    "I shot at 19," Benko informed O'Sullivan. "Seven of them won't fly any more; I never worked a turret so fast in my life. I did most of my firing upwards as they came down from above. One Zero broke up in all four directions, opening up in the middle like a blossom. While I was giving a second burst I had a lucky break. A third Zero made a pass and streaked into my line of fire. Both of them went down."
    Sgts. Caspar Chirieleison and Robert Kirk, crewmates of Benko, each shot down two confirmed, making the score for their ship, The Goon, 11 for the mission and 22 altogether.
    During the combat, revealed O'Sullivan, a slug from one of the enemy's guns ripped through Benko's glass turret and nicked him slightly on the left wrist and neck.
    Others of Liberator crews who shot down enemy planes confirmed at Haiphong were Sgts. Stanley Marshall and Alexander Yovan, two each; and Lts. Adolphe Barnaby and Edward Tiffany and Sgts. Charles Bruni, Howard Buchwan, Samuel Butler, Fred Cook, James Drake, Ulrich Gebert, Francis Heim, Herman Peterson and Kenneth Wilson, one each.
    On Sept. 25, B-25's ranged the Gulf of Tongking in search of enemy shipping and bombed a 200-foot tanker. The crew was seen to abandon the sinking ship. One U.S. plane is missing in this operation.
    B-25's and P-40's carried out two missions on the last day of the month. Mitchells bombed and damaged a 150-foot gunboat near Fort Bayard and a 150-foot freighter with unobserved results in the South China Sea.

Lord Mountbatten Arrives In Theater

Lord Louis Mountbatten arrived in Delhi yesterday to assume the South East Asia Command. Accompanied by a small personal staff, the Admiral stepped from a converted B-24 to be greeted by Gen. Sir Claude Auchinleck, othe British officials and Maj. Gen. George Stratemeyer, Brig. Gen. B. G. Ferris and Brig. Gen. Howard Davidson all of the United States Army.
Mountbatten made no official statement about his plans for future operations against the Japanese in Burma. Incidentally, girls, the guy who called Victor Mature a "beautiful hunk of man" should have seen the admiral. He said he was going into conferences with the C-in-C India and later with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek.

FRIDAY NEW DATE FOR PUBLICATION

Hereafter, the Roundup will be published Friday, known familiarly as "fish day." Think not there is any connection between the shift and the odious fact some unkind souls persist in calling the paper a "fishwrapper." The change has been made so Stateside week-end football stories may be published.

JAPS BOOST AIR POWER
CHENNAULT TELLS PRESS

    14TH A.F. HQ. - Maj. Gen. Claire L. Chennault announced during a press conference this week that the Japanese reportedly have recently increased their air strength 200 to 300 percent at Hongkong, Haiphong and Canton because American airmen have "hurt them so severely that they have had to take defensive measures."
    Chennault said this did not indicate any overall increase in Jap strength, bu that the enemy probably was withdrawing air power from other war areas. He reiterated that "the easiest way to defeat the Japanese is to strike at their China holdings" because they don't want to fight in China, where efforts expended are just so much waste to them. Chennault said he felt Burma could be listed among Japanese holdings which the enemy considers expendable, due to the fact the Allies couldn't attack Japan proper from there.
    The 14th Air Force leader said that "Japanese airplanes are improved in performance and their pilots show evidence of being well and carefully trained." However, 29 Jap planes were destroyed on Oct. 1 during a scrap with the 14th Air Force.

WAGE INCREASE

SEATTLE (WD) - The War Labor Board has allowed a wage raise for Boeing aircraft workers to help Flying Fortress production. The increase will run up to a dollar a day for some workers.

Small World Dept.

NAVY MAN MEETS LANDLORD AFTER 12,000-MILE TRIP

    Lt. Cmdr. John R. Fitxpatrick, of the Navy Department, who is touring the C.B.I. Theater as an observer, undoubtedly broke all records for traveling to meet his landlord - 12,000 miles.
    Resplendent in whites, tall wiry Fitzpatrick stepped into Room 131 of the 10th Air Force Headquarters and came to smart attention before Brig. Gen. Howard C. Davidson.
    The first few minutes of conversation brought to light the fact that Fitzpatrick and his family, residing in Frederick, Md., are renting a house owned by Davidson.
    "If you're here the first of the month, you can just pay me," Davidson quipped after their conversation on military matters was concluded.
    Not to be outdone, the lieuetenant commander fired the parting shot: "Say if you don't mind, the wife would like to have the living room papered."

