Evening star., 1943-07-22
LiH|eFrench BoyWaits
In Vain for Return Of
Flying American Pal
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,
Star Staff Correspondent.

TACTICAL AIR FORCE STA
TON, North Africa Delayed, July
1O-A portrait of melancholy was
the tanned face of Eight-year-old
Philippe Robert as the last fighter
bomber of the sunset Sicily flight
zoomed over the low cactus hedge
into a cloud of dust which hid the
landing field.
The little French boy, in an
American uniform made from cast
off CT clothes. bravely suppressed
his sobs, but a teardrop or two
glistened in his brown eyes as he
vent about helping Miss Suzanne
Macpherson of Syracuse, N. Y. sis
ter of Mrs. Alcott Deming. Owl
erlploye of Rockville. Md, distrib-
ute coffee and doughnuts to the re-
turned flyers. Once again his pal
had not come back
AS soon as the Americans came
into this neighborhood, the little
boy began to haunt the field. He
found an idol in one pilo5 who
made much of him and Philippe
served as his adoring errand boy
and orderly. He was waiting on
the field for the return Of every
mission in which his friend took
part.
Fails to Return.
One day the lieutenant did not
come back. They told Philippe that
he was "over in Sicily for while" 4"
The boy thought it strange that his
pal should have left for so long with
out saying goodby.
They have not told Philippe that
he is ''over in Sicily for very long
time indeed
So the boy is waiting at the field
hourly when the missions return and
he knows the depths of a child's
voiceless sorrow when his friend is
not among the landing pilots. But
he tags around everywhere with
Miss Macpherson, the Red Cross
worker, helping distribute the cof-
fee and doughnutS. Now his faith
is failing a little. He wonders what
strange things his friend has en-
countered over the blue waters to
keep him away so long.
Wading ankle deep in the pow
derry. wind-swirled dust and driving
sliding converted German "jeep"
over the countryside, about the busi-
est girl in North Africa is Miss
Macpherson.
She is one of the two Red Cross
coffee and -doughnut girls Sched-
llled to meet every returning air
mission in scattered group of fields
This became a strenuous job through
the early days of the Sicily inva-
sion, when Miss Macpherson's ter
rltory was that from which flights
were leaving and returning hourly
from sunrise to sunset. Not once did
she fail to be on hand when the
weary men came home to their dus-
ty tents after patrols over Sicily.
Shes the sweetheart of the fight
er-bombers, said the fatherly colo
mel, patting her on the shoulder.
Solves Transportation Difficulty.
When Miss Macperson came into
the area. she founa the regular Red
Cross clubmobile was practically
useless in a countryside through
parts of which only an Army Jeep
could hope to get through. And
ieep was i'll suited to hot coffee and
doughnut delivery. Miss Macpher-
son solved the problem by "requisi-
tioning' a "volkswagon' left by the
roadside when the Germans aban-
doned TuniSia.
This curious type of car, en-
bodying many Of the engineering
principles of the ieep. was the cheap
and sturdy vehicle Hitler promised
every German family would own
as the Nazi economic program pro-
gressed. With the start Of war it
was converted. with little change,
to military use and thousands of
them are now serving the Germans
in the same manner as the Jeep
serves the Americans.
It is a completely inCloSed car.
It has much the same ability of the
jeep to go over almost any kind of
country and will stand vast