Gx-CB IRounJup--C1(I'llA-1\U'RCDA-I'J'l'DIA --

JUNE1963

BIRDSEYE VIEW of downtown Calcutta. How many buildings can you recognize from thisangle? Photo by Wm. S. Johnson.

2 Ex.eBI ROUNDUP

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Ex-CBI Roundup

Burma and India• Was with the 42 P.S.H.in Burma as an E.M. andwith the 371 Station Hosp.in India as an officer. Keepup the good work; you havea splendid magazine.

J. E. PIETRUSINSKI,Chicago, Ill.

7th Bomb Reunion• Recently had a nicechat with our former GroupCommander, C. F. "Nick"Necrason, now Maj. GeneI"al and CG of the 28th AirDivision at Hamilton AFB,near San F l' a n cis c o.Brought him up to date onthe plans for the forthcom.ing 7th Bomb Reunion nextyear at Salt Lake City, inwhich he expressed muchinterest. He assures me thathe "definitely plans to bethere," with SLC beingclose to one of his bases inthe Air Defense Command.Hope to see many former7th Bombers at the Re-union.

June, 1963

Laurens. Iowa

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Vol. 17, NO.6

Ex-CBI ROUNDUP, established 1946,is a reminiscing magazinepublished monthly except AUGUST and SEPTEMBER at 117South Third Street. Laurens, Iowa, by and for former membersof U. S. Units stationed in the China-Burma-India Theater dur-ing World War II. Ex-eBI Roundup is the official publicationof the Chlna-Burma-India Veterans Association.

Neil L. Maurer . . . Editor

----CONTRIBUTING STAFF-----Clarence R. Gordon _ __.__.. ..._.. ._.. .. .._. . Associate EditorJohn Felts _. _ __ _._.. . . . . Photo Editor

$3.00 per Year$5.50 Two Years

P. O. Box 125

letter FROM The Editor LARRY HEUSER,San Francisco, Calif.

• Cover picture shows 52nd Pack Troops of the MarsTask Force on trail, moving to positions near BurmaRoad. U.S. Army Signal Corps photo from John O.Aalberg.• We appreciate the publicity given to Ex-CBIRoundup by various basha publications and organiza-tion news bulletins, several of which have been mostgenerous in praise of the magazine. Thanks very muchfor your assistance and cooperation!• Reunion time is almost here again, and from allreports this Milwaukee reunion is going to be adandy! The gang at Milwaukee is going "all out" tomake 1963 a year to remember. Better get your reser.vations in right away, and plan to be there whenreunion activities get under way. Be sure to bringthe family.• There are several reasons we could give for latearrival of your June issue, all of them true but mostof them having to do with matters of production thatare of no interest to you, the subscriber. Perhaps youwill understand, however, if we explain that the editorand his wife were off to Michigan for a few days tosee a new granddaughter ... the first grandchild,incidentally!• Moving? Then be sure to send us your new address,so next issue of Roundup will reach you promptly.

VICE CONSUL Craig Carter incompound of the AmericanConsulate at Kunming, China,in 1945. Photo by Ben F. Bran.non.

JUNE,1963 3

To The Editors _

CARGO unloaded from a plane at Chabua by native helpersis checked by men of the 3722nd QM Truck Company. U.S.Army Signal Corps Photo from Carl R. DeCesare.

INTERIOR of Hump Haven, the Red Cross recreation hall atInfantry Training Center near Kunming, China. Photo byNaomi J. Kenward.

Airand

1333ATC

1333 Air Base• Am. formerBase "Bash a""Humper."

MICHAEL M. ANTOFF,Helena, Mont.

Arthur, then in the China-Burma-India Theater withGeneral Stilwell, and laterreturned to the UnitedStates to layout air trans.portation routes across theSouth Atlantic for GeneralMarshall. He was chairmanof the board of Transcon-tinental-Western Air Lines,now Transworld Airlines,from 1937 to 1947; and wasa member of the Kansaslegislature from 1947 to1949. In 1950 he was adeputy in the Federal Gen-eral Services Administra-tion, and from 1952 to 1955\vas defense procurementofficer in London. For twoyears he served as a deputyunder-secretary of com-merce for transportation. Anative of Williamstown,Kan., General Wilson at.tended Kemper MilitarySchool and Wesleyan Col-lege in Iowa. He is survivedby his wife and two sons.

RAY KIRKPATRICK,San Francisco, Calif.

Thomas Bayne Wilson• An article in the May8 issue of the San FranciscoExaminer told of the deathof Brig. Gen. Thomas BayneWilson, 70, a leading trans-porta tion expert, at hisCarmel Valley home. Dur-ing World War II he organ-ized transportation opera.tions in the SouthwestPacific under General Mac-

CORDELIA SHUTE,Philadelphia, Pa.

Philadelphia Events• A bid and buy auctionwas an exciting evening forthe DVB in April. Thru theefforts of John Travia andhis hard working commit-tee, many worthwhile itemswere collected for the event,and it was a pleasant sur-prise to those who attend-ed to find that, if they werelucky, for the small sum of5c to 35c they could becomethe owners of an electricdrill, movie tickets, appli-ances, jewelry, food bas-kets, liquid refreshments,dinners in exclusive restau-rants, etc. Proceeds went toour Friendship Fund. Thefriendly atmosphere, goodentertainment and deli-cious food at the VenusLounge made the Maymeeting a successful one;much socializing was donewith the main topic beingplans to attend the Mil-waukee reunion. A solemnmood prevailed as Com-mander Cordelia Shute ledthe D.V.B. members in aMe m 0 ria I Day Paradewhich consisted of manylocal veterans organizationsas well as participation byv a rio u s Armed For c e sgroups.

4 EX.CBI ROUNDUP

-----------------------_~To The Editors

RECREATION TIME at the Catholic Mission at Tezpur,Assam, India. Photo by Father F. Mellino, S.D.B.

FERRY across river at Hot Springs, China near Kunming.Note rope by which the boat is pulled by' hand. Photo byNaomi J. Kenward.

in and out of state. Pro.gram for the weekend in.eluded a caravan and tourof the Air Force Museumat Wright. Patterson AFB onSaturday and Sunday after.noons. Cocktails dinnerdancing, and fl~or sho~f':aturing the Four Aces atf,cttmillers Restaurant Sat.u':day evening. All five()hio bashas were repre.!;ented and witnessed thepresentation of the MiamiValley Basha's charter byNational Com man de rEugene Brauer. CommanderF. Wayne Dooley acceptedfor the group. Miami ValleyBasha member CharlesRauch and Mahoning Val.ley Basha member GeorgeTabak rekindled their CBIfriendship of 18 years ago.Interested ex.CBIers in theWest. Central Ohio area areinvited to contact SahibsDooley or Clager in Dayton.

