Evening star., 1942-05-12

the history books take us back into
the past, it has been the custom to
decorate distinguished warriors with =
an inch or two Of ribbon, . chunk 9
of bronze or an ounce or more OF
some alloy or metal.
To question this practice Is prob
ably about as smart as to raise an
eyebrow at the construction of bird
baths. or the placing Of watering
troughs along paths that tired horses
travel. In other words, q fellow !
who frowns on the award Of stars, +,
crosses, palms and other tokens to
soldiers, is simply sticking his neck
out and asking for punch from
the citizenry.
Nevertheless, this writer thinks
they should be done away with. He
believe that they have no part In !.
the war of survival. They may
have served a useful purpose In the
old days, but they don't belong In :
this war any more than do the
battering ram, the pouring Of hot
lead from parapets and the
crossbow. .
Not that the men who have been
decorated by this country since De-
cember didn't deserve 1t. As &c
matter of fact, Cellini himself
couldn't have struck Q bit Of silver
or gold good enough for the likes !.
of the MacArthurs, the Kelleys and !
the O'Hares. There is no ample
reward for men like that. You
could give them cities like Buffalo
or Pittsburgh, or natural wonders
like Yellowstone Park or Niagara r
Falls, or build them statues that =
brushed the heavens, and still be
in their debt.
The argument against medals In
q war like this is based on the fact
that when Americans 60 into action
no such thing as picking and choos-
ing hero for commendation is pos
sible. There are too many heroes.
This Is written from q point that
commands q view Of the Atlantic
Ocean. AL day, all night, merchant
ships and tankers move north and :
south. The men who man them :,
have the rneanest Of all war jobs. /.
They don't even have a snappy uni
form. They work In dungarees and
overalls and are completely for
gotten by the majority Of Americans. :,
But. who is hero II q member Of
a tanker crew isn't a hero?
Il y y
Try to name any war worker who
lives closer to death than q man
who ships on boat loaded with
high-test gasoline. But whoever
heard Of . member Of q tank crew
getting . medal? How many pic
lures have you seen of q guy who
hoped overheard into q sea Of
blazing oil being received in Wash :
ington? None. Neither have you
seen the boys Of the merchant ships
being toured around the country to
get hero's welcome. =
II this country Is going to con-
tinue to give medals, 1t had better
knock OF two or three million Of
them and start passing them around.
Why not a medal for every man who
stayed to the last at Bataan? Who
rates medal more than these men
who, hah-starved, sick with malaria
and dysentry, made that last attack .
against the Japanese, when 1t was
bayonet to bayonet IN the jungle
moonlight?
When a man gives his life for his
country. surely his name deserves
a reading when the medals are be-(~
ing passed. ~
What about the men on Corregi--
dor? Don't they all rate medalsa
From the lowest private to the
highest officer. 70
What about the men who have
lost their lives training youngsters.
to fly? -
What about the men who were
killed in peacetime maneuvers? s1
To paraphrase Churchill's words:
This country owes too much to too
many to single out few distinctions.