Evening star., 1945-03-27
Troops Back al Front
Resent Comp|acency
They Saw al Home

Y
They Saw al Home
BY THOMAS r. HENRY
Star Staff Correspondent
WITH THE U. S. 1st DIVISION
ON THE RHINE, Mar. 26.-This is
a story have wanted to write for a
long time. wanted to write it
some time ago in England when
some Air Forces officers told me
some enlisted men due to return to
the United States were begging not
to be sent back, due to discouraging
reports from their returned buddies.
I wanted to write 1t when l was
at home myself last winter, but I
didn't trust myself. feeling probably
that I was at fault, and not the
world.
I have just talked with the first
unit of men returned on rotation
and back after 80 days leave-two
officers and II enlisted men, The
reactions of every one of these men
were precisely the same as mine.
I have come back to mud and fox
holes bitter at the incomprehensible
lack of understanding, complacency
and inertia Of the folks at home.
Some Have Purple Hearts.
Every one of these men to whom
have talked landed in Africa In
November, 1912. Every one of them
has spent most of his time in fox
holes since then. Some have Purple
Hearts with several clusters. They
are among the best soldiers in the
Army.
Take Sergt. Theodore Dobol OF
Newark. N. j. His Purple Heart has
four clusters, he wears six gold
stripes on bis sleeve, he wears the
fouragere OF the 1st Division on his
shoulder.
A Pole whose family is in a con-
centration camp, he got into a fight
when a civilian asked: What is
that rope on your shoulder? To
hang yourself WITH" When he re-
sented this he was accused of being
"a German spy.
Then there is Sergt. Russell Stone
Of Lynchburg, Va.
"A fellow saw the service stripes
on my arm and thought they were
phoney," he recalled. He asked me
if was born overseas and, If 20
why didn't I stay there"
Says Prisoners Get Attention.
''Only the folks in your immediate
family care" said Sergt. George
Jackson of Concord. N. c. Nobody
else gives a damn. They pay more
attention to Heinie prisoners
through service clubs and ice cream
girls than to us. Why don't they
bring the 1st Division men home
to guard the Krauts? If you object,
the home folks say you are hard
hearted"
Another soldier recalled: "A woman
stopped me on the street indignant
ly and wanted to know how I got
home when her son who had been
in England 30 months couldn't get
leave. A man said to me: You're
fighting. So what? Amt We work.
ing like hell back here?'"
And this to a man who had been
through the fighting in both south
ern and northern Tunisia, Sicily
and Normandy.
Both the men were most indig-
nant over the treatment given COM
bat veterans-both officers and men
who had been sent home wounded
or for other reasons and then re-
turned to service in the United
States. Nearly all these told their
old buddies they now found them
selves Disseminated against, in the
new outfits because of fear their
fighting experience would result in
their pumping" somebody else from
a job.
Asked About Length of War.
This same story was told by Air
Forces men from England. They
said they were forced to form
cliques among themselves.
Folks want to know why it is
taking so long to lick the Germans, y
said Sergt. Richard Mooney Of
Greensburg, Pa. II used to just
turn my back on such fools. Others
fear that the war will end soon and
that they will lose their nice jobs"
zone of our first stops in the
United States was at Fort Devens,
Mass" said Sergt. Jackson. Ger
man prisoners waited on the tables.
/ saw one slip the cream under the
table and then claim 1t was all gone.
you tell these people that you
fight at night" Sergt. Stone joined
in. "You tell them you don't take
your clothes of for a moment at a
time. They laugh at you. They
don't believe you"
The men are indignant at know
ing that veteran outfit like the
1st Division means nothing to peo-
pie in the States and that Purple
Hearts rate no higher than Good
Conduct Ribbons. don't mean
that these men are eager to return
to combat. Only fools enjoy It.
Their 80 days leave passes too soon
Good Time With Families.
Actually, these men had fairly
good time in the United States.
They had wonderful receptions from
their families. But they have re-
turned feeling cynical and bitter
because they think their fellow
Americans have let them down and
don't understand the war.
These men didn't ask special IA