The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-01-08
By RAYMOND CLAPPER

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I left San
Francisco 1 had a few bad mo-
ments when I discovered that war
correspondents were expected to
set out for the Pacific theater
looking something like uniformed
Esquire men.
This was a new side of the job
to me. Up to now l have gone
around here and there, in all kinds
of countries, wearing just about
what felt comfortable. And nobody
cared. l wore an outfit OF civilian
clothes to San Francisco and had
intended to wear it on here before
changing into the old khaki shirt
and trousers which I brought back
from Africa.
At Algiers last summer I hung
my civilian clothes, which. l had
worn to Sweden and around to air.
fields in England in Reynolds
Packard room at the Aletti hotel.
For field wear I took several khaki
shirts, three pairs of trousers, CT
shoes. and that was about all. |
thought to do the same here.
At San Francisco, however, when
I explained my logistical plans to
the Navy public relations office,
they were nice about it but limited
that it would be better if l went
out of San Francisco in full COR
respondents uniform with blouse.
We compromised by getting field
jacket, which is like a golfers
Windbreaker. War correspondents
assigned to the Navy wear regular
Army officers clothes but with
naval war correspondent S insignia.
This is the first time l have set
out to be so far from regular ci-
william communities, and it makes
difference il plans. For instance
l never have carried spare eye
glasses, but when l broke & frame
in San Francisco l realized that it
was lucky this did not happen a
few days later, out somewhere on
shipboard. So you load up with
extra glasses and a good deal of
small junk that you would not or
dinarily carry.
Navy people cling to their Gus
toms. In San Francisco the naval
officers l wanted to see have srace
in the Federal Building. Some of
the offices are next door to the
San Francisco branch of the Civil
Service Commission. But you don't
60 upstairs to the commandant's
office. You go topside to the COM
mandant's cabin.
That's how there came to be
the newspaper discussion of Ad-
miral Kings flagship and his ex
ira pay for sea duty at Washing
ton. He has small flagship an
chored in the Potomac and lives
on it much of the time. That is
an admiraPs right in the Navy,
and automatically extra pay for
sea duty goes along with it.
The mere raising of the cues
ton made Secretary Knox boil. It
is ridiculous, as he said. The coun-
try gets the services of a man like
Admiral King for $4,000 a year.
And for that he has responsibility
over nearly thousand m b a
ships. In private life men holding
far smaller jobs-from an admin
lstrative point of view alone-draw
salaries in six figures.
Everybody has a lot of high
strategy to talk. They used to say
that the desert war in Africa was
tactician's dream and a quar-
termaster's nightmare It's about
that way in the Pacific. This is
a giant chessboard and the game
is for keeps. 1t has an excitement
about it that you feel in talking
with officers. So much of land
war is dull, hard slogging, knock
ing out battery here and then
another one farther up the road,
and getting ammunition and sup
plies up to the batteries, and push
ing the infantry slowly along foot
by foot over miles that last for
months. There probably has been
no greater hell in the big wide
swinging blows, quick and chang
ing frequently, with constant ap-
peal to the imagination.
Every officer l have seen out
here is excited and alive, and it |
makes you feel verv good .J1,s+