The Wilmington morning star., 1941-02-15
. Fair Enouuh
By pEc1

BY WEsTBRooK pEcIrn
The Star wishes its re.s
to know that views and nr;n
Ions expressed in this ar Jbm
are those of the author '.ele
may not always harmon sno
with its position.-The Editnr
NEW YORK, Feo. 14.-rhis ,i,a.
colored kid was a one-man Te lI'lc
of Nations. He had IN EEeasus
pants, a Foreign Legion blouse oenca
an old American camna;gn ana
and he was just all odds and mat nat
and moreover, he was, in a vSS
practical and dangerous sensS very
the term, a deserter from
French army. He had lust
tired of the French army and ."
a very informal way, had resig,a
to accept a better connection 4
AS he told the story. he IN,
never intended to join the Frenzy
army, anyway. What really h.n
pened was that the French arur
anschlussed him.
Back in Norfolk one day he wo,.
down to a ship to see a friend whs
had found a good job as messho.
on a cargo boat, and the friens
talked him into going for a boat
ride to Europe, which seemed i,
good idea at the time. But when
the ship docked in France and bs
went ashore to see the sights
some Frenchmen grabbed him and
pushed him into a soldiers sul
and the next thing he knew he
was a Senegalese soldier.
Offended
It took him a long time to learn
enough language to ask his way
around, and the manners and 50.
cial customs of his comrades Of.
tended him terribly, but there was
nothing he could do about it, and
then one day he was up in the
line facing the Germans Ground
Verdun.
There are many standard.
lied stories of the American col.
ored boy who fell in with the Sene.
galese or fell out with them, but
this boy was real and he told his
own story. He had been in sev.
eral actions and never had been
hit, but one winter day several
of his toes froze, so they sent him
back down, and soon, to his alarm,
he was all well again and about
to be sent back.
1t was just then that the Amer.
cans moved into the region to start
training and organizing, and this
kid resigned from the French
army. He attached himself 10 an
!, American major as servant, and
! the major gave him some shoes
and underwear and a place 10
sleep and plenty to eat and he
was very happy, except that oc.
:, casionally, when he was at all care
. less in his cleaning and sweeping,
the major would say, well, ! can
see that you don't ear about this
= mans army, so maybe I had bet
- ter send you back to your outfit
!, That would straighten him up.
- Out of His Line
- He said soldering was complete.
~ ly out of hi line, any way, and,
8 although he hadn't ever been much
- afraid in the trenches, one thing
. did just turn him inside out. That
was the way those ~SenegaleSe
would use the bayonet. He didn't
" mind shooting at those German
boys and a nan could get used to
, shells, but to run up to a man
and stick him with a bayonet was
!, something he simply couldn't Dc
- and could hardly bear to see i
- done.
: I'm a houseboy," he said. An
swer doorbells, now the lawn, wal
table, anything like that. I wa
e a houseboy back in Norfolk unit
I'll went for that steamboat rice
y, 1 never did aim to stick anybody
a with a bayonet."
I retained . mental movie, witt
sound, in color, of the soft voice
saying that he was a houseboy
i, his ragbag uniform, his fear o
displeasing the major. who mlgn
send him back to the French army
where some officer might not ot
feeling too hot that day, and mlgh
Il ihave him courtmartialed and sho
, for d~esertion. The major hlmsel
= probably would have been gull1l
: of something for aiding, abettlne
harboring, but, then, appai
emily, he had no intention OF turn
ing the kid back to the frehcl
and was just going to gentle MN
along and possibly enlist HIM II
the American army. although a
this time he was just a guest 81
to speak. uo,
= The major is a heap Of genera
It now with three stars on MS Iag'
e the same being Lieut.-Gen. mug.
> Drum, and it was a mls'ahe the
r ask him what had become OF ''
% little deserter. .ok.
n Many a story is spoiled by cheef'
4 inc with those who are concerneu,
and that is what happened 10 an1
one. Because General Drum @
that to the best of his recoliecsra
which is very sharp, he had nse II
even heard of the little colo,
houseboy from Norfolk.