Imperial Valley press., 1944-06-30

Centre that the stores are similar
10 large hardware stores and the
yard of the store where he works
covers about two acres.
The tons of destructive bombs
hurllng down on targets alcng the
invasion coast of France are loaded
INTO Flying Fortresses of the eighth
ar force by men like Private First
Class Leldon d. Sharp, 81, of Ell
Centro, an armament specialist at
inns heavy bombardment base. Pfc
Sharp is also responsible for lead
ing and servicing the fast-firing
.1O-caliber machine guns which pro-
vide the Forts with their famed de-
lenSlVe fire-poWer. He installs and
lnspects the protective armor on
the planes which today are pound
ing invasion objectiveS in coniunc-
tlon with the ground forces. Work
ing with speed and skill on the
bomberS which land reload and
take off again to continue their role
IN the assault on Hitler'S fortress
Of Europe" Pfc. Sharp realizes that
the lives of the combat men who
tly the planes depend upon his
knowledge and the efficiency with
which he does his job. The son of
E. L. Sharp of 870 Commercial
Street, Pfc. Sharp was a mechanic
Tor the Sebastian Canning COM
pany prior to entering the AAF in
September, 1912.
Lieutenant Joseph F.. Suchma of
CaleXicO arrived in the south Pa
citic and became a member of the
18th AAF, the air force which
blasted Jap air power from Guadal-
canal and Truk in its northwest
ward drive. Lieutenant Schuma,
son Of Mrs. Anna Suchma, 819 Hef-
fernan avenue, CaleXico, is a bonn
bardier with 18th AAF B-24 Lib
orator crew, in the south Pacific
theater of operations. Entering the
army July %, 1912, he received his
commission Dec "a, 1943, and left
the United States for overseas duty
May 30, 1914. He was graduated
from CaleXico Union High school
and prior to his enlistment in the
AAF Lieutenant Suchma was en-
ployed by the Haas Brothers, Whr.
Co., as parts department manager.
Pfc. Claude Lee Thomes Jr., son
of Mr.. and Mrs. C. L. Thomas of Ell
Centro, has returned hcme from
Alaska where he has been stationed
for the past two and a half years
He is with the army engineers. He
enlisted in October of 1941 and re-
ceived his basic training at Fort
Leonard Wood, Mo. From there he
was sent to Fort Lawton. Wash
to await shipment to Alaska. Upon
completion of his furlough, he will
report back to the camp where he
received his basic training, Fort
Leonard Wood, Mo. Even though
the valley seems very hot after
Wading around in Waist-deep snow
fer several years, Pfc. Thomas is
mighty glad to be here.
Two mongrel pups landed side
by side with their marine masters
when leathernecks struck today at
Saipan. Whether they will attain
the fame of SiWash, the TaraWa
duck which was cited for repulSing
the attacks of Jap pig and chick
en-, the next few days will tell. Their
owners claim they have been thor
oughly indoctrinated in the corps
traditions and won't let us down -
"Stinky," of doubtful lineage, is
owned by Sergeant D. L. Cox, whose
wife, Carmen, lives at 914 Third
street, Calexico. Sergeant Cox plays
the big bass horn in a marine regi-
ments band. "Stinky," now the
bands official mascot, first was
called Horizontal" because she did
nothing but sleep. She since has re-
deemed herself, and the name has
been discarded for the additional
reason that it was too long. Ser