The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1945-01-09

Normandy special, ClueT. I lie
French spell it cidre, the Eng
lish, cyderD Nearly every day
saw farmers coming in from the
country on their big tWo-Wheel-
ed carts, hauling great casks of
this apple juice.
The surrounding countryside
ss,a Sich agricultural area and it
is easier for fooS 10 eOfne in
than is the case with Paris, for
example. I didn't go to the Cap
ital, but there are others who
did, and they reported that the
city is just as fascinating as
ever, with the boulevards en-
HANGED by plenty of well-dressed
women. Supplies are short,
however, particularly cigarettes.
A packet Of gaspers - as the
English idiom puts it = sells for
S1.40 on the black market.
PARIS LUCKY
AS far as destruction is con-
cerned, Paris escaped completely
in comparison with Cherbourg.
On June %. when the city was
captured, its docks and great
naval arsenal were shambles.
Our bombers and naval gunfire
started the destruction, and then
the Germans finished it, sink
ing ships wherever they could,
mining the harbor, blowing up
airplanc hangers. burning ware
houses and repair shops. and de-
stroying the locks which main
tanned the water level inside the
basins. CThe tides at Chcrbourg
are commonly 20 feet)
CLEAR HARBOR
Three days after the city fell,
naval ship salvage forces, un-
der the command Of Commodore
William A. Sullivan, of New
York, veteran salvage expert,
began mincswecping and clear
ing away the wrecks in the har-
Dor and basins, while nearly
5000 Army engineering troops
started fitting out the docks and
railroad lines. Meanwhile, sup
plies started rolling ashore as
LISTS and smaller craft beached
themselves at high tide. and not
only that, scores of Army
ducks" - those unique wheel
cd boats - piled back and forth
10 ships lying at anchor At one
time, so per cent Of the sup
plies came ashore in this sector
by means Of the ducks, and they
are still being used.
Over on the English side of
the channel. life is returning to
semblancc of normally, now
that most Of the soldiers have
gone. although in a popular
leave city like Edinburgh, ]
noticed that there are still as
many CTS on the streets as there
are Scotsmcn. The air raid sirens
still howl at night in the areas
subject to robot bomb attacks.
These Nazi machines are inter-
esting to watch - as long as
they keep their distance. When
one Of them approaches, the de-
lection devices pick it up and
the sirens wall. Then you see a
light on the horizon like that of
locomotive headlight, growing
closer and closer. AS the anti
aircraft batteries open up with
their brilliant streams Of tracers,
accompanied by the stacatto
cracks and slower crumpS from
the larger guns, the sound of the
flying bomb is also heard. This
resembles the noise of big
truck more than the roar of
nicely-tuned airplane engine. AS
the bomb comes nearer, you
hold your breath, then relax as
you note with relief that 1t is
going past. Finally comes the
roar of pursuing plane, and
then great defamation that
lights the sky and shakes the
earth. You wonder. in conclus-
ion. who and what was hit.
The new secret weapon No. 2.
the rocket bomb, which was
described publicly for the first
time Nov. 10 by Prime Minister
Churchill in the House of Com
mons. is still more cratic
weapon. and more eerie. There
is no warning. If one drops
nearby, there is just a terrific
flash and blast which jars the
filling in your teeth.
ENGLISH TAKE BEATING
Our English allies are pretty
much Injured to all this, but it is
easy to see that one great sigh oil
relief will be heavcd when 1t is
all over and people can get a
good nights sleep.
It's all pretty unattractive up
at and near the front, TO put 1t
mildly. No wonder the service
men / talked with we're not much
concerned with politics and the