HOWARD CLAGER,Dayton, Ohio

Ohio CBI Meeting• Miami Valley Bashamembers enjoyed playinghost recently in Dayton tofellow CBI vets and fam.ilies from all over Ohio, aswell as several guests from

Tribute to Stacy• At an event to takeplace in the near future,the memory of our late be.loved comrade CharlesStacy will be honored.Chuck entered into eternalrest while loyally servingthe Toledo Basha as com.mander. The present Toledocommander, Al Wilhelm,and National Jr. Vice Com.mander.North Howard CIa.ger have been cooperatingwith the CBIVA YouthGroup in working out whatthey believe to be a fittingtribute. James G. Raddeand David L. Hoffman willbe presented honorary lifemembership cards, free ofany dues now and if theyare ever decided upon inthe future, in the YouthGroup. These young menwill be remembered as thefine fellows who accom.panied Chuck all over theU.S. to national reunions, tomany Ohio Dept. affairs,and their basha activities.Always rather quiet, butwith a ready smile, theywillingly helped when cal.led upon to do so. This cere.mony honoring Chuck andhis nephews will take placeat a meeting of the ToledoBasha which will be heldsometime before the 1963National Reunion.

HOWARD CLAGER,Dayton, Ohio

JUNE, 1963 5

Red Carpet Is Ready in Milwaukee

Biggest Reunion of Them All!

Wednesday, July 3112 Noon Advance Registration.8:30 p.m. Milwaukee Basha HospitalityHouse-"Revisit Old India"

ing talks and committee appointments,guests will be transported to the SchlitzCountry Club where the past comman.ders banquet is to be staged. Breweryand dairy tours will follow. Along aboutdinner hour, buses will take reunioniststo the beautiful dining rooms of theAllen-Bradley Co. where they will feaston tender, juicy fillets. Following thissumptuous repast there will be enter.tainment by the nationally recognizedAB orchestra and chorus. Dancing willfollow and, of course, there will be liquidrefreshments to satisfy your thirst.

Following Friday morning's businessmeeting there will be movies of lastyear's reunion shown by George Bakerof the Delaware Valley Basha. At noon.time the men will adjourn to one of twobreweries for a tour and a mug of sudsor two, or three, or more. While the menare on their own, the gals will havelunch at the beautiful Top of the Marine.

No reunion would be complete withouta parade and the Puja Parade will windits way down Wisconsin Avenue from the5th street entrance of the Hotel Schroederto the Memorial Center on the lake front.Here reunionists will, again be fed inthe main auditorium of the modernisticstructure that is an artistic masterpieceas well as the national headquarters ofCBIVA. Following dinner, guests will reoturn to the Schroeder for the annual PujaBall.

Saturday morning means politickingand election of new national officers.Immediately thereafter buses will takereunion visitors to Croation park for aspanferkel luncheon of pork, lamb andchicken. A simple, but meaningfulmemorial service will follow at the WarMemorial Center. The reunion will cometo a climax with the Commanders ban.quet and ball.

Naturally there will be sidelight at.tractions, the major of these being hos.pitality house visiting. No reunion wouldbe complete without these nocturnaltours during which one basha tries tooutdo the other.

John R. Armstrong, the MilwaukeeBasha commander, extends an invitationto every CEl veteran to participate inthese festivities, even if you are not cur.rently a CElVA member.

Following is the complete reunion pro.gram:

WAR MEMORIAL Center at Milwaukee-erected to honor the dead and serve the living.Here is located the CBIVA National Head.quarters office. Memorial services will' be con.ducted in its courtyard with its reflectingpool bordered by the marble inscribed namesof those who lost their lives in World War IIand the Korean conflict.

MILWAUKEE, WIS.-CBIVA's biggestevent of the year, its 16th annual familyreunion, is little more than a monthaway, but the red carpet of welcome toMilwaukee and Wisconsin is already ex.tended to CBI veterans everywhere toparticipate in this "biggest of them all."Festivities get underway July 31 at theSchroeder Hotel in downtown Beertown.

Advance reservations give indicationthat Reunion 1963 will be the best at.tended in history, is the way Robert W.Doucette, reunion chairman, expressesthe enthusiasm shown. Large" delegationsfrom California, Texas and Pennsylvaniawill give a continental flavor never ex.perienced at any CBIVA reunion in its15-year history.

Registration will open the morning ofJuly 31 at the Hotel Schroeder. The regis.tration fee of $22 per adult registrantwill provide among other things five bigmeals for the men, and six for the gals.Young folks' registration is $15 forteeners and $10 for those 12 and under.Reunion committeemen call it the "big.gest buy of the century."

Milwaukee Basha members will toastreunion guests at an open house celebra.tion the opening eve. Ample refresh.ments, both liquid and food, will beavailable. Many, many surprises arescheduled for the evening.

Following a Thursday morning busi.ness session devoted mainly to welcom.

6 EX.CBI ROUNDUP

---------------- __ ,Biggest Reuni,on of 1ihem All

Ex-CBI Roundup

WE NEED YOURCOOPERATION!

The Post Office Departmenthas doubled the charge for no-tifying us when a copy of Ex-CEl Roundup is undeliverableas addressed.

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2:00 p.m. Dessert Luncheon and StyleShow. Women. Top of the Marine.5:00 p.m. Dutch Treat Cocktail Hour-Schroeder Hotel.6:00 p.m. Puja Parade down WisconsinAvenue from N. 5th St. to the Lake Front.7:30 p.m. Buffet Dinner in the WarMemorial Center.9:00 p.m. Puja Ball-Crystal BallroomHotel Schroeder.11:30 p.m. Hospitality Houses Open.

Saturday. Aug. 39:00 a.m. Registration.9:30 a.m. Business Sessions. Election ofNew Officers.11:30 a.m. Buses leave for Croation Park.12:00 Noon Spanferkel Luncheon. (Lamb,Pork and Chicken.)3:00 p.m. Memorial Services-War Memo.rial Center. Visit to CBIVA NationalHeadquarters.7:00 p.m. Commanders Banquet-CrystalBallroom, Hotel Schroeder. Presentationof CBIVA Americanism Award. Presenta.tion of CBIVA Award of Merit. Installa.tion of New Officers. '9:00 p.m. Commanders Ball, Crystal Ball.room Jerry Blake Orchestra with Musicin the Glenn Miller Manner.11:30 p.m. Hospitality Houses Open.NOTE: All meals indicated include chilodren, except Saturday night banquet-a special banquet is to be arranged foryoung people. Special cnildren's programwill be arranged pending on number andages of those attending.

