Milford chronicle., 1955-01-28
KEEP YOuR GIIARD uPI

rected to the subject of reserve forces as the !
result of President EisenhOWerS warning /
hat a strong and combat ready reserve is !
paramount to the defense of America, the
strongest reserve force III being tOday-the
National Guards brought into sharp focus.
In every war of our nation our militia
has served. In two World Wars and in the
Korean conflict, the National Guard mObiliz-
cd and trained hundreds of thousands of ci-
villain soldiers. The cOlOrs of our nations
National Guard carry the battle streamers
0f nearly every major campaign in which
his country has been engaged The Guard
has proud and long history
1t is not the desire of peace loving Amer
leans to support fully modified army, air
and sea force. Nor is it economically pOss-
ibe for us to support such force. The ans
Wer then is the strong reserve urged by the
President
The National Guard is the most active
and ready reserve in existence today
Actively tEaining-On the ground and in
the air-are nearly 100000 officers and
men, a substantial proportion of them COM
bat veterans of World War II and Korea
These -citiZen-sOldiers and 100 per-
cent vOlunteers-are in more than 5000 or
ganized and equipped federally recognized
units in more than 1000 cities and towns in
the 48 states, the District of Columbia, Ha-
waii, Puerto Rico and Alaska.
The Army National Guard has strength
in excess of 325, 900 actively training in over
5000 units. Its goal for the current fiscal
year, which ends on June 30, 1866, is a
strength of $4,000 Backbone of the Army
Guard is its % infantry divisions and arm
Ored divisions.
The Air Guard has more than $4,000 Off
GERS and airmen in over 620 federally recOg-
niZed units. Its q combat wings, composed
0f 81 tactical cOnodrOnc Of 6Ohto1s o11d liCrh4
bOmbers-eventually to be 100 percent jet
plane equipped-fOrm an air umbrella over
our states and territories. Fiscal year-end
strength goal for the Air Guard is 60800-
with 3,400 pilOtS-in 638 units.
/ This is a substantial fOrce-a sound base
on which a stronger reserve may be built. 1t
| is a-well trained force of citizen-sOldiers who
are required to work hard to meet the stand
ards of training prescribed by the Depart
ments of the Army and the Air Force. The
speed with which eight National Guard di-
visions, sc tactical squadrOns of the Air Ma
tiOnal Guard and hundreds of other service
and combat support units of the Guard ans
wered the call in the Korean emergency is
indicative of its readiness. The Guard is our
only ready reserve force today. 1t could be
an even stronger and more ready force if
steps are taken to strengthen our entire re-
serve.
1t is imperative that we keep our Guard
up.
UNLUCKY 'NUMBER-FOR SOMEBODY
Announcement from Peiping that 13 Am
ericans have been imprisoned by Red China
as spies has stirred official Washington
from the top down, far more than the fate of
the hundreds of other American POWs still
held by the Chinese Reds, and abandoned, ap-
parently as a gesture to peaceful cO-exis-
tence'', or perhaps because no one knew what
else to do.
The plight of the II airmen who were
shot down in a B-29 on January IL, 1858, and
the two civilians, lost on an earlier "hitch-
? hike" flight from Seoul to Kobe, has brought
assurances from President Eisenhower that
the Government is doing everything 'hu-
manly possible within peaceful means to get
our boys back" From London comes ar
unusual and blistering statement accusing
the Chinese Reds of violating the Geneva
convention on prisoners of war. And in
Geneva, U. S. Consul General Franklin G.
GOwen demanded meeting with the Rec
Chinese representative in this neutral capita
which the latter had refused up to this
writing.
, Other approaches to the problem include
presenting the matter to the u. ~ and writ
: ing another note to Moscow. To their eterna
credit, it should be noted that u. S. spOkes
men are not too eager to bring this issue
into the U. ~ r.. in view of previous fail
munist Chinese atrocities in the past
ures of this body to act effectively on Com
and the very real danger of opening the dOol
to Red Chinese membership, should Russi;
! demand the presence of her Asiatic cousins
to answer the charges. AS for writing Il
Moscow, this has not been very productive
i of late, either.
Thus it would appear there are tw,
chances of effective action. Both involve
= squeezing Chinese Red commerce till it hurts
Britain could do this for us-if she will. O
{ Chang Kai-shek would do it at the drop of
hat and with ever so little assistance iron
the aggrieved party.
! And, having promised half the cOuntrie
on the globe that we will go to their aid i
they get in trouble, perhaps it's time for u
to face up to our own troubles.
1T WAS YOUR MONEY
BEFORE the new 84th Congress- Uet