UNIQUE HOSPITAL UNIT BACK IN BURMA

The Roundup cameraman, T/3 Nick Lyseczko, shows you how one of the typical hospital locations is situated in the tangled wilds of the Burmese jungle.

Burmese nurse Maran Lu, left, sews as she jokes with her comrades, Hla Sein and Lulu, on a bench outside their bamboo living quarters.

In a bamboo basha ward, Ruth, left, and Kyang Tswi attend to the medical needs of one of the Chinese soldiers protecting the area.

Lt. Col. Gordon S. Seagrave

    A graduate of the first Burma campaign, Lt. Col. Gordon S. Seagrave, former American Baptist Medical Missionary, and his unique hospital unit are back in the territory from which they were driven in 1942 by the Jap push.
    As before, the polyglot staff of Burman nurses, Chinese orderlies, British helpers, American medical and dental assistants and Naga coolies are administering to the needs of the Chinese army, as well as performing medical missions in neighboring Naga villages and scattered American outposts.
    They live in bamboo bashas and live off the land with a supplemental ration of canned beef dropped by air or laboriously carried from Assam by coolies.
    The organization set up the first hospital for the Chinese-American training center in Eastern India and later returned to the Burma jungles with Chinese troops trained and re-equipped by Lt. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell.
    Seagrave is itching for action. he wrote to Brig. Gen. Hayden L. Boatner and said: "When things get started, I suppose we will be left behind in favor of some outfit just out from the States. I want to move my group forward now."

Medical teaching continues even in the jungle. Big Bawk, standing, is an expert in microscope work and she instructs Na Shaw.

Maj. John Grindley, formerly of the Mayo Clinic, performs surgery on an American soldier, assisted by Pearl, left, and Koi.

Rol Tsaitreats an infected leech bite for a Naga village headman, who wears his emblematic chief's hat during the ministration.

Hla Sein bandages and insect-infested leg of a Chinese soldier. His comrade is suffering from malaria.

Ruth plays the guitar for Than Tin, Ruby, Moses and Theodore on the steps of a stilted bamboo basha.

Daisy, Sein Bwint and Than Shwe, left to right, busy themselves with off-duty knitting and sewing.

KNOCKING DOWN ZEROS HIS BUSINESS & BUSINESS IS GOOD

    CHINA AIR BASE - Knocking Zeros out of the China sky is T/Sgt. Arthur J. Benko's business, And business is just fine, thank you. Benko, top turret gunner on one of Col. Eugene H. Beebe's Liberators, has 46 enemy planes confirmed to his credit, which ranks him first among all bomber gunners in the AAF. Last Friday he knocked the incredible number of seven Zeros out of the sky after the Japs engaged his flight in a running 40-minute battle out of Haiphong.

    Benko is old as gunners go. He has celebrated his 31st birthday. His hair is liberally sprinkled with silver. But he is close to being a perfect physical specimen. He is six feet tall and carries 180 pounds well. His face is bronzed by Chinese sun and wind and his eyes are clear. He has a 12-year-old daughter, Beatrice June, and, when he talks about her, his eyes brighten and you know his life revolves around the little girl.

    Benko, a native of Bisbee, Ariz., is quiet spoken, modest and well liked by the officers and enlisted men of his squadron. He doesn't drink, except, as he says, for an occasional glass of wine with a meal, doesn't play cards and doesn't like dancing. Since arriving overseas, he has learned to play chess and enjoys the game.

    Benko's hobby is guns. It's been that way ever since he was a kid and his father first taught him how to shoot. His father was a good teacher, for he was a rifle instructor in World War I - in the German Army. While his dad fought for the Kaiser in 1917, he came to the United States after the war and is proud of his citizenship and

T/Sgt. Arthur J. Benko

allegiance to the Stars and Stripes. Benko's mother was also born in Germany, but shee too has her citizenship papers.

    Ever since he can remember, shooting and hunting have been Benko's favorite pastimes. He used to throw tin cans into the air and shoot them down with a .22 caliber rifle. He thinks perhaps this practice has taught him the proper way to "lead" enemy planes into the path of his death-dealing .50 caliber machine guns.

