The Michigan chronicle. [volume], May 06, 1944, SECOND NEWS SECTION, Page PAGE THIRTEEN, Image 13

About The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current

Image provided by: Central Michigan University, Clark Historical Library

                
Bombardment Group Undergoing Training
DETROITERS IN
FIRST CLASS
IN NEW MEXICO
ROSWELL ARMY AIR FIELD.
ROSWELL, New Mexico—Twenty
lour Negro officers are now under
going bombardier training at this
field, marking the first time Negro
officers have been included in a
class at this installation of the
Army Air Forces Training Com
mand, the War Department an
flounced recently.
Following their graduation from
Cadet training at Hondo Army Air
Field, Texas, Qn Feb. 25, the two
dozen officers were ordered to this
field. Commissioned as navigators
*t Hondo, Texas, the group will
be added to the sclcrt list of dual
rated officers when they complete
the bombardiering course here.
Posting flood tirades
Despite the strain of continuous
«ir crew training, first in naviga
tion and now in bombardiering,
the group Is posting grades which
compare well with the academic
3c\el of past classes, according to
officers in charge of the bombardier
training.
Of the 24 Negro trainees, who
range in age from 20 to 27, six hold
college degrees, while another 12
have some college credit. As sol
diers. the twenty-one second lieu
tenants and three flight officers rate
high, scholastically and in personal
appearance
Scheduled to complete their stud
ies as bombardiers on June 2. 1044,
the officers are: Second Lieutenants
Walter A Arrington. Washington.
D. C; Kermit G Bailer, Detroit,
Mich : Richard B Carter, Jr.. An
bury Park. New Jersey, ‘graduate I
of University of Pittsburgh): Fran-'
cis Collier. Berkeley, C lif : Joe
W Connolly, Bluefle’.d. West V.r
jli.ua.: — A. Freeman, Ju- .
frarai, New York: \V Gif
more. New York City, New York;
G orge W Giddinss. Yonkers. New
York; la? Roy F Gilleud, New Y >rk
City. New York; William A. Har-
T.son, New York C:ty. New Y >rk;
Thomas W Haywood. Jr, Warren
ton. N. C : William M. Hayward.
B t n. Mass : George McDonald, j
Jr. Los Angeles. Calif: Ccledino |
S Monclova, Brooklyn, New York.
Wardell A. Polk. Dct: >it, M eh
George W Pnoleau, Jr, Los An
geles. Calif: Fvcrett F Richard-
Son, Philadelphia. Pa : Arthur Rob
inson, Detroit. Mich ; Eugene L.
Runyon. Richmond. Ky.; Fenton B.
Sand*. Now York City. New York;
Harold E Ward. Flint. Mich t Flight
O cers Edward S. Pressly, Chi
cago. 11l ; Wendell R Smith. Des
Moines. Iowa: Alphonso C. Toler,
JRluefield. West Virginia.
HAVE YOU TAKEN CARE
OF YOUR
BOOKKEEPING NEEDS?
CALL
HI CKS-HARVEY-ASSOCIATES
BOOKKEEPERS and TAX CONSULTANTS
AMERICAN TAX SCHOOL GRADUATES
REGISTER NOW
For Tax School Term - Beginning June 1
Phone*: Tr. 1-0181 and Tr. 2-5279
£ l|K\
Iv^JtHANKS
Bfeks •
for giving the boys a break"
You do some one a real favor
when you stay off Long Dis
tance lines from 7 to 10 at
night When a lot of people do
that, a lot of service men's
calls get through quicker. .. «
The soldiers and sailors
MICHIGAN BELL TELEPHONY COMPANY
* MCI TNf INVASION WITH WAS BONOS *
HIGH RANKING OFFICERS EXCHANGE GREETINGS
x IBBI m
JwftgSsEzzZ** k i .'■!*•
Twenty-one high ranking Negro officers ex
changed greetings at Fort Huachuca, Ariz.. re
cently, when Col. Edwin N. Hardy, post com
mander. served as host at a reception held in
the residence of Col. Midian O. Bousfield, com
manding officer of Station Hospital No. 1. The
event was in honor of Brig. Gen. Benjamin O.
