The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1944-12-28

enson keeps the boys entertained by
Cabling 1t every morning when they
get out of bed. grumpy and cold.
I suggested he try 1t on some Of
the English girls. He said he already
had.
What did they do?" I asked.
They liked to had a ft," he said.
Sgt. Cecil E. Lambert Of OAR
lington. S. c.. took me out to a big
rifle range and let me take a few
shots. Like all good soldiers. I got
cheated out Of n bull's-eye by the
pitman marking it a complete miss,
when it was obviously a direct hit.
Outside Of that we've decided to
keep my cor a military secret. Its
publication might give aid and COM
fort to the enemy.
A Seven-Day Week
1t is a strange night, here In this
American camp.
There are rows on rows Of khaki
tents, some Of them round, some Of
them square. They are built on
ridges, with depressions in between
for drainage.
We are in a far country from
home. Work is urgent and grave in
this camp. The air is chill and
damp, and ghostlike sentries walk
their posts in the blackout. II there
YER only bonfres about we might
be a picture from Civil war days.
I wander among the tents, pick
ing up new friends here and there.
Even in the dark the presence Of a
stranger draws soldiers as molas-
e draws flies, for an outsider in
camp Is a curiosity and anything
that breaks the monotony Is well
come.
The boys In this camp work
seven days . week, unload
ing the vast and constant flow Of
war supplies from America out
Of trucks and freight cars. II IL
dark now when they get up Of
morning. II will soo be dark
before they get back from work
In the evening.
Their tents have neither heat nor
light. There isn't much to do but sit
on your mattress in the dark tent
till bedtime. There are no chairs
and nc cots. The straw-flled mat
tresses lie on the ground. The
boys stack their blankets in day.
time to keep them dry.
At night some Of them write short
letters while holding a fiashlight.
Some 60 to the water faucets and
wash clothes in the dark. Some
gather in tents and play guitars and
sing old songs. I even heard a
violin accompaniment to singing in
one tent.
We stood in the dark, talking.
New boys would join our huddle out
Of curiosity, and after hearing me
say something they'd speak up with.
Say. you're an American. aren't
your"
And I'd say yes and they'd shake
hands and say, We'll, III be
damned, I never expected to see an
American owe here" or boy. it's
sure good to see an American"
That's a funny psychology the
soldiers have. They're sur
rounded by Americans, Of
course. But they're all in uni
forms, and they cease to be
Americans to each other and be-
come just soldiers. When they
see an American in civilian
clothes they look upon him as
the first real American they've
seen since coming over here.
It's a kind Of flash.back to home
and normal life before everything
went olive-drab.
Deep darkness came and we were
only forms In a circle. We stood
there in the night and talked for
nearly three hours. We stood be.
cause there wasn't any place to sit
down. Inside the crowded tents other
boys had gone to bed. Now and then
we'd stick our heads inside a tent
flap to light a cigaret and then light
one from another all the way
around.
In this camp there are both Negro
and white troops. They are given
liberty on alternate nights. Only q
certain percentage Of any camp is
ever allowed out at any n time.
Thus it works out that each man
gets only one evening q week In
town.