The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1944-06-06


BY FRANK FISHER
UNITED Press staff Correspondent
London (UP)-They seem long
time ago-those gray May days al
most four years ago when the rag
ged remnants of a battered British
army returned from Dunkirk IN the
strangeSt and bravest armada that
even this old island has ever seen.
Disaster seemed complete.
It seemed overwhelming as I
looked down on the evacuation
fleet for the first time. There they
were-tired- Looking destroyers Jost-
ling French fishing smacks, pleas
ure steamers tied up next to dirty
looking tugboats, sailing ships dock
ed beside little excursion boats from
south coast English towns. There
were a couple Of coastal steamers
and some high-pooped Dutch trad
ing vessels-everything, In fact, ex-
cept and ocean liner or a canoe.
They carried what was left OF an
army. There were dead men and
men across whose faces the gray
green shadow Of death already was
crawling. There were bandaged,
patched-up wrecks Of men who lay
across stretchers or on the bare
decks of the rescue vessels.
There also were some unwounded
men. Unwounded in body, that is,
but men whose souls had been
scared by their experiences on the
beaches Of Dunkirk. You could see
it in their eyes.
They poured across the gang
planks in a never-ending stream.
Many were wrapped in blankets to
hide their nakedness.
by the time I'd got through
swimming orr that beach I'd got
everything orr me too, guvnor," one
told me.
Some were sporting underpants
and shirts and few, very few, were
fully clothed, but a large number
still were carrying their rifles. To
bring your rifle back through that
hell and highwater was the mark
of a good soldier.
And then there were the British
guards, the cream Of the British
army, and they knew it. 1t did your
heart good to watch them. For
weeks they had to snatch food and
sleep where they could find it. But
now they snapped to attention, their
backs stiff as ramrods, shouldered
arms and marched through that
berraggled army as though on par
ade before the King.
Txaa Iachr0xyarc ia rtIch hour
business. They disembarked their
men rapidly, cleared from the dock,
whipped around in the harbor, and
in no time were racing gack toward
Dunkirk, a white silver Of foram
at their jaws.
The full story of these destroy
ers never has been told. There was
the Inns. Worcester, for example
/ Her captain took 1000 men aboard
at the beach and lined them up like
sardines on the deck and in the
holds. AS the destroyer left the
shore she was plastered by a rain
of bombs from scores of NaN dive
bombers. The close packed British
troops were helpless to avoid the
murderous blast. The Sharpnel tore
a bloody lane of death through the
flesh of the standing soldiers.
/ saw the Worcester as she ar
rived at Dover. Her decks were still
a welter OF blood and muck when
the last man was lifted from her
Hours later the ship backed out
into the channel and headed back
for Dunkirk.
But here is the single thing that
impressed me most in the British
ertreat from Dunkirk. Not one OF
the hundreds of men I talked with
was impressed by the German SOL
der. His tanks, guns, and espe-
cially his mortars, yes. but not by
the man who ran them.
"Give us what they've got and
we'll lick them" they said. mot
once or twice, but scores of times"
believed them then, and / think
that this time they will prove what
they said four years ago.
BY EDWARD w. BEATTIE
UNITED Press STAFF Correspondent
London CUP - -Four years ago
this June, while Marshal Petain's
tired old voice told France the
, German arms were all-powerful and
that Frances only hope lay In sur
render. the last ragged remnants
of a shattered British army stray
gled down to the beaches Of Brit
tany.
Except for the Commands -
which then were still unborn-they
were last Allied soldiers to tread
the soil Of France.
They streamed out of Brest. st,
Malo and from dozens of little
fishing villages. In troopships, chan
mel boats, rowboats, going back 10
man the white cliffs of Dover
against imminent Nazi attack.
] left Brest whit a strange jun
BILE OF airmen, ground crews. In
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