The Llano News. (Llano, Tex.), Vol. 55, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 16, 1943 Page: 2 of 8
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TH> LLANO NEWS. LLANO, TEXAS THUR8DAY, SEPTEMBER 16, IMS
See Here,
Private
Hargrove!
by
Marion Hargrove
WNU Servlc*.
SYNOPSIS
I CHAPTER I—Edward Thomas
Marion Lawton Hargrove, feature
editor of the Charlotte (N. C.) News,
receives notice from his draft board
that he is to be inducted into the
•rmy. Before he begins an account-
tag of his actual experiences in
training camp he Issues his quota
of free advice to prospective in*
! ductees. After his induction Har-
grove, with his new buddies, leaves
] for Fort Bragg, where he is to re-
ceive his basic training.
! CHAPTER II—Private Hargrove
tells of the physical exam, the first
few days of army, how he was out*
I fitted with his uniform, and how on
l the sixth day he received his first
t KP duty. He is classified as a semi-
. ■killed cook.
CHAPTER III—Hargrove relates
his conversation with his sergeant
• who is trying to find out why he f
i spends so much time on KP duty. (
j He also reports on the session the
trainees are put through by the ex-
! ercise sergeant. He has trouble
learning how to handle his rifle and
Is given plenty of special attention
by the sergeant and corporal.
CHAPTER IV—Private Hargrove
relates seme of the incidents sur-
rounding the advancement in rank
by some of his friends. Why he
fails to so advance is a puzzle to
his sergeant, who inquires about it.
CHAPTER V—Hargrove is given
■ review of his faults by his ser-
geant who tells him to snap out of
it and start working for his cor-
poral's stripes. He also gets a les-
son in the art of goldbricking.
CHAPTER VI—Private Hargrove
lists a series of army slang defini-
tions for the enlightenment of the
civilian population. He also tells
how he and two of his pals spoil a
perfectly good date for one Private
Zuber. Going home on furlough he
goes to visit a newspaperman friend
who dominates their conversation
recounting his experiences in the
first World War He also under-
goes another trying experience at
inspection.
CHAPTER VII—Private Hargrove
continues to relate the incidents sur-
rounding his camp life and tells
about being outfitted for an over-
coat. A week-end is spent on man-
euvers on the South Carolina c ast.
He get* a good case of sunburn.
CHAPTER VIII—Hargrove gets
his first taste of army cooking
school reports on his daily activi-
ties there He tells also about the
real meaning of army morale and
how it affects new inductees.
CHAPTER IX—How the evening
bull sessions progress and how much
the soldiers enjoy them are the sub-
ject of Private Hargrove's next re-
port. He learns he has been re-
classified to do public relatif.ns work
on the camp paper.
CHAPTER X—Ti.e old gang,
formed ,n the first days of training,
begins to break up and Hargrove
tells about a going away" party
for some of them. He releases a
supplement to his dictionary of army
Slang. " ^
CHAPTER XI—Hargrove gels nis
first ten-day furlough and heads for
New York. He meets one of his
friends from camp and duly im-
presses him by buying him a lunch
at an exclusive hotel. Back at camp,
he goes on KP duty lor Thanksgiv-
ing Day.
CHAPTER XII—Hargrove and his
buddies proceed to give Mess Ser-
geant Orville D. Pope a quick treat-
ment in tongue lashing with the
hope that it might improve the qual-
ity of his food and service. The
sergeant is unimpressed by such
bickering and expels them from his
mess hall. Private Hargrove also
encounters payroll trouble and
traces down the difficulty and is
rewarded with $10 GO. Winter comes
to Fort Bragg and with it the incli-
nation of its residents to remain in
bed of a morning proves a problem
for the non-commissioned officers.
On a trip into town, Hargrove en-
counters a bus driver who has
served a short army career and who
stretches the truth a bit in relating
his experiences.
CHAPTER XIII - Private Har-
grove subdues the expansive bus
driver and deflates with a neatly
turned phrase. Back at camp he
manages to stast a fire in his office
wastebasket and throws the rest of
the public relations staff into an up-
roar. Hargrove is put on the pan
by his first sergeant for his failure
to attend a series of lectures.