    His interest in shooting led him into membership in the Bisbee Rifle and Pistol Club, which is affiliated with the National Rifle Association, and he at one time was president of his city's club. He attended C.M.T.C. camp, where he says he learned a lot about the fine art of shooting. In 1941, the year before he entered the Army, he won the Arizona state championship in the .30 caliber rifle competition at a meet in Fort Huachucha.

    For three years he was a member of the Arizona state championship team which competed at the National Rifle shoot at Camp Perry, O. - a competition which annually draws the best shots in the Army Forces, in addition to crack shots from city and state police departments, gun clubs, etc. In 1937, he placed 16th among all civilian participants in the .30 caliber competition at Camp Perry. In 1938, he entered the Dupont Trophy match open to all competitors, military or civilian, and placed sixth despite the fact that he used two borrowed rifles.

    An indication of Benko's thoroughness is the fact that he loaded his own ammunition in preparation for match shoots. He carried that thoroughness into the Army with him, for now he "sights" his own machine gun and tests it thoroughly before each mission. He has developed a gadget of his own to help him in the job of shooting down Zeros, but it's a military secret and too much can't be said yet about his development.

    He hates the Japs and the only time his quiet voice rose during our interview with him was when we mentioned them. However, he gives them credit for being courageous and persistent. "They don't make only one pass at your ship," he says. " They keep coming back until you either shoot them down or they run out of gas."

    There is not the slightest touch of nervousness about Benko. His large, strong hands are steady and there is confidence in every movement. He says: "I guess I just love the smell of burnt gun powder." Once he says he was frightened. Thatwas when a Zero came at him from an angle that didn't give him a shot. "Those guns of his kept blinking at me like a flashlight," he said, "and I tried to crouch closer in the turret. Fortunately, he missed."

    Daughter Beatrice June is taking piano lessons and her dad is proud of her progress. She is attending grade school in Bisbee and, when she first heard her father was making a name for himself shooting down enemy planes, she wrote a letter telling him, "There's no limit on Japs, Daddy; you don't even have to have a license."

    Benko is a member of the crew of "The Goon," four-motored bomber, whose pilot is another Arizonian, Lt. S. J. Skousen, who hails from Thatcher. Benk thinks his pilot is the best in the business and is proud, too, of the other members of the crew of The Goon. T/Sgt. Robert Kirk, tail gunner, has three Zeros confirmed. Sgt. Caspar Chirelson has two confirmed and one probable. And T/Sgt. William Novak, radio operator, has one confirmed.

    Other members of the crew are Lt. Ralph E. Bowers, co-pilot; Lt. Malcolm S. Sanders, bombardier; Lt. Daniel J. Palmer, navigator; T/Sgt. Archie Fleharty, engineer.

    In addition to his nine confirmed Zeros, Benko is also credited with damaging four others. He got his first four confirmed over Ichang and his next five over Hankow before last Friday's jackpot.

    When we contacted him for this interview, Benko had just returned from inspecting a Jap Zero that had been shot down and he had several souvenirs - a piece of the Nip pilot's belt, a piece of the fuselage and a section of the plane's metal bearing the "Rising Sun" insignia.

    Somehow or other, it seemed symbolic seeing Gunner Benko carrying a battered insignia of the "Rising Sun."

TRAIN TRAVEL
IT'S NO EASY MATTER TO RIDE CHOO-CHOO ON INDIAN LINES

If any of your youngsters have the traditional American ambition to become railroad engineers, send them to India. Send them, that is, if you DON'T want them to be engineers.

If the airlines or bus companies at home want to steal some business from the railways to their own advantage they would be well advised to offer all-expense paid tours of India on the railroads.

    If you have a son or daughter in whom you wish to test qualities of supreme patience and tolerance, send them by rail from Karachi to Delhi in July. In so doing, however, they risk nervous breakdown.

    Although comparisons are always invidious, a few odious parallels between any American trolley passing through Burning Stump, Okla., and the "crack" Bombay Mail might be in order. We've made some recent train trips and our thoughts are as billious as our eyes are jaundiced.

    On one trip we boarded an "express" train - said to be one of the fastest in India. We covered about 80 miles in five hours without being sidetracked for other trains and the bullock cart we passed near Delhi was five minutes behind us when we reached our transfer point. We only stopped every three and one-half miles. This was said to be an all-time record for expeditious travel.

