Evening star., 1943-07-10
They Do Housework,
But Also Man Guns in
Quariermasier Corps
BY MARIE WILSON,

CHEYENNE, Wyo., July 10.-They
bake bread and doughnuts, they
wash dirty clothes, they mend snags
and tears, but don't call them
"sissies"-the fighting Quartermas-
ter Corps of this mans Army can
WELD a ladle and rifle with equal
skill.
Supplying the front and keeping
the Army we'll fed and spick and
span Is a job for men of skill
courage and intelligence. In three
months the quartermaster replace
ment training center at Fort Francis
E. Warren, on the fringe of Chey-
enne, can turn out a fighting cook,
ready for overseas service.
The QMs are the Army house
keepers" who have bakeries, snoe
repair shops and laundries going
full speed in less than two hours
after they reach an advance base.
Problems of Combat.
Ponder this while you're putting
the potatoes on to boil:
Out of the clouds Nazi bombers
suddenly swoop low over supply
trucks rolling along highway near
the front The long ribbon OF trucks
screeches to stop and men race for
shelter Machine guns on the ground
answer the aerial fire.
Considerable damage is done.
Trucks seem almost beyond repair;
supplies needed desperately at the
front are strewn along the road;
men are wounded.
Yet an hour later the trucks again
are rolling forward, And two hours
a1ler reaching destination the
yeasty smell of fresh bread baking,
the whirring of machines repairing
shoes and mending rips in tents
and smooth-running motors of
laundry units indicate one thing
the fighting quartermasters" have
delivered the goods.
It's going to be tough on women
after the war. When little woman"
begins to complain of long, hard
day doing the laundry, hubby can
squelch her in a couple of seconds
by telling how he used to turn out
so pounds Of clothes, washed and
dried. every 40 minutes in the ON
laundry.
Two Types of Bread.
Recipes calling for 35 pounds of
-four, 20 pounds of water and
pound and half of shortening, plus
proportionately large amounts of
yeast, salt and powdered milk would
spell disaster for the one-year-of-
home -ec in high-school feminine
cooks. Yet f1ve-man baking unit
Of the Quartermaster Corps turns
out enough fresh bread to feed
1000 men daily.
Army rations call for two types
Of bread. Garrison bread is served
at Army posts Field bread, made
with less shortening, milk and sugar,
Is served at the front. With hard
crust like French bread, it can be
packed easily and will keep fresh
for 28 days.
The time -honored breadmaking
method is followed, but extra steps
have been cut to minimum. For
one thing, a gasoline motor mixer
can knead 80 pounds of dough in
20 minutes today.
The baker soldiers are prepared
to carry on even if bombing raid
destroys their equipment. They can
set up emergency kitchens, with
ovens built of oil cans, covered with
mud, over a ditch-banked fire, and
II no yeast is available they can get
a virgin culture by attracting the
natural yeast cells out of the air
with potatoes or flour and sugar.
Keeps Shoes in Repair.
A soldiers feet are important sub
jects, so keeping his two pairs of
shoes in good condition is the job
of ll-ton mobile trailer units which
are hauled to the advance bases a
few miles behind the front. Work.
ing in two eight-hour shifts, they
can repair 400 pairs of shoes day
the estimated need of $4,000
troops. The quartermaster shoe re-
pairmen mend tears, pound on heels
and resole with professional skill
Patching up the Army's troubles
Is snap for the clothing repair
units, who work within earShot of
fire. An operator at one
machine sews on buttons; another
f,>a u a a q tr,ni ifrt
seldom remains stablel, and a third
mendS rips in blankets and tents.
If bombing damages the power
full generators, then the eight ma
chimes in each trailer can be op-
Grated by foot.
But the most popular part of the
Quartermaster Corps to the average
soldier when he's not on k. p. duty
is the mess kitchen. Smokeless and
camouflaged, these gasoline burning
units turn out well-balanced hot
meals three times day.
Must Also Fight.
And it's no beans and more beans
In this war A typical menu appe-
tlzlngly turned out by Army cooks
is barbecued Spareribs (which would
please even the most particular
Southerner), hash brown potatoes,
sauerkraut, cole slaw, bread, butter,
sweet rolls and hot cocoa, dished
up in the sectioned-off, two plate
mess gear which every soldier
soon learns to balance with the
aplomb Of a matron at tea party.
Bakers, shoe repairers, laundry
men and cooks of the ONO, besides
learning their trade 60 their wives
two steps better. The men who wear
the insignia of a key and sword
over wheel learn to drill
and to fight and how to repair their
and to improvise new
utensils in emergencies.
Victory in global war will go
10 the side with the strongest sup
ply lines. But Uncle Sam isn't wor-