Yeah,
it seems weeks since last goodbyes were said and I started on what will
undoubtedly be the greatest adventure of my lifetime. I was a week to the
hour almost managing a departure for the pacific from Arizona processing
in san Francisco and at Hamilton's field, which I mentioned to you in a
special broadcast recently was simple compared to the complications
involved in securing passage. Once the last signatures were added to vital
documents, there began a tedious period of waiting for transportation. I
remained in san Francisco during the first part of this period. It was
handier in a lot of ways and then two. I must confess that I was eager to
maintain contact with the things of home as long as humanly possible.
Following my first alert, I left the city on scarcely two hours notice. I
was as excited as a boy with a new air gun and last I was away for the
orient and the war in the pacific you can imagine how disappointed I was
to arrive at the Hamiltons field poor control office and learned that the
flight for which I had been called had been canceled, hoping that another
would be set up in a matter of hours. Being very anxious to lose no time
in reporting for it. I decided to remain at the field. It was an
experience I'll never forget because it was my first introduction to the
daily life of an army post. To me, it seemed quite rugged, but I learned
from the many with whom I talked at Hamilton's Field was a country club
existence in comparison with Regulation Army life sitting in the club
provided for the visiting officer personnel. One evening I found two young
infantry lieutenants reading the latest issues of time and fortune
character of the magazines and the makeup of the boys prompted me to open
a conversation with them. As the opportunity came around, they were
California boys, graduates of the University of California, they had
finished their training at camp roberts and we're leaving immediately for
the pacific as officer replacement. After the usual small talk, one of
them challenged me with this question, What do you think about compulsory
military training after the war? I told him why I thought it might be an
excellent idea and from there the discussion was underway for a time. It
was just the three of us, so to speak. And then a third and the fourth
were added for 1/4 and 1/5 I should say
Two of the deliberate ear's produced three in favor of the idea and one
decidedly opposed. And as a final argument in the direction of the
opposition, I said, what about the results of ROTC and National Guard
training? Have you found it an advantage to those whom you have been
responsible for training? This boy who had been objecting, came back with
the generalization that he had never been particularly impressed with the
class of reaction received from the average ROTC National Guard trainee.
His words had hardly had time to echo through the room and they were
softly challenged by a big raw bone first Lieutenant who's worked with
these, sir. If it hadn't been for the National Guard trained men who
joined us in the pacific in the very beginning of the fight, we might
still be at Port Moresby. And then he apologized for butting into the
conversation, but insisted that having overheard the lieutenant's
reference to the Guard, he couldn't resist coming to their defense. He
explained that he had just completed about 40 months of combat in the
Pacific, and he felt that he was more or less qualified to know what the
guard trained units had accomplished, where others had not only been
slower. but in many cases it actually failed. I asked if he had had any
contact with Arizona's 158th Infantry, and he quickly replied, they're one
of the best, And he went on to say that his outfit had supported the 158
in a number of tough actions and not once did the 158 show any weakness
whatsoever. I felt very proud. As I remember general to till and the men
who in peacetime days had given of their time and energy to make the 158
something worthy of the pride of every Arizona, needless to say the
remainder of the conversation that evening at Hamilton's was given over to
the experiences of this return combat veteran withdrawing a little from
the conversation, I was given a wonderful opportunity to watch the untried
with whom I had been talking, reach for the AIDS and helps that we're
willingly passed along by this man of many battles. I had the feeling that
the lives of these young officers and the men whom they would soon be
commanding were much safer for their having met this friendly young man
whose words proved over and over that he had been there, that he knew what
it took to survive against the cunning japanese. I have a feeling to that
everyone present that evening left the circle pretty well convinced that
compulsory military training after the war has more good points than bad
ones, although it must be admitted that the bad ones are generally very
bad and must not be overlooked in our planning for the future. There were
many highlights in my short stay at Hamilton Field as headquarters for the
famous Air transport Command. The traffic through the place alone is
enough to intrigue even the Dallas visitor By the hour, great C54
transports move on and off the field as though they were coming and going
from Los Angeles or Seattle Instead. The cargo, the passengers and the
supplies alike which they load and unload are destined for some of the
remotest places on earth or have just arrived from them. The atmosphere of
the place during these hectic days is a strange combination of excited
anticipation and obvious melancholy. Men and women from all parts of the
United States are being funneled to Hamilton's field for the earliest
possible too departure for the pacific front replacement they are offering
for men who have already served out their time and are entitled to return
to home. Most of them haven't seen for more than three years. So at
Hamilton's, you see the returnee who realizes that the war is behind him
home and loved ones are waiting for him and his spirits are high. And then
there is the soldier who looks westward with a lot of reluctance. Not that
he isn't eager to do his part, but because he knows that his tomorrow's
will be packed with danger and possible death behind him is lee he's
leaving the dearest things in the world for how long he has no way to tell
for the veteran. You feel the urge to welcome him home with the heartiest
kind of congratulations. The outgoing combat man. You wish for something
that would make they're going a little easier and their return more of a
certainty. The latter is hard to find. In fact, almost impossible.
Tragically enough. There are too many times when the folks at home don't
make it too easy. In a way they aren't to be blamed in another way from
some source, they should force themselves to command the situation with
cheerfulness
and hope. These things being based on prayers sincerely and earnestly
uttered should be remembered. that soldiers are human beings, they aren't
made of steel, though their training may have toughened them almost beyond
belief. I'm thinking of that combat veteran of whom I spoke a few minutes
ago as he talked to us of his life and death experiences in the wilds of
the pacific. He was waiting for a long distance call to be completed. His
wife several times the telephone rang and he dashed to it as though it was
the last thing he ever expected to hear. Finally one of the rings was for
him. Shortly he returned to our circle with a very queer look on his face
. I waited for an opportune moment to inquire if he had completed his call.
Yes, he said. And you know what she said when I told her who it was, The
best she could do was oh, you're back again. No enthusiasm. No, sure
feeling just oh, you're back again. Well, I did my best to convince him
that 40 months had probably given her a feeling of numbness that he
couldn't expect her to overcome in an instant. He agreed. But just the
same 40 months hadn't made him feel that way. So he couldn't help but be
disappointed that she hadn't shown more relation over hearing from him.
Friends. We have a notion that the war has altered our boy. I'm not so
sure that they are the ones who have changed true months of isolation from
the finer things of life, A touch of gentle hands and daily contact with
the mutually interesting items of living tends to produce an awkwardness,
but that awkwardness is not necessarily permanent when the ones you love
come home, don't look at them as strangers unless you want them to be
strangers. Show them your most understanding qualities and as subtly as
possible. Everything else will follow into your core. It may take weeks or
even months for everyone to feel natural again, but it will come with
cultivation if that cultivation is honest and sincere and earning.
Remember, the greatest piece to come is not the one brought about across
the table by opposing military commander, but the one that you and some
boy who has been to the wars can call out of hearts and minds that want
things to be the same again. When your turn comes, be worthy of all he has
done to deserve the p of a happy return to the things of home and now fred
Macpherson.
Mhm.
Yeah.