Detroit evening times., 1942-12-16

ttenTN ora, nut any SOlQler VINO
can make expert with the machine
gun, light and heavy both, is GER
tainly no novice.
MAKES FINE RECORD
Gus and l worked the same
target in the PIT the first day the
company went on the rifle range
He couldn't see any sense IN
that. either. He was petulant AL
day. and | did most of the work
marking the targets after each
shot in slow fire, and each 10 shots
in rapid.
| thought il was a novel way
TO spend the day, computing the
scores Of those on the firing line
We didn't know who was firing
on our target but l got a kick
when | knew the boy was making
SharpShooter or Expert, and felt
sorry whenever | had 10 wave the
red flag for a miss.
Unler the coach and pupil
method, l drew Gus as my pupil
when we fired for record.
In slow fire, he was excellent.
Out of a possible 100 he made ST.
You make an 81 at rapid fire,
Gus" | said. land YOU still make
sharpshOoter. You ought to do
better"
He looked n little shaky
"Say, don't they put all the
good shots i'm the infantry" |
SAID What difference does that
make? You're better shot
than ! am. Better than most of
us a. IL stands now"
GUS GOES BLIND
From what happened little
later | know now what was re-
volving about in that morbid little
mind of his.
OF course. they don't pick men
for infantry because of their
Workmanship. A soldier is sent
to the arm of the service where
his past experience and ability
Will do Uncle Sam the most good.
They'll make a good marks
man out Of you ultimately if
that's what they want you for
Wen. TO get back TO Gus. At
rapid fire. with a larger target to
shoot at. Gus Brown went almost
totally blind He couldn't hit the
side of barn.
He only got a lousy Is out Of
possible 100, making a grand total
of lO5 out of POO for the day. II
took only l31 90 qualify as Marks
man, l6S as SharpShootcr, and If
he'd really tried I'm sure he'd
have won his Expert RIflcman
medal with l7S or better
This little narrative has a happy
ending. Al the end of ON, basic
training our company was split up,
going All over the country and half
of Georgia into the several arms
Of tho service. ! WC8nd up on tho
Coast with a field artillery outfit.
a few days ago | had 10 60
down 10 the camp mOtor. pool on
an crrand for the battery COM
mandCr and who did | run into
hut Gus Brown. IN a greasy fatigue
outfit and a smile as broad as the
Bay of Fundy on his face as he
spotted me He was working on
The motor of a lccp
Boy" he sand, TIN glad 10
see YOU" and then he went on 10
tell how he had been working
for TWO months as "A mechanic in
the camp and the world was
KIND again, AS seen through his
rOSc-tntcd glasses "ThcN made
me tcchnician. NTH grade" he
said - draw CorporaIS pay, and
I've got me girl down I'm
salinas who thinks I'm the cats
paiamaS. Roy. oh boy, What
diva say We meet ~ the IN
tonight and have few beers
and talk over old times ."
Nou can talk TIN the COWS come
home "a bout the arWy'S new
classification system being TOO
academic bat my answer go that
is Tcchnic4an Fifth Grade Gus
Brown.
TIE END
Tomorrow short story Wives
and Swccthcarts. by Dorothy
West
Ancient Portraits OF the
Savior. ~. Peter and 81. Paul,
Recently Discovered in the Cata-
comb of saint JanuariuS I'm
Naples Read of the Curious
Way I'm Which They Were
FINALLY Found. After Being
Hidden From Human Eyes for
Many Centuries. and See These
Remarkable Eull-Color Repro
duCtionS Of Them. in The Ameri-
can Weekly With This Sundays
Issue Of The Detroit sunday
Times.