Davis and Truman K. Gibson Jr., civilian aide
to the Secretary of War, who were at Fort Hua
chuca on an inspection tour. It is to be noted
that there are 16 more Negro officers of field
grade present here than participated in the 1918
World War. and that all field grade officers (rank
of major and above! stationed at this post were
Twenty-Two Complete Course In
Power Turrets At Lowry Field
Marking nr h »* >r!c occasi >n both
for the army air lorccs ani for
ineir race, the first all-Negro class
of soldiers was graduated April 23
from the power turret school at
Lowry Field. Colorado, after an ex
tensive nine weeks course of train
ing. officials of the field have an
nounced.
The group, numbering 22 men. at-
their folks back home and
the telephone company are
all grateful for your help. • • •
So tonight and every night .
"give seven to ten to the ser
vice men." That's about the
best they have to calL
tended classes on two sh.f'.s and
started its studies late in February
The men were given the regular
nine weeks' course of the Army Air
Forces Training Command as it ap
plies to the maintenance of power
turret*.
In disclosing the class had been
graduated, official* said that though
Negro students previously had been
enrolled m the power turret school
at Lowry, the men had been as
s.gr.ed to classes only as indiv.d
jals. and not a* a full-fledged all-
N’egro group. They added the men
had been “very good ” m their etud
rrs and that as a whole they were
excellent student*. The graduates
/ Will Buy Your
SINGLE
HOUSE
Any Size Any Location
CASH DEALS
NO BROKER
Write Box 280
Michigan Chronicle
not present when this picture was taken. Left
to right, seated on floor: Majors Orion N. Page.
Phillip Johnson, Wilbur Strickland. McKinley
Thomas. Lt. Col. Harold W. Thatcher, Major
Percy L. Turnley: center row: Lt. Col. Wendell
T. Derricks, Truman K. Gibson Jr.. Col. Edwin
N. Hardy. Brig. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis. C\l.
Midian O. Bousfield. Lt. Col. Dehaven Hinkson;
standing: Majors Kenneth E. Campbell, Edward
D. Wimp. Raymond Watkins. Rafael Hernandez.
Benjamin Gray. Henry R. Butler. John T. Hol
land. William E. Allen, Lt. Col. Roscoe C. Giles.
Majors Ralph Teabeau and Earl Renfroe.
(U. S. Army Signal Corps photo.) :
ire from all sections of the U S.
Their avcragc a;c is in the early
twenties.
Taught Maintenance
The soldiers were taught the
maintenance of all the power <sp
i crated gun turrets now being used
ton .American medium and heavy
bombardment aircraft, as well as
the gun sights u.«ed on them.
! Lowry F.eid officials did not re
veal destinations to which the men.
all privates, had been transferred
following, graduation, but it was
believed they would be assigned
to all-Negro squadrons of the Aftr.y
Air Forces.
The following were the rr.cn
graduated:
Jesse F Williams. 41! N Carry
street. Ba t.more Md; Arthur A.
Welch, Jr, 4160 Aldire avenue, St
Louis. Mr»: F.lr e C -per. 101 Ave
nue G. Rochel \ 111; William. M
Sh..m..te. 32114 Imperial avenue.
Cleveland. Ohio: W.nston O Gard
ner. 5664 Woodrow ‘*rect Detroit.
Mich : James C. McKn ght. 338
Winter street. New Brdain. Conn.;
Thadcus F Edwards. Route 3, Sem
• nole, Okla.: Jefferson K Landrum.
4143 N 2nd street. Viruta, Okla.;
Adelbert Dumas. 230 Lake street.
Ful on. Ky ; William T Johnson.
10 Clark street. Hartford. Conn :
Edward T I-atimore. Salnda. Va :
Way man A. Simms. 423 Clark street
Quincy, Fla ; John T. Erw.n. 820
N Mechanic street. Cumberland.