CHAPTER XIV—Hargrove’s plea
that his newspaper duties keep him
too busy to attend the lecture se-
ries meets with little sympathy from
his sergeant who assigns him to an-
other stretch at KP for this infrac-
tion. Hargrove is trying to get a
furlough and If granted he needs
money for expenses Hargrove gets
the furlough, takes the Redhead out
to dinner and encounters difficulty
getting fhe waiter to serve her a
glass of water. «
CHAPTER XV—Private Hargrove
reports on the reaction the boys at
Fort Bragg had on the day of Pearl
Harbor He tells of the sudden tran-
sition from rookies mto hardened,
battle-ready soldiers. His final story
concerns the spirit of the troops as
they complete their basic training
did leave the Replacement Center
for their permanent army post.
CHAPTER II
A soldier vL • h:» bead through
the door of o r n>w dormitory and
gave a shun whistle "Nine
o’clock!” Ik- v 'I ' 'Lights out and
no more no’M 1 < m « •'
"It has b -n " ' 1 <• very bury
day." I A to P ■ I. v. O wns hur-
•< d v.- th h « r if 'he next
b’r k
"It sure w. ul 1.S. i e cu d
"Wtut o da? ’ ' '* • r a
i f, ' y/.'h n \ , • . » ,•’«* open I'm
dreaming'
' I 's b<*n o h"'1:1'! out to-
ner. I n> re 1 a!tUoUi.ii 11 ' ould
have beenW i* n V/e actually saw
a corporal erd he dicin t cuss us.
We have ea ri Army food twice,
and, except for the haphazard way
the pineapple was thrown toward
the peas, it wasn't horrifying."
"I am broken ar.d bleeding.”
moaned Piel. "Classification tests,
typing tests, metical examinations.
I think I walked eighteen miles
through those medical examina-
tions. It’s a good thing this is July.
I would have frozen in my treks
with all that walking and exposure.
Nothing I had on, except a thin
little iodine number on my chest."
“Funny thing about the medical
examination," a voice broke in from
down the line. "Before you get it.
The old sergeant, his face beam-
ing sweetly, purred, “You are now
members of the Army of the United
States. Now, damn it. shut up.”
you’re afraid you'll pass. When you
go through the examinations, you’re
afraid you won't
"I noticed that." I said. “I don't
have any special hankering for a
soldier's life, hut I thought when I
was going through the hoops this
morning that this would be a helluva
time for them to hack out.”
"The little fellow who slept down
at the end got sent back," said a
loud whisper, from across the room
"One of his legs was shorter than
the other He's a lueky dog."
I'll bet he doesn’t think so," sou
Piel. "At this stage of the game,
I'm glad it was him instead of me
A dark form showed itself in the
doorway. "I told you guys to shad
dap and go to sleep Do it!"
A respectful silence filled the room
for three minutes.
“Look at me," said Piel. "Won’t
the folks in Atlanta be proud when
they get my le tter' Me, Melvin Piel,
I'm a perfect physical specimen.”
B'g Jim Hart, the football star
w' --m J had known in high school,
spoke , ' Don’t go Hollywood
about it, Pic! • ust remember, Har-
grove's a perfe specimen too And
just two weeks ago, when we were
waiting out in front of the armory
for the draft be rel examiners to get
there, he had o~o foot in the grave.”
"And the other fool?"
the .one he keeps in his
mouth.
"Yessir,” said Piel, "the Army
makes men."
The disc... . ion was interrupted by
the reappearance of the soldier. "It
youse hlankely-blanked little dash-
dashes don’t shut your cuss-cuss
yaps and get the blankety-blank tc
sleep. I’m gonna come back up here
and make yez scrub the whole
hlankety blanked d.uh-dash cuss
cuss floor with a 1 ’arikety-blanl
toothbrush. Now s!iaelr!ap!" *
So we quietly went t a sleep.
