The Wyandotte news-herald. (Wyandotte, Mich.) 1943-1963, 1945-04-30
SOUTH
PACIFIC
TALES
By BOB DRoUILLARD
Special Correspondent for The
Wyandotte News.Hsrald Now
Writing from the
Admiralty Islands

The other day during one Of the
numerous and inevitable "Scuttle-
butt" sessions out here, the gang
was talking about the difference
between our lives now and the way
We used to live and pass the time.
We are all thinking of home most
Of the time and the things we used
to do then, but 1t takes a good old
hash session with crew that has
been away from home for a long
time to bring back the memories
and to make them realize how very
much different their lives are now.
Jim, down there in cot number
six, has the most vivid memory Of
the good old Sunday dinners at
Mons house, with all the family
around talking and laughing as
only a large family can. Jim is
single, but has lived away from
home most of the time and Sun
day was always his day with his
folks. Norm, he has the number
two position In our hut, thinks most
of his little wife and two children
back home and of the Saturday aft
ernoons that they always spent
having fun. Norm worked five and
half days each week and Satur-
day afternoon was always spent
with his family, going on picnics
or just fooling around the house
enjoying each others company.
Jiggs. he is the youngest one of the
brood and has number nineteen cot,
can get most from remembering his
little old car back there waiting
for him. He misses tinkering with
that old car every time he got some
time off, he misses all the fun of
riding around with the boys back
home, yes, and Of showing the car
off for his best girl, too. OF course,
there is always Red" in every
gang and this bunch is no excep-
ton. Red is what we call an old
salt (he's only twenty years ODD
because he has been in the service
longer than the rest Of us and is a
regular, not a reserve. Red has
travelled more than most people
and takes his lot out here right in
stride, never kidding about any,
thing, always doing his job little
better than the other man. He is
rather quiet because some of the
things that he has seen in his five
cruises makes him realize that being
here on this base isn't too bad after
all-something that most of the
newer men in the service find hard
to appreciate. That's the way it
goes, twenty of us in one hut and
as a rule, twenty different charac-
tiers, all with different memories
but certainly all of the memories
having to do with getting things
over with out here and getting back
to what we now refer to as over
seas, meaning the States.
After taps and lights out, most
nights here usually follows about
a half hour Of horseplay including
all the tricks you have heard about
and man that 1t Is just as well that
ou don't know about. Living on an
island base like this gives a fellow
lot Of time to think up new things
to do to amuse himself and the
rest of his mates. The jungle offers
man natural helps to ways of tor
menting people that it isn't unusual
to find one of our little jungle
neighbors in our cot, placed there
by some admiring pal Sleeping on
cots Is no pleasant experience at
any time, but out hire, it becomes
almost an achievement, especially
after your cot has been prepared
by one of the loving members of
the hut.
No, life isn't liable to get mono
tonous at place like this, but no
matttr how many diversions from
routine. no matter how long a man
is out here, there Is that one
thought constantly in the back of
his mind-how long will it last
and how soon can he get back
home again.