Evening star., 1945-08-15

extra. They waited while, then
the older one gingerly approached q
reporter. 'Is this it?" she asked.
Two GIs, each without a leg
stopped to laugh and wave their
crutches at carbon of soldiers and
WACS who had joined hands and
were sweeping along E street carry
ing everything before them.
A sailor walked alone down F
street. He was a small man with
red hair and pale blue eyes. His
skin was deep tan and he wore a
double row of service ribbons, one
sprinkled with battle stars. Across
his shoulder was draped gaudy
Hawaiian Lei. He was crying, OPEN
ly, unashamed, into a large white
handkerchief. At Eleventh street a
girl stood in front of a store window.
The sailor walked up to her, and,
without word, draped the Lei
around her shoulders. Then he
walked on, still dabbing at his eyes.
In a Chinese restaurant on H
street Chinese diners staged an i'm
promptu dance. They wore the uni
form of the United States Army.
Near Pennsylvania avenue and
Fourteenth street, a nerve center of
the city, Navy lieutenant and an
Army private, their arms twined,
gravely offered a drink from bottle
to each passerby.
Ordinary inhibitions were tossed
aside. GIs and girls danced and
Rugged and kissed.
Sing on Streetcar.
On a westbound F street car some
children started singing America.
The adult passengers Joined in. The
crowd on the, car then sang "God
Bless America" and America the
Beautiful"
One British sailor, more polite
than most of the festive, tipped his
cap and asked a WAVE, May kiss
you now the wars over?" She said
You sure can, sailor" And he did
Young officers at the Junior OFF,
GERS Club, 735 Seventeenth street
NV, listened with restrained de-
light to the first peace announce
ment Some one suggested toast
But the mattresses were dancing in
circles, and didn't get around to re-
filling the glasses until many of the
diners had rushed into the street to
see the excitement.
I'm the happiest man in the
world" shouted colored cab driver,
yes, the happiest man. I've got two
brothers over there. They'll be COM
ing home. I'd have had another
brother coming back, but he was
killed on New Guinea"
Capt. Henry Keats, of the British
Army, jumped into the cab.
"It's a good day for me-" he said.
Those swine kicked me out of
Singapore and Java"
One taxi blossomed out with two
large American flags on its tenders.
In shooting gallery on Ninth
street the lone customer was a soldier,
who doggedly whanged away at the
moving ducks while the crowds
surged outside.
IMOct VI tllC CclcUT dIlGS WcTC &OUO
natured. Everything was fine with
nearly everybody, including jostling,
pushing about and other playful
liberties. But outside the Capitol
Theater a soldier and a sailor got
into fisticuffs over which won the
war, the Army or the Navy. It
seemed, for the moment, that the
Navy had.
The downtown streets soon were
carpeted with torn papers, impro-
vised confetti of all sorts and other
debris.
A sailor minus his trousers danced
in his underwear in front. of the
Earle Theater while an Army movie
truck crew took pictures of him.
There were other servicemen dis
tinctly 'tout Of uniform for the
occasion-with shirts open, coats
carried and other irregularities
but the MPs and the shore patrol
were indulgent at these infractions
OF the regulations. They tried to
look the other way. After all, you
don't see the end of a world war
every night, do you?
Outside the National Theater q
civilian sat placid1y bareback on q
morse trimmed with green and red