Evening star., 1943-10-30

bouDle tTOuDle, 1S-yeaT-OlQ Mary
Mahaney Barron, Pentagon secre-
tary, calls her situation.
She has two paratroopers jumping
from the same plane in the Mediter-
ranean campaign. One is her hus-
band. The other is her brother.
Both have been wounded. Her hus-
band was on a list of wounded re-
leased by the War Department two
months ago. Her brother was on
the list made public today.
Mary's liability doubled last year
when her brother was home from
Fort Bragg. He was proudly show
ing the family picture of his COM
panions. His sister pointed to one.
Johnny" she said, bring him
home next time"
He was Staff Sergt. William G..
Barron. He came along with her
brother on the next trip. Sergt.
Barron was going home to Buffalo.
He never went beyond WASHINGTON.
Two-Hour Honeymoon.
They were married at 4 o'clock
one afternoon in St. Michael's
Church, Silver Spring At o'clock
she was waving good-by to him at
Union Station.
He had telephoned the camp. He
hoped he could get more leave.
Marriage had worked for others.
You had better get back here if
you want to be with US" he was
told. I'VE are showing Off"
60 ahead. Bill" Mrs. Barron
said. Il want you to CO.
Mrs. Barron hasn't seen him since
But she gets letters every few days
One from her brother Johnny told
how Bill was wounded, the bravest
soldier I ever knew, only foolhardy."
He was shot three times in Sicily
but was back at the front three
weeks later. One letter arrived last
Thursday from Bill. 1t told her,
Johnny is back with us again and
we are all glad. 1t was a concus-
sion-nothing serious"
Softball Champ.
Johnny is Sergt. J. NJ. Mahanev
who taught softball to the boys
in the Park View playground be-
fore the family moved out in Mary
land. They now live at 6l2 Missis-
Sippi avenue, Silver Spring. His
father William Mahaney, used to
drive the 4th Battalion police chiefs
car.
Sergt. Mahaney was wounded
September l8-on the approaches
to Naples, his mother thinks. She
has had a letter from him since
"One of Jerrys little helpers came
too close" he wrote.
He also wrote that he was troubled
with "blackouts, dizzy spells since
he got back from the hospital, but
that he wasn't letting the lieutenant
know because he wants to keep up
at the front with his company. His
mother hopes the lieutenant does
find out.
Behind Enemy Lines.
About his parachute descent be-
hind the enemy lines in Sicily and
subsequent events, he wrote the
family, 1T was hell with a capital
H, but enough of that. 1 will tell
you all about it when I see you if
God is wiling
He landed with one other para
trooper, separate from the rest For
two days they worked their way
together across country. They were
shot at so much by German snipers,
he wrote, that it was touch and 60
whether they would get to the
American lines.
A later letter reads: Here we
are back in North Africa. Sicily is
finished. I am fine and if it wasn't
for the fact that I miss you all
so very much I could truly say
am almost contented.
Expected More Combat.
mo one knows what the future
holds for us but more combat is a
cinch. I hope I am as fortunate
as before. War is terrific, Nom. At
any second I might get mine. The
way those men fight is no joke,
either. They are about the foulest
fighters you have ever read about.
I am not saying they boil you in
oil and pull your fingernails out and
all that stuff, but they might even
do that if they thought it would
help. Some of the things that hap
pened to our boys were pretty dirty
and low. We had one boy who was
able to speak a little German. It
so happened that he was shot pretty
badly. One of the Germans