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Transportation Corps Does Big Job Behind Scenes for U. S. Army By EERGT. ALBERT BUCKBERG Of 3810 Eighth Street N,y. HEADQUARTERS, European Theater of Operations.—I came Into the Transportation Corps in April and soon after D-day began making trips about sections of Southern England and Wales, reporting op erations to the Office of Technical Information. On those trips I learned the immensity of the corps and in the office the background for the operations unfolded. Every movement of units of the United States Army except those of field armies under combat is governed by the Transportation Corps. All supplies and materiel are moved by the corps or with its approbation. The story of the/ corps in this theater began two years ago with the establishment of the Office of Chief of Transportation under MaJ. Gen. Frank S. Ross. I arrived too late to see the pre-invasion work, but I hav£ seen enough since the com mencement of the assault on Festung Europa to understand the scope of the assignment. Vast Stores Unloaded. All marine units, prior to the Invasion, worked in landing troops from the States and in unloading supplies. They worked with ex perienced English stevedores. This work trained these units for opera tions on the beaches subsequent to the breach of the Atlantic Wall. The port battalions, virtually of all-Negro personnel, literally worked 24 hours a day on the beaches from D-day on, and they shall continue to operate on that scale until our armies open enough sea ports to receive the tremendous flow of equipment and personnel that lands on the Channel beaches. Conditions on the beaches have never been ideal for these boys. They sleep in foxholes and eat K-rations. They can't do anything else for they don’t have enough time. They landed under fire im mediately behind the first assault waves to start the flood of supplies inland to where they were needed most. Messy weatner wrecked the Army s Stevedores’ efforts to use ramps and rollers, but the boys continued to unload. Their devotion to duty and job alone* is heroic, but tales of greater achievements continue to come from the beaches. Braved Planes to Use Lights. One crew of men unloaded a Stricken cargo vessel at night with lights, despite the ominous presence of bombers of the Luftwaffe. Water completely filled the hold from which they had to extract the supplies. Our boys again and again slipped into the cold water to slip the hoops of the winch cables through hooks in the noses of 500 and 1,000 pound bombs. The Channel weather was the Worst in 40 years and tire beaches were obstructed and littered with piles of damaged equipment nobody had found time to remove. At the same time, in the Channel ports in England from where the supplies left for France, other port battalions loaded the vessels. In one of the largest and most important ports in Southern England I saw an immense line of men and equipment thronging into LSTs and cargo ves sels that loaded alongside of other boats that discharged bewildered, ragged prisoners and weary men, painfully wounded. The lines of men and trucks waiting for shipping space never shortened, nor did the lines remain still for more than two or three hours. Trucks Take a Beating. Before D-day thousands of con voys streamed along narrow Eng lish roads with loads destined for Army camps hidden in the green hills. So many trucks were engaged that the highway department of the Office of the Chief of Transportation developed a return loads plan to cut consumption of gas and oil in half. Those units landed on D-day, too. One company, during its trans Channel voyage, was attacked bv a German plane. The men on the too deck fired their rifles at the plane along with the antiaircraft batteries of the ship. The plane fell Into the Channel waters. The truck convoys in Normandy faced the same obstacles that the tank crews faced. They had to move within yards of the front with am munition and shelLs. They faced the same danger from mines. The engineers had not had sufficient time to clear the areas. iney iacea artillery hre from Nazi batteries that had zeroed in on crossroads and curves. One driver from a truck outfit faced di rect fire from a German scoutcar. He was driving on a newly cap tured road near St. Lo when he observed two German “prisoners” walking In the opposite direction. He passed them but soon wondered why they had no escorts. Suddenly a scoutcar came out of some woods and began to fire its machine gun at him. The American sped back with over 40 holes in the rear of his truck. Rail Units Build Cars. The rail