This morning we tenk the Oath
One of the boys was tc ling me latei
that when his brother was inducted
in Alabama, there was a tough old
sergeant who was having an awful
time keeping the men quiet. "Gen
t lemon,” he would beseech them
"Quirt, please!" They wi re quiet
during the administration of the
Oath, after which they hurst forth
again.
The old sergeant, his face beam
ing sweetly, purred: "You are now
members of the Armv of the United
States. Now, damn it, SHUT UP."
- *a-
This morning—our first morning
in the Recruit Reception Center—
began when we finished breakfast
and started cleaning up our squad
room. A gray-haired, fatherly olei
private, who swore that he had been
demoted from master sergeant four
times, lined us up in front of the
barracks and took us to the dis
pensary.
If the line in front of the mess hall
dwindled ns rapidly ns the one at
the dispensary, l.fe would have love
liness to sell above its private con-
sumption stock. First you’re fifteen
feet from the door, then (whiff)
you’re inside Then you’re stand-
ing between two orderlies and the
show is on.
The one on n;y left scratched rm
arm and applied the smallpox virus
The only thing that kept me from
keeling over was the hypodermic
needle loaded w’\h typhoid germa
which propped up m.v'right arm
From the d s u t snry we went to
a huge ward ' «c of a building by
the railroad tracks The place
■ i i Ike Goldc nberg ’a Basement
in a busy day A s.rre of fitters
r>« cured rcc’-s, waists, ir,seams.
I'eaos. ar.d feet. ,
My v!ve ‘;e, t!.e clerk yelled
■I ;i tu; iir;'• was ten and n half
"I t>g ur pard'n," I prompted,
I win a n;:e nine.”
"Ik rji\o me." he fsaid, a trifle
we; ry, "t'.e expression is ’I wore
a s' e nine.’ These shoes are to walk
in. nut to make you look like Cin-
derella. You say size nine; your
foot says ten and a half.”
We filed down a long counter,
picking up our allotted khaki and
denims, barrack bags and raincoats,
mess kits and tent halves. Then we
were led into a large room, where
we laid aside the vestments of civil
life and donned our new garments.
While I stood there, wondering
what I was supposed to do next,
an attendant caught me from the
rear and strapped to my shoulders
what felt like the Old Man of the
Mountain after forty days.
".Stra'ghtcn up, soldier,” the at-
t< dart said, "and git off the floor
That’s nothing but a full field pack,
such as you will tote many nvlor
before you leave th s man’s arnH'-
Now I want you to walk over to
'hat ramp ar. ! over it. That's just to
ce if your shoes are comfortable."
“W.th these Oregon bonis and this
rden of misery,” 1 told him firm-
y, "I couldn't even walk over to
he thing. As for clitrb'ng over it,
not even an alpenstock, a burro
train, and two St. Bernard dogs
complete with brandy could get me
over it."
There was something in his quiet,
sti aciy answer.ng glance that re-
assured me I went over the ramp
in short order On the double, I
think the Army calls it
Ere m there we went to the thea-
ter, where we were given intelli-
gence tests, ar.d to the classifica-
tion office, where we were inter-
viewed by patient and considerate
corporals.
"And what did you do in civil
life?" my corporal asked me.
“J was feature editor of the Char-
lotte News.”
"And just what sort of work did
you do, Private Hargrove? Just give
me a hrief idea."
Sewn minutes later, I had fin-
ished answering that question.
"Let's just put down here, ‘Edi-
torial worker.’ ” He sighed compas-
sionately. "And what did you do
before all that?"
I told him. I brought in the pub-
licity work, the soda-jerking, the
theater ushei ing, and the printer's
deviling.
"Private Hargrove," he said, "the
army is just what you have needed
“Straighten up, seldler, and git oft
the floor. That's nothing but a full
field pack,"
to ease tlie burdens of your exist
cnee. Look rio farther, Private Har-
grove, you have found a ho < .”
This was n Ir.vc’y morning. We
began at daybreak and dev ted all
the time until noon to enjoying the
beauties of nature. We had a drill
sergeant to point them out to us.
We marched a full twenty miles
without leaving the dr . field.
