Laurel outlook., 1944-10-25
Jungle Lottery
Full of Drama
Who Will Go Home? Many
Of Them Are Eligible, but
Few Are Chosen.

The following dispatch was written by ar
unidentified soldier attached to the 37tt
division and released through that division;
public relations office.
WITH THE 37TH DIVISION IN
THE SOUTHWEST PACIFIC. - An
"eligible" young man on this island
isn't a bachelor with a southern
exposure foXhole; he's a CT who has
served overseas at least two years
and thus qualities for return to the
United States under the army's
rotation plan.
Many are eligible; few are chosen,
and the movies a never reproduce
the individual tenseness, happiness
and disappointments that accom-
pany the drawings by lot held in
each company.
1t is an atmosphere that combines
the happiness of a wedding, the
sadness of a funeral, the tension of
a Kentucky Derby and the quiet
resignation of a golden wedding an
niversary.
The drawings are held in all sorts
of ways. Company D puts the
names in an empty oil drum, Com
pany G rolls the dice. Men stand
quietly, not speaking to buddies who
fought with them through the New
Georgia and B~ougainville cam
paigns. They clear their Threats like
a high school valedictorian; they re-
fuse to attend the drawing, and
wander off by themselves along
jungle trails.
Some Seek Chaplains.
Some of these drawings are
held so close to the lines that
security guards must be posted
against snipers and possible am
bush.
Men stand up and offer 20 and so
to l that they won't be chosen for
the glad trip home, and their voices
betray the hope they'll lose their
bets. They hover around the chap
lains, seeking divine int%ercession.
"Tm a mighty good boy" Mas
ter Sergt. Harold Aiken of Frank
fort, KY, told Chaplain Frederick
Kirker of Columbus, Ohio. "Please
try to get my number drawn and
I'll be even better if the Lord will
just give me a break"
But a bearded jungle fighter bel
lowed: "Hell, I'll be here till my
shoes rot and the centipedes call
by my first name"
All of them ached for home. For
two years they hadn't een a home
town girl, they hadn't tasted a cock
tail, they hadn't slept on a mattress,
they hadn't heard any voice kinder
than that Of a sergeant. Some had
babies at home they had never seen.
And they were afraid, too. Not of
the Japs-these men had waded
into the enemy, killing Japs at the
of 30 to l. Not of the Jungle
they had fought jungle and insects.
But they were all afraid of time
and distance.
Two Lucky Fellows.
The headquarters company draw
drew a full crowd. Cocoanut log
benches were filled an hour early.
The men wore khaki, or ~dungarees,
,r breech clouts or shorts.
Capt. Ralph Westfall of Fort Col
ms, Colo, explained that two pri- 1
would be drawn from 40 eligi-
lie privates; two Pics from AZ, and }
on. He wiped the sweat off his :
orehead and rustled around in the I
contents of the box. You could actu- 4
lily hear the heartbeats of the GIs.
"Pvt. C. L. Kendrick!" he called. !
,endrick of Spray, N. c., jumped .
We feet in the air, saluted three 4
ines, howled like a banshee :
ouched with t%urpentine, and Lit off .
his quarters bowling joyfully. .
The name of Aloysius Wilhelm !.
'as next. This Toledo, Ohio, citizen =
assed Private Kendrick before the :
rst banyan tree was reached. From Z
on the jungle resembled a .
Mississippi hoedown; sergeants be- :
anne human beings and slapped '
uck privates on the back. :
Men were SO happy that they .
Iade little sense. =
They we're going home-back to =
lie United States. -
And the hundreds and thousands =
hose names weren't drawn walked L
ack to their holes in the ground
i'd settled down to hope until the
,Xt draw.