units did not run trains in preparation for the invasion. They spent their time constructing boxcars, gondolas, flat cars, refrig erators, cabooses and locomotives for use in France from prefabricated knocked-down parts sent from the States. Members of the railway op erating battalions ran engines in switching operations around the ter minals and railheads, but almost all the rail soldiers did construction and assembly work. Early in the spring of this year detachments from several of the railway shop battalions were sent to British shipyards to aid in the con struction of steel barges that would carry supplies for the invasion. One detachment entered a shipyard where the English, using hand tools, were building barges in 10 days. The soldiers came in, absolutely un tutored in ship assembly, with some of the latest machine tools, and turned out their first barge in 10 days, too. But they went on from there. They gradually decreased the time required, and before they left the yards they turned'out sev eral In 25 hours. Real work for the rail units began after the landings on the Normandy beaches. Despite our fast move up the Cherbourg Peninsula the Ger mans had enough time to mine and booby-trap wrecked equipment. First railway detachments ashore were a scouting party from the 2d Military Railway Service, which will be responsible for the mili tary’ operation of all railroads in liberated territory and detachments from one of the operating battalions Which Immediately ’began to run work trains for the clearance and repair of the tracks. Tha scouting party followed im 4 • / • j Youngest of Seven Kramer Boys in Services Saves Commanding Officer From Drownina Mother Quits War Job To Catch Up on Task Of Writing to Them Mtt- Charlotte P. Kramer feels “so terribly proud” of her seven sons in the service, five of whom are over seas and the sixth ready to go, that she fears she "talks too much about *them.” Pride in her youngest son, 18 year-old David, reached even greater propor tions when she heard recently he saved the life of his command ing officer, who was drowning from exhaustion before Coxswain Kramer pulled him out of the water. • First Lt. Bob Kramer, 33, spent a day on David's rocket boat in the Mediterranean, and then watched through binoculars while the ‘‘youngster” took off for the inva sion of Southern France. • Of the meeting, Bob wrote his mother: “I had to go half way around the world and hitch-hike across a foreign country (Italy) to see my kid brother. But his officer fixed me up with the best meal I’ve had in two and a half years.” Mrs. Kramer lived with her large family at 1718 Kilboume place N.W. most of the 12 years she has been in Washiington, but when her sons all left for the war she moved with her daughter to an apartment at 4544 Third street S.E. Feeling her self “slipping—from too many nerves,” she got a job at the War Production Board. “I wanted to find out if I was worth anything,” she said. She quit this summer, after work ing for a year, to catch up on writ mediately behind the infantry and some members oP the party entered Cherbourg while fighting still went on in some portions of the city. Their main purpose was the in spection of the rail "yards for dam age to installations and for an in ventory of abandoned equipment. The scouts found many serviceable freight cars that needed only to be demined before they could be used. A large store of locomotives was also found including several World War I Pershing engines that still bore the United States Army legend on their sides. Although damage was caused mainly by bombardment a load of bombs in one instance saved ap proximately a dozen engines for us. The Germans planned to run the engines with full steam down an inclined track into the cold harbor waters, thus bringing on explosions that would wreck the equipment. Bombing of the tracks by our planes frustrated the plan. Lines Are Rebuilt. The work trains carried rails and tires behind construction crews of the Army engineers who rebuilt the j lines. Other detachments from the engineers demined the tracks and equipment and rebuilt the bridges which had been smashed. Other members of the first op erating battalion to reach Normandy cleared the yards at Carentan sta tion. The Germans before leaving had run dozens of freight cars to gether, wTecking them and creating a hazard for whomever tried to i extricate them. One time while the | soldiers worked at separating the jcars Nazi artillery laid down a 35 j minute barrage, but they continued to work. Little more than a month after D-day the first passenger train to be operated