, Md ; Madison Broadnax. 1327 Lewis
•street. Charleston. W. Va.: Pidro
! R Carvalho 312 North Main street.
| Prov.der.ee. R .1 ; James Brown, 303
Gibbs avenue. Alameda. Calif: El
bert W. Thompson. 1010 Cleveland,
Wichita. Kan?.; Albert L V.nson,
Jr, 5320 Tiairie avenue. Chicago.'
Ill; Robert J. Tinch, 77 Copeland
street. Boston Mass; Frederick L
Weston. 845 Iglchart avenue. St. ;
Paul Minn : Henry F. Will .its. 373
W 32th street. Indianapolis, Ind.;
~nd Walter H. Scott, 26 Fast Vie a
avenue. White Plains. N. Y.
■ I’ve discovered that preparing nour
•VfV* ‘H ishing meals is an easy task when
/*} £F ■ y° u P^ an them. And, to tell the
/ ygH , jjg H truth, it takes no longer, costs no
V H more to prepare properly balanced
meals—and it the
■ health and energy- of the family.
\ H Today, when food is fighting for
freedom, plan meals carefully, cook
Wk■ food properly with Gas!
w ,r ftUoAif on
- f H to (;<<• I*. Hrr (•
WBSBBBgHBBBKBEBB/HBBm > 1 ,
OF
HAS NOT BEEN INCREASED TO YOU
WALTER A. WHITE
DECLAIMS RACE
HATRED ADROAD
NEW YORK-Racial friction be
tween colored and white American
soldiers overseas, although correct
ed to a marked degree by General
Dwight Eisenhower, is still hurting
the war effort and should be com
pletely eliminated, said Walter
White. NAACP secretary, in a na
tionwide radio talk over the Co
lumbia Broadcasting System Sun
day, April 30.
“The division in our ranks and
the fomenting of racial and other
antagonisms are postponing the day
of victory” he declared. “They
are creating doubt among our Al
lies as to our sincerity when we
assert that we are fighting a war
for freedom for all peoples. Who
ever causes the war to last one
single day longer than necessary
iz m much a traitor to our country
as one who sinks a troop ship or
reveals military secrets to the ene
my. If for no other reason than
to win the war as soon as it is hu
manly possible and to save the lives
of American men—perhaps among
them the life of your son—it is im
live that any person, whatever
his race, who causes trouble should
be stopped That will be done
only if the people of America and
their government stop evading or
temporizing with this fundamental
q uestion whose solution is impera
*ive if wo are ever to have a world
of peace”
Traveled 20.000 Mile*
White, who spent 15 weeks in J
Great Britain. Ireland. North Af
rica, and Italy, said he had trav
eled more than 20.000 miles and
had talked with many officers, sol
d.ers. and civilians.
“The majority of American sol
diers abroad have been decent
Americans interested in but one
objective—winning the war as
ind returning
A *urp.-L.!::illy la: ge percent
age of them—both officers and en
li.-ted personnel are concerned
o.cr the bad name being given to
the United States by the friction
which some of their number have
caused. A gratifyingly large per
centage manifest deep concern
abv.it the world problem of race
and the necessity of working out a
solution to it Many of these are
Tjm the South But. unfortunate
ly a highly aggressive and vocal
minority h s sought to transplant
patterns of rarial behaviour like
tna: of the most backward states
of the South to the countries where
they have been sent as soldiers to
fight a w ar against Nazi racial theo
ries.
"Some of them* have sought to
poison the minds of British, Italian.
North African and other peoples
against Negro Americans- They
have told such stories as these:
that Negroes are inferior, illiterate,
diseased, and savage Some of them
have even used physical violence
to prevent the association of Negro
soldiers with British, Italian and
other people. They have objected
to the use of places of public ac*
corr.rr.odat.on such as pubs and res
taurants by Negro soldiers.
Such behaviour has puzzled and
antagonized many of the people of
to.es v countries. Tney have found
it difficult to understand why some ,
American soldiers should be so vio
lent in their hatred of other Ameri
c n soldiers, especially when all of
them are fighting in a common
cause. They have resented the ac
tion of visitors presuming to dictate
to them who they should or should
• invite into their hvr.es or as
sociate with. Many of our allies
are puzzled too by the American
pattern of segregation. Repeatedly
I was asked why the United States,
fighting a war for freedom, should
send abroad two armies—one white
and one Negro "
Praises Eisenhower
Generals Eisenhower and John
C H. Lee of the European Theatre
j of Operations were praised by Mr.
