The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1944-02-17
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See Here,
Private Huf'grove!
by Marion Hurgrove ..xsSS.ss.

~.A.U.
. G awe Z


and schoolteacher in Birmingham,
was lean and misunderstanding
infantry officer with a gift of CAB
and camaraderie with the enlisted
men. He sauntered into the Service
Club, noised it about that he was
going to talk, and hooked up the
public address microphone.
Here it comes," said an unhappy
acting corporal. Here comes the
higher brass, to tell us the worst"
The major cleared his throat and
looked over the crowd which gath
cred about him. 'I know that this
is your Service Club" he said, land
I'm a staff officer barging in on you.
Before | was an officer, | was an
enlisted man. And, as an enlisted
man, I've done more KIP than any
man in this ROOM
A little of the tension passed and
the major lapsed into one of his
conveniently absent minded ram
bles. "In fact, went on KIP every
time they inspected my rife.
Couldn't keep the thing clean'
He paused. "The main thing that
has US worrying this afternoon is
the very same thing we're being
trained to protect. It's what they
call the American Way-and they
spell it with capitals.
i have my own ideas about the
American Way. I think the Ameri-
can Way is shown in you boys whose
parents paid school taxes so that
you could know what it was to cut
hooky. It's shown in the men who
pay two dollars to see a wrestling
match, not to watch the wrestlers
but to boo the referee. It's the good
old go-to-hell American spirit and
you can't find it anywhere but here.
You and both, when we were
called into the Army, brought our
homes with us. We've been thinking
less about war than about getting
back home after a while-back to
our girls and our wives and our
civilian jobs.
We'll, we know now where we
stand and we don't have to worry
about whether we're in for a long
stretch or a short vacation. That
should be cleared up now. We know
that we've got only one job now
and we haven't time to worry about
the one at home.
you're worrying because you're
not prepared soldiers, you're not
ready to fight yet. When the time
comes for you to go, you'll be ready.
You'll have your fundamental train
ing before you leave the Replace
ment Center.
Even if war is declared tomor-
row, you'll be taught for a while
here. And if war were declared to-
night, we'd still have our Service
Club and our movies and our ath-
letics. During our off hours, we
would. That's part of the American
Way.
Spending your duty hours at
work and your leisure hours at worry
that's no good. That's what the
enemy wants for YOU"
The major stopped again and
looked at the soldiers seated at writ
ing tables and the ones waiting for
the telephones. Someone once told
me that the best thing to do with a
letter you're not sure should be sent
is to hang on to it for twenty-four
hours. You might apply that to those
letters you're writing now. I'm not
going to write my family until to-
morrow.
Don't write or telephone home
when you're under strain like this.
Your parents and friends are worry
ing about you now and there's no
need to feed their worries. The let
ters most of you are writing are
going to disturb your people back
home, and they're going to write
letters back that will react on you.
Nobody's going to get anywhere like
that.
Relax for while. Have a beer
somewhere or get into good argu-
ment or just go home and sleep it
off. Then write home when you've
had time to think it over. Let your
letters be reassuring; you owe it to
your folks.
II guess that's all, boys"
He turned to leave the micro
| phone, but returned as if he had sud-
| denly remembered something.
''The regular variety show will
60 on tonight at eight O'clock" he
said.