Smyrna times., 1944-05-25

AIlu the piece ut ItSiSldIlCc was
roast skunk.
Delaware was given real boost
recently in the Hicksville, N. Y,
paper. A native of that town, Cpl.
Jimmy Cooley, now stationed at
the Dover Army Air Field, wrote
to his home town paper praising
Delaware's treatment of service
men. The article, titled Hats Off
To Delaware" follows:
To the Editor:
If there is any prize due to any
state for its consideration toward
the soldiers stationed in that state,
my vote goes to Delaware; in
fact, to its capitol, Dover, for its
interest in the boys in uniform. I
have been in 3S different states and
camps, and 1 can truthfuly say
this is paradise.
Along the main highways the
American Legion has built up
small huts with "Give Our Boys a
Lift" signs on them. People here
go out of their way to be friendly
toward you. I had a woman pick
me up and take me to Wilmington,
Del, and then turn around and go
back to Dover. Her reason was
that she couldn't pass me by and
let me stand there.
1 had a taxi pick me up two
miles outside of town and when 1
arrived in Dover, asked him how
much I owed him. With a smile,
mind you, he replied That's al
right, was coming back this way
anyhow"
Yes, 1 know it is almost hard to
believe that such people exist, but
there are, and right here. Their
kindness is almost uncanny, yet
they give everything with a big
smile. I wonder how many of
you Hicksville people would go out
of your way to give a ride to
soldier? ?
Mississippi, North and South
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and
all the rest can never compare
with this little state. So to you,
Soldier, who may have a chance to
stop off in this little Capitol, do it,
for it's worth it. And as for me
and my buddies, HAT OFF TO
DELAWARE!
Cpl. Jimmy Cooley,
Dover AAF, Delaware
After this build-up, it certainly
behooves us here in Smyrna, as
Delawareans, to try and live up to
Cpl. Cooley's praise. We certainly
don't want Jimmy Cooley and his
buddies to find out what the peo-
pie in Smyrna DON'T do for the
soldiers. Let us hope he never
finds out how hard it is to get
volunteers to serve at the u. S. o.
or how very seldom the organiza-
tions of this town donate cookies
or other refreshments. Let us hope
he doesn't get wind of the fact that
after an appeal for home owners to
register rooms that soldiers could
rent for overnight, TWO persons in
this entire community sent in their
names. Let us hope he never
hears that soldiers are refused the
rental of boats here, when they
want to row on the lake. Let us
hope he never talks to some of the
many persons here who believe
that ALL soldiers and sailors are
rowdy, drunken, destructive, OBJ
scene individuals who are to be
completely avoided at all costs.
On the other hand, maybe Jimmy
Cooley and his buddies will hear
about the weekly newspaper col
umn, called Dribbles, sponsored by
the local American Legion for local
boys who are in service, and how
much our local boys enjoy this col
umn. Maybe he will hear of some
Smyrna driver who has picked up
soldier and given him a ride, or
about how friendly and honey our
small U. S. o. Center is. Maybe
he will hear about our faithful
Junior Hostesses who ride 18 miles
in an open army truck every other
Friday night, winter and summer,
to dance with the boys at the Do
yer Army Air Field.
In the meantime, we all can
think about the things we don't do,
and then DO something about it.
BIGGEST CIRCUS COMING