The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1944-03-10


back at Midway in 1912, and
Spruance himself had charge Of
the conquest of the Gilberts.
He packs tremendous amount Of
energy in his medium build, and he
drives himself and the men with him
hard when the heat is on. His rug
ged face had been weathered by
many salt breeze. His blue, flinty
eyes are those of born comm ander.
The Spruances are family of four.
His wife and daughter live out on
the Pacific coast and his son, true
to the navy tradition, is an officer on
a submarine.
QUITE likely Mrs. George c.
~ Marshall is doing little extra
listening these days. The thoughtful
chief of staff of the Army of the
General Has Silent States s t : talks 3
Audience in Mrs. out his prob
Geo. c. Marshall lens TO MS
no one else. And with the going a
trifie heavy in Italy he may be talk
ing more than usual.
1t is to be noted that the gen.
eral talks his problems to, and
not with, Mrs. Marshall. Unlike
some Washington wives she pre-
tends to no expert knowledge in
her husbands field, even the
edges of it. Her role is that Of
audience while the sometimes
harassed general thinks out loud.
For this role she is nicely fitted.
She used to be a Shakesperian
actress and early learned to
show lively, but silent interest
while Mansfield and others
reeled off the long, magnificent
speeches of the Bard.
For both the Marshalls this is
heir second marriage. He met her
on a boat when she was a Baltimore
lawyers widow, met her again on
land, decided he had done enough
reconnaissance and found she felt
the same way.
A slim wife, hardly up to her
husbands shoulder, with m0dish
gray hair, she is finely proper
toned for the roles of POrtia,
Juliet and ROsalind. These were
among her favorites. Ophelia
was one of her favorites, too,
but that can hardly be Of any
present help.
ZEN. Alexander A. Vandegrift,
~ commandant Of the marine
corps, marks the first birthday Of
the women's reserve with an all en-
Col. Ruth Streeter awell done
And the Marines and a smile
HaUe No Regrets lights up the
eyes of Col. Ruth Cheney Streeter.
Those are the very words she has
been waiting IL months to hear. She
knew that at the start the leather
necks, almost to man, were from
Missouri as far as her organization
was concerned. Now the stamp Of
approval is as emphatic as the skep-
ticism was real, and the director of
the reserve is justly proud.
A year ago if this action-Ioving
wife of lawyer could have had
her way, she'd have been ferry
ing planes overseas. She had
learned to fly at As and held a
civilian pilots license, and it
seemed pretty silly to her that
Washington thought Al too old
for the Ferry Command. Her
year in the marines has erased
that disappointment.
She admits she was startled when
the marines commissioned her a
major in January of 1913 and set
her to bossing the sister group to
the WAVES. She had found time
from running her home in Morris
town, N. j., and bringing up her
four children to participate in well
fare and defense work, but this was
something else again. She received
her second promotion in a year last
January and now she far outranks
her three sons in service, two in the
navy and one in the army. Only her
husband and her daughter are not
u uniform.