Lunch, needless to say, was deli-
cious.
We fell into bed, after lunch, de-
termined to spend the afternoon in
dreamland. Two minutes later, that
infernal whistle blew. Melvin Piel,
guardhouse lawyer for Conn any A.
explained it all on the way down-
stairs. We were going to he as
signed to our permanent stations.
1 fell in and a corporal led us off
down the street. I rould feel the
California palm trees fanning my
face. We stopped at Barracks 17
and the corporal led us in ip.
"Do we go to California, cor-
poral?” I asked.
"Naah,” he said.
"Where do wc go?” I asked him,
a little disappointed.
"To the garbage rack,” he said.
"Double quick.” He thumbed John-
ny Lisk and tne to the back of the
barracks.
At the garbage rack we found
three extremely fragrant garbage
cans. Outside, we found more Lisk
and I, citizcn-soldicrs, stared at
them. The ovcrcheerful private to
whom we were assigned told us,
"When you finish cleaning those, I
want to be able to see my face in
them!"
"There's ret accounting for
tastes." Lisk whispered. Neverthe-
less, we cleared them and polished
them and left t! rm spick and span.
"Now take 'em outside and paint
em," said the private. "White. Git
the black paint and point HQCO-
RRC’ on both sides of .ill of them!”
"This is summer," 1 suggested.
"Wouldn't ’something pastel look
better?"
The sun was affecting the private.
"I think you're right." he said. So
wc painted them cr< am and lettered
them in brilliant prang:
AH afternoon, in a hl.Merirg sun.
w . e «. a: r The other
Charlotte boys waved to us as they
parsed on their way to the ball
park. Happy voices floated to us
frotn the post exchange. The sup-
per hour neared.
The rtrnv.-bcss private woke up,
yawned and went away, telling us
what would happen if we did like-
wise. II? returned soon in a truck.
He motioned peremptorily to us and
we loaded the cans into the truck.
Away we went to headquarers com-
pany—ar.d painted more garbage
cans. It was definitely suppertime
by now.
‘‘Now can v.e go home, Private
Dooley, sir?” asked Lisk. I looked
at Lisk every time the blindness
left me, and I could see the boy
was tired.
The private sighed wearily. "Git
in the truck,” he said. Away we
went back to our street. We stopped
in front of our barracks and Pri-
vate Dooley dismounted. “The
truck driver,” he said, “would ap-
preciate it if you boys would go and
help him wash the truck.”
We sat in the back of the truck
and watched the mess hall fade
away behind us. Two, three, four
miles we left it behind us. We had
to wait ten minutes before we could
get the wash-pit. It took us fifteen
minutes to wash the truck. By the
time v.e got back to the mess hall,
we were too tired to eat. But we
ate.
On the way to our barracks we
met Ynrdbird Fred McPhail, neat
and cool, on his way to the recrea-
tion hall. “Good news, soldiers,”
said Yardbird McPhail. "We don’t
have to drill tomorrow.”
We halted and sighed blissfully.
"No, sir,” said McPhail. “They
can’t lay a hand on us from sunup
until sundown. The whole barracks
is on kitchen duty all day."
-Ha-
lt was through no fault of mine
that I was n kitchen policeman on
my s.xlh day. The whole barracks
got the grmd. And it was duty, not
punishment.
It was all very simple, this KP
business. All you have to do is to
get up an hour earlier, serve the
food, rr.d keep the mess hall clean.
After we served breakfast, I found
a very easy job in the dining hall,
where life is much pinker than it is
in the kitchen. A quartet was
formed and we were singing "Home
on the Range.” A corporal passed
by just as I hit a sour note. He put
the broom into my left hand, the
mop into my right . . .
There was a citizen-soldier from
Kannapolis to help me clean the
cooks' barracks. For a time it was
awful. We tried to concentrate on
the floor while a news broadcastn
almost tore up the radio trying b
decide whether we were to be in
the Army ten years or twenty.