Laurens, IowaP. O. Box 125

BOATS are moored at the Milwaukee Yachtciub in a basin just off Lake Michigan.

MILWAUKEE COUNTY Stadium has beenthe scene of many memorable moments inbaseball history during its 10 years of existence.

Thursday, Aug. 19:00 a.m. Registration.10:00 a.m. Opening Business Session. Ad.dresses of Welcome. Committee Appoint.ments.12:00 Noon Past Commanders' 'Luncheon,Schlitz Country Club.2:00 p.m. Sealtest Dairy Tour-Womenand Children. Schlitz Brewery Tour-Allwho wish to attend.5:30 p.m. Buses Start for Allen.BradleyCo.6:00 p.m. Fillet Dinner.7:30 p.m. Entertainment by NationallyFamous Allen.Bradley Co. orchestra andchorus. Dancing. Refreshments.11:00 p.m. Hospitality Houses Open.

Friday, Aug. 29:00 a.m. Registration.10:00 a.m. Business Session. City Tour-Women and Children.11:30 a.m. Reunion in Buffalo Films. Pro.duced by George Baker, Philadelphia, Pa.1:00 p.m. Blatz.Pabst and Miller BreweryTours or City Tour-Men,

JUNE, 1963 7

Today some of USAF's Air Commandos are in South-ast Asia, training South Vietnamese to fight guerrillawarfare. This modern 1st Air Commando Group is inthe tradition of a World War II unit which, in March1944, took part in a daring airborne operation thatlanded some 10,000 of Gen. Orde Wingate's ChinditRaiders far behind Japanese lines in central Burma. Thefirst 1st Air Commandos were led by Col. Phil Cochran,immortalized by cartoonist Milton Caniff as "FlipCorkin." Here James Warner Bellah, a well knownmilitary writer who was himself a member of the Burmainvasion team, tells the story of that operation anddiscusses ...

he Air Commando TraditionBY JAMES WARNER BELLAH

AT THE Quebec Conference, in August1943,General "Hap" Arnold came up withthe original concept of air commandounits for use in Burma. Today the linealmilitary descendants of these units-after a nineteen-year period of deactiva-tion-are operating again in the junglesof Vietnam and are training for theirwork-on a worldwide capability basis-at the Special Air Warfare Center, EglinAFB, Fla.

There were 523 men in the original 1stAir Commandos-all volunteers who leftthe US by air late in 1943. Commandedby Col. Philip G. Cochran, they wereequipped with P.51 fighters and B-25attack bombers for the traditional mis.sions of air superiority, interdiction, closesupport, and reconnaissance. They alsoflew a variety of transports for supplyand evacuation of wounded, and glidersfor assault. A flight of six helicopterswas the first rotary-wing aircraft to seecombat in any theater of operations.Altogether, more than 280 assault air-craft were maintained and operated byfewer than 600 assigned personnel.

The word commando carries the sug-gestion of loose discipline, of heroic in-dividuality, of action, of highly irregularmilitary operations. It suggests thequintessence of what the French callcran which is, translated inadequately,"guts."

But the actual ingredients of success-ful commando operations were in 1944and are today:

• Deeply instilled discipline andmotivation.

8

• Individuality of action, but closelycoordinated with the over-all political orba ttle plan.

e Irregular troop operations carefullytailored to the over-all mission and con-trolled strategically by higher authority.

• Guts, of course, but guts that derivefrom thorough training, a knowledge ofone's job, and a dedication to the dictumthat "in war there is no substitute forvictory."

Had an unbriefed officer penetratedinto the area of the first 1st Air Com.mandos near Hailakandi in Assam, justwest of the Burmese border, in the winterof 1943-44, he would have found whatappeared to be a pirate crew moilingabout the place in apparent indisciplineof both person and arms.

The actual moiling, on one occasion,was reaction to one of Col. Phil Cochran'swritten orders posted on the Headquar.ters bulletin board, requiring that thebeards come off. The final official para-graph read: "Not that I give a damn, butthey look like hell to the visiting brass."

Note well the phrase "apparent indis-cipline." As an infantry officer lately outof the unarguably crack 1st InfantryDivision, the first thing that becamestrikingly obvious to me was that, where.as there were no Tables of Organizationand Equipment set up for the 1st AirCommandos, no Fort Benning trainingavailable to them, and no official tern-

Reprinted with permiSJion from AIRFORCE/SPACE DIGEST, official journalof the Air Force AJJociation, 1901 Penn-Jylvania Ave., N. IV., WaJhington 6, D. C.

EX-CBI ROUNDUP

-------------------The AirCommandoTradition

plate of procedure laid down for retread-ing them from air-combat to ground-combat personnel, these men had never-theless brought an American nativeinstinct and an almost unbelievable per-sonal ingenuity to the mission.

It was once said of the young UnitedStates that it must be easy to makearmies of our youth because Americansall seemed to be born part soldier. Trueor not, at Hailakandi it became apparentat first sight that the science of tacticsis merely an extension of common horsesense and that knowledge of the doctrineof firepower and maneuver must be in-nate in every man who volunteers him-self as table stakes in the gamble ofcombat. It was a combination of horsesense and instinct that produced the 1stAir Commandos.

Compared to the counterinsurgencymissions of today's Air Commandos, theinitial mission of the first Air Comman-dos was not too politically oriented. Aswas Winston Churchill, who took Maj.Gen. Orde Wingate, leader of the ChinditRaiders, with him to the Quebec Confer-ence, General Arnold was impressed bythe capabilities of Long Range Penetra-tion Groups (LRPG), as Wingate's forceswere officially designated. It must beflatly stated, however, that very fewother high-ranking general officers,American or British, were impressed atall.

The year before, Wingate's commandhad penetrated deeply on foot with muletransport into Japanese-held Burma withlimited successes that were almost in-validated by severe morale problems dueto the long lines of what scant commu-nications there were. As a result, themilitarily conservative position was tobrush Wingate off entirely for the 1944campaign-as a long-shot risk.

However, General Arnold, an early be-liever in the theory of coordinated three-dimensional war, proposed in 1943 atQuebec to airlift Wingate's LRPGs com-paratively close to their ultimate 1944ground objectives-to obviate the savagehardship of the long walk in-and toallocate gliders and Air Force personnelto carry out the lift and to airdrop sup.plies. In addition, he anticipated thepossibility of ground combat action onthe part of some of the Air Force person-nel because of expected aircraft losses,so in a memorandum for action the 1stAir Commandos were activated.

