The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1943-10-15
CHAPTER XIV

i IcpSdtGU. ARE yOu Tic W0AtCA "ASAA
the water for my daughter"
He turned on a tight, polite little
smile. "The water, monsieur. will
be forthcoming. I have sent my
friend Charles for the water"
The Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor this afternoon came as stun
ming news to the men at Fort Bragg.
There had been a rumor, one day a
couple of months ago, that Germany
had declared war on the United
States to beat us to the draw, and
since it was merely rumor, there
was no confirmation or denial over
the radio all day long. That sup
posed news back then had been
taken with a philosophic shrug and
the thought, "Well, it's what we've
been expecting"
This today caused a different war
feeling. It was not what we had
been expecting. To the soldiers
here, whose only attention to the
newspapers is quick glance at the
headlines, it was startling and
dreadful.
The ruen who heard the news an
nouncelnent over the radio this aft
ernoon at the Service Club were, for
the most part, new to the Army,
with less than a month of training
behind them. Their first feeling OF
outrage gave way to the awful fear
that they would be sent away, green
and unframed and helpless, within
q week.
The rumor mill began operation
Immediately. New York and Fort
Bragg will be bombed within the
month, the rumors said. Probably,
by that time, all of us will be in
Hawaii or Russia or Persia or AZ
RIGA. Green and unframed and help
less. This business Of teaching
man for thirteen weeks in replace
ment center will be dispensed with,
now that war is upon us. You're a
civilian one day and rookie men,
Der of a seasoned fighting outfit the
next.
Except for a few for whom the
radio held a terrible fascination the
men thought first of communicating
with their families, their friends,
their sweethearts. They immediate
ly went for writing materials and
for the two public telephones of the
club. Almost all of the 81, 900 men of
Fort Bragg were trying to reach
their homes through the eight trunk
lines which ran out of the pitifully
overburdened little telephone ex-
change in Fayetteville.
Miss Ethel Walker, who was act
ing as senior hostess for the Re
placement Center's Service Club,
had planned an entertainment pro-
gram for the evening, but when she
looked out at the tension in the So
cial hall, she despaired. She tele-
phoned her boss, Major Herston M.
Cooper, the special services officer.
"There's no use trying to put on
the show tonight" she said. "Shall
I cancel it? And may I turn of
the radio?"
eff it's good program, keep it,"
said the major. "And by all means
leave the radio on. Just hang on;
I'll be there in five minutes"
The major, a former crininologist
and schoolteacher in Birmingham,
was lean and mischievous-loo king
infantry officer with a gift Of CAB
and camaraderie with the enlisted
men. He sauntered into the Service
Club, noised it about that he was
going to talk, and hooked up the
public address microphone.
"Here it comes" said an unhappy
acting corporal. 'Here comes the
higher brass, to tell us the worst"
The major cleared his throat and
looked over the crowd which gath
cred about him. 81 know that this
is your Service Club" he said, land
I'm a staff officer barging in on you.
Before was an officer, was an
enlisted man. And, as an enlisted
man, I've done more KIP than any
man in this ROOM"
A little of the tension passed and
the major lapsed into one of his
conveniently absent minded ram
bles. ''In fact, went on KIP every
time they inspected my rifle.
Couldn't keep the thing clean"
He paused. "The main thing that
has us worrying this afternoon is
the very same thing we're being
trained to protect. It's what they
call the American Way-and they
spell it with capitals.
81 have my own ideas about the
American Way. ! think the Ameri-
can Way is shown in you boys whose
parents paid school taxes so that
you could know what it was to cut
hooky. It's shown in the men who
pay two dollars to see a wrestling
match, not to watch the wrestlers
but to boo the referee. It's the good
al on-fo-ha1l American enirif and