Evening star., 1943-08-04
Luxury Liner Packed
With Soldiers Saline
For Battle Of Europe
BY GEORGE KENNEDY,
Star Staff Correspondent


by Army CENSOR Recently, witt
other newspapermen, 1 saw tn
loading of giant luxury liner car
rying more soldiers for the secont
round of the battle for Europe thar
it would seem possible to jam int
one ship.
1t was the first time that re
porters had been allowed to witnes
and write about the embarkation O
troops on this side
publication of this article was
delayed until the shipload of SOL
diers described arrived at it's
destination. Cabled word of its
arrival has just been received
by the War Department.
The Atlantic has been bridgs.
despite the submarine and short.
age of ships. Men and materie
are moving over that bridge ir
volume unsuspected by newspaper.
men and newspaper readers. Nont
OF the correspondents who witnessed
the movement of soldiers and the
machinery of war at the New York
port of embarkation, one of the
principal approaches to the trans
Atlantic bridge, had any doubt al
To the validity of Winston Church
Ills promise that you will have
good news before the leaves OF
autumn fall" And they weren't
thinking about Italy.
Thousands Sailed.
The number of men who sailed
Is a closely guarded military secret
but it ran into thousands.
Maj. Gen. Homer M. Groninger
commander of the port of embark
alton, gave the correspondents a
little talk before the soldiers arrived
to board the liner. He said that our
soldiers are much more anxious to
go abroad "and get it over with
than they were few months ago
Nothing improves morale like good
news. Gen. Groninger said:
IT you want to. watch the faces
Of these men as they get off the
ferry. They are going over to fight
Germans and if they are any good
they are measuring their lives in
months, AS long as we sit here, we
can measure ouy lives in years"
He was standing at the end of
q long covered pier. No crowds in
evening dress were tottering down
the first-class gang plank at warn
Ing blast of departure. No cello
phane-covered baskets of fruit and
champagne were arriving from
swank shops. Messenger boys were
not rushing last minute farewells
And the reporters on the pier were
not looking for financiers or society
figures on the sailing list. They
we're watching ferry come in from
the dim-out.
No ferry at the peak of the Man
haitian morning rush was crowded
like that one. In nearly every
square foot of space was a tin hat
and under every tin hat was a face
looking UP at the pier and the
giant liner.
Band Played Sweet Sue"
The band at the end of the pier
struck up-not "Over There" or
"Good-by Broadway, Hello, France,
but Sweet Sue"
Up the ramp from the ferry deck
they came, struggling along with
their barracks bags. After a soldier
has thrown in all the items of his
so articles of standard equipment
not otherwise provided for, and a
few personal belongings, the canvas
barracks bag is mighty heavy.
AS Gen. Groninger suggested,
watched their faces. What I read
there was, Where can I put this
darn thing DOWN."
A barracks bag alone would be no
trouble. With knapsack, a blanket
roll and rife slung over the shoul-
ders, it's a problem. Some of the
boys carried their bag over a shoul-
der. Some almost dragged them
along he planks. And some Rugged
them across their chest like bag
of potatoes.
But one could see these men were
troubled by more than their imme-
diate burden as they hurried on
towards the ship that was to carry
them to an unknown destination.
The reporters realized that better
In the afternoon when they talked
to soldiers who had just boarded
ore of the many trains bringing men
to this ship from one of the staging
areas" or transient camps in the
vicinity of New York.
Returned "V" Sign.
The soldiers humor responded to
every stimulus. Give them the "V'
sign and they gave it back to you
from the car window with a smile
At one car platform, sergeant was
busy Singing up these same bar
racks bags which had been carted
to the tracks on trucks. One private
feigned an exaggerated appreciation
oh, thank you, sergeant he said
II believe mine is lower three"
The mems faces were pretty long
as the train waited about five min
utes before pulling out. Another
military band marched up and down
the platform. Finally the train
pulled out and there wasn't a soldier
aboard who didn't have a smile and
q wave for a red-haired WAC lieu
tenant-the only woman to see them
off.
But on the pier, with the men
still coming single file up the ramp
from the ferry, and the band still
playing Sweet Sue" things were
too hurried for that sort of atmos-
phere to develop, and the men were
too physically tired at the end of a
long and trying day.
Up they came. every steel helmet
the same except for the soldiers
number chalked on it, every face
underneath surprisingly different,
some with glasses, some chewing
gum vigorously, all hurrying.
There used to be more than one