The Burma situation in the winter of1943-44 was:

Gen. Joseph Stilwell's two American-retrained Chinese divisions, reinforcedby Merrill's Marauders-the only Amer-ican ground combat force in the entiretheater-had been, since the fall of '43,

JUNE, 1963

fighting down into the Hukawng valleyon the extreme eastern limits of theBurma front. The effort, in the mountain.ous Arakan sector, on the extreme west.ern limit of the 900.mile "front"-madeup entirely of British and Indian troopsthen under British Lt. Gen. William J."Bill" Slim, Fourteenth Army Commander-was more or less stalemated.

Late in 1943 the Japanese began tomove north massively against the center-the British-held Imphal area in Assam-offering an ultimate threat to thebeefed-up east-west tea railroad thatruns the length of Assam and connectsChabua and Dimapur with Comilla. AJapanese breakthrough to the railroadnorth of Imphal-which was eventuallyaccomplished but only with a small,spent force-would have denied Stilwellthe only ground supply route he hadand, except for airlift, would have cut histhroat. It would have drastically affectedthe Hump-lift to China and cut GeneralChennault's and Chiang Kai-shek'sthroats as well.

So, with the Wingate airlift trainedand ready, it was decided that Wingate'sLRPGs, now in division strength, togetherwith the 1st Air Commandos, would bethrown in by air between Stilwell'sHukawng valley push and the right flankof the Japanese attack against the Alliedcenter-to operate, on the ground.against the Japanese rear and flanks andslow the enemy attack.

Seven months of arduous preparationfor the LRPG airlift and for the concomi-tant 1st Air Commando mission endedwith takeoff on March 5, 1944, from sodstrips at Hailakandi and Lalaghat. Themission was to go 170 miles deep intoBurma over 8,000-foot mountains, bymoonlight only, with no paratroop jumpahead of us and no fighter escort-andseize and hold a jungle clearing in theBhamo-Indaw area designated as "Broad-way."

This initial 400-man task force otBrigadier Calvert's Indian 77th Brigadeof Wingate's command was glider-borneentirely and in double tow. With it rodethe 900th US Army Field Unit (AirborneCombat Engineers), complete with mini-ature bulldozers and mules (needled tosleep through the flight)-and the 1stAir Commandos. They were to make on"Broadway" a leveled dirt power-shipstrip for the rest of Wingate's force tobegin landing on the next night, March 6.

The task force accomplished its glider-borne mission. It seized and held. It madethe strip, which twenty-four hours laterwas to be 5,000 feet long and 300 feetwide. Thirteen hours after work beganBrig. Gen. William D. Old's troop carrieraircraft, led by the General himself,

9

TheAirCommandoTraditioD------------------

thundered in on "Broadway," landed noseto tail in impenetrable clouds of chokingbrown dust, taxied around, and took offempty in heavier traffic density than hadever been known before on any airstripat any time anywhere in the world. Bythe light of a full moon, C-47s came inor took off in opposite directions on thesingle strip all night long at the rate ofone landing or takeoff every three min.utes. In a few nights, an entire division,travel fresh, was laid across the Japaneserear.

Col. John Alison directed that trafficfrom a "tower" improvised from awrecked glider. I was in temporary com-mand of fifty miscellaneous riflemen-Air Commandos, Gurkhas, King's Liver-pool-as ground security. Over the yearssince, whenever the subject has corne upJohn Alison shakes his head with hiseyes closed and breathes, "Wasn't thata night!"

Whatever-the operation stands todayin history as the first blooding of thefirst 1st Air Commandos and the mostsuccessful combat glider lift of WorldWar II. Approximately ten platoons ofinfantry, their gear and equipment tomake an airdrome-thirty -two of theoriginal sixty-seven gliders-hit the air.head deep in enemy territory in threeand one-half elapsed hours the firstnight. In all 9,052 troops, 1,359 packanimals, and 254 tons of supply made thetrip in airplanes before the week was out.

With the directive to organize and trainthose 1st Air Commandos, the phrase"in addition to their other duties" shouldhave been added, for these men were tobe the air and ground crews of the Win.gate trooplift, his air planners, his close.air support, and his air superiority, sothat there was a staggering load of"other duties." Strictly speaking, all ofColonel Cochran's command at Raila.kandi were Air Commandos.

One supposes that Benning.trained in.structors could have been requested fromRamgarh, in northeastern India, whereStilwell's 22d and 38th Chinese Divisionswere retrained-but they were not. TheCommandos trained themselves. For theirregular jungle fighting they expectedto face, those kids instinctively buddiedup two by two, one to move ahead andone to cover-in their self. imposed drillschedules. From the two-group, theyworked in multiples of two up to a unitof eight-the old infantry squad of thejungle fighting in the Philippines andCuba sixty odd years ago.

With these two.man, or at least four.man groups, they provided themselveswith aimed fire and covering fire-ormore properly speaking "get. away" fire.In a low. priority theater of operations,

10

where everything was in short supply,they had accumulated from somewherea surprising number of carbines-sur.prising, because the level of carbine sup.ply at Margherita in northeastern Assamin February 1944 stood at two.

From somewhere they had gathered arespectable armament of caliber .30 air.cooled, infantry machine guns. SomeCommandos scorned the tripods, how.ever, and braised on handmade A-framesto hold the barrels four inches off theground like BARs. They went very lighton the caliber .45 tommy gun becauseof its short range relative to its heavyweight but improvised a hip-firingcapability with the caliber .30 machineguns, slinging them from the shoulderwith a segment of canvas ammo belt.

The men carried their .45 automaticsin shoulder or chest holsters-but moreas a status symbol than as an offensiveweapon. The murderous and highly as.sorted Gurkha kukris, folding seat.cushion machetes, and bench-madeBowie knives they all provided them.selves with make much less noise andare about as effective at close range.

The men improvised their own packs-which for the most part were their cover-all pockets. They went as heavy as pos.sible on ammunition-heavy on concen.trated survival foods, atabrine, and sulfa.And all men had wat~r.purifying pocketbags and tablets. The jungle is no placeat all for the tin hat, and there wasonly one old regulation US Army cam.paign hat in the whole theater, and thatwas never very far from General Stil.well's own head. So for the most partthose 1st Air Commandos wore the greenGI fatigue peaked cap-or its tan coun.terpart made by natives from old khakiissue shirts-or the Montauk.billed"baseball" cap. There were a few heavyfelt, chin. strapped, and puggreed Gurkhacampaign hats in the crowd, begged,borrowed, or stolen; and one or two side.brim.up Australian hats, relics of lastleave in Calcutta-so that their silhou.ettes did not look too unlike the "Viet-nam.hatted" 1st Air Commandos of to-day.

