Smyrna times., 1942-10-15

Service, I lost contact with them
for a few months. However, since
your column has been printed
weekly, 1 can once more learn
where everyone is, and how nicely
most of them are doing. am sure
that we all appreciate your column
very much and although some of us
may not have written thanking you
for it, 1 assure you that we are all
behind you 100 per cent.
Recently, 1 was home for the
first time since March. During the
past few weeks I have visited in
many of the East Coast towns and
cities. All of these places have dis
played the fact that they were
proud of their Boys In The Service.
Nevertheless, the pride of the peo-
pie of Clayton and Smyrna appears
to me to be the greatest 1 have
seen. One remark which 1 will re-
member for long time, I heard a
prominent citizen of Smyrna make.
He said eff every town in the Unit
ed States contributed as much, ac-
cording to its size as Clayton had,
we would not have to worry long
about the outcime of this war"
People of Clayton, be proud of
yourselves. You come from the
biggest laittle town, in the biggest
little state in the Union. I feel
that every man in the Service feels
the same as l do, when he can
proudly state that he halls from
Clayton, Delaware.
Soon, hope to be overseas get
ting my chance to take a slap at
the Japs. We up here have been
waiting much longer than most of
you. We entered the Academy in
peace time, with the full knowledge
that if war ever came, we would be
in it. Now that this war has come,
we want to get in it and do our
very best to end it in the manner
which is most fitting and proper for
the United States.
During the past summer I spent
a majority of my time working
with enlisted men. 1 found just
what 1 expected. The morale was
very high, and there was a grim
determination to win-this spirit
was prevalent everywhere. With
these conditions existing, 1 know
we cannot lose.
Keep up the good work at home,
and we will be back for Victory
parades in the near future.
A friend in the service,
Cadet John L. Shortall, Jr., st Glass
Company G, LIST Regiment
West Point, New York
John, it's been mighty nice hear
ing from you. Dribbles is pleased
to know that you are getting some
thing worth while out of the col
umn. AS you know, it was started
for all you Boys In The Service.
Recently we have had so many let
tiers coming in that it has been
qquite impossible to keep right up
to the minute with the mail. How
ever, no one has been either neg
lected or sighted in the smallest
sense of the word. Your communi-
cations have all been filed in Sc
quence of arrival, and published in
their rotation.
Gee! It's a grand and glorious
feeling to see the mail coming in
from the Boys In The Service in
this manner. Out in the Pacific,
New leland, England, West Coast
and East Coastal over Our Boys
have spread themselves. Lots of
the Boys have left the communities
which this column attempts to
serve. We surely miss them John,
but we also know that there is a
job ahead of that needs doing and
must be done. No part of the
world would be safe if we were to
allow the Axis Powers to continue
on this earth as such. No! This
menace must be destroyed so that
God respecting, liberty loving men,
women and children may rest cas-
lily at night. Just as long as the
Axis has strength to operate, just
that long is the future of mankind
endangered. We, who have been
born and raised in United States
perhaps realize this more fully than
do the balance of those living in the
United Nations.
To us the Three Freedoms were
taken for granted from the date of
our birth. Therefore, we would
miss them most of all, were they by
any misfortune denied us. No,
John, we do not for one minute
doubt the outome of this war. With
our armed forces made up of men
like we have sent away from this
area, they are more than a match
for anything that the Axis can hurl
against them. Man for man, gun
for gun, the Axis cause of enslave-
ment is indeed quite hopeless.
AS you write, some of the days
before very, very long, you'll be re-
turning home to march in Vic.
tory parade with the rest of The
Boys. Let's hope it will be soon
But Dribbles fully realizes one out
standing fat-the more Boys that