Evening star., 1941-06-23

McLenore. VIII er e a b ou is
and activities in comfort.
AS it is, I am stranded and lost
in what must be the deepest patch
of woods in the United States, with
only a colony Of none too friendly
squirrels for company. I have a
road map that was issued to me.
but it is so blurred with the finger
prints of the last fellow to use 1t,
Daniel Boone, that it is of little
value.
Where the End Armored Division
with its 110O0 men and $500 We
hicles has gone is something only
its commander, Maj. Gen. George
s. Patton, knows. One minute the
division was scattered about the
woods here and the next it was
disappearing around a thicket like
something out of Uncle Remus.
There is no use in man trying
to chase an armored division even
if Providence had endowed him with
the stamina of a tank. 1t goes
places that even a forest fire
wouldn't be caught in. When 1t
decides to whiz off and whack the
enemy at a point miles away, there
is only one thing to do and that is
to pick out a comfortable stump for
yourself and set up light house
keeping. That is what I am doing
now.
A man might possibly keep up
with an armored division were 1t
not for certain little eccentricities
of such units. One Of these Is an
insistence on always camping IN
the woods. Whenever halt Is
made, the machines and men always
sneak under trees and bushes. Then
all the machines and tents are
camoufaged until sparrow couldn't
pick them out at five PAGES. Leaves,
grass, sticks and bushes are used
for this and the soldiers are never
satisfied with their work until their
tools are so we'll hidden they can't
find them themselves.
Another popularity that makes
keeping up with the second olVl-
sion difficult is its fetish for travel
ing at night. 1t sneaks about III
those hours between midnight and
dawn after the manner Of a rest
less tomcat. And panzer units don't
use lights to travel. You either
develop owl eyes or suffer the con-
sequences. Down the road the o1Vl-
sion tears. Tons and tons OF steel
roll forward without single light
for guidance.
Still another practice that makes
it next to impossible to follow the
movements of a panzer unit Is It's
use of the radio for communication
Unless your vest is outfltted with
little sending and receiving set you
have no way of knowing when plans
are afoot to abandon one bivouac
move to another. A few quiet dots
and dashes fit from car to car and
before you can yell. Hey, wait Tor
me-" the last car is over the hill
and gone.
The arnored division officers are
not entirely forgetful OF laymen at
tached to the outfit. Before we lett
Benning I was issued tent and a
bed roll. and now if I only knew how
to put the tent up I could stretcn
right out here in the woods and not
have a thing to worry about except
the ants and beetles and red bugs
and mosquitoes and snakes and
wind and rain and whatever that
thing is which howls every 10 or 15
minutes from q nearby clump OF
trees. Don't be surprised if my next
dispatch deals with how it feels to
be eaten by bear.
n =
MY tent is what is known as
pup tent. When it was issued to me
should have asked for a st.
Bernard size one, but I didn't and
the one got obviously was designed
for a dachshund that sleeps on its
side. If only had some sleeves to
sew on it, it would make service
able and fairly well-ftting shirt
for me.
My bed roll is perfect. 1t is so
designed that it fits any piece Of
ground. Put it on rocks ano so
quickly does it adapt itself that in
a few minutes you'd swear you were
sleeping on just the rocks. Throw
it across a patch of weeds or stubbly
grass and it gives you the exact
sensation of sleeping on weeds or
stubbly grass.
1t seems to me that the War De-
partment is making mistake in not
having these maneuvers nearer a
city. After all, to win war you
must take the enemy's big towns.
AS sit mere in the wilds of Tennes-
see, falling a slow and unwilling
prey to insect life, I am hoping that
when I finally catch up with the
second armored it will have chosen
some big hotel for its next objective.
What a pleasure it would be to
execute a flank movement on a
shower bath, to surprise night
clerk with a sudden tank attack and
capture his supply of inner-spring
beds.
Mount up, men, The Waldorf shall
e.