The mission of the 1st Air Commandoswho landed in the "Broadway" operationwas threefold. Once on the ground theywere to support the British and GurkhaLRPG ground action of seizing, holding,and establishing an airhead. Their sec.ondary mission, as expensively trainedair personnel, was to get away, if airliftwas denied them, and on foot, throughseveral hundreds of miles of jungle andover saw. toothed mountains, to maketheir way back to their base at Raila.kandi. The tertiary mission, subtendedby the secondary, was to "prosecute the

EX.CEl ROUNDUP

------------------The AirCommandoTradition

By late 1943 the Japanese-held strong positions alongthe Burma-India border, threatened to cut" through 10the Assam railway. In a bold countermove, Orde 'Win..gale's Long Range Penetration Group was readied forlandings far behind enemy lines. The operation oCl\larch ,1944 was spearheaded by Col. Phil Cochran's 1stAir Commandos who conclUded the glider-borne invasionfrom Lalaghat-Hailakandi to uBrondway" in Burma.

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war against Japan with any method attheir disposal" en route the getaway.

Little need be said herein about thedetachment of 1st Air Commandos whoreached "Broadway" under Colonel Alisonthat first night of the action (March 5,1944) because the official citations coverthem with historic gallantry. Many ofthese men were still fighting for reten-tion of that improvised airstrip weekslater when the Japanese held the north.ern fringe of the jungle, and C.47s weretaking off through mortar and some.times automatic weapons fire that couldnot entirely be beaten down by the hold.ing forces. But the Commando groups ingliders that through mishap broke theirtow ropes and came down prematurelywere largely responsible for the con.tinued success of the element of surprise.Surprise was so complete that nine dayselapsed before the Japanese shifted re-serves and brought ground forces topressure "Broadway."

When I was able to get through toGeneral Wingate a few days after theinitial landings, his red beard wasbristling with triumph as he gnawed onhis customary raw onion. "Look at theoperations map! When the Japs heardus go over on March 5 and 6 we hopedthey thought we were on deep bombingmissions-but now they are absolutelypositive we are harassing glider. borneraiding parties and nothing more!" Any

JUNE, 1963

intelligence officer worth his salt wouldhave confirmed the Japanese estimate,for with the luck of wat all of the acci.dentally cut-off gliders had landedalmost in a geometric pattern along theflank and rear of the Japanese effort-asif it had been carefully planned thatway.

Wingate's one ardent wish then wasthat the Air Commandos and the LRPGdetachments in those off. target gliderswould keep hacking at the Japs, andthey did keep hacking-all the long foot.slogging way back to Hailakandi. Therewasn't one group that failed to inflictmaximum damage as opportunity of-fered. On the defensive by virtue- of theirprimary mission to get back after de-struction of their aircraft, they neverthe.less shifted to the offensive whenever itwas indicated. They hit and ran. A hand.ful of spit-and-vinegar men, widelyseparated from their base and the rest oftheir own forces, they carried on the warin their own horse. sense fashion andcontinued the illusion of a raid, by sheerinstinct, until the troop and supplylevels were substantially built up on"Broadway."

Wingate died (on March 25 in the crashof a B.25 en route to Imphal from "Broad.way") and a great many of the 1st AirCommandos died without knowing whatthis informal unit accomplished. Few of.ficial histories give them mention, but

,11

TheAirCommandoTraditionl------------------

the record is there, the tradition is estab-lished, and the military lineage down tothe 1st Air Commando Group of today islegitimate.

It should be a source of supreme satis-faction that today's 1st Air CommandoGroup is, in effect, a free-world combatforce on active service in the cold warby virtue of a declared Communist intentand a presidential mission-and that thedevelopment of its modern templates oftraining long antedate Mao Tse-tung'spublished work on guerrilla warfare andChe Guevara's bald-faced rehash of it.

The declared Communist intent lies inChairman Khrushchev's report, late in1960, to the Conference of CommunistParties in Moscow wherein he declaredthat communism would fully support all"wars of national liberation." Translatedinto plain language this means thatwherever the Soviets detect the unrest ofself-determinism in any underdevelopedarea of the world, they will infiltrate,divert the native aims, and make everyeffort to coerce self-determinism intocommunism, even if it means creatingcivil war.

Underdeveloped areas occupy muchmore than half of the world, so that theCommunist intent covers a broad field.Walt W. Rostow, Chairman of the PolicyPlanning Council of the Department ofState, defines that field and the condi.tions that make it a rich target for theCommunist intent as follows: "What ishappening throughout Latin America,Africa, the Middle East, and Asia is this:Old societies are changing their ways in

order to create and maintain a nationalpersonality on the world scene and tobring to their peoples the benefitsmodern technology can offer. This pro-cess is truly revolutionary. It touchesevery aspect of the traditional life-eco-nomic, social, and political. The intro-duction of modern technology bringsabout not merely new methods of pro-duction but a new style of family life,new links between the villages and thecities, the beginnings of national politics,and a new relationship to the world out-side."

One Communist method of exploitingthis vast area of truly revolutionarychange is to use guerrilla infiltration toaccomplish sectional defection within thebroad scope of self-determinism. Theycreate the condition known in interna-tional law as insurgency, and throughthe violence of insurgency to create fac-tional disharmony.

Two years ago the Administra tiondirected that the unconventional warfarecapabilities of the United States berapidly expanded. In effect, it was apresidential mission, as a result of whichthe 1st Air Commando Group came intobeing with the primary mission of coun-terinsurgency (COIN).

The group is a combat force but itsover-all battle plan is primarily political.Where insurgency has been created bythe Communist intent, the Group's de-tachments go in to arm, train, indoctri-nate, and fight beside the emerging na-tionals so that a counterinsurgency effortwill be formed and become strong

INDIAN TROOPS march to their glider transport as the 1st Air Commando force pre-pared for the airborne invasion of Burma. Thirty-two of the, sixty-seven gliders reached"Broadway," carrying 539 men and 65,972 pounds of equipment.

12 EX-CBI ROUNDUP

___________________ The Air Commando Tradition

enough to put down the Communist.in.spired insurgency.

