The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-01-13
|CENSORS PRAISE
MORALE OF j. S.
TROOPS IN ITALY

washington, Jan. iS-(UP)-The
U. s. Armys morafe in Italy Is high.
Nobody knows this better than the
cenSors.
"Our boys write about the war
as though 1t were q cream-pu6
duel" according to First Lieut..
Frank r. Mather Of (l577 Hawkins
street, Nashville, Tenn.
Mather supervises the work Of a
number Of regimental censors Of
regiment in the 45th division,
composed of Colorado, New Mexico,
Arizona and Oklahoma former Ma
tional Guardsmen. The chief letter
writing characteristic of American
soldiers is to understate, he de-
clared in a report from 5th Army
headquarters received here.
They rarely dramatize or men,
ton the horrors Of total war;" he
said. They're content to grippe
about small things, such as not get
ting enough chocolate candy in
their rations, and viii gag about
bombings and artillery attacks.
ITO me their letters indicate that.
come hell or high water-and they
have been getting both-they're
still able to laugh.
One man recently spent three
quarters Of letter giving his opin-
ions on the situation which he con-
sidered hopeless to the Germans.
I deleted SO much I thought 1t
would be best to return the letter
to him for rewriting. His next let
ter got around the whole thing by
advising his family to ignore the
newspapers and start reading Glib
bon'S Decline and Fall Of the Ro-
man Empire"
One Of the most trying problems
according to First Lieut.. Charlie L..
Bennett Of (613 N. Broadway Hugo,
Okla, comes up when a man wants
to write home about q friend who
has become a casualty.
From the standpoint Of the in
jured man, there's good reason why
this shouldn't be done. His actual
condition is likely to be exaggerated
causing the family unnecessary
anxiety"
Army rumors are so Spontane-
Gus and so subject to exaggeration
that letters to kin of casualties are
only permitted when the facts are
fully substantiated, and only after
1t is reasonably sure that an Of
fetal notification has reached the
nearest kin.
The censors know they are run
ming neck and neck with the first
sergeants in the Army's traditional
unpopularity sweepstakes.
II know I've been called every
name in the book. not to mention
few choice references ad-ibbed. 4"
First Lieut.. John Titko of (2065
Wascana avenue) Lakewood, O.,
said. at can sympathize with the
men. I'm sure this is one of the
most thankless jobs in the Army"
Titko cited the example of a SOL
der trying to tell his family why
he was SO happy, describing minute
ly nice bivouac area, olive groves,
lush countryside, and naming a
town.
He'll drag my name through the
Italian mud when he gets the
answer to this" Titko said.
Soldiers are forbidden to iden-
tify places where they are or men,
ton commanding officers Of the
rank of colonel or above. These
rules only make common sense,
First Lieut.. william P. Calvin of
(410 w. 22nd street, Cedar Falls,
Ia, declared. ANY slodier has a
pretty good conception of informa-
ton that would be valuable to the
enemy. If he would only develop
writing from that standpoint, cen
corship would become practically an
extinct art"
Because V-mail is photographed
in reduced size, censorable lines are
obliterated with pencil. Censors
make deletions from enclosed let
tiers with scissors. For that reason
soldiers correspondence must be
on only one side Of the page. Each
company appoints one Of its off,
GERS mail censor, and he, in turn,
ELECTS whatever aid he can from
his brother lieutenants. The job is
strictly extra-curricular, being in
addition to an officers regular
duties.
aN,. ~~Rn ~~A x,a~ aare