Evening star., 1941-07-12

American Newspaper Aillance)
MEMPHIS, TENN, July 12.-The
punishment of a detachment of SOL
diers of the 35th Division, who were
made to march Is miles under a
hot sun, was the elimination of a
situation which developed in the
Second Army maneuvers in Tennes-
see. And 1t may have been the
straw that broke the usually un-
f1ustered exterior of 1t. Gen. Ben
Lear, the Second Army commander,
causing him to take an action di-
recte6 as rule to subordinate
commanders to perform.
Gen. Lear is a sticker for dis
cipline. But he found during the
maneuvers a widespread lack of
discipline throughout his command
Indeed, it was learned through off,
GERS in close contact with I'd Army
headquarters here, only one unit
of that command came up to Gen.
Lear's ideas of how an Army outfit
should conduct itself at all times.
That unit was the I'd Armored
Division, from Fort Benning, under
Maj. Gen. George S. Patton.
Other Divisions Lax.
Among other divisions in the
I'd Army, the 9th from New York,
the 30th from North Carolina and
Virginia, the 33d from Illinois and
the 5th Regulars from Fort Custer,
Mich. National Guardsmen and
Regular Army men alike, there was
noted a failure to observe the stand
ards of conduct required by Army
regulations.
Il never saw such situation"
one officer said today. I'm many of
the units things were done by some
of the men which could not have
gone unnoticed by their officers.
Yet the officers took no action.
There was a loss of control in sew
eral instances, for which both Off
GERS and commissioned officers
were TO blame. Units were allowed
to go into the field and to march in
most unmilitary manner. They
were careless. both in personal ap-
pearance and in conduct"
Several Incidents of Bad Conduct.
It was gossiped around headquar-
ters that several incidents involv-
ing the conduct of the soldiers oc-
Cured during the maneuvers, some
of them as fragrant as that OF the
35th's soldiers while they were pass
ing, in truck convoy, the golf course
on which Gen. Lear was playing.
Some of the worst offenders among
the men in the column got away
before the general could reach the
highway, where he stopped the re-
ma1nder of the convoy to give a
severe lecture to the officers.
The column comprised about IS
motor vehicles and the detachment
itself was a mixed one, composed
of elements of the 10th Quarter
master Regiment, 10th Medical
Regiment, the 35th Signal Com
pany and others. They had re-
manned behind at the conclusion
of the maneuvers to clean up after
other units of the Army had re-
turned to their stations. The 35th
Division did not participate in the
war game. but sent detachments to
assist in supply and communica-
tionS work.
Example Found Needed.
When Gen. Lear ordered the de-
tachment to return to Memphis and
start its penalty march, both officers
and men were included. 1t is an
old Army custom to punish an en-
tire outfit when a few men are
guilty of serious breaches of dis
cipline, particularly when 1t is felt
that prompt example must be
made and there is not enough time
to ferret out all of the real culprits
or ringleaders.
II is known that officers at End
Army headquarters feel Gen. Lear's
dcllOH Will IidNC a SdloooAy SiASSo
on his entire command. 1t was
pointed out that all of the divisions
will be moving out on the highways
again in a few weeks, headed for the
great maneuvers in Louisiana and
Eastern Texas in September. When
that time comes, there should be a
decided improvement in march dis
cipline as result of what has taken
place, these officers contend.
We've been 'babying' the men too
long" said one. 1T is time to- make
real soldiers out of them, and at the
same time create a thoroughly disci-
plined Army-the only kind Of an
Army that can fight. You can't
fight war with an armed mob"
Friends of Gen. Lear declare that
he is inclined to be sympathetic
toward enlisted men. He has the
soldiers viewpoint, they say, because