Therefore an Air Commando becomes avery complicated tool of freedom. A mem-ber of the 1st Air Commando Group mustbe a soldier and an airman of the high.est degree of training for his basic jobof fighting. He must be an instructorequipped to teach across the natural bar-rier of language. He must be a man ofhighly developed personal integrity, forthe confidence he must inspire, initiallyas a stranger and continuously as a com.rade in arms, is inspired best by theexample he sets.

He must, in the fundamentals, be anempiric diplomat for there is seldom pureblack or pure white in the facts of in.surgency or counterinsurgency. There areonly degrees of civilian conviction anddegrees of alignment with indicatedefforts. Therefore, as a diplomat, an AirCommando must be able to shift withthe shifting sands, to exploit strengthand opportunity, to retire and regroupwhen his own force is weak. Regardlessof his personal rank in the Air Force,he must be a competent commander ofirregular, sketchily disciplined forces-the hardest type of command to exercisesuccessfully-and he must be able todiscover and train leaders.

He must have both the courage of thecommonplace and the courage of thecrisis-that continuing level of couragethat is a basic part of all self. respectingmen's character-for it often is a partof his job that he die, and that the man.ner of his death and the place of hisbody's burial will be forever known onlyto God.

Finally, and the most incongruous con.dition of all, he is not fighting entirelyfor the United States, but for the freeworld which is a conglomerate all.in.elusive definition at best, and he is notfighting for the American way of life,but rather for the local living that willslowly develop from the self.determi-nism of the people of whatever countryhe serves in, if it is not distorted, coerced,and seduced by the Communists. He iscounterfighting the eternal rabid forcethat hopes to spread the political slaveryof communism across the world. Neverbefore in history has an American soldierhad such a multilateral mission.

It may well be that the cold war willbe ultimately won by these men, thatthrough their efforts the holocaust maybe averted. In places where counterin-surgency efforts have been indicated inthe past, the area of political evolutionwas limited by local boundaries, and theareas were not so proximate to the Com.munist heartland as to represent strate.gic necessity, so that the threat of escala.

JUNE, 1963

LEADER of the Air Comqtandos, Col. PhilipG. Cochran (right) talks tfiings over with hisdeputy, Col. John R. Alison, in India beforethe mission.

tion was minimized. Therefore no StateDepartment stops were applied.

Farsighted officers of all three serviceshold that a period of guerrilla warfareis upon the world and that properly im.plemented it may well be the "warm"war that will ultimately obviate a hotone.

Whatever the outcome, it is rathersatisfying to know that the method isnot as new to the Air Force as is thepresent necessity, by a quarter of a cen.tury. And that it is not new to Americaninstinct and common horse sense by thealmost two centuries now that carry theAmerican tradition back to Col. FrancisMarion, the "Swamp Fox" of the Revolu.tionary War, and his original sixteenpartisans of whom the British Lord Corn.wallis wrote: "He so wrought the mindsof the people that there was scarcely aninhabitant between the Santee and thePedee that was not in arms against us."And to that other American partisanleader of the Revolution, Col. ThomasSumter, "The Gamecock," of whom Corn.wallis wrote: "He certainly has been ourgreatest plague in this country."

-THE END

13

The Air Commando Traditior _

P. O. Box 125 Laurens, Iowa

Ex-CSt Roundup

were at the enemy's rear, to support themwith aerial firepower in their assaults onkey enemy installations. Several daysprior to the landing, the effectiveness ofthe Japanese Air Force in Burma wasbroken when more than 100 aircraft weredestroyed on the ground by Air Com-mando P-51s and B-25s in a surpriseattack. General Wingate had 10,000 first.line infantrymen deep in the heart ofenemy territory. These men were sup.plied daily by C-47s of the American andBritish Troop Carrier Commands. Theirmail was brought in by litter-carryinglight-planes of the Air Commando Groupwhich evacuated wounded from the bat.tlefields.

This unique organization didn't justhappen. It was a deliberate and success.ful attempt on the part of General Arnoldto pioneer a new type of warfare, reoplacing two. dimensional movement ofthe frontline fighting man with thethree-dimensional mobility of airpower.In the same part of the world whereCommunists now are waging their "warsof liberation," he proved that an armywith three-dimensional mobility is supe.rior to one that is confined to two dimen.sions of movement. Guerrilla warfare isa war of movement where space is tradedfor time. It is most effective where ter-rain is rugged and surface means ofmovement are limited., Airplanes have away of reducing space to manageableproportions. Our knowledge of air mobil.ity and our capability to implement this,"knowledge give us a decided advantagefor the struggle ahead. . :;' c)

In spite of this capability weicannofprevail without a determination foundedon knowledge of our enemy and his ob.jectives. Colonel Bellah has done us aservice by dramatically describing thespirit and motivation necessary to winin this new arena of international powerpolitics. -THE END

Postpaid

00$Roundup

Binders

Colonel Cochran's Deputy in the 1st AirCommaltdo operation in Burm" in 1944 wasCol. John R. Alison, now a Vice Presidentof the Northrop Corporation, who had thesecomments to make on Mr. Bellah's article.

Appropriate.

BY JOHN R. ALISON

At a time when American militaryactivity in Vietnam has stimulated ex-tensive comment in the press on modernguerrilla warfare, it is appropriate thatan unusual experiment in this type ofwar during World War II should be thesubject of an article in Air Force Maga.zine. I was the Deputy Commander ofthe 1st Air Commando Group and SeniorAir Force Officer participating in the as-sault landings with General Wingate'sCommando-trained infantrymen far be-hind the enemy lines in central Burma.Lt. Col. James Warner Bellah, a veteranof World Wars I and II, flew as a mem-ber of the assault team in the gliderwhich I piloted on the night of March5, 1944. Colonel Bellah in civilian life isan outstanding writer and military his.torian. In this article he has concentratedon only one phase of the campaign. Hisrolling style makes interesting reading,and in particular I like his commentsconcerning motivation and objectives.

During and since World War II, ourmilitary have won all of their battles,but now more people live under dictator-ship than did when we took up armsto extend man's freedom against thedictators. At the beginning of World WarII I had no real understanding of thetotalitarian systems we were fightingagainst-nor of the one we found our-selves allied with. As a lieutenant in theAAF my lack of understanding was per-haps of little importance, but unfortu-nately many of our leaders also lackedthis understanding.

What happens to the world from nowon is in the hands of another generation.If this generation fails in its understand-ing of the fundamentals that motivateboth ourselves and our enemy, fails tograsp in their hearts those intangiblematters of the spirit so well expressedhere by Colonel Bellah, another genera.tion in spite of its military superioritywill fail in the battle for freedom.

