The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1944-06-06
VAST SUPPLIES
PREPARED BY
U. S. IN BRITAIN
BY s. D. HALEs


London Cup = Preparing for the
invasion Of Western Europe, the U.
s. Army Service Of Supply built up
an economic system so vast 1t FORM
ed q sort Of separate economy and
industry svperimposed upon that Of
Great Britain.
A visit to one Of the SPRAYING
u. s. Army bases found an indus
trial life so complex that nobody
could describe more than the high
spots Of 1t for readers back home
in anything less than a big, thick
book.
There was everything from a
couple Of orthopedic shoe shops
making shoes for GIs whose feet
the doctors - not the CTS - said
hurt, up to an airplane assembly
and repair plant Seattle or Wichita
would be proud Of.
Wherever one went - bounding
over narrow winding English roads
in q jeep in rain, wind and mud -
he found new traces Of U. s. Army
industry. II one didn't see, at the
moment, depot or repair shop
or Nissen hut, ne saw a line of
10-wheeler trucks or jeeps or off,
GERS cars on the way to some hid
den s. o. s. installation. Or he saw
one Of the Transportation Corps
American locomotives chugging
along q British railway pulling a
long supply train.
Off In one direction, seagoing
jeeps were being made ready to
swarm over German-held beaches.
Near them at an impromptu ord
nance shop - equipped from the
salvage dump - q small-arms COM
pany was remodelling the Army's
famous bazookas, adapting them
to latest specifications and giving
them new punch without having to
ship them home.
Over near O shoreline, o line Of
tank-shaped silhouettes trundled
along, apparently under their own
power, providing anti-tank target
practice for British and American
invasion forces.
Out Of q hatful Of notes, names
and hometown addresses gath
cred in the field, this correspon-
dent will try TO hit o few high
spots that went on and are still
going on behind the western front.
Those tark-shaped silhouettes,
for instance, did not trundle along
under their own power. They were
mounted on trolley cars run by
two-cylinder gasoline engines, and
they moved on tracks dug deep
into the ground so that only the
lhouette-burlap on wood frame
showed for the gun crews pound
ing away at the target.
LIST 1t. Howard L. Fleming, 20,
Olney, H., was In charge OF the
range. His maintenance crew Of SO
British and IS American soldiers
kept the contraption running and
made an average Of 80 replace
ment targets daily. The day was
there they had SO targets shot up
beyond repair.
AS for the seagoing jeeps, Col.
Lester H. Leonard, San Francisco,
and Pvt. Tony Mastrocova, Endi-
colt, N. Y, spent all their time
nursing them. Week after week
they checked and rechecked bat
teries, oil. water and lights after
the amphibians were given trial
runs under combat conditions.
Each vehicle had an actual travel
test every three days while await
ing the call to service.
.S-Sgt. George G. O'Leary, Buff
falo, N. Y, set up the bazooka re-
modelling shop, organizing 1t for
mass production. His assistants IN
cluded Sgt. Irwin w. Condrey'
Richmond, Va, and Cpl. John r.
Wilson, Centralia, Pa, who de-
signed gun racks; Sgt. Melville H.
French DePere, Wis, and Sgt.
Douglas F. Last. Rochester, N. Y.
made gun-bluing tanks from
scrapped lockers. Sgt. Martin D.
Tursi, Utica, N. Y, took strapped
steel plates and bolted them 80.
gether for a fireproof weapons stor-
age vault holding 500 bazookas. Sgt.
Peter j. Woznicki, Trumbull, Conn,
took odds and ends and came up
with burners to heat the bluing
tanks and special wrench to re-
move barrels from the bazookas.
Mai. william ]. Stewart, Column
bia, Mo-, orthopedic consultants to
the chief surgeons office. s. o. s.,
and lst 1t. Victor M. Adams, Mi
ami, Fla, q former shoe manufac-
turer, set up the European Theater
of Operations first orthopedic
shoe factory. BY January, 1913,
they had 1t turning out over 200
najrs Of special shoes each week.