    We had to change trains, which required an official wait at the station of about four hours. We watched with absolute fascination a punka-walla langorously tugging the punka rope on the outside of the ladies' vestibule. There, we decided, was an occupation fraught with human interest.

    In order to mitigate against missing the train, we checked with four railroad officials on the probable time of arrival. We got four answers which covered a span of slightly over two hours. We settled down to wait. Before setting out we had wired for a reservation on this train and when it finally came we almost missed it because it arrived early, of all things. After we had rounded up our baggage, we discovered that all first class compartments were taken. The one reserved for us was taken by some British officers who, following Indian railway tradition, had merely taken our name off and moved in.

    "When in Rome do as the Romans," so we moved into a compartment reserved for ladies only and tore the name off. We got away with it and didn't even have to bribe anybody, which was unusual. The ensuing trip, which was supposed to take about 12 hours, took 18, but four of that was spent sitting on the main line while the engineer argued with somebody in white. Our prickly heat being what it was, we scratched each other without restraint.

    In America, a person buys a ticket, gets on a train and rides to where he is supposed to go. He has to pay. Returning from our destination, we met a sergeant who lacked a warrant and managed to get himself off to Bombay for the munificient sum of Rs. 5 paid to the white-coated minor factotum of the railroad. That was pretty cheap travel and other passengers stated that one could make a tour of all India for Rs. 15 paid to the right persons.

    That reminds us - why in Hell does an American soldier, traveling on official orders, have to bribe an Indian Stationmaster to get himself on a train?

Forward Echelon Forms
'Dead Enders Club'

Membership Limited In Exclusive Group

CHINA - Outsnorting the "Short Snorters," the officers and men at Forward Echelon recently organized the "Dead Enders Club." Each member of the newly-formed club proudly displays a picture scroll in three colors fashioned by the outstanding wood block artist in China and executed in traditional Chinese style. The scroll bears the personal chop of Lt. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell.
To be eligible for membership, "Dead Enders" must have been assigned to permanent station at the "end of the line." Visiting firemen and junketing dignitaries are ineligible, regardless of rank or station, it is to be significantly added. Immediately to your left is a replica of the unique picture scroll presented to all members of the "Dead Enders Club."

Legion Blamed For Yank Shift

EDITORIAL CITED AS CAUSE OF OUSTER

    NEW YORK (UP) - While the War Department termed the removal of Maj. Hartzell Spence as editor of Yank as a "routine transfer," the editor's friends said the real reason of the policy disagreement is reported to have been climaxed with the American Legion's protest over an editorial in Yank.
    The editorial termed the Legion as a political pressure group, often working "for selfish reasons at the expense of our country's well-being."
    William Lewis, New York State Commander, in lodging a protest, said the editorial was a "one-sided affair," but Roane Waring, National Commander, in denying that the Legion had asked for Spence's removal, said it seemed "most improbable that the Army would transfer a man from any post for saying what he thought."

Lt. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell

Senate Handed Boost In Grade For CBI Leader

    WASHINGTON - An unusual number of changes among high-ranking U.S. Army officers, involving promotions, changes of assignment, or both, made news in Army circles this week.

    Lt. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell, of the CBI Theater, was one of six generals whose names were sent to the Senate by President Roosevelt for confirmation for promotion to the permanent grade of major general. The others were Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, Lt. Gen. John Wainwright, Lt. Gen. George Patton, Lt. Gen. Brehon Somerveill and Lt. Gen. Joseph McNarney. Wainwright is a prisoner of the Japanese, following his capture at Corregidor.

    At the same time, six other temporary lieutenant generals were nominated to become permanent brigadier generals. These were Mark Clark, G. C. Kenney, Carl Spaatz, Robert L. Eichelberger, Millard F. Harmon and Follett Bradley. Maj. Gen. Ira Eaker, commander of the Eighth Army Air Force in Britain, has been recommended for the temporary rank of lieutenant general and the permanent rank of brigadier general. Maj. Gens. Hugh Drum and Barton K. Yount have been recommended for promotion to temporary lieutenant generals and 23 brigadier generals have been advanced a grade to temporary major general.

