Imperial Valley press., 1943-09-17

UT. NIX. Reg. u. ). Pat. OIL
Reproduction i'm whole or part
fOrbidden.)
CAIRNS, Australia, Sept. IL =
Yesterday was devoted to seeing the
men of our armed forces in camp.
Some of the men who have been
to New Guinea were now back for
training, requirements and rest.
Many of these boys have been out
here eighteen months and more,
and, unless they are wounded so
they cannot go back to duty or
have had the kind of malaria
which makes it necessary to go
home, they return to duty because
they are SO much more valuable
than they were originally.
The veterans are the ones who
can explain the need for certain
kinds of training to new men who
may not always understand the
purpose of some of the things they
are made to do. They demonstrated
for me today various types of
training for jungle fighting. A
group had come out with their
jungle outfits in tatters and had
not yet received requirements, so
they were attacking in ordinary
uniform. But, as they moved for
ward, I found them hard to see for
they took such good advantage of
the terrain and what camouflage
they could improvise.
HAVE ADVANTAGE
/ am sure newcomers would never
be as successful and might even
think some precautions silly. Boys
who have spent their lives in the
open, who know animals, the woods,
and how to live in the open in
good or bad weather, have a little
advantage, 1 would imagine, over
the city boys in this training. All
are getting it here under very
realistic conditions.
I saw the training in hand-to-
hand fighting in shooting, in re-
connaissance work and felt that
these men had confidence in them
selves to meet the enemy and to
win. They were studying japanese
weapons in one group and the man
who demonstrated the gun to me
knew quite well why his own gun
was superior weapon, since he or
his comrades had actually taken
these japanese weapons in combat
They had great pride in their
trophies and went to considerable
trouble to put. them back in work.
ing order so they could be used for
demonstration purposes.
AS you get nearer to the front
you find that fewer and fewer
things you had thought essential
to decent living really are necessi-
ties. Things are wonderfully clean
even in a camp where all the water
is brought in by tank. A tent, If it
has a floor, can be quite comfor-
table, and with an extra fence out
side it can be tied more securely
Mosquito nets are held up by four
posts at the four corners Of army
cots. Thought some boys had filled
their mattress covers with straw or
grass, the majority found blankets
without a mattress or pillow per-
fectly satisfactory bed
One thing vii. interest you at
home, namely the boys who have
just come out from camps in the
United States speak of their food
! rs being better out here. That Is
partly because of Lease-Lend ar
rangementS. Meat, some fresh
vegetables and butter are obtained
from Australia. In some areas,
they got bit too much Australian
mutton, but up in the north they
are in the beef country and 1t is
good, and you know at home how
your boys like steak.
There is all sorts of talent In the
army. AS 1 was going through a
Red Cross club here last night, l
came to a little room where a
young man was busy turning out a
poster. When I asked him If he
had done similar work in civilian
life, I learned that he was Ser
geant Moore and had been Ripley S
assistant. There was another man
playing the piano and when / asked
if someone led the singing around
there, they produced the soldier at
once, and the whole group sang
Home On the Range"
In a hospital the other day a
man said, II was with your cousin
up North" 1 thought he meant one
of the very young members of my
family, but 1 soon found that he
meant Archie, whom I had seen
lust before he came out here, but