Bradley beam., October 07, 1944, Image 1

About Bradley beam. (Bradley Field [Windsor Locks], Conn.) 1943-1945

Image provided by: Connecticut State Library, Hartford, CT

                
VOL. II.
ARMY AIR BASE, FAF, BRADLEY FIELD, CONN.: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1944
15
NUMBER 1.
BEAM OBSERVES
FILE COPY,
FIRST ANNIVERSARY
Britain Honors General Hunter
(Official First AAF Photo)
Major General Frank O’D. Hunter, Commanding General of the First
Air Force being congratulated by Lord Halifax, the British Ambassador,
following the award of the Commander of the Military Division of the
Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, generally referred to as the
C.B.E. This high award was bestowed on Gen. Hunter “in recognition
of distinguished service as Commanding General of the VIII Fighter Com
mand” in England. Although he has numerous ribbons, the General is
seen wearing only the Distinguished Service Cross, with four clusters,
having won this second highest U. S. decoration five times in World War I
as a fighter pilot.
Camouflage School
Shows GI How to Hide
From All but Himself
Who was that bush I saw you
out with last night?
That was no bush. That Aras Sgt
Magriel, camouflaged.
All of which is our own some
what pathetic way of explaining
that although it’s the fall season,
the Base is literally blossoming
with budding camoufleurs, the per
ennial species.
Last week an eight hour course
in camouflage was initiated at the
Base with a daily schedule made
up of units from the various Sec
tions. The classes began at 0800
and concluded at approximately
1630 with the morning devoted to
lectures and films and the after
noon alloted to visiting the camou
flage exhibition near the West
Gate. During the afternoon those
attending the class get a chance to
“hide” a truck, construct a fox hole
eover and learn how to weave a
net. Conducting the classes is a
group of camouflage engineers
from Mitchel Field.
As one camoufleur would say to
■ another: “Don’t look now but your
shine is showing.” (See! We’ve
even learned how to disguise the
, humor in this report.)
*>) . -
Senior Class Dance
At Simsbury Tonight
The senior class / of Simsbury
High School invites all military
personnel of this Base to attend a
dance in the Auditorium tonight.
Admission is free and Ivan White’s
popular crew will play from 2000
to 2400.
Bradley Field Gets
World Series News
Via PA System
Every afternoon during' the
World Series the Base public ad
dress system emits its shrill whis
tle at various intervals and the
voice of Bradley’s own Red Barber
is heard broadcasting the latest
score to a waiting populace. Pete
Luddy, who must definitely favor
the Cardinals, gives the scores af
ter the third, sixth and ninth in
nings.
During the first game his sten
torian voice was hushed to prac
tically a whisper when the Browns
went ahead by 2-0. In the second
fray he shouted the result as the
Redbirds forged to the front, whis
pered the news of the Browns ty
ing runs and nearly tore the sys
tem apart when the Cards scored
the winning marker in the last of
the eleventh.
Bradley's Own Newspaper
Completes Year Of Service
INSIGNIA CONTEST
Approximately , 50 entries
were received by the Base Spe
cial Service Office in the re
cent Base Insignia Contest
which closed on September
thirteenth. All designs receiv
ed have been forwarded to
Col. H. E. Johnson, Base Com
mander, and a group of Offi
cers who will choose the win
ning design. This design will
then be sent to higher head
quarters for approval. As
soon as the Base insignia is
officially adopted, the BEAM
will announce the winner of
the $25 award.
SS Non-Com Wins
YMCA Dance
War Bond Award
Last week it was S^Sgt. Marty
Goldberg who won twenty-five dol
lars after appearing on a radio
p to gram.
This week it’s S/Sgt. George
Walsh, Chief Clerk of the Base
Special Service Office who won a
$25 War Bond during the regular
Sunday evening dance at the
Hartford YMCA.
Don’t the last four grades
EVER get a break? Even when we
win (hah) on the one-arm bandits
at the NCO CluJb we get paid off
in Hartford bus tokens!
Bradley ‘Tootsies”
Get Comfort
From Comforters
A lot of GIs whose overcoats
were beginning to get a drape
shape from serving as auxiliary
blankets during the past week’s
cold snap are looking more cheer
ful these days. Reason—Supply
has started issuing those warm,
fluffy comforters that make sleep
ing an even greater pleasure.
CQs, however, report trouble.
Before the coming of the comfor
ters the reveille whistle had but to
pierce a wool blanket. Now it must
penetrate the two-fold thickness
of cotton. That’s a big test for any
CQ’s lung power.
Congratulations
This week marks the First Anniversary of our official Base news
paper, THE BRADLEY BEAM. It is with great pleasure that I
extend the congratulations of this Command to the BEAM and its
staff.
During the past year the BEAM has served us well. As a
news medium and a morale factor it has done its job. Through the
Section columns that appear within its pages the various units of
