The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-05-08

England, is not only a top
Corps.
He knows when to hold a bad
hand, and when to stay in to the
finish. This summer, with more
air power than any other Ameri-
can officer ever commanded at
any time or place, Gen. Eaker,
will stay on to the finish. And
he firmly believes that the blow
he intends to deal will be decisive.
For months he has been fight
ing for more equipment, and now
he is ready to fight with it. Until
now he has had so few bombers
that the number has been strict
military secret. But beginning
now, he is getting so many bomb
ers that it's much more Of a
secret.
There is lot of guesswork
about where the Allies will stage
an invasion of the continent-and
when. But there is no guess
work about Gen. Eaker's invasion.
He has now finished with expert
ments, and is ready to supple
ment the Raj raids by putting
great formations of American
bombers in the air, three, four
and five times week. He Is
prepared to carry such destruction
to factories and rail lines on the
Continent that Filters troops can
not move from one place to an
other.
u. S. AIR EXPERT
MENTS FINISHED
Eaker says that the vegasack
raid pulled the trigger. That was
the end of the experiments. It's
now clear that the American
method Of daylight high-altitude
precision bombing is a success.
The case is proved, and from
this point forward tine method
will be applied with the skill and
ruthlessness which Eaker himself
personifies.
Etaker is one of the most
offensive minded men In the
Army. He would rather use
his last plane and his last pilot
In attack than to resort to
safer tactics of defense.
One day last winter he received
a message from Washington ask
ing If he wanted anti-aircraft
equipment TO defend his airdromes
in England. His reply was: use
that shipping space to send me
more stuff and more men TO fight
with"
He runs the .. S. air show from
England with the same offensive
tactics he used in his poker game.
He is rough. In pre-War days,
Jack Garner, champion poker
player Of Washington, learned
those tactics, to his sorrow. And
more recently, 1t. Gen. Carl Spaetz
has learned some of Eaker's polk
er. There is no penny-ante about
it.
Eaker has his enemies in the
Air Corps, largely because he has
passed them by. Or perhaps be-
cause he has broken them. Once
he discharged fighter pilot from
the service for failure to open his
canopy in a forced landing.
Eaker is indifferent to popular
ity. In fact, he distrusts officers
who are conspicuously popular,
fearing they will dictate fighting
policy according to 4.ur me con-
siderations. Eaker's policy is
relentless; 1t may be hard ON his
men, and most of them think he
is tough, but it's harder on Hit
Ter.
Eaker had hoped to get fighter
command, but in January, 1912,
Gen. H. H. (Hap) Arnold called
him into the office and offered
him the bomber command. Eaker
replied: But 1 have been a fighter
pilot all my life!" To which Ar
mold replied, This bomber COM
mand needs some fighter spirit In
It,"
He arrived in England Feb. 20,
1912. Since then he has never
had day off, and he has worked
under constant pressure with an
average Of five and six hours sleep
a night. He has laid out the
elaborate plans for the Eighth
Bomber Command, which is now
assuming large proportions.
For all his poker playing, how
ever, Eaker is no gambler. He
plays his lunches less than his
wits.
EAKER STUDIED JOURNALISM
He has sharpened his wits in
many a school. When assigned
to foreign service in the Philip
pines, he found time to attend
| the University Law School. When