by United States Army personnel in France ran between Cherbourg and Lison. At present the rail and highway units are occupied with following the swiftly advancing American armies while the port units pray that they can move to harbors and ports and do their stevedoring in more natural surroundings. Dick Don *14 Bab David Jerry mg letters and sending packages to her boys. “I can’t write them enough," she said, but added that it kept her so busy she had little time to worry. Bob, the oldest son, was the first to go overseas, as a radio photog rapher with the Office of War Infor mation. He resigned last spring to join the poltical warfare branch of the Army. His wife,. and the 16 month-old son he has never seen, live at 4601 Twenty-ninth street, Mount Rainier, Md. Jerry, who enlisted a month after Pearl Harbor, is now a sergeant in the Army Air Forces. The 22-year old aerial engineer has been in the Southwest Pacific area since last September. Ted, who is 20, spent a year in Homer Lives Anew At Base in Corsica Lt. Paul P. Kirby, 5550 Edgemoor lane, Bethesda, Md., has a deeper appreciation for Homer—“the vast, ageless spirit of the Mediterranean” —since he has been stationed on the island of Corsica. In a recent letter to his mother ! Lt. Kirby told of feeling Homer’s presence in his colorful description of Corsica. “A day ago we took our Moroc can native wool swimming trunks and went up Cap Corse to swim from the reddish rocks,” he wrote. "The water was very blue and seethed flashing white around the ledges. Diving down, you could see very clearly to exeat depths. It reminded us of our swims last year in the same great Mediterranean— far away at Ponito Peseade near Algiers. “Prom the rose bower that after noon we watched a strong offshore gale blowing out in the direction of the Tuscan Archipelago and Italy. Homer's figure always trou bled me, for although I have seen water a deep, intense indigo, I have never seen it ‘wine-dark.’ "Never until that afternoon, when it actually did become purple in a vast expanse stretching to the horizon—a purple like the skin of unrubbed blue grapes—all ruffled with the powdery white caps blown about by gusts and spreading like a silky surface beneath the sun. “I can never look long at the Mediterranean without feeling Homer in the breathing of the wind—a divinity—the vast, ageless spirit of the Mediterranean Sea, driving the w’aves. I thought of neat fields or grain blowing and blowing for miles, and then real ized suddenly the meaning of per haps the most beautiful of all metaphors—‘Pharcys, Lord of the unharvested seas’.” ummmm CANINE VETERANS COMPETE IN ITALY—Aerial gunners dis playing their mascots at a show in Italy, included (left to right): Staff Sergt. Alan Morow of Washington with Flak, who saw a lot of it, the real thing, over Vienna one day; Sergt. G. W. Belk of Apelous, La., with Eye-Tie, and Sergt. Walter Petrick of New York with Waylo. Flak (Mascot) Brings Good Luck To D. C. Fiver on Air Raids Flak boasts no pedigree, but her master, Staff Sergt. Alan Morow, tail gunner, 2833 Twenty-seventh street N.W., is proud of the puppy that accompanies him on his bomb ing missions. At a recent 15th Air Force Lib erator group dog show in Italy Flak rated one of the top entries. All of the dogs—built along mongrel lines—had at least one mission un der their collars. The grand win ner. Eye-Tie, won the cheers of his audience and the title when he took one glance at the crowd and promptly bolted the stage. Flak, who has seen a lot of real flak, was the first mascot in the Liberator group, Sergt. Morow wrote his mother. The men in his outfit were “so crazy about her" that they followed suit. “Flak keeps us pretty happy during the day. She is the only girl for miles around—you know what I mean.” Another time the former Star em ploye wrote: "Today we got a big kick out of Flak. She has a ‘prob able’ to her credit. A large grass hopper crossed her path and she was quick to bring it down. One foot of the hopper was sticking out and tickling her chin and Flak was jumping in the air like a horse at a rodeo.” Sergt. Morow, a graduate of Roose velt High School, swears that Flak brings good luck to him and wants to bring the pup home. He has taught the dog many tricks, and the little mascot even totes his packages now. the ground forces before transfer ring to air cadet training, and is stationed at Enid, Okla. He enlisted on his 18th birthday. Don, 21, holds the rank of quar termaster third class on a Navy landing craft. He has been on sea duty in the Pacific since May. Sergt. James, of the Signal Corps, celebrated his 24th