Evening star., 1943-09-12
6. I.-Joe, Overseas, Just Wants
White (GirIs, Tool Christmas
BY SIGRID ARNE,
Associated Press stan Writer.

NEW YORK, Sept. 11.-There are
IS Jersey boys In India who want
the Mayor Of Bayonne to send them
keg of beer for Christmas. It's
hot out there.
They would also appreciate Ave
foot-two blond. Others throughout
the world want brunettes and red
heads. There's more than a little
indication that just any white girls
would get reception.
In Australia an Army MP just
said YEARLY he wants some fur
lined house slippers and permission
to sit down for two solid months.
In the Solomons Sergt. William
A. Chester of Cincinnati must have
troubles. He wants a book on how
to play poker.
Soldiers and sailors have been
polled in the various theaters of war
by Associated Press men on what
they'd like to find in their holiday
box.
Want Lighters With Shields.
The boys want cigarette lighters
(the kind with wind shields) in In
dia, through North Africa and Eng
land, and back out to the Solomons.
About that, lad told me when you
move up front, matches don't follow.
The South Pacific contingent has
a specific need that's easy to under
stand. They want hunting knives,
eight inches long with q good
handle.
Curiously, from North Africa,
come the most requests for maga-
zines, newspapers and serious books.
The lad with whom I talked told me
there were times when they had no
ides the Pacific NJ was pro.
The Navy lads, East.sr West, turn
thumbs down on serious reading.
They want thrillers and Westerns.
They have to pick 1t up and lay It
down too often to concentrate.
-. The nurses, WACS, ETC.? Easy.
aAme old thing. Something thAt
smells pretty (perfume, soap, pow-
der. dpstick, rouge and unmention-
abless Also. stockings and more
bookings. 4
Special Requests From Fronts.
Here are special requests from the
different war theaters-in each case.
Requests which are repeated by
many lads
Take Africa and Sicily first.
They really want chocolate. They
dream of chocolate cakes. And
chocolate bars. Too many is not
enough.
They don't want anything that
will add weight to their knapsacks,
because they are on the move. Ex-
cept the cigarette lighter and pic
lures of the family and the girl.
Thumbs are down on goodies"
that don't stand the trip. Don't
send anything wearable either, ex-
cept pajamas.
One lad who brought me chuckle
was Sergt. Bert Duchau of Roches-
ter, N. Y. He wants chocolate bars,
chocolate creams, chocolate cake
and pictures of every one. In other
words. he'd like chocolate.
There are several in the African
theater who want razor blades.
The A. P. man caught UP with
several sailors there. They all said
beer" They suspect there may be
bugs in the water.
What They Want in England.
In England the soldiers want
watches, cigarette lighters, Gig
arettes and some clothing.
The sailors want watches, fruit
juice and camera Aim, If they have
cameras.
Watches are tremendously ex-
pensive in England. And somehow,
1t would be nice to know the exact
hour when they shove of.
Also the men there aren't getting
enough lightweight khaki shirts,
some say.
Please don't send reading matter
to England. Remember England?
Dickens, Shakespeare and all that?
It's still like that.
Some lads would like pin UP
girls" Nom. ask Sis about that.
They want plenty of fruit Juice.
But tomato Juice will do.
Sergt. John Astyk of Waterbury
Conn.,, confused me with a non
sequitur. He wants a nice Amer
ican blonde and a pair of swimming
trunks.
Helen Donley of Pine Bluff, Ark,
posed a nice shipping problem when
she announced, as though we're
stupid, that "Of course, what we
want is coconut cream pie"
And don't send writing paper to
the European contingent.
Blond Dates Rated High.
Preston Grover, the A. P. chief at
New Delhi, found out that in India
the boys want wrist watch, white
Christmas, . blond date, beer. a
blond date, cigarette lighters, a blond
date, American candy bars, a
blond date, mystery stories, and a
blond date"
He says the lads need no sweaters.
It's 80 in the shade But they do
want lots of light underwear. They
don't get enough for the tempera-
ture.
He ran across a surprising soldier,
! Ira j. Beeson of Buck nnon. w.
Va. who wants book, stain, Man
OF Steel" And Sergt. Robert Lomd
OF Arlington, Mass, who'd like a
Coca Cola machine and stun to put
in 1t.
| The men in the South Pacific have
requests that vary with their as
signments.
They all want those hunting
knives. In addition, white cotton
socks, cigars (but the good ones, 25
cents and up), the home town news
/ paper, shaving lotion and brushes.
They do not want candy, cigar