Evening star., 1944-11-08
Yanks in Germany
Show Little Real
Interest in Election
By w, C., HEINZ.

| NoTtn Amsrlcan NeWspaper AlnAnce.
WITH THE LIST ARMY IN GER
MANY, Nov. (by Wireless.
opinion of our fighting men now in
Germany seems to be that the result
OF the presidential election back
home will have little, If any, effect
on the progress OF the war, which
probably is the reason there seemed
to be more curiosity than genuine
interest in the outcome.
"Its this way" explained Mai
Howard Topping Of Carmel, Calf.
voting oficer of one company
you've been working on this war
business for SO long that there are
only four things that really count
They are: Mail, eating, sleeping and
fighting"
Only II Men Voted.
Maj. Topping said only II men in
the whole company voted. This was
in spite Of the fact that every effort
was made to get ballots to the men
and to acquaint them with the vot-
ing procedure.
Some Of the guys working on the
vote complained" Warrant Oncer
John Mcdonald Of Scranton, Pa,
said, because they had to crawl into
foxholes to reach their men"
1t was apparent here that the
closer you got to the men actually
fighting ut the front, the less inter
est there was in the election, accord
ing to Sergt. Dan Leblanc Of New
York. About half the men in his
division headquarters voted, and 1t
ran from that to the meager per-
centage in the company Mai. Top
ping spoke Of now fighting in Hurt
gen Forest.
Didn't Remember the Day.
You questioned some of these men
amid the close-packed towering
pines in that forest yesterday. There
were two standing together and
you asked If they knew what day
it was.
Tuesday or Wednesday," said
Pvt. Eugene Puskarz of New Britain,
Conn. Il don't remember which,"
You said 1t was Tuesday all right,
but special Tuesday. You said 1t
was election day.
Last Tuesday was election day?"
Corpl. Harry A. Huberman of Brook
lyn, N. Y, asked with evident sur
prise. Who won?"
While you were setting Corpl. HUI
herman straight on his duties, Pvt.
Puskarz listened and when the con-
versation dwindled, he started to
talk.
You oughtasee these trees burst"
he said. They cut 4 tree right in
two and the whole half tree comes
down-wham!-and this guy had
Just finished digging his foxhole,
and this big half tree comes right
In under and sticks right in the hole
like 1t was planted there. Lucky
for the guy he wasn't there"
Small Group Shows Interest.
In one small group of GIs. shaw
ing and writing letters and loafing
around a blazing fire, you found
more interest in the election than
anywhere else. They said they had
talked about 1t lot, but Corpl Will
liam Remlein of Yonkers, N. Y, said
he hadn't voted.
II just felt" he said, that I didn't
know enough about It, I don't see
any papers from home and 70 II
felt that I might do more harm
than good If voted wrong and 80
I didn't VOTE"
Those who voted in this group
said they just thought one man, or
the other, was the better man, but
they all agreed that no matter who
wins it won't make any difference
in the business they are involved in
over here.
Sergt. Lehane, back in division
headquarters, had it summed up in
. jocular but significant way. He
said that If the issues were closer
to the men, sly like living condi-
tions, more OF them would have
voted. He said that he is living In q
pigsty at the moment.
Make that abandoned pigsty,'"
he said. THE former inhabitants
are no longer living there"
Goebbels called our FIying Fort
resses Flying Conins." We need
more Of them over Germany. Let's
all back the attack. Buy more War
Bonds.