birthday August 3 in an English pub, where drinks were served liberally "on the house” in his honor. He formerly worked for the Bell Telephone Co., and went overseas In February. Dick, 31, whose wife and two chil dren live in Upper Marlboro, left his position as captain of firemen at Camp Springs, Md„ to enter the Army th May of this year. A private in a replacement battalion, he com pleted his basic training at Camp McClellan, Ala., and will soon ship overseas. All of the boys except Bob and Dick attended Central High School, and the three youngest Kramers left before graduation to join the armed forces. Mrs. Kramer's seven sons have left home, but her daughter is still with her. Enlisting, however, seems to run in the family. The 16-year old girl has joined the cadet corps at Central High. 15th AAF Lists D. C. Airmen Aiding Riviera Invasion Included in 15th AAF personnel which participated in “Operation Uppercut,” the MAAF’s name for its role in the invasion- of Southern Fiance, were the following men: Second Lt. Harold E. Kline, pilot. 53 Bryant street N.W.; Sergt. Nica nor Reyes, jr., tail gunner, 1617 Massachusetts avenue N.W.; First Lt. Irving T. Quinn, Jr., bombardier, 3700 Massachusetts avenue N.W.; Sergt. Edward Blumenfield, waist gunner, 916 Evarts street N.E.; Sergt. William R. Cullen, waist gun ner, 644 Massachusetts avenue N.E. AU are crewmen of B-24s with the exception of Sergt. Reyes, who was on a B-17. "Operations Uppercut” softened the coastal area in preparation for the landings. Falls Church Surveyor Helped Invade France Sergt. Frank P. Cowan, surveyor in one of the aviation engineer bat talions which established the emer gency landing fields on the beach head of Normandy, writes that their landing was "a great show, but a bit gory.” In a letter to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John P. Cowan of Falls Church, Va„ he indicated that the airstrips were used by Allied fighter - bcmbers on the second day of the invasion. Sergt. Cowan did not find that section of Normandy where the peasants were reported to be greet ing the Americans with liberal li bations of native wine. "We are very unhappy,” he wrote. "The Ger mans drank up all the wine.” Fogle's Bombing Mission Doubly Successful Lt. James M. Fogle, Thunderbolt flight leader from Washington, peeled off from his dive-bombing run on an ammunition dump just long enough to silence a 20-mm. ground installation. In five seconds the fighter pilot knocked off the gunner, pulled back Into a drive and dropped his bombs on the assigned target, according to a 9th Air Force dicpatch. Lt. Fogle has flown more than 75 combat missions and wears the Air Medal with 12 Clusters. A for mer Maryland University student, he is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Harold J. Fogle, 137 C street N.E. Maj. Shupp, Lt. Massey At Artillery School FORT SILL, Okla.—Two Wash ington area officers have been tak ing special training at the artillery school here. Maj. Erwin H. Shupp is attending the advanced course and Second Lt. Marshall M. Massey is ■ taking the survey course. Maj. Shupp is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter F. 8hupp, 4121 Illinois avenue N.W. Lt. Massey is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall H Massey, 1113 Nine teenth street south, Arlington. Soldier Perches On Explosives to Guide Tank * When a telephone circuit was shot out during a raging battle in Prance, Pvt. Alton N. Jones of Washington had to climb on top of a tank, perch on 500 pounds of high explosives and guide the armored vehicle. It was the privateJob to select a firing point after the tank had ad vanced through a hedgerow. A tel ephone ran from the inside to the outside rear, and Pvt. Jones walked behind to direct the tank. When the line was damaged, he climbed on the tank and stood on the explosive that was used to blow holes in the hedges and gave di rections through the open turret. Although exposed to fire and aware that a tracer would Instantly set off the charge, Pvt. Jones, member of an engineer crew, crawled on the tank five or six times. He is with the 3d Infantry Division In Prance. \ D. C. Officer's Award From Sultan Leads List of Decorations The Sultan of Morocco presented the "Ouissam Alouite Cheriflen,” or Officer’s Medal, to First Lt. Frank J. Wojtasiak, another Washington officer rece 1 v e the Legion of Merit, four flyers were awarded the Distinguish ed Flying Cross and five District Area men won the Bronze Star, dispatches from the fighting fronts revealed. Lt. Wojtasiak, 2150 P e n n s y 1 vania a v e n u N.W., was give: the medal by Sultan