Evening star., 1944-03-09
|War-ZOne Letter
ellis Of Bombs
|And Picnic

M tSS M QTguTet JOLIST, SLQU As
sistant to an American Red Cross
Club somewhere in the Lybian
Desert, gipes Uiuid and interest
ing account of a tD1r-zoue picnic.
Miss Cotter is ,oeH knopn in the
Capital and Maryland as an &C.
complisfled horse,Domdn and
popular member OF the younger
set. Her letter tollo,Us.
1t was one of those red letter
days. We were sitting on the
beach watching the waters of the
blue-green Mediterranean splash
up on shore and fall away again.
At first glance you would have
thought it a typical picnic scene
anywhere in the United States. Boys
and girls, in bathing suits, were
laughing and talking, eating sand
wiches and drinking pop.
However, closer view would
have revealed to you the heavily
bombed building across the road
from us with the ack-ack guns on
the roof and the guards standing
watch-just in case.
Thirty yards to our right was q
slit trench. Beyond that, and for
miles down the field, were crippled
planes which had been shot down
or caught.
Along the shore line, where once
stood beautiful villas, we could see
nothing but crumpled debris.
Everywhere there were unmis-
taxable signs Of war.
But it was a day off for the three
G. Is and the three Red Cross
girls, and we were having picnic
war or no war.
A sergeant of Ravenna, Ohio, who
has been in the Army for two
years and was not old enough to
vote when he came in, was cele-
brating his first wedding anniver-
sary and the picnic was in his
honor.
OF course, the sandwiches were
all Army rations, SPAN and bully
beef, but we had dressed them up
with a bit of pickle and onion. We
had even managed to get a can of
fruit juice "a rare thing in this
part Of the world at the P. X.
We drank toast with our fruit
juice to the sergeant's bride.
"Gee," said the sergeant, II wish
she knew I was able to celebrate
our anniversary like this and not
behind a gum"
All the boys declared it was the
closest thing to home they had ex-
perienced since coming overseas
more than a year ago.
We swan and ate and played on
the beach until the sun went down.
We talked of home and our school
days and Of all the things we were
going to do when the war was over.
The 35-year-old sergeant told us
that although he had been with a
corporation in Detroit, an essential
job and one in which he was tre-
mendously interested, he had vol
unteered to come overseas because
I wanted to get into the war" he
said, "and I am not sorry / came,
nor am I worried about my job. It
will be waiting for me when I get
back" :
just then a plane came into view
across the horizon.
Look" some one shouted, "he's
in trouble. He's letting out red
flares. It might be a Bull Fighter"
NO" said the sergeant, 'tit's prob
ably a B-24 coming in from the
mission. Maybe his landing gear is
out or possibly he has an injured
man and is signaling for an ambu-
lance"
The girls were silent. We had
been In the desert only short time
and knew nothing of Bull Fighters,
red flares or B-24s.
But we were terribly excited. Il
felt sure we should rush to the land
ing field to get all the details. But
we didn't.
The landing field, they said, was a
long way off.
And, besides, the boys dismissed
the subject.
1t was time to 60 home.
We climbed into our jeep and
headed back to the Red Cross Club,
where the boys let us off before
continuing on to their tents out
in the desert.
went to bed, peacefully dreaming
Of picnics in Rock Greek Park.
Hours later I was awakened by an
explosion.
1t was the most terrific sound I
have ever heard.
jumped from my cot so suddenly
I got tangled up in my mosquito
and ended up in heap on
the floor.
The sound of the next explosion
got me up in a hurry.
1t was SO dark I couldn't find my
way out of the room. almost
turned on a hght-then thought
better of it. This might be an air
raid.
I hadn't the faintest idea what 1t