I White for issuing "unequivocal di
-1 roctives and taking other steps to
i eliminate the cause of trouble"
White scored the events of the
past few months on the home front
saving, "certain members of Con
gress have poured forth hate-filled
tirade? against the Corr.mandcr-in-
Cb.ief of our nation and against ra
cial and religious minorities, as
Vicious and’intemperate in content
.uid tone ..s any sent out by Goeb- ,
SPC h ■ * L-^TSSf
SECOND NEWS SECTION
SATURDAY, MAY 6. 1944
SIMULATED FLIGHT
1315/
Getting in a bit of practice maneuvers and formation flying with
these model planes are these recent Tuskegee Army Air Field pilot
graduates. Seen from left to right in the TAAF pilots' room are
2nd Lt. Major E. Jones. Cleveland, Ohio; 2nd Lt. Harrold M. Mor
ris, Seattle, Wash.; 2nd Lt. Henry R. Peoples (seated), St. Louis,
Mo.; 2nd Lt. Walter P. Manning, Philadelphia. Pa.; 2nd Lt. Daniel
L. Rich, Rutherford. N. J.; and 2nd Lt. Gentry Barnes of Lawrence
ville. 111.
54th Coast Artillery Is
Strong Aid To Infantry
By FLETCHER P MARTIN
l*. S. Mar Correspondent
BOUGAINVILLE—(By Courier)
Working in harmony with the
two Negro infantries here is the
third member of the All-Negro
team, elements of the 54th Coast
Artillery. It has been thus unit's ,
handl.ng of the heavy guns which
have helped Bougainville attain the
title, the gulch-lined graveyard of
the blue Pacific. No site of battle
shows more the effectiveness of
artillery than huge chunks of this
base. Pill boxes smashed beyond
recognition. Installations pulver
ized. Trees broken leaving splin
tered trunks. Whole sections have
j oeen uprooted; blistered craters re
maining.
I Manning the 155 mm. howitzers,
these colored artillerymen are con-
Jstantly bludgeoning opposition.
Firing, over open sights they have
unmercifully barraged enemy posi
t.oas with screaming, air-bursting
shell fire. The 54th was the first
Negro unit to engage the enemy
'Feb. 17> and did not let up until
the Japs fled beyond the ridge—
leaving much ammunition. Recon
naissance showed their bivouac area
leveled, parts of bodies lined many
craters.
Question of Rating
There was some question whether
this unit could be used as field ar
tillery since its stipulated mission
was coast defense One fact was
definitely known, the men had been
thoroughly trained, they knew their
bcls from Berlin” He cited the
politics in the soldiers' vote bill, the
boasts of filibusters against the anti
poll tax bill and the statements of
defiance against the sapreme court
for its opinion in the Tt xas primary
case He also hit Congressman An
drew J. May of Kentucky for his
threat against the War Department
which caused it to cancel its plan
to distribute the pamphlet *'The
Races of Mank.na "
White said, *'as men approach ac
tual combat and face the dangers
of combat, they tend to discount
many prejudices." and he praised
the combat record of the 99th Pur
suit Squadron and the work of
Negro supply troops on the Anzio
beachhead
The radio talk inaugurated the
nationwide membership campaign
of the N \ACP which opened May
1 and will close June 30.
PAGE THIRTEEN
weapons. Another fir*.;-, enemy]
troops were nearing the perimeter.'
The ridge, rugged and blue aga.nst
the sky, was pregnant with Jap
75 mm. and 105 mm. weapons. They 1
were hurling missiles into the
bowels of the perimeter. The 54th !
pulled their guns inland, and with !
other batteries, pointed the ugly i
muzzles to.vard the knobs.