Mou lay Lt- w*ju»i«k. Mohammed in recognition of his un tiring work as liaison officer between United States Army Air Forces and French government officials in French Guinea. He kept food, med ical and other supplies flowing to French colonists, thereby staving off growing discontent and bringing about harmonious feelings and co operation. Lt. Wojtasiak, who spent a year in French Guinea, is a graduate of Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. He also attended the World Court of Hague in Hol land in 1932 and the University of Warsaw, Poland, in 1934. Bruce H. Pauly, 23, one of the youngest ground officers holding the rank of major at the B-24 Liberator 2d Bombardment Division headquar ters, recently was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Army’s fourth highest award, for ‘‘ex ceptionally meri torious'’ service a s engineering officer. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer G. Pauly, 4308 Sixth street, Arlington, Va. First Lt. Mil lard Arbutina, M.j. P>uiy. 420 New Jersey avenue S.E., Air Transport Com mana pilot in the China-Burma India theater, was decorated with the Distingltshed Flying Cross. He has completed more than 300 hours of operational flight “over the diffi cult and dangerous Assam-China air routes." the citation stated. First Lt. Ivy L. Belote. jr., 2811 Mills avenue N.E., pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress, has been decorated with an Oak Leaf Cluster to the Distinguished Flying Cross. Two 8th Air Force flyers from the District area have received the DFC in England. They are First Lt. Arthur F. McGrandle. 1427 Madison street N.W., and Second Lt. Graham P. Kesler, 11182 Old Bladensburg road, Silver Spring, Md. Staff Sergt. Frederick H. C. Bick ford, 7202 Meadow lane, Chevy Chase, Md., received the Distin guished Flying era's for ‘‘extraor dinary achievement” as ball tur ret gunner on the Flying Fortress "Ole Miss Destry." The 22-year-old former Univer , slty of Mary land student has c o m p 1 e ted 32 c o m b a*t mis* sions. Capt. Minot C. Mulligah, 713 South Royal street, Alexan dria, Va., won the Bronze Star at an air transport* j command base in India for “merito rious achieve ment" with the A i r c*»t. Muiiion. Transport Command. Maj. Anton George Mensik, who is with a combat engineer unit in Normandy, was awarded the Bronze Star. His wife and two sons live at 6512 Twentieth avenue, Green Meadows, Md. The 8-year-old son, George, is at Walter Reed Hospital with infantile paralysis. Col. William N. Gillmore. Hay Adams Apartments, received the Bronze Star for acts of gallantry j while serving with the 1st Armored Division during the 5th Army drive toward Rome. Pvt. Roger C. buck, 21, oi 3507 Ritfcenhouse street N.W., was award ed the Bronze Star for gallantry in action in the Italian cam paign, his par ents, Mr. and Mrs. Solon J. Buck, learned recently. Mr. Buck is the archivist of the United States. The citation said Pvt. Buck, a member of the medical depart ment in his in fantry bat t a 1 ion, voluntarily r.Tt, Buck. left hiS safer po sition “at the rear of the company” to go to> "three seriously wounded men in* exposed positions.” He "went through the fire to the men, administered first aid, and then got liUer bearers to help him evacuate t*m for further treatment. His actions saved one man from bleed ing to death and greatly facilitated the treatment of the other two.” Staff Sergt. Bradley W. Norris, 29, of 118 Alexander street, Hagers town, Md., was awarded the Bronze Star for outstanding services from February to June of this year as an 8th Air Force P-47 Thunderbolt crew chief. Staff Sergt. John A. Anadale, jr., 9006 First avenue, Silver Spring, Md., received the Air Medal and two Oak Clusters for combat mis sions over the European theater as tail gunner. A second cluster also was won by Second Lts. Henry 8. Otto, 3308 W street N.W., and Charles L. Brow©, 715 G street N.E., in England. First Lt. Robert C. Strobell, 2016 Fort Davis street S.E.. received the second and third clusters there. Staff Sergt. Clarence R. Heath, jr., 1453 Ridge place S.E., gunner of a B-25, won the third Oak Leaf Cluster for participation in an at tack on Rabaul, New Britain, last November. Capt. Andrew D. Turner, 1000 Westford place N.E., Mustang fight er pilot in Italy; Staff Sergt. Rich ard W. Miller, 211 Vamum street N.W., who is in England, and Staff Sergt. John R. Reinoehl, 4012 Park wood street, Cottage City, Md., radio operator and gunner with the 15th Air Force, have been awarded the Air Medal. Hie first bronze Oak Leaf Cluster M Bridges Serve as Memorials ToD.C.MenWhoDiedinAction