V.'e finished the job in an extreme
Iv short time to impress the cc
poral. This, we found later, is ;
serious tactical blunder and a d'
creel t to the t lines of gold hi ck
irg. The sooner you finish a j< b the
sooner you start in on the next
The corporal liked our wc>rk, ur
fortunate iy. Kannapolis was a’b ver!
to sort garbage and I was promote:
to the pot-ard-prn p dishing r it;. •.
I was Thernos Kokenes’ assistant.
He w ashed and I dried. Late r v..
formed a goldbricking entente Wt
end made r - - <1 Wil
sen dry.
Pollyanna the glad girl wouiei I ave
found something silver-lined sb* ut
the hot sink. Sc, did I. "At least,'
I told Kokenes, "this will give me
back a chance to recover from that
mop.”
When I srfhd “mop," the mess ser-
geant handed me one He wanted
to be able to see his face- in the
kitchen floor. After lunch he want
ed the back porch polished.
We left the Reception Center mess
hall a better place to eat in, at
AMERICAN HEROES
BY LEFF
After being blown through ■ window by ■ burning thell and
•tunned by ■ 14-foot fall during the bombardment of Sand Inland,
Marine Staff Sergeant Dale Lester Peters of Breckenridge, Michigan,
struggled to remove large aerial bombs from nearby burning hangars.
He h*» been awarded the Navy Cross for exceptionally meritorious
service and disregard of his own safety during this action. What
hardships are you willing to disregard to invret in Payroll Savings?
U. S. 1 reasury Utpat hnent
$1,000 Club
(Continued from Page One.)
Bros. & company. Geo. M Watkins.
(Itray (Fowler. D. P. Smith, W. E.
Lehrer, John L. Watkins, A. J. Fra-
zier, H. G. Wallace. A. Ricketson, J.
C. Cone, Jr., Alfred Hlerschwale,
! Mrs. Edna J Moore Seaholm, J F.
Cage, Dr. R. L. Shepperd. Pat Mar-
schall, L. O. Hillman and Roy Wil-
loughby.
"We have only started on this
list," Mr. Buttery stated, "by the end
of the week we expect to Increase
It materially and before the end of
the drive »> want to double it.”
— •— !•»•** rl lltirlM-r — —
FOUND: 1943 Llano class rtn;; i'i-
ltlnls E. B K. Owner may have ring
by paying for this ad and notifying J
P. O. box 724 or call 161 at Lampasas
— *- ><*’»**• I!' »-r "
Make up your 20% withholding tax j
in a few hours each week calling on
Watkins customers; earn $25 to $35
a week extra calling on customers !
in your spare time. Write the J R. |
Watkins Co.. 70-88 W. Iowa Ave , j
Memphis. Tenn. 43-2t-p j
Kicineys Must
Work Well-
For You To Feel Well
24 hour* every, day, 7 days every
H« k, never stoppini;, the kidneya filter
waste matter frotn the blood.
If more people were aware of how tbii
kidneys must constantly remove *ur-
plua nuH. cxcev* a< »da and other w&ate
matter that cannot a ay in the blood
without Injury to hra'ih, there would
be better understanding of vhy the
whole ayatem ia upset when kidneys fail
to fur., i B pf ' rly-
Burning, scanty or too frequent urina-
tion sometimes warns that ac.netbins
ia wrong. You may suffer nagging back-
ache, headaches, dizrineaa, rfc uruatie
paint, getting up at nighta, awe.ling.
Why not try Doan't You will
be using a midicine recoin mended the
country over. Doan’t stimulate the func-
tion of the kidney* and help them to
flush out poiaonoua waste from the
blood. They contain nothing harmful.
Get /Iran's today, l.’ae with confidence.
At all drug etoree.