    Changes in command involve the replacement of Maj. Gen. Davenport Johnson by Maj. Gen. St. Clair Street as commander of the Second Air Force, the replacement of Brig. Gen. William J. Weaver by Maj. Gen. Robert W. Crawford as Deputy Commander and Supply Services Chief of Staff in London and the appointment of Brig. Gen. Frank O'Driscoll Hunter to command of the First Air Force, succeeding Maj. Gen. Ralph Royce. Johnson will now take command of the 11th Air Force in Alaska. Weaver will be Deputy Field Commander in England and Royce will assume command of the U.S. Army Air Force in the Middle East.

Chinese Heroes Win Silver Star For Burma Acts

    Echoes of the 1942 Burma campaign were awakened today by information that three Chinese officers and an enlisted man have been awarded Silver Stars for gallantry in action against the Japanese during the bitter, heroic resistence.
    Capt. Ho Peng-Chi, of the 22nd Division, was cited for two acts. In the battle of Yedashe, he led his company in a determined and succesful assault against an entrenched Japanese position. Later, he commanded his unit skilfully during a rear guard action against a greatly superior force, permitting the safe and orderly retreat of the main body.
    Capt. Lee Chi-Yuan, of the 22nd Division, led his platoon during the battle of Swa against three determined Jap attacks, and though greatly outnumbered and crippled by casualties, his unit inflicted heavy casulaties among the enemy.
    Sgt. Ching Wun-Fei, of the 22nd Division, was cited for leading half of his unit on a flanking scout movement and while thus engaged, observed the approach of numerically-superior enemy patrols, which were cleverly and successfully ambushed under his direction.
    Maj. P'eng K'o Li, of the 38th Division, led reinforcements forward to support a platoon of his battalion and organized the defense of Nathkaw Sakan, forcing the enemy's withdrawal.

B-25’S STEAL SHOW IN 10TH AIR FORCE Mediums Wallop Japanese Hard In Burma Raids

    Continuing their constant harassment of Jap communications, B-25 medium bombers and B-24 heavy bombers ranged far and wide over Burma this week, the B-25's stealing the show from their heavier comrades.
    The mediums started the week right by hitting Myotha and Tuangtha, demolishing the railroad station at Taungtha with a direct hit and doing heavy damage to storage areas, buildings, trackage and railroad yards at both places. The next day Mogok, Tantabin, Ngapayin and Pakokku were raided with great success, and high flames and smoke resulted from a low-level attack on warehouses at Ye-U.
    Twenty-six tons of bombs were dropped by the mediums on Thazi Junction in their next big attack, nearly completing the removal of Thazi from the map. On Oct. 2, they hit Monywa and Alon, blasting storage buildings.

SAGAING NEXT
    Sagaing was next on the list, where heavy destruction to tracks and storage areas was observed. The next day the busy mediums hammered many places in the Mandalay area, leaving calling cards traced in flame and smoke at Shwebo, Sagaing and Ywataung.
    In the meantime, the heavy bombers and the P-40 fighter bombers were far from idle. The B-24's made two attacks on shipping facilities on Oct. 3 and 4, causing heavy damage and shooting down two Nip planes confirmed, two probably destroyed and two damaged out of 11 planes which attempted interception, without loss to themselves.
    Earlier in the week the B-24's started two fires at Akyab which could be seen for 20 miles and damaged several buildings. Bassein was hit hard on Oct. 1, with at least 10 direct hits scored on storage buildings near the jetties.

HEAVIES HIT RANGOON
And on Oct. 3, the heavies socked Rangoon with 70 tons of high explosives, concentrated on shipping facilities and warehouses in the Sule Pagoda district, and probably sank a 250-foot ship in the river.
    Lacking the range of their bigger sisters, the P-40 fighter-bombers had to play a subsidiary role this week, but this will change when the monsoon finally ends and gives them a chance to show what they can really do. Highlights of their weekly stint, however, included the bombing and strafing of Namti, in the Hukawng Valley of northern Burma, starting a total of 12 fires, from the largest of which smoke shot up to 4,000 feet and the strafing and thorough riddling of a truck convoy caught in the open near Nsopzup.

Death Claims Powell, Veteran CBI General

Just as the Roundup was going to press, word was received of the death in China of Brig. Gen. William D. Powell, an old Stilwell hand who was in command of the Infantry School at the Chinese-American Training Center in India.
Powell was Lt. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell's III Army Corps G-1. He came to the C.B.I. Theater with the original Stilwell party and was Theater G-I until made a brigadier general. He died Oct. 6 in Yunnan shortly after being stricken with a cerebral hemorrhage. He had gone to Yunnan on an advisory mission in connection with the Chinese training school there.