Dur.ng one twilight barrage. 1
your correspondent watched sweat
ing. shirtless men at the helm of
the batteries tire 128 rounds at
I the ridge. 3000 yards away. We
could see dust clouding the air, |
trees toppling as though John Bun- 1
vans giant hand snatched them
from the earth. Time and again
the guns roared, baleful orange
j flames leaping out. Dusty ground
at our feet shuddered. Shell cas
| ings were snatched out—cannoneers
! shoved new projectiles home, gun
| commanders barked: “Battery read y
'sir!*
I Intermittently the enemy* coun
j terevi with shell. Our missile e»-
I ploded 200 yards from us. Thr^
| men received flesh wounds, none
considered serious- It was not
I many days after until the enemy
; had ceased firing altogether. Most 1
of his mountain artillery had been j
smashed, what remained he must
have carted away. The firefight
became a cne-sided affair. Our •
guns were turned on his infantry—
firing point blank into thousands
of befuddled enemy troops. Screams
could be heard along the line as
the enemy was blown apart.
Enemy In Retreat
i The enemy is now in mad retreat
over the mountains. The infantry
and artillery are spurring him on
—at remarkable speed. At H-hour
during the night the guns strike,
devastation is great, 'fhe cannons
fight with skill and valor.
Commanding the cannon-struck
youngsters, is shrewd and well-read
Major R W. Ely. Kansan. Tne only
Negro officer is Capt. S*meon John
son. chaplain of Roselle. New Jer
-**y—studious, likeable, competent.
During one barrage Captain John
son watched his men with pride
A piece of shrapnel whizzed over
head falling near the chaplain.
Since. Captain Johnson keeps this
piece of jagged iron in his pocket
to remind himself how close death
came and how men must feel who
man tne guns in the face of flying
shrapnel.
Major Ely was all praise for his
troops, and especially did he point
out: Gun commanders: Sgts. Major
L. Barron. MalakofT. Texas; DeWitt
Robinson, Gary. Texas; Jesse J.
Jennings, E. Columbus. Texas; First
Sergeant Randall Henson. Colum
bia, Mo: Range Section: S-Sgt.
Jesse Bay, Houston. Texas; Observ
er. Cpl. James Thacker, Richmond,
V.t ; Plotter. T-5 William Hall, New
Orleans; Radio operators, Pfc.
Thomas F.zekiel. Columbus. Ga.;
T-3 Mora Powell. Detroit; T-5 Mel
vm Butler. Cincinnati. Ohio: Ma
chine gunner, Sgt. Bishop Beam,
Louisville. Ky ; Gun mechanic, Sgt.
James H Johnson. Louisville.
Battalion Sgt Major S-Sgt. John
Gibson. Flint. Mien ; First Sgt. Ish
mal Cam. Arkansas City, Kansas;
Master gunner. T-Sgt. Claude
Kitchen. Jacksonville. Mo; Gun
Cmmander Sgt Eorcan Holley,
Norfolk. Va : Searchlight operators,
Sgt David Sm.th. McKeesport. Pa.;
Pvt. Elwood Jones, Philadelphia.
Cannoneers: Pvt James Kmsev,
Wake Forest. N. C; Pvt. Wilbert
I.eflair. Baltimore. Mu ; Pvt. Rosco
Coleman. Charleston, Miss: Pvt.
Dock Ervin. Tarpoon Springs. Fla :
A nmumtion section. Pvt. Cyril
Butts. Trinidad. B W T.
J fl^K*
Bp*
L BBV
OR. H. MICHELMAN
orToMrTmsT
93RD AND 24TH
PUSH JAPANESE
NEAR TOROKINA
By FLETCHER P. MARTIN
WITH AMERICAN FORCES'ON
BOUGAINVILLE—(By Courier)
In a move to extend the beachhead,
giving more water frontage and
stabbing enemy supply routes, the
base command pulled the 24th In
fantry from it* position and jwunf
it around to meet Japanese oppo
sition near the mouth of the Toro
kina facing the Coral Sea. Fire
fighting was heatedly progressing
when the Negro infantry took ite
position. .
Before the last of the motor ve
hicles moved off the hill, elements
of the 93rd division had taken pos
session of the old 24th emplace
ment. and digging in. Also the
93rd had sent a combat patrol to
scour the region. Armed with
automatic rifles and two light ma
chine guns, the patrol moved off in
the direction where two smoke
grenades had sent up clouds of
white smoke—possibly signifying
that the enemy was near.