Doan spills
Acid Indigestion
Relieved in 5 minute* or
double your money beck
When eireaa itotnarli and causes i-ainful auffwat-
tr»g gas. sour atnmacti and heartburn d>*-u ri uxuaJIf
uresrrlh* th* f■•(#«!-arting feedMnes knoern fnr
aymptomatIr relief me llrtnea life* those in Be!)-ana
Tableta No laiatt** Bell am brtnga or,rnfort In a
Jiffy or double ynur money I a k on return of bottle
to ui. ttc at all druggUti
♦—
Laughing Around the World
With IRVIN s. COBB
Pretty Polly
By IRVIN S. COBB
TT WILL be recalled that it was necessary for the Wright brothers
to go abroad to receive proper rteognition for their fist aero-
nautic inventions. The French government welcomed them and gave
them proper opportunity to demonstrate that they had progressed far
“When you finish cleaning those
cans, I want to be able to see my
face iu them.”
any ri '(* E 1 KP is I'ke a woman’s
work—neve* really done. Conrad
Wilson rr.niked one caldron and at
the end of 1 \e day we found that wt
had washed it twcnty-tv.o times.
Jack Mulligan helped me up the
lost ten steps to the sejuadroom. I
finally got to the side of n > bunk
"Gentlemen,” I said to the prour
which gathered around t stoop nit
off the floor, "I don't ever v ,t t<
see another kitchen!”
The next morning we were elas
sifled and assigned t" the Field Ar
tillery Replacement Center Gent
Shumate and I were classified as
cooks. 1 am a semi-skilled cook
they say, although the only egg I
ever tried to fry was later used as
a tire patch. The other cooks in
elude postal clerks, tractor sales
men. railroad engineers, raveters.
brickie.\ers. anti one blacksmith
But we’ll learn Already I've
learned to mak teds, sweep, mop,
wr>»h window nn.it sew a fine seam
When Co'-cre : It !s me go ! nme. will
I make ne vt i ,t .1 wife'
tTU (IE CON nKl'ED)
beyond any others in developing a heavier-than-air flying machine; but
as a group, the French aeronauts were disposed to show jealousy for the
two Yankees.
Nevertheless, following the successful proof by them of their ability
actually to fly, and, what was more important, to guide their machine
along a given course, a banquet at Paris was arranged in their honor.
Naturally, there was a deal of speech-making. The chief orator was
a distinguished Frenchman wha devoted the most of his remarks to
claiming that France had led the world in the new field of endeavor—
or so he insisted—and to proclaiming that future developments ever
would find Frenchmen at the forefront. Curiously enough, he had very
little to say in compliment of the two chief guests of honor.
Wilbur Wright was next called upon by the toastmaster. Slowly
he rose to his feet.
“I am no hand at public speaking,” he said, “and on this occasion
must content myself with a few words of thanks to the company for
its entertainment of myself and my brother. As I sat here listening to
the speakers who have preceded me I have heard comparisons made
to the eagle, to the swallow and to the hawk as typifying skill and speed
in the mastery of the air; but somehow or other, I could not keep from
thinking of the bird, which, of all the ornithological kingdom, is the
poorest flier and the best talker. I refer to the parrot ”
And he sat down amid tremendous applause from the Americans
present.
(American New* Fcataraa, lac.)
From where I sit____
♦
♦
/>y Joe Marsh
Sam Abernethy’s the Chief
Rumor-Spiker in our town.
If a stranger gets off some-
thing like-‘T hear they’ve sunk
the S. S. Bumblebee,” Sam starts
pinning him clown. Did he really
see it? Where’s the evidence?
Because Sam knows, like the
rest of us, that nine-tenths of the
“inside news” passed around by
careless folk isn’t, rumor-it's lies
planted by the Axis to destroy
American morale.
Take those rumora about
drinking In onr Army Cumpa.
Actual, official facts from the
government’s own Office of War
Information showed there
wasn’t a shred of truth in ’em. ^
The boys enjoy a glass of beer
occasionally-same as a lot of
us do!
And from where I sit, they’re
proving themselves the health- m
lest, best-disciplined bunch of ®
fighting men in history, like the
OWI report stated. That’s good
enough for me.
^oe OKaAJ^
No. 07 of a Series
Copyright, IV4J, lirtwing ln<iti«ry Foundation
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Collins, Will. The Llano News. (Llano, Tex.), Vol. 55, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 16, 1943, newspaper, September 16, 1943; Llano, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth817746/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Llano County Public Library.