Colonel Bellah in this article does notattempt to describe the full mission ofthe 1st Commando Group. In addition toexecuting airborne assaults, the unitfought for days before these landings toestablish air superiority over the battle.fields; to interdict the landing areas;and, once General Wingate's infantry

14 EX.CEl ROUNDUP

PASSED BY US. ARMY PRESS CENSOR, A P.O. 465

s

THIRD OF A SERIES of picture layouts by the 7th Photo Tech. Sq. to be presented in Ex-CBI Roundup is this "Issue No.3" dated April 3, 1945. The Ground Glass was a voluntaryeffort to give members of the squadron mementos of their tour of duty. These layouts usedthrough courtesy of Gordon Smock and Wm. S. Johnson.

JUNE, 1963 Page 15

It's Sort of a "Last Man Club"

Association of Flying TigersDY JACK HILD

Born in combat under the hostile skiesof China, the 14th Air Force traces itsorigin to a handful of ex-Army, Navyand Marine Corps fliers known as theAmerican Volunteer Group. In the dayspreceding the treacherous attack on PearlHarbor, Chinese military might was fad-ing fast under the onslaught of theImperial war machine of Japan. Seekinga means of halting the systematic de-cimation of his armies, GeneralissimoChiang Kai Shek authorized his air ad-viser, Claire L. Chennault, to recruit avolunteer air arm.

Chennault, a retired American ArmyAir Force officer, recruited his pilotsfrom among experienced fliers who werereleased from active duty on the specificauthorization of the Army and Navy De-partments. Sailing from San Franciscoin July, 1941, the group landed in Ran.goon, Burma, to begin writing the il-lustrious history that was to earn themthe famous "Flying Tiger" title.

Heavily outnumbered, the AmericanVolunteer Group engaged the JapaneseAir Force with blazing guns and theskillful maneuvering taught them byChennault. Before peace came to Chinathey had destroyed enemy planes at aration of 14 to 1. Plagued by a shortageof everything except targets, the Four-teenth exhibited now. storied skill atholding its own against heavy odds.Chennault, an inspirational and aggres.sive commander, carried the war to theenemy, strafing targets as far away fromhis tenuous Himalayan air supply routeas Shanghai and attacking Japaneseshipping off the coast of China.

In July, 1942, the AVG fliers were in.ducted into the American Army Air Forceas part of the new China Air Task Forceand Chennault was recalled to activeduty with the rank of brigadier general.On March 10, 1943, the CATF went outof business and the 14th Air Force wasborn to add new chapters to the sagawhich could have been aptly called"Waging Winning War on a Shoestring."

The unique qualities that distinguishedthe Flying Tigers and the 14th AF duringWorld War II still appear among the sur.vivors today. The only numbered U.S.Air Force that has retained an activeassociation since that global conflict,over 1,000 ex-China hands still meetseveral. times a year in various parts ofthe country to rehash the "good old days"under their gallant commander, publish

a monthly bulletin and award a full four.year scholarship annually to the son ordaughter of one of their members whofell from the China skies in flames.

On March 23, in the appropriatelynamed "Tiger's Den" of the Park Ave.Armory at 66th St. in New York City, 14thAir Force Association members met ata dinner dance to celebrate the 20th an.niversary of the day in 1943 when Pen.tagon officials, probably little realizingthat they were altering the course of thewar and perhaps of all human history,decreed that the 14th Force be formed.

It is a day well worth remembering.President of the 14th AFB is Allentown,

Pa., attorney Harold Caplan. The imme.diate past president is C. W. Doyle ofArlington, Va., while Milton Miller, NewYork City; John R. Hild, Jr., Detroit,Mich.; and Leon Spector, Phila., Pa., serveas vice-presidents. Addison Bailey, anexpatriate Texan now living in New York,heads the all.important scholarship com.mittee, while Myron D. Levy, a St. Louis,Mo., native, is in charge of conventionarrangements. Harold A. Frazier, Greens.boro, N. C., is perennial secretary.treas.urer. . >

Lt. Gen. Charles B. Stone, III, USAF(Ret), who succeeded the storied ClaireChennault as war.time commander ofthe Flying Tigers, and is now a LosAngeles, Calif., resident, serves as chair.man of the board of directors. Otherboard members are Chris Oolovgian,Upper Darby, Pa.; Peter Chacon as, Alex.andria, Va.; Stanley McGee, Burlingame,Calif.; Col. Edward F. Rector, U.S. AirForce, an original AVG pilot; Al C.Nowak, Hammond, Ind.; Pat Richelson,Pennsauken, N. J.; Lewis E. Ledeker,Billings, Mont.; and the only woman toserve as a director, Dorothy Y. Wise,

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EX.CBI ROUNDUP

Washington, D. C., who was with theChina Area Service Corps.

As is altogether fitting and proper, thelate Claire L. Chennault, Maj. Gen. USAF(Ret.), will forever be the honorary per-manent president of this unusual group,while General Stone will continue ashonorary permanent vice-president.

In addition to these individuals whofreely offer their time and effort to keepthe history of the Flying Tigers and thememory of their legendary leader alive,there is one person who lends cohesive-ness to the entire group and whose in-spirational qualities have done morethan anything else to keep it a goingconcern. She's the beautiful, charmingAnna Chennault, widow of the Generaland author of the recent best-seller de-

____________________ Association of Flying Tigers

scribing her life with him, "A ThousandSprings," who faithfully lends her gra-cious presence to every gathering andtakes an active part in all associationaffairs.

In a way, the 14th Air Force Associa-tion is sort of a "Last Man Club." Everyone of the 33,000 men who served inChina during World War II with theAVG, CATF or 14th AF is eligible formembership, but no one else may join.Hence, when one passes away he cannotbe replaced. Incredibly, however, theranks of this hardcore group have in-creased, rather than decreased, throughthese two decades as more ex-ChinaHands the world over became aware ofits existence. A Flying Tiger dies no lessstubbornly in peace-time than he did inwar. -THE END

A TIME TO RETREAT. By Brian Cooper.Vanguard Press, Inc., New York. April 1963.$3.95.

The story of an Army hearing twentyyears after a disastrous retreat in South-east Asia. The general in charge of theBritish troops at the time has demandedthe hearing to clear his reputation andshed light on some fantastic circum-stances of the retreat.

THERE WAS A YOUNG LADY NAMEDAllCE. A collection of limericks edited by JohnArmstrong. Dell Publishing Co., New York.April 1963. Paperback, 40c.

Definitely not a book about the Orient,but a collection that will amuse andentertain you. As for the reason it isincluded in this section, the dedicationwill give you a clue: "Dedicated to themembers of the United States Army AirForce who served in the China-Burma-India theatre during World War II. With-out their liberal education in the wayof the limerick, the author would havebeen at a loss for words ... especiallycertain words."

