Evening star., 1953-01-03

LIldJ. BIC 14o0 q AASAAOSSSSN ~e@o~-N
lobbing artillery. in Korea.
She and American troops have
been travelling sort of arms I'M
arms since early in World War
II. No entertainer has been Sol
happily broadened by travel-in
the best sense of "broadened. AS
for the other kind of broadening.
Miss Langford is her always trim,
vital self.
Miss Langford, currently head
lining the stage show at the
Capitol Theater. is recently back
from Korea and talking for all
the world like a girl who had just
had a thrilling adventure.
4 \ 4
"One of the nice things about
it." she says. sis that wherever
/ 90. keep running into people
I'VE met before. They come up
to me and ask if I remember see
ing them in Algeria, Italy and
those long ago places. Then they
always ask me what I'm doing
there, wherever it is, Korea or
Japan. I tell them I'm there oe-
cause I like it. Funny thing Is
when I ask them what they are
doing there, a lot of them nave
to- admit it is for pretty much
the same reason. Many OF them
could get out if they wanted to.
The war in Korea, Miss Lang
ford says, is a new war, so ol1-
ferent in so many respects from
the one which took her to Alglers
and those other faraway battle
zones. Not, however. with regard
to the songs soldiers like TO near
her sing.
SOLDIERS are always sentl-
mental" she says. "They want TO
hear ballads-and since TINS Is
my type, think it is fine thing.
So, sing ballads and no matter
how intently they appear to be
looking at me, always know tney
are seeing some one else"
When her evening clothes get
nussed as they do in tight
schedule travel, Miss Langford Is
especially glad to be so vlsloiy IN
viible.
Speaking of clothes, she takes
time out to speak of those her
husband wears on such trips.
These are civilian and Jon Hail,
to whom she has been married
IL wears. is inclined to be fussy
about them.
"At least he was until he dis
covered that GIs like the slgnt
of ANYTHING civilian. red tie,
rumpled sports coat or whatever
They're a link with the life soldiers
left, the one they hope to return
to-" she says.
Returning again to the differ
ence of this war from the las1
one, Miss Langford says:
Another way you notice II IS
that this time entertainers go
right up to the front. Last time
no. We were right in the lines,
for instance. during the hottest
part of the Korean fighting sew
eral weeks ago. incidentally,
they've got some mighty good
musicians up there, boys you used
to know in the better bands. Tney
played much better and more
vigorous music than the trio that
accompanied me-"
\
Miss Langord, a flyer herself, is
never feazed by any form of aerial
transport she runs into in battle
areas. Well. with one exception
This was on her last trip from
japan to the battle area in Korea.
For that hop, her troupe had Gen.
Mark Clark's plane.
"It was pretty hard to come
back to anything less. which
everything else is" she says.
Nevertheless, she enjoyed the
helicopter fight across the front
lines with the battle going on
below.
Her biggest flying thrill, how
ever, was one at which she had a
sort of box seat. in a transport
plane over Americas biggest air
drome in Japan.
1--WE were getting there just at
the time of the arrival OF all IL
Jets OF a flight that was the first
over the whole Pacific" she says.
Seventy two planes started and
70 landed in Japan. 1t was some
thing to see"
y \
Miss Langford. who learned to
fly at her husbands flying school