Nogales international., 1942-05-01
SERVICE MEMS PAGE
Armando Guerrero
Tells Of Service
Among Icelanders

Arriving home week ago Thurs
day on a fifteen day leave, Armando
Guerrero this week told of his eX-
periences with the Marines in Ice
land.
After enlisting on June 8, 1889,
Armando has risen to the rank of
technical sergeant in the Quarter
master department of the Marine
Corps. He is q years old.
Armandos outfit left San Diego
on May 81, 1941, and arrived in Ice
land on the seventh of July. He
reached New York on the return
trip March 26 and San Diego on
April 1. After his furlough he will
/ report back to San Diego for assign
ment to further duty.
Iceland, Armando discovered, is an
almost barren country with two
thirds of the island formed of lava
rock. There are no trees such as
are seen here and the main vegeta-
ton is a low brush nc more than 21a
feet high.
cts a miserable sort of place."
the young Marine said, you see
rain, snow, s1eet, hail and sunshine
all in the same day." Rubber boots
became part of the service mems
regulation outfit as there was always
either mud or snow.
During July and August there was
constant daylight and the boys put
blackout shades ever the windows
to enable them to sleep. December,
January and part of February con-
tanned total darkness both day and
night, and the Americans had to
feel their way between their quar-
ters and other buildings due to
blackout restrictions.
One of the sights that thrilled
Aranando was seeing a geyser shoot
steam and water $50 feet into the
air. AS a sort of Sunday show, the
natives forced the ancient phenom-
enon to erupt by throwing soap into
its crater
The northern lights are a COM
mon sight in Iceland and one night
Arrnando saw the Aurora Borealis
together with two rainbows He says
this was the most unusual and
beautiful view of the entire trip.
Fish and mutton took the place
on the diet of pork and beef in
American menus. The island does
not produce milk or fresh vegetables
and these commodities were sent to
the service men in dehydrated form.
The toughest thing Guerrero had
4 to combat was a 10 mile an hour
storm. Gales are ordinary on the
northern island but on this occa-
sion Armando saw entire huts flying
through the air as he struggled from
his quarters to the mess hall.
The people of Iceland are a mix
ture of all Scandinavian countries
and their principal occupation is
fishing. Communities are mostly
small villages.
Recreation was limited partly by
the climate and partly by the rural
nature of the island. Armando says
that at the occasional dances there
would be 300 men to one girl.
Even if man could get acquaint-
ed with a girl, he was licked in his
romantic conversation before he got
to first base by the language spoken
in Iceland-a mixture of a dozen
different tongues which the local
boy says is almost impossible for any
outsider to learn.
Armando is the son of Mrs. Bea-
triz Guerrero of Walnut street, and
Eduardo Guerrero, Sr. He is bro
ther to Miss Martha Guerrero, as
sistant secretary of the Chamber of
Commerce; Miss Beatriz Guerrero,
stenographer in the law office of
Bird and Hall; Miss Margot Guer-
rero, Nogales High School student; !;
Eduardo Guerrero, Jr., of Sacramen-
to, Calf, and Rudy Guerrero who
is in the service at Fort Worth, Tex.