Tiger Insignia Chosen By 14th Air Force

    CHINA - The rampaging Bengal tiger, made famous by Maj. Gen. Chennault's "Flying Tigers," has become the symbol of American aerial might in China.
    When the War Department announce that separate air forces serving overseas were entitled to a distinctive insignia, the 14th Air Force chief requested members of his command to submit designs.
    The winning insignia was designed by S/Sgt. Howard M. Arnegard, who, left, presents the finished product to the No. 1 Tiger.
    Sgt. Robert Naves, right, prepared the insignia for the general.

China G.I.'s Toss Three Joy Jumps

    Something in the Chian air must have been condusive to merriment these last few days, for from three widely separated Chinese bases the Roundup's sensitive ears have been assailed by the strains of sweet music, the shuffling of G.I. brogans on unwaxed floors, the rhythmic chomping of G.I. jaws and the gurgling of fluid down G.I. throats - in general, the unmistakable sounds of a good time being had by all.

    One of our ears, Sgt. Edward Giguere, of a China Air Base, reports eloquently on a big to-do in his balliwick, featured by an honest-to-gawd dance with 40 of China's fairest flowers as partners. Refreshments consisted of tea and cookies, very popular with the feminine guests, and punch which, for some strange reason, found unanimous approval among the G.I.'s. Lt. Bob Dalnodar functioned as emcee, Cpl. Joe Falchierre stopped the show with wacky impersonations, and practically everyone made speeches, including Col. Morris L. Taber, squadron commander. Music was furnished by phonograph.

    At another China Air Base, which can be identified only as Maj. Paul J. O'Brien's personal Shangri-La, an excuse for celebration was provided by the fact that the other night marked the completion of the squadron's first year together. A swell dinner, reports S/Sgt. Robert E. Badger, a mardi gras featuring all sorts of games of chance and a newly discovered Indian beverage called "gin," provided merriment. Speeches were tossed off by O'Brien and Capt. James E. Maher, representing Col. Eugene H. Beebe, C.O. of the heavy bomb group of which the squadron is part.

    And from the 14th Air Force Headquarters, Darrell Berrigan, UP newshawk, lets us know about a celebration thrown by a transport section for no good reason except that the boys felt like it. With Sgt. Flint officiating, three prime suckling pigs were cremated in a newly-constructed barbecue pit, after which they disappeared down G.I. throats together with quantities of onions, pickles, sweet corn, tomatoes and rolls. Phonograph music, Chinese lovelies and Red Cross hostesses provided opportunities for dancing and a strange concoction which Berrigan archly calls jing bau juice proved such a success that several joyful participants are still saying: "It was a swell party - but what hit me?"

RIKKI-TIKKI-SAVVY?
In Hindustan the mongoose
Is in excellent repute.
On all ophidian subjects
He's exceedingly astute.
About the house he's handy
And very highly prized.
Because he keeps, most ably
The place de-reptilized.
The small viverrine mammal
Moves quicker than a cat.
A cobra always strikes where
The mongoose isn't at.
Around his victim dancing,
He waits the merest slip
Of vigilance, then leaps in
To plant his lethal grip.
Oh, nothing but a mongoose
Can keep the snakes away.
The banded kraits and vipers
Drop in, but do not stay.
When I get home from India,
I'll hunt the nearest zoo.
I'd like to see a mongoose
In person - wouldn't you?
By Sgt. SMITH DAWLESS

PRAYER OF A G.I. DRIVER

Now I gently take my seat
And pray the Lord that this damned jeep
Won't strip a gear or throw a wheel
As round the corners I do squeal

And if I arrive in pieces one
And my journey's safely done
I'll dismount and thank the Lord
For deliverance from this midget Ford

God bless the Dodge or Chevrolet
I hope to drive again - some day

By Sgt. CHARLES L. WERNER

When we received a ration of American magazines this week, we were surprised and not too displeased by an article in Colliers entitled "The Husband Shortage")

THE HUSBAND SHORTAGE

Oh, Colliers writes of a terrible plight
My lady will soon be alone:
For statistics say there is coming a day
When she can't have a man of her own
On a soft warm night by pale moonlight
When romance is in the air
My lady sighs and, languishing, dies;
There's no one to come to her there
Oh, sad is the story when womanly glory
Finds no man to call her to him
For much to her sorrow,
in some near tomorrow
My lady is out on a limb
So alas, for many a luckless lass
Who sits alone on the shelf
But send me home from this damn airdrome
And I'll fix it - all by myself.
By Capt. SCOTT STERLING, JR.

