Evening star., 1948-04-07
Stronger Forces
Urged for Peace
On Army Day
Truman and Military
Leaders Join $50, 900
Parade Spectators
By John A. Giles

BY John A. Giles
The Nation had before it today
strong, new pleas by its military
leaders for larger, more powerful
Army as an instrument Of peace
no less than of war.
For no sooner had the drum
beats died out along Constitution
avenue after an Army Day parade
before more than 10000 specta-
tors than the officers and civilian
officials who have charge Of the
Nations military might took upI
the cry for a strengthened fighting
arm.
The days activities here were
climaxed at a dinner given by the
Military Order Of the World Wars
at which Army Secretary Royal
declared I'VE need protection =
not after the war starts, but be-
fore war Is imminent"
Mr.. Royal disclosed that the
Army's 5000 soldiers in Alaska, the
country's Arctic outpost. did not in
clude single combat ground SOL
dier."
Turning to President Truman's
double request for temporary Sc
lective service and Universal Mill
tary Training, the Army Secretary
said he sees mo safe way for end
ing selective service, until we build
up trained reserve by UNIT"
$4,000 in Parade.
Down f1ag-decked Constitution
avenue an estimated $4,000 men and
women of the armed services, vet
Grams, college and high school stu
dents swung along on foot or rolled
in big troop carriers past President
Truman's reviewing stand.
With the President were Mr..
Royal, Defense Secretary Forrestal,
Maj. Gen. Hobart Gay of the Mill
tary District of Washington, who
led the parade and then joined the
group Vice Admiral Earle w. Mills,
commander of the District Chap
ter of the Military Order Of the
World Wars and an assortment of
Congressman and high-ranking
military leaders.
Four or five Russian military OBJ
servers in full uniform sat in the
back row of a grandstand, far to
the right of the President. They
were among the 80 foreign military
and air attaches present.
They got good look at an as
sortment of air compressors, IL
ton tractors and portable cranes,
but no tanks or other armor. For
the parade demonstrated little of
the superior mechanized equipment
and f1repower which the Nation
produced in such vast quantity
during the last war and which the
Army possessed at the end of hos
tilities. ...-......-
Jet Fighters Appear. /
Perhaps the only thing. reminis-
cent Of Americas magnificent war
was the appearance over
head of a squadron of P-80 Jet
fighters, which swooped along the
line of march.
But the parade did point to the
future hope of the Nations defense
as fas as manpower is concerned in
the form of Army, Navy and Air
Force Reserve units-parading for
the first time since the war-and
the ROTC units.
WACS and WAVES joined in the
march. The District National
Guard, led by Brig. Gen. Albert L.
Cox, comprised complete division
in the parade
Col. Frederic Boyer, senior Re-
serve instructor for the District, was
marshal of the division composed
of the Reserve Corps, ROTC and
high school cadets.
The veterans units division, led
by Maj. Ernest j. st. Jacques, fea-
tured contingents from the Amer
ican Legion, Veterans of Foreign
Wars, Regular Veterans and Dis
abled American Veterans, the lat
ter in taxicabs.
Sd Infantry Reactivated.
Just before the parade got started
the Sd Infantry, the Regular Army's
oldest regiment with a history dat
ing back to the Revolution, was re-
activated with a special ceremony
at the Capitol. Col. ]. B. Matlack,
commandant at Fort Myer, became
its commanding officer. Col. Mat
lack led the Regular service troops
in the parade.
Under balmy skies, women in light
spring dresses, children sprawled
on the warm green grass and Gov
ernment workers. who had. been let
out of work at pm. watched the
parade.
A number of cases requiring first
aid were reported, none of them
serious. One of the P-8O fighters
crashed near Annapolis, but its
pilot, Capt. Earl Bastien, was not
hurt. The cause of the crash was
not determined