Staff Sergt. Norman A. Krebs (left), son of Mrs. Maude U. Krebs, 211 Channing street N.E., and Pfc. Ernest E. de Leonibus, son of Mr. and Mrs. John de Leonibus, 2705 Sixth street NJS., look at the marker on one of two bridges dedicated to Washing ton heroes of the war, Sergt. John E. Rogers, son of Mrs. Elizabeth C. Rogers, 3009 Seventh street N.E., and Corp. Frank Aqulllno, son of Mrs. Lucy Aquilino, 1222 Sixth street S.W. WITH THE 37th INPANTRY DIVISION SOMEWHERE IN THE SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA — On roads leading to the front lines stand bridges dedicated to Sergt. John E. Rogers and Corpl. Frank Aquilino, bo eh of Washington, D. C. The latter, an engineer soldier, saw action in New Georgia. During the battle for Munda Air field, he and some of his comrades were ambushed and temporarily halted by enemy machine gun fire. In the first burst of fire several members of the party were wounded. Aquilino exposed himself, without hesitation, in an attempt to recover his wounded comrades, and sacri ficed his life. For distinguishing himself by gallantry and self-sac rifice far beyond the call of duty, he was awarded posthumously the Silver Star Medal. As a volunteer accompanying a small naval raiding party on Kolom bangara, Solomon Islands, Sergt. Rogers bravely exposed himself dur ing the fire-fight which ensued when this force approached its objec tive. The boat on which Sergt. Rog ers served was under the initial and heaviest concentration of fire. Sev eral gunners and the boat com mander were hit. Sergt. Rogers dis regarded his own safety to assist in administering first aid and by removing the wounded to protected positions until a direct hit by an enemy shell, in the aft section of the boat, wounded him in the right side. He also was awarded post humously the Silver Star MedaL Staff Sergt. Norman A. Krebs. Pfc. Ernest E. De Leonibus, both of Washington, saw action on New Georgia with Sergt. Rogers. Sergt. Kreb is a former employe Of The Star. , to the Air Medal was presented the following flyers: Staff Sergt. Hailey 8ullivan, Jr., of Indianhead, Md., in Italy; First Lt. Jack A. Hargreaves of Randals-i town, Md., in England; Second Lt. John W. Rice. jr„ 2232 Decatur place N.W., in England; Capt. Fran cis H. Bonham, 2129 Florida avenue N.W., in England. First Lt. Hugh C. Bowers, 4912 South Eleventh street, Arlington, in England; Flight Officer Corson Jones, 9 Hesketh street, Chevy Chase, in England; Second Lt. Louie M. Smith, 1229 Twelfth street N.W., in England, and Second Lt. David J. Dunigan. jr.T 3148 Cleveland ave nue N.W., in England. Paratrooper Reveals Terrors of Barrage His parachute landing during the Normandy invasion was “like any ordinary Jump except for the ack-J ack and guns,” Sergt. William R. Crowell has written' his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Crowell, 014 L street N.W. But Sergt. Crowell, who was slightly injured, was to undergo an “ordeal” five days later. “The fight back to the front lines was strange and bewildering, but for one time believe me when I say I was not afraid,” he wrote. “But on the fifth night, while in hiding, be gan what I believe to be the most strenuous ordeal a human being can endure—a barrage that lasted for 36 hours. I was never afraid or scared in my life of any human being or thing, but I pledged myself to God while I prayed to Him for six hours during that day and night of hell.” Paying tribute to his brave com rades, Sergt. Crowell added that he had cried many times since his re turn and that his heart is “now of steel • • • resolved to repay those that were to me as Tommy and Junior.” A brother, Thomas Crowell, is a machinist first class in the Coast Guard: another brother, Frank Crowell, Jr., recently enlisted in the Army Air Corps. Reporting that he felt surer of his "inner self’ than at any time in his life, Sergt. Crowell wrote “Mom and Dad”: “It is indeed strange to know that you can do something you never dreamed pos sible.” He also has written that his knee, which was injured in his jump, is “now as good as new” and that when he returned to his battalion he found it had been awarded a citation for heroism and gallantry under fire. Son, Hit on Saipan, Comforts Mother Wounded at Saipan by a Jap sniper, Corpl. Wayne E. Fairall, 22, U. S. M. C., was less concerned about his wounds than about reassuring his father and mother. Mr. and Mrs. H. D. Fairall of 212 Third street N.E. He praised the doctors and medical corps aides and the Red Cross for distributing ‘‘candy, cigarettes and chewing gum.” The men get “ice cream two and three times a