California Administration Upset

IRKED AT STUDENT PAPER - ALL-OUT FOR LA RUSSELL

BERKELEY - Officially, the administration of the University of California is "quite upset" and is conducting a formal investigation "to determine responsibility and recommend appropriate action."

La Russell

It is upset by what went on in the columns of the Daily California student newspaper, particularly the columns comprising the service page conducted by students who are also Navy Reservists.
University spokesmen authorized publication of the opinion that in illustration and text the page is being "most shocking."
Item: Announcement of a contest to select the Servicemen's Pin-Up Girl, on the basis of (a) best shape, two points; (b) best face, one-half point; (c) girl I'd rather marry, one-half point, and (d) girl I'd rather ______, seven points.
Item: Three-column picture of Jane Russell which was outlawed from San Francisco billboards.
Item: A recommendation by the conductor of the Scuttlebutt column that Miss Russell be selected because, "regardless of her histrionic deficiencies, her torso deserves your consideration."
Item: Publication in a column of the following jingle: "I've a question for you, Miss Russell - Is all that development muscle? Or could such enormity, be a deformity, for instance, an out of place bustle?"
Commander W. D. Hoover identified himself as the censor. Asked if he had seen and approved the Scuttlebutt column and limerick, he replied heartedly: "Sure. Pretty good, isn't it?"

Hot News

LETTER TO EDITOR ARRIVES AFTER MISHAP

    (The following letter arrived this week in an envelope seared by fire, with a notation on the outside reading: "portions of mail salvaged from aircraft mishap." The Roundup considers it "hot" news even if it was written on Sept. 9 - The Editor)

ASSAM - The well-known motto of one of the 10th Air Force fighter squadrons up in these hills is "Our Assam Draggin.'" It has a nice little dragon which has been fondly adopted as its insignia. But eight members of an engineering crew didn't let their pantaloons drag here recently.
    Under exceedingly adverse field conditions, an old P-40 engine was removed and a new one installed in the record-breaking time of eight hours.
    Praised by Col. John F. Egan, Group Commander, were T/Sgts. William C. Land and Ernest M. Thygeson, S/Sgts. Kenneth C. Millerburg, Edward A. Schramm, Sgts. John R. Armstrong, Kenneth F. Long and George C. Bailey and Pvt. George A. Fanshier.
    (As an addendum to the Roundup, the letter added: "I'm sure you fellows can readily understand why a picture could not be taken - the boys just moved too darn fast.")

There is macabre beauty captured by the camera in this panoramic scene. Against a breathtaking backdrop of land and sea billows a plume of black smoke. B-25 Mitchell medium bombers of the 14th Air Force had just swept over Laichikok, important Japanese oil storage dump at Hong Kong, and scored hits with pin-point accuracy. Smoke instantly spiralled to a height of 3,000 feet and, hours after the planes had left, the cloud had climbed to 15,000 feet and drifted hundreds of miles down the China coast. Following the bombing, a flight of Jap Zeros screamed up to intercept the B-25's, but an alert fighter escort knocked two of them out of the sky and a bomber gunner destroyed a third.

The C.B.I. Roundup is a weekly newspaper published by and for the men of the United States Army Forces in China, Burma, and India, from news and pictures supplied by staff members, soldier correspondents, the United Press, and the Army News Service. The Roundup is published Friday of each week and is printed by The Statesman in New Delhi, India. Editorial matter should be sent directly to Lt. Floyd Walter, Rear Echelon Hq., U.S.A.F., C.B.I., New Delhi, and should arrive not later than Monday in order to make that week's issue. Pictures must arrive by Sunday and must be negatives or enlargements. Stories should contain full name and organization of sender.

OCTOBER 8, 1943

Original issue of C.B.I. Roundup shared by Virginia Dyer, widow of CBI veteran Stanley Dyer.

Copyright © 2008 Carl Warren Weidenburner

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