Evening star., 1943-07-01
North Africa's WAACS
Proud Of Efficiency
In Handling Mail
By THOMAS r. HENRY,
star Staff Correspondent.

SttE 6tNlk SolieepVhaShs'
ALGIERS tBy MaiD Attention,
ali mess sergeants.
There are five ways of preparing
canned salmon, and corn beef with a
little "fixins" can be transformed
into at least IS dishes.
These are discoveries of the cooks
Of the company of WAACS on duty
here whose rations. for the most
part, are the familiar C rations of
the Army in Africa as whole, but
the women soon came to the con-
clusion that they were not just
things in cans to be poured out,
maybe cooked. and put on the table
in separate dishes They were es-
sential elements Of food to be COM
bined in proper proportions until
their original substance become, in
many cases, unrecognizable. They
quickly discarded the Army cookbook
and got away from the curse OF
Army rations-monotony.
Minor Cooking Experience.
Few of the girls had any but the
most superficial experience in cook
ing before entering the service. One
was a fashion model, one a physi-
clans assistant, one a drama STU
dent. None was housewife. But
they soon showed the woman's touch
in the kitchen and they observed the
culinary arts of the FrenchWomen,
noted around the world for their
ability to make the fastest dishes
out of ingredients which would go
into the American garbage pail.
They are particularly proud of the
record that to date none OF their
field ranges, equipped for burning
high-octane gas. has blown up, due
to the fact that they take them down
and clean every part thoroughly
every night.
The girl soldiers here hold all
sorts of jobs which women can 90
in connection with the Army and no
favors are shown them. When they
move they move exactly as do the
men, carrying their own bedding
rolls, barracks bags and mess kits
and sleeping on the floors of the
French forty and-eights.'
Proud of Postal Work.
OF all their duties. they are espe-
cially proud of the record they have
made as postal clerks, due to their
nimble fingers and strict attention
to detail and. they say, "one WAAC
Is worth four men at this job
Largely due to their efforts. mail
reaches its destination much better
than in most theaters of war. The
men to whom letters are addressed
may have been transferred four or
five times. They may have been
wounded and shifted from hospital
to hospital, spending only few
days in each. Ordinarily, this would
lead to much confusion and an ac-
emulation of letters which would
soon be mountain high.
The girls assigned to this work
have devised methods of their own
and short cuts which almost assure
a soldier that he will get his letters
from home very shortly after they
reach North Africa. This has been
a factor of inestimable importance
in building up morale.
WAACS Work Around Clock.
The duties of the WAACS In this
theater are so varied that they work
around the clock and because of this
a 24-hour mess has just been pro-
vided for them Their duties range
from those of private secretaries to
those of jeep drivers. A great num-
ber are employed as telephone op-
orators
Their work has demonstrated,
their officers say, the value of women
in war and the need of many more
recruits in the United States.