week’ and attend the movies nearly every night. Corpl. Fairall is proud of hk Purple Heart awarded while in the hospital. The captain "presented them to us by pinning them on our shirts and then shook hands with all of us.” he wrote home, adding thal he was sending the medal to hk mother. “It is yours to keep for your own, just a little present for you but ' . < ■ •••.. . With E. FilrtlL Frantii Fairall. I hope you like it anyway." He tnded the letter by asking his mother as a special favor “to send the Sun day newspaper every week. It helps a lot from causing us to be dis couraged.” A native of the District, Corpl. Fairall is a graduate of Steuart Junior High School. He attended Eastern High School to enlist in the Marine Corps in January, 1942, and took his basic training at Parris Island. S. C.. and advanced work at New River, N. C. He went overseas in August, 1942, and has since seen action at both Guadalcanal and Tarawa. A brother, Petty Officer (First Class) Francis Fairall, 24. went over in the same convoy to Guadacanal though neither was aware of the other’s presence. One day in New Zealand, Corpl. Fairall was walking down the street when he was sent reeling by a slap on the back and turned to see his brother grinning at him. Petty Officer Fairall had been at Bougainville as well as Guadal canal and both men had exciting stories to tell. The Falralls also have a son-in law in the Navy, Seaman (First Class) William B. Ellis, U. S. N. Sergt. Irwin A. Smith working on his painting. Art activities for Sergt. Irwin A. Smith, former Washington artist, have ranged from painting insignia on the nose of 8th AAF Tunderbolt planes to decorating a shrine with a religious figure. A shrine to St. Francis recently was being built in a nearby town in England. When the townsmen heard of Sergt. Smith they asked him to adorn one of the outside walls of [their small building with the saint’s figure. A Sergt. Smith completed the figure, which wu approximately 10 feet in height, by giving up most of his evenings tor a week. Sergt. Smith, who lived at 110 Bast Capitol street, studied at the Dickerson Seminary in Pennsylvania, the Maryland Institute and the Cor coran School of Art in Washington. He was employed by Woodward ft Lothrop as an -artist before he entered (he Army. 3 Colonels, 4 Majors Among Servicemen Advanced in Rank Three 1191 tenant colonels were promoted to colonels while four Dis trict area majors were advanced to lieutenant colonels, the War Depart ment announced. Officers and enlisted personnel advanced In rank, commissioned or ordered to active duty Include: ARMY. Celenel. William J. HuchM. Jr.. Judce Advocate General'* Department. 105 Oxfordstreet, Chevy Chafe. Ml. Gerald Pttscerald, air force. M03 Sum. mlt avenue. Chevy Ctiaae, Md. •treet!*Ch«y «d. “ Ueateaaat Celenel. Charles Oettyi. infantry, $04 Maple avenue. Takoma Park. Ariuw"n CVaPlJm*r' 3868 MUIUrT ToUl' „ *J7°n A Bnyart. air force, S15 Nor to ^fhlsnd street. Arllneton. Va.. In India. Daniel X. Moore, Hyattivtlle. MdT Major. Yo3?r.m4Su.V5?PDW- •* ,or“- n "" M.tejSn*; ga&hjfsai.Corp* 11 road*r3reenbeU**Md. ^ 41A *“» •treet'sE * LuBd’ 8lr ,®re*’ 1811 >urke ro.^b|^*dI.*MdPO“an’ 8748 Oltnbro8k teen'th'place V#'' * f°r"' 8030 'n“r* Pla«*lTj3«Md?u1,v.“r ,#rM* 703 D*T0" _0*8r*e ^R. McPherson, air forts, 7 X Glebe road. Alexandria. Va. ISlSMeMHT “r ,0rC*’ 1318 Rb8<U it reft BN W Br,tt’ 88»ct«™»»ter. 1410 M . iJohn R. Meehan, entlneers. 4208 Arkansas avenue N.W. Robert W. Ryle, air force. 8700 Massa chusetts avenue N.W. Richard M Miller. Quartermaster. 4818 Cheltenham drive Bethesda. Md Claud Lirlncston. Jr., enclnaers. 108 Kenwood svenue. Chevy Chase. Md Joseph E. Beard, sir force. Palrftx. Vs. R.?eTsh ftreeW 818 NeVt^hr„,TrB,,ter’1818 R -e p«*cocki llr force. P714 Colesville road. Silver Sprint. Md ^.?*orJe ?• ion*»- Jr., air forct. Alta vista Vs., In Europe. Hatcher R. Gibson, air foree. 1800 Ir vins street NX Captain. Herbert A. Chase. Medical Admlnis trative Corps. 6645 Georgia avenue N.W. John H. Vogel, quartermaster. 232< Thirty-seventh street N W street*"]* w ***"“• ln,»ntr»- 3088 P James O Hollis, air force. 4400 Elm street. Chevy Chase, Md. -Ted 3?- Kridler. air foree. 719 South St. Asaph street. Alexandria. Va. K°*'r ¥ Jv.'ichtT,?A CorI>*' 6408 Glen wood road. Bethfsda. Md. Alton O. Crawley, Signal Coma. Lynn naven. Va. H william W. Garner. 1468 Columbia road . Lee C. Warfield. Signal Corpe, Oalthers ourg. Md. William D. Hart, air force, 947 Vlr ttnia avenue 8 W. s Prank D. Eddy, air force. 106 Mel bourne avenue. Sliver Sprint. Md. Harry E. Sehronak. air force. 