Evening star., 1941-03-18
Mai. A. 6. Moore Hail!
DistrictSchooI Patrol
Grads al CampL Lee
Guides SeIectees From
PitfuIls in Job at
Reception Center
BY NELSON NJ. SHEPARD.
Star Staff CORRESPONDENT.

mere, Is never happier UIldli WllCl
he spots one of his old grads" in {
contingent of selecteeS newly ar
rived from Washington.
. When that happens, the ordinary
rules of military department fol
rookie and superior officer are
thrown out of the Army manual
"Hey. there!" the major whoops
The rookie gasps in astonishment
counters hearty slap on the back
with another, and the two meet lr
the nearest approach to a military
clinch.
If YOU haven't guessed by now
who this Mai. Moore is, he's the
same Policeman Moore of No.
precinct who was in charge of the
Washington Schoolboys' Patrol
Now he is the big brother" to the
$4,000 selectees who will pass
through Camp Lees revolving door
this year, and he is also the rlght-
hand man to 1t. Col. Cyril BaS-
SIGH. commanding offer OF the
reception center.
MD l.. lao Nt1A W.
dozen or more of his former school
bov patrolmen, and the chance meet
ing is happy occasion. Beng
Jumped from a police private to an
Army major hasn't changed him a
bit. The 500 or 600 selectees under
him might be Just another bunch
of schoolboys, for Maj. Moore COM
bines necessary military discipline
with sympathetic understanding
and friendliness.
20 Years a Policeman.
His brother. Edgar c. Moore, who
was the crack pistol shot of the
Washington police, is now provost
marshal at Fort Humphreys, Va.
Mai. Moore was on the Washing
ton force 20 years. In a few more
years he would have been retired.
AS an eX-Army man who went INTO
the Reserves, Mai. Moore knows how
the average rookie feels during his
first few days at a post He was
small town Georgia boy when he
enlisted in the Regulars and hasn't
forgotten some of the mistakes he
made then.
He spent last Sunday in Wash
ington and was asked to speak at his
church, the Waugh Methodist, about
conditions at Camp Lee.
Mai. Moore told the 538 men in
the selectees battalion about it at a
chaplains' meeting. The men were
about equally divided between Mary
land and Pennsylvania areas, with
perhaps half a dozen from Wash
ington.
Two Foremost Inquiries.
snow. your mothers want to know
two things, above everything else, y
he said. THE first question they
ask is whether their boys will have
the opportunity Of attending church
services regularly. Then, of course,
they want to know if you are getting
enough to eat"
Eventually, Camp Lee will have
20 chaplains and right now services
are being held at the camp for men
of Protestant and Catholic faith.
Men of Jewish faith were being
taken to services in Petersburg, for
their chaplain will not arrive for
another week. A colored pastor from
Baltimore held services Sunday for
colored selectees at the camp. Chief
of the posts chaplains is 1t. Col.
Henry v. Blanchard.
About It's girls from various
Petersburg churches who attended
the camp services Sunday no doubt
contributed in part to the record
breaking soldier attendance.
The men in the reception center
are confined to barracks during their
two-day stay here. Others at the
quartermaster and medical re-
placement centers are given more
freedom, but to get ahead in their
studies and training the wiser ones
among them stick close to camp.
Athletics Promoted.
For that reason, the Army stresses
recreational activities as it never
has done before. When Camp Lee
has it's quota of $4,000 men 20 rec
reation halls will be in operation.
Athletics are encouraged; football,
baseball and basket ball teams are
being formed. They compete among
themselves, for the camp authori-
ties do not sanction competitions
with city or school teams.
Movie shows and amateur enter
tainment are the order at the recre-
alton halls and there's plenty of
cooperation on the part of civilian
organizations.
Petersburg girls don't have to be
drafted" to dance with the soldiers.
The Petersburg Defense Council rep
resents some 80 city organizations of
men, women and girls. Chairman
of it is w. w. Seward, a business
man.
The purpose of this group is to
cooperate with the camp authori-
ties in providing clean and whole
same entertainment and spiritual
direction for the soldiers. Weekly
dances are being organized at the
churches and. various civic clubs.
Every Saturday night there will be
q big dance at the Armory.
The Federation of Women's Clubs
Is working on a survey to get volun-
teer girls and chaperones for the
dances. Conservative Petersburg
shudders at mention of drafting"
girls for dancing. The genuine hos
pitality of this fine old Virginia
city makes drafting" unnecessary.
In Richmond, where many soldiers
go for week ends, 1000 girls have
been drafted" for dances.
The recreation center sent $50
men to the engineers training camp
at Fort Belvoir, Va, yesterday and
1854 more are scheduled for tomor-
row. Eighty inductees arrived from
Baltimore late Saturday night.
During the last three days of this
reception period, today, tomorrow
and Thursday, 306 new men will be
received from various sections, most
ly Maryland and Pennsylvania.
From April l to 10, the reception
center will admit 300 men, accord
ing to present expectations. Of
these, 693 are coming from Balti-
more.