Evening star., 1943-04-30

Little things that enter into
the soldiers life at the front are
reDealed here in letter from an
American boy in the North A.
ricdn battle zone to his father,
an employe OF the Post Office
Department.
Dear Dad:
We are having a so-called pause
In action. So, perhaps, can do a
little corresponding something
badly neglected in the last few
weeks. Yesterday we received quite
a batch of mail and a whole bunch
of your letters came together. Mail
usually comes in patches.
If you want to know what be-
comes of some of your mail bags, I
can tell you. I have seen several
Arabs running around here wearing
~. S. Mail" in front or behind. On
closer examination saw that they
had cut out the corners of mail
bags to make holes to stick their
legs through. Then they arrange
a contraption to fasten the cutoff
top over. their shoulders like sus-
penders. Such is the mode of we'll
dressed gentlemen of the desert,
If it weren't as cold and rainy here
as Billy blue hell.
Odiferous Sheiks.
When you read books about these
sheiks, you think they are ro-
mantle sons O. guns. Well, I don't
think they ever take bath and the
perfumes of Araby may have orig
mated somewhere in this neck OF the
woods, but they sure didn't get any
sweet scents from here. The per-
fumed part must have come accord
ingly to the theory of evolution.
For that matter we aren't smelling
any too good ourselves. luxuriated
yesterday-washed my face. shaved,
took a bath and washed my clothes
all in three-quarters Of a basinful OF
water. -
1t has been cold, clamy cold In
these hills and mountains. Whoever
thinks Africa is all desert and sand
better get their biographies out and
look it up again. They laughed at
me when I brought a fur-lined
Jacket and fur-hned gloves. I've
been doing the laughing for the last
several weeks. Why, we had hot
cakes for breakfast today. They
were mighty good, If you could get
them hot. But out of 10 are stone
cold by the time you get your fork
into them or pick them up In your
fingers as the case may be.
Improvised Heat.
We are in q woods. But we can't
make any fires. At night the light
would give us away; in daytime the
smoke. So we devised = sort Of big
can that we dig down into the
ground. We can completely conceal
any light it gives of. So We can
have a little heat that way at night.
1t is a queer feeling to be out here
In some God-forsaken spot aiming
your big guns at some point away
over a distant ridge. Our eyes are
away out there ahead Of us. and
they must be able to see pretty &C
curately, for every now and then we
see a big cloud of smoke roll up right
soon after we have fired.
The ferries locate us, too. Every
now and then big shell will ex-
plode far too close to us for comfort.
In the last scrap when we were out.
the story went the rounds OF a
colored outfit firing its big guns.
A71the gunner pulled the lanyard
for each shot he would proclaim,
"Theah. X Adolf, recount youah
st7oges now .
In one of the units there was a
chronic crouch. Nothing anywhere
in the world suited him. When we
were fighting, he was growing about
never getting to rest. When we were
resting, he was continually COM
planning, How ir the hell are we
ever going to win this war and get
back home sitting here on our rear
ends"
Plenty Of Mud.
When he was up front he could
see no sense in killing men who
never did anything to him. When
he was back behind he was clamor-
ing that the only way to win the
war was to slaughter em all like
the meat packers kill hogs. As a
result he wasn't much Of a fighter
until he got in a corner with four
ferries coming at him. He had to
shoot them all to get out He did.
Now he wants tc do nothing but
shoot ferries. If he is a. W. o. /.
1t will be because he is out ahead
OF the line half mile trying to find
some more to slaughter.
Last night we were standing
around chewing the rag-a lot of us.
This was the line of conversat ton ::
How to prepare canned rations SO
as to make them palatable: how to
patch holes in the seat Of the pants;
how to sew on button without a
thimble and how to wash clothes in
sand without soap or water. The old
ladies' sewing circles have nothing
on us.
Uniforms Changed.
BY the way. that little silver bear
I bought in Yellowstone Park with
your money! lost it. I'm so glad
you found your Phi Beta Kappa
Key. III never find my silver bear
1t Is undoubtedly buried in several
inches of North Africa mud than
which there is no muddier. But it
was In good cause. I was out
checking on some CT our officers and
men we thought were killed. Some