the Base have been brought in closer contact. Like the newspapers
in any town or city the BEAM has served as a leading voice in the
affairs of our Base.
Again, my congratulations to the BEAM. May it continue to
serve us well until the day that the conflict overseas makes it no
longer necessary for the men of Bradley to call this Base their home.
H. E. JOHNSON,
Colonel, Air Corps,
Commanding.
It was just one year ago this
coining Monday that the first issue
of the Bradley BEAM was distrib
uted to a waiting Air Base—if not
world.
Under the guidance of our pres
ent Base Special Service Officer,
Major Gilbert Fitch, and with the
approval of Col. Ivor Massey, Base
Commanding Officer at that time,
the publication was “activated” in
the latter part of September and a
first edition date of Saturday, 9
October 1943, was set.
Sgt. Bob Levi (then a Pfc.) and
Cpl. Malcolm Hernandez (then a
Pvt.) were assigned as editors.
Correspondents from the various
organizations at the Base were ap
pointed to represent their units
with columns, the Photo Lab was
put to work providing pictures and
the Public Relations Office began
to check the copy before publica
tion.
PLENTY OF COLUMNISTS
Since the first issue was
published many columns have
graced the pages of the BEAM
with a good percentage of
these writers now serving
overseas or at other Bases.
S/Sgt. Edgar A. Lansing, who
wrote “Somewhere in Skunk
Hollow” during the early his
tory of the BEAM, is now in
the ETO and has more recent
ly written “A Yank in King
Arthur’s Court” exclusively
for the BEAM. Sgt. Louise
West, who wrote “Wac Facts
and Fiction,” is now Lt. West;
T/Sgt. Max Dubin, of “Con
trol Boaid” fame, is at a
Southern Base and the Band’s
former columnist, “Szoke,”' is
neither here nor there as we
can gather it.
Sgt. Jack Brennan who wrote
“Disorder in the Orderly
Room” for the 29th Air Base
Squadron is still at this Base
as is Cpl. Don Reichert who
penned “Out of a Capsule.”
Miss Fletcher of the Library
joined the BEAM’s columnists
in the first issue by introduc
ing “Joe Private,” and the
Windsor Locks USO Column,
“You Said It Girls,” has never
missed an issue. “Mail Call ’
and the “Wolf” have been the
cartoon leaders of the BEAM
since its inauguration.
CHRONOLOGICALLY
SPEAKING
In the first issue of the BEAM
the big story concerned the ex
pected visit of Major Glenn Mil
ler’s Band led by Sgt. Ray McKin
ley, which was to play at the offi
cial opening of the Base gym.
Main feature for the October
thirteenth issue was about the for
thcoming WAC open house and re
view while the November sixth is
sue blared the visit of Sgts. Max
and Buddy Baer to the Base.
In the November twenty-seven
th issue the headline read “Col.
Ivor Massey to Hq. FAF”, while
the arrival of Col. H. E. Johnson,
who replaced Colonel Massey as
Base CO, was heralded in the Dec
ember eleventh edition. The Major
Bowes auditions, which won a trip
to New York and an appearance
on the famous amateur hour for
Cpl. Lewis Smith of the Band, Sgt.
Ginny Smith and the 5Bs of the
Band, was the big news of the Dec
ember eighteenth issue.
Christmas was greeted by the
BEAM with a decorative front page
as was the New Year’s issue which
also spread the news that Brad
ley defeated Westover in the Quiz
of Two Cities radio show.
BIG NAME BAND
The appearance of Jan Sav
itt and his Top Hat Band in a
coast-to-coast Spotlight Band
Concert at the gym drew big
space in the January twenty
ninth 'issue, while the Febru
ary fifth feature story con
cerned the successful opening
of Bradley’s own musical com
edy, “The Battle of Bradley.”
In the March fourth edition
the headline announced that
the Base had passed its $75,
000 Bond quota by raising
$90,000 to assure an Allied
victory while the March eight
eenth issue announced the
NCO Club opening.
April Fools’ Day was cele
brated with two pages of non
sensical reports and also the
good news that the Bradley
basketball team defeated Fort
Williams to win the First Ser
vice Command Tourney and
trophy. In the April eighth is
sue, sports again led the news
when the 93rd Fighter Con
trol Squadron defeated the
29th AB 47-41 to win the Col
onel H. E. Johnson basketball
trophy. On April fifteenth the
appearance of Major Glenn
Miller plus his band and Brod
erick Crawford received the
lead space while the dedication
of a fighter plane “The Spir
it of Bradley” was pictured.
29th REORGANIZED
The reorganization of the 29th
Continued on Page Sfx
Nnfino To personnel
IlOllCe Bradley Field, Conn.
WARNING!
F raternization IN ANY
FORM with Prisoners of
War is in the category of
giving AID and COMFORT
to the enemy,* and as such
Treason* may be charged,
the penalty for which is
Death or at the discretion
of the Court imprisonment
for not less than 5 years
AND fine of not less than
$10,000.00.
* Treason is defined by
Section 1, Title 18, o/
the United States Code
which provides that,
“Whoever, owing allegi
ance to the United
States, levies war
against them or adheres
to their enemies, giving
them aid and comfort
within the United
States or elsewhere, is
guilty of treason."