1107 O street SE. in Enaltnd Willism P. Nscneal. air foree. 711 Irving I street N.E.. in India. James A. Brown, Tank Corps. 40S South Fairfax street, Alexandria. Va. Maurice De Groff, air force, 1866 Cal vert street N.W.. in India. P rst Llew tenant. Robert V Bailey, lr.. Infantry, 8148 O street N W Grothann Oertlln*. air force, 1 Second ■ atrect N.W. Charles R. Rauscher. engineers. 3133 I Connecticut aTenue N w. i George A. Lott, air force, 1419 Clifton street N.W. Donald C. Maxcy. engineers. 1437 Spring road N.W. Willism E Stubblefield, glr foree, 6009 First street N.W. Vernon M. Bailey, chemical warfare. 1317 Q street N.W Lalo Enriquez, chemical warfare, 8783 Twelfth street N.E. | John A Klllick, air force- 1916 Kalo* , rama road N.W / I , . H- Munhall. chemical warfare. 4866 Blasden avenue N.W Herbert M. Pratt. Adjutant General a Department, 1301 Massaehuaetta avenue N.W. Colin C. Evans, chemical warfare. 8707 Hlllandalc road. Chevy Chase. Md. Carl W. Hoeth. Tank Corps, 818 North Fillmore street. Arlinaton. Va William E. Williams, Jr., air force, 823 North Irvina street. Arlington. Vg. Marlon E. Collier. Infantry, 1611 Prank l lin street N.W. Melvin D. Banks. Infantry. 49070 Porty second place. Hyattsville. Md. , Willism H. Wadsworth. Tank Corpe. 1316 New Hampshire avenue N.W. I.,p*£iel W MeCallum. j, fleld ,rtuiery, 513 Crittenden street N.W. ! William A Relth, sir foree. 719 Shep herd street N.W. Karl A. Krauss. Jr., air force, 2905 Kennedy street. Hysttsvllle. Md. Edwin B. Morris, sir foree, 557 Gros venor lane. Bethesda. Md. • Marvin W Berry, Jr., air foree, 7887 Central avenue 8.E. HyaftsvUle! Md*""' 2808 K"Md’ HyausvllJe. ltd."**' 2808 ltrttU Commissioned Second Lloatenant. Charles P. Dudley 3d. air force. 329 Parraeut atreet N.W., at Midland Airfield, Frederick C. Boss, air fore*. 619 Olst svenue. Silver Sprint. Md. Appointed Pliaht Officer. Philip L. Donaldson, air force. S738 I Brandywine street N.W. Technical Sergeant. Francis P. Riddle, sir foree. 8828 Vista •treet N.E., In Europe. Wallace A Stroble. infantry. 1000 ! Twenty-flfth street 81. Mnnil. , Leon M Ntvltt. air fore*. 228 Randolph place N.W . In the Southwest Pacific. Samuel J. Sherman, air force. 117 Fifth I street B E. Sebastian J. Aman. Army service force. 3,1 o Bunker Hill road. Brentwood, ltd. _ Julian B. Stanner. air force. 1 Sixty first street. Capitol Helahts. Md. ^Russell I. Payne, air force. Mitchelvllla, Edwin M. Oswald, air forca, 2445 Fif teenth street N.W., in Europe. Corporal. Robert I. Oillin, air force, 1001 Upthuf I street N.W. Alfred Warden, air Three. 1021 Twenty. ! first place S.E. Irvine A. Levina, air forea. 6212 Kan sas avenue N.W. Private First Class. William B. Haynle. Jr.. Army aervle# foroes. 814 Eighteenth street N.W. Herman A. Oivens. 1746 Beaton street N.W. Ordered to Active Date. MaJ. Clarence L. Stretch. Medical Corps, 5308 Colorado avenue N.W. MaJ. Samuel'S. Bylnaton, Medical Oorpa. 1832 Biltmore street n!w. Second Lt. Walter P. O'Rourke, sr.. 802 Eaitley street. Sliver Sprint, Md. Second Lt. Charles E. uthtfooi. 612 South Velteh street. Arlington. Vo. MaJ. Joseph P. Treceaee. Medical Corpa. 6040 Massachusetts avenue N.W. MaJ. Leo P. Schroeder. Medleal Corps. 3713 Albemarle street N.W MaJ. Benno F. Koch. Medical Cdrpt. 4607 Connecticut avenue N.W. First Lt. Georse B. Patrick. Jr.. Medical Corps, 616 Bast Leland street, Chevy Chase. Md. MaJ. Leo M. Cavanaugh. Medical Corps. 300 Carroll avenue. Takoma Park, Md. NAVT. Commissioned Ensign. Robert Tamson. air force. 4437 Fessen den street N.W.. at Corpus Ohristl. Tex William O. Ingraham, air fores. 3100 Sixteenth street N.W.. at Corpus ChrlstL Frank E. Warner. 617 Ninth street S.fc., at Corpus Christ!. Tex.^ Ernest KientT'lljSTityrtJeYvenue Nf., In Caribbean area. Brothers Send Back War Souvenirs Mrs. Judy Wadsworth, 4107 Fes senden street N.W., who to employed in the accounting department of The Star, is being well supplied with souvenirs of the war fronts by her two brothers. Pvt. Jack Shores, now In France as a postal expediter, and William, a member of the Army Air Corps, who returned to this coun try after spending over nine month* on the African front. From Jack, 19, she has received three packages of assorted war , pieces. Including a couple of asm pies of the dreaded wooden bullets being used by the Germans; a Nasi ' armband, and a diary which appeal* to have been completed with the i death of Its owner sometime after i June 91, when its last notatkm Wfc* , made In Cherbourg. The owner of the diary was a . member of a Panaer division, Karl : Jacob Buhl, whose home was In i Frankfurt, and the diary starts In 1991.