The Wilmington morning star., 1947-08-29
AS Pegler Sees It
By PEGLER
Copyright By King Features Syndicate Inc

By WEsTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright By King Features Syndicate Inc.)
NEW YORK, Aug. 28. Garrett c. Wilcox,
late private in the 240th M. P. Bn., zone of
interior (speciaD, the household guard Of
President Roosevelt at Hyde Park, eventually
was transferred abroad to see the war. He
reports that he came home a buck sergeant
although at Hyde Park he had never been
Of breaking step deliberately to get a transfer.
but ne still insis 5 that he had no sense Of
rhythm and couldn't help it. However, he
did Rave moments when he reproached him
self for sitting out the war on the estate of
the Roosevelts and the neighboring acres of
inc cid Vanderbilt and Rogers baronies. At
such times it occurred to Pvt. Wilcox that a
flatbellied yankee, six feet, two, healthy and
itroog, might better be licking his own height
and weight in Germans Or Japs and, any
way, seeing some war, than cutting shrubs
with q brush-hook and throwing salutes to
young officers who also might be better en-
ployed. There were 1884 soldiers in the COM
mand, all there for the sole duty of guarding
Roosevelt when he took a whim to SO there,
his family, his guests, buildings, trees and
his dog, Fala. No other President had ever
been sc precious as to need all this prote ction
and change Of scene 10 ease the stress of his
duties, and thousands of other American civil
tuning liz SIedI wal pIOQuCllOH JODS
were getting much less rest and sleeping in
uppers or reclining chairs, when they travel
ed on imperative business.
Inasmuch as he was putting In his time
anyway, and with his future in allegiance,
Pvt. Wilcox thought he ought to get close
enough to the war to catch the echo o. the
grumble of a gun or the flicker of a bomb.
He mad two overcoats and a parka. The Hyde
Park Coldstreams were deliberately dressed
because it was their duty to look dressy.
There was a telephone exchange. Buck pri-
Yates have to rely on hearsay and Pvt. Will
cox heard that the apparatus cost the people
$l20 t00. II union workmen built it, that is
conservative. The newspapers, incidentally,
were in no better position to get information.
Byron Price, the censor, and the war depart
ment forbade mention of the mere existence
of the household guard. There were tele-
phones and flood lights at short intervals along
the boundaries. There were battalion motor
and personnel officers, with a sergeant and
a corporal each. There was a medical captain
with five men. There were 20 jeeps, a dozen
trucks for manning and relieving the posts,
two weapons carriers, an improvised ambu-
and mechanics for all. All this, and the cost
of ripping out and building in to improvise
quarters and headquarters, was one mans
tribute to his own importance.
Pvt. Wilcox seems to have been guilty of
one overt political act. He wrote a sketch for
a battalion entertainment entitled o NV
Guard" He believes it was rejected On polit-
lcal rather than estAetic grounds. However,
| have read a small opus of his and "Oh NV
Guard" Gould have been an artistic failure
as well as an act of lese majestic. He isn't
G. B. Shawl
Still ne wasn't transferred until one morn
ing toward the dawn he fired a whole clip
from bis rifle while on his post.
MIR. Wilcox, formerly Pvt. Wilcox, states
that he had earned a sharpshooter's badge
IN his basic training and, in his prewar years
mad studied psychology. He was first suspect
ed of designs On the life of his commander
~ln-chle1, who was about half a mile away and
IN bed anyway. He insisted. however, that
suicide was his purpose. And he says none
of his superiors marvelled that a suicidal
sharpshooter should fail to hit himself some
where at least once in five shots at arms
length, he was transferred to a psyche hospi-
tai, examined, says he, by Is persons, includ-
ing several WACS, returned to duty and order
ed overseas. Mr.. Wilcox says that In no case
would an authentic psyche be sent abroad.
In Belgium, Mr.. Wilcox says, he made PFC
in the 3287th Ordnance Co., got a battle star
which l didn't deserve because I wasn't in
any hattle' and, about the time he was to re-
turn home for discharge, after the war, was
made sergeant by Lieut.. Philip Schlau, Of
Brooklyn, who thought he deserved some
amend for the blank time at Hyde Park.
Mr.. Wilcox explains that promotion was I'M
usually slow at Hyde Park because the 24oth
M. P. Bn., z. I. (speciaD was a sterile outfit
Inbueo with the idea that this was a legiti-
mate assignment involving no risk. Therefore
it lad a small turnover.
On Dec. 20, 1913, the soldiers Of the Hyde
Pa.k Coldstreams who were not at that hour
on guard were invited to the presence of the
Cine in the library which he had already
caused to be erected as a memorial to HIM
seit. Mr.. Wilcox says he vas gaunt and plain
ly unfit for his duties and was wheeled in by
an orderly with Mrs. Roosevelt at his side.
Mrs. Roosevelt took charge. Roosevelt was
only recently back from Teheran and answer,
ed a Few meaningless questions which were
sifted 70 him by his wife. There were no re-
freshments. Social life was bleak, but no
worse than it was for enlisted men in most
|pla"es. Wilcox relates that there was unrest
among the enlisted people when an invitation
was issued for a taffv pull, apple-dacking or
5irrilor debauch in the tradition of Eleanor
TO hiring their ladies' and the enlisted men
their 'wives''.
II hope it is no secret he said. ''that
some of the buns that some OF the officers
bundled with were terrible tramps while many
OF the enlisted wives were ladies'"
The specifications for the 240th M. P. Bn..
q. T. (sueciaD were simply a minimum height
Of six feet and an l. @. of 120. Mr.. Wilcox
never learned Of any check on personal loyal
ty to Roosevelt.
It is a woman's business to get married
as soon as possible and a mans to keep
unmarried as long as he can.-George Ber-