Lt. Gil Lloyd <chaplain of Chi
cago) and your correspondent were
among the last to pull off. The
jeep was loaded down with sup
plies, including rations, shelter
halves, grenades, and rifles. Storm
clouds had changed the beautiful
Easter morning to dull grey. Rain
followed. Artillery roared, so did
the thunder.
The path led betw’een towerinf
junule foliage. Winding in and
out between craters and stench. the
jeep finally entered the perimeter.
Along many emplacements we
drove finally coming out on the
beach. We arrived just in time
to swing aboard a ‘duck" (floating
GMC> and went southward. Rain
lashed the Coral and the duck
rolled with each foamy wave.
On shore boxes had been
smasned by our naval guns. In the
background trees showed shell
marks. Along the beach ran barbed
I wire, dividing the perimeter from
no man s land. We were well
outside of the safety zone. Small
humps in the grey sand on shore
I indicated that dead were buried
there. Carrion birds scoring lazily
, overhead strengthened the belief.
1 The neW beachhead seethed
with Negro troops. Supplies were
being moved inland. Our sector
ran for several thousand yards
! down the beach. In the same di
rection flanking us as it rushed
| ir| to the sea was the Sava river—
i thought to be one of the main ene
my supply routes.
Tne first—and most important
task was to set up gun positions.
Our small perimeter had to be se-
S ur *L be * ore chow-rest even eof
behind as. A frothing Coral see
? he rear * In front Me acres
at blac/c. shell blistered juigjea
To the left flank machine gun
spouting continued. Shovels scooped
the sand.
Our temporary command post
was a bomb crater. S-Sgt Rob
ert Mitchell (New Orleans) w«
llnI In the middle making the hole
-eeper. His office was on his back
—dispatch case Several feet from
Sergeant Mitchell. M-Sgt Frank
Ferguson of New York City, was
digging, sweating, and abusing the
language.
Mortars were hurriedly placed In
positions. Rocket projectiles were
soon enroute down the beach We
could hear the dull thud of ex
plosion. As this went on one unit
moved into the jungles stringing
communication wire- Back of the
command post what was left of an
enemy soldier was lying sprawled
out in a crater. Also was found
the remains of a heavy Jap ma
chine gun.
Nine Detroit
Men Graduate
At Naval Post
GREAT LAKES. Ill— Fourteen
Michigan men were among those
graduating from intensive courses
of specialized training at recent
Service School ceremonies here at
the U. S. Naval Training Center.
The men were selected for their
specialized training on the basis
of their recruit training aptitude
test scores. Graduates are advanced
in ratings and then sent to sea,
to shore stations, or to advanced
schools for active duty or further
training
The recent graduates, the school*
in which they t *ined or their
rates are; Hayward Wilson. 18. De
troit. Machinist Mate school; Ches
ter \\ right, 19, Detroit, Machinist
Mate school: Maxwell Young. 18,
Detroit. Machinist Me > school;
Aaron Bryant. 18. Detroit, Yeoman
sea *1; John Stevens. 20. Detroit.
Machinist Mate school; Charles H.
M.ller. 24. Detroit. Storekeeper
school; John A. Franklin, 21, De
troit. Machinist Mate school; Em
mett C. Horton. 24. Detroit. Store
keeper school; Eddie D. Smith 24.
Detroit. Quartermaster school; Clar
ence W Hall, 18. Detroit. Machinist
Mate school; Frank R Pearson 19
Ecorse. Machinist Mate school; Ar
vtUr 33 - Ecorw. Machinist
Mate: Thomas B Love. 18. Inkster.
promoted to Machim.; Mate Third
Uass and Howard C. Woods. UL
J "kson. Machinist Mate school.
YOUR EYES
WORK HARDER
IN WARTIME
If von are not footle* to m r U
be VOLR IUB ■
SEE
DRMICHELMAS
Roy Scientific Eim)lmHm
Dowioit# Office
275 Gratia* A*.. Rfc. C*. 1522