Imperial Valley press., 1937-04-04


tired, Not too Gracefully" (Right) Ro-
maldo "Beast' Pacheco AS He Looks
Today. Fifty-Six Years of Age After 40
Years of Full and Vigorous Action.
be 100, the powder pressure would OF necessity
have to be $4,000 pounds per square inch If the
shell weighed 300 pounds. Most of this figuring
was the trial and error method which continued
for days
The fifth day dawned with little progress No
shells from Big Bertha had been reported to the
Officer of the Defense of Paris across the
narrow hall from the Prefect of Police. Gendarmes
kept him informed by telephone of the exact time
and spot where each new shell pumped into
Paris and each arrival took it's place on a
large map. But this morning it was quiet and l
left the confines of the plotting room to cross the
avenue to bar. 1t was time for cognac
AS ordered 1 glanced into the mirror across
the bar and fell to gazing at the man beside me-
There seemed something vaguely familiar about
him. and about the man next to him. You
can't always place man at once, and wasn't
sure who it might be- Suddenly 1t came back
The man my right had changed bit, and
wore the uniform of a high Russian officer.
Bill Nye :" I muttered then spoke aloud,
Bill Nye!'
He turned looked me over codly. General
Nye sir-of the Second Volunteer Army of South
Russia" Clearly, he didn't remember me.
l told him about the old days in China, and
mentioned Spike Hilliard who had introduced us
so long before. Then he remembered.
1.-The kid with the British at Peking he said,
and laughed. He slapped my shoulder, and his
other arm seized the man beside him, pushing
him at me- 1t was Spike-the same, only some
how different. Older lines of care around his
eyes.
"spiker' yelled and grabbed him. Spike!
from What
YOU doing here? Where you going, you old
buzzard ?" chartered at him as his great hands
held my arms tightly. We'd all grown up since
China DAYS. but still felt like boy when Spike
was around.
You look all right, lad" Spike said Il thought
I'd pick you up somewhere about. Probably at
some bar :" He was still ironc,-sturdy broad
of shoulder the same gruff kindness in his heavy
voice.
llme had brought changes Spike had been an
"owner" like myself, had sailed his own ship
in the North Sea, and been sent to Paris on
special duty &. . Intelligence, thought; he never
told me- being too busy remembering old times.
General Nye had come up from Second Battalion
Company, of the United States 14th Infantry
to commander of the South Russian army, sta
toned in the Crmea. He was buying supplies in
Paris.
For short hour we renewed the past, talking
of times that had gone days when wed
stormed Peking mixed with Boxers and Imperial
troops and thought were saving the world
for white civilization. Here we stood again, do
ing something smilar-or liking to think So
A SIREN interrupted u.s. whining above the
~ city with a moan like a child crying
had to go.
Spike, where can l find you tonight?'
Here, son-right here I imagine, some time
before midnight If | don't come in, no need IN
waiting for me-
Out rushed back to the plotting room where
more fragments of shell were being recon-
structed That night waited for Spike in the bar
but he didn't come l never him again. After
20 wears and more is he reading about himself
somewhere remembering a brief hour in that
little Paris bar? You never know when man
will disappear from your life; hadn't guessed
he wouldn't return that night, or I should have
left the plotting room to itself, and stayed with
Bill Nye and Spike.
Our shell reconstruction indicated Big Bertha
was 15-inch gun lined down to S3 inches
supposedly some 70 feet long, hurting shell
weighing $50 pounds, around SO inches long, and
pointed with two copper bands. We computed ii
to be 104 caliber, with muzzle velocity of about
5000 feet per second and a range of 81 miles
Elevation about 55 degrees.
This meant that was assigned to aeronautiC
survey, photographing the landscape between
Paris and 70 miles away Big Bertha must be
senced. There seemed to be more than one great
gun, for shell fragments showed difference of
rifng
We covered hundreds Of square miles, and fit
ted together pictures taken from several planes
:. and at last produced a comprehensive map
for Headquarters to examine. Our job was COM
pleted it up to others to figure just where
the gun or guns might be located, In that special
duty, my usefulness was ended, and was left
without assignment.
A transfer came to assist in the emplace-
ment of great gun in the Vailly counter defense
region, a new innovation in "heavies" This one
section was held by seven divisions, three of
which were British Shock troops under Luden-