BORN WITH THE DEAD. By Irina Kirk.Houghfon Mifflin Company, New York, May1963. 4.00.

The author's first novel is a story aboutrefugees; a Czarist Russian family in

JUNE, 1963

Shanghai in the 1930's and an Americannewspaper man who is sheltered bythem, becoming a refugee with the otherswhen the Japanese occupy the city. Thesetting and some of the characters comefrom the author's own experiences. Shewas born in Manchuria of White Russianparentage and brought up in the turbu-lent Shanghai of 1931.1945.

FOURTEEN STORIES. By Pearl S. Buck.Pocket Giant Cardinal. May 1963. Paperback,50c. . ,

This is Miss Buck's first collection ofshort stories since 1947. Only five of the14 deal with the Orient.

FREEDOM BRIDGE. By Bill Surface and JimHart. Coward-McCann, Inc., New York. May1963. $4.95.

The dramatic story of the MaryknollFathers who survived torture and expul-sion from Red China to build a great newmissionary network among 1,500,000refugees to Hong Kong.

THE STRUCTURE OF CHIN SOCIETY ANDCULTURE. By F. K. Lehman. University ofIllinois Press, Urbana, Ill. June 1963. Paper,$3.00.

The social structure and culture of thevarious Chin tribes are analyzed in thisstudy of a tribal people of Burmaadapted to a non.Western civilization.

EMBROIDEREDC.B.I. SHOULDER PATCHES

75c EACH

Ex-CBI RoundupP. o. Box 125 Laurens,Iowa

17

Service Record of a CBI Unit,•• • To Elaborate or Eliminate'

BY JAMES BOWMAN

The Service Record of the lS75th EABby Lt. John A. Powers in the Februaryissue ended, "It is for each of you todress up, disagree or agree with, elabo-rate or eliminate."

As a former EM in the lS75th therecord was extremely interesting to me,not strictly for nostalgia's sake, but alsobecause in many respects it gave me thefirst overall picture of what the lS75thdid in CBI. It's amazing how little infofiltered down through the ranks to theGI's doing the pick and shovel work.

It is stated that the overage in man.power was needed to replace those whofailed the FOD exam. How well I re-member that exam-standing outdoorsin line in a sleety December rain atCamp Pat Henry with nothing on buta raincoat waiting to enter the examin.ing building. The building was dark andthe examiners made their inspections byflashlight as the line filed by at a walk.The first doc, who made his exam fromthe rear, was actually reading a paperback and simply flicking the flashlighton each posterior as it passed. I wonderhow many actually were found not FOD.

I know a little first hand about theoverages, having been one myself. Ap-parently expecting some sort of gang.plank inspection, our platoon lieutenantsaid to me, "If anyone asks your MOS,it is--," and he gave me a number. Idiscovered later, much to my surprise,that I was a carpenter and it was soduly recorded on my service record.

The trip across country from MarchField to Pat Henry was quite a rideas described by Lt. Powers. It also hadits pathos. Many of the fellows had notbeen on home leave for a long time andwere about to leave Uncle Sugar for twoyears-in some cases the train stoppedfor a time in their home towns with, ofcourse, no chance to contact loved ones.I do know that a few notes and cardswere tossed out of train windows, though.

Camp Pat Henry was our POE and noleave was allowed-you could call homeby sweating out a line at the long dis.tance phone. One Virginian in A Co. everafter claimed that he "snuck" home withno trouble at all.

The squall which separated theTABITHA BROWN from our convoy offHampton Roads was a very heavy snowstorm. Rumors were rife as to how manytimes we ourselves narrowly missed col.lision in-the assembling convoy. I was acorporal of the guard that first night_ou~

18

and recall having to go aft to check theguard on the mail piled on the hatch-the deck was covered with spilled fuel oiland before long my shoes, leggings, andeventually bunk were blotched with thetarry black stuff.

Mention of those wonderful NorthAfrican oranges brings back an incidenton the "40 and S" trip from Oran toAlgiers. During a protracted wait, some-one discovered that a boxcar on an ad.jacent track was full of oranges. In shortorder some of the siding was pulled offand uncounted bushels of the goldenfruit were transferred to our "coach."Space was at such a premium in our carthat at one point a heated dispute overa few square inches resulted in one manpulling a trench knife and having to berestrained.

And the dear old NEA HELLAS fromAlgiers to Bombay! We slept in ham-mocks slung each night over the messtables, with a certain number permittedto take their blankets up and sleep ondeck during the hottest nights. Lt. Powersdidn't go quite far enough on the food-even C ration dog biscuit was welcomedif you could get it. Once a day each mangot one.fourth loaf Qf bread (in onechunk) and a pat of butter. The usualmenu was: Breakfast-Unsalted, un.sweetened oatmeal; one very suggestiveliver and kidney sausage.

The other meal: Liver and kidneystew, dried fruit (still quite dry) floatingin a sort of corn starch sauce.

Perhaps the happiest time aboard,paradoxically, was during a terrificstorm off Crete. Happy because theGerman bombers couldn't fly in suchweather and they had polished off partof another engineer battalion in anearlier convoy.

Cement for runway pavement-It camein burlap bags at 112 pounds to the bagand loading it out of a dusty godownin 100 degree plus temperature was ajob. But a 2lh ton 6 x 6 with 7 tons ofcement in it sure rides easy.

,The detail to lay a pierced plank apronat Camp Charra was a gem, too. Lt.Solomon had charge of that one. It was ahurry up job for the arrival of the firstB.29s but before we finished we ran outof plank. Lt. Solomon's stated policy waspretty much, anything goes as long asyou're fit for work when the rest of theplank arrives. So in the interim-askanyone who was there of the joys ofAdra and its European Institute, and ofthe cases of bottled goods hauled backto camp each night for consumption

EX-CBI ROUNDUP

_________________ " ... To Elaborate :or Eliminate"

during the day ere night came againwith another trip to town. Of coursewhen the final shipment of plankarrived it was a mad scramble to get itdown in time. The final frill was thatTokyo Rose told us all about the arrivalof the B-29s, named our outfit and saidwe would be visited by Jap paratroopers.As a result we stood to all night in slittrenches along the airstrip as the planescame in.

What made the pouring of the runwayat Dudhkundi even more of a Herculeantask was the complete absence ofmechanical paving equipment. The con.crete was hauled in dump beds on 6.bys, struck off by hand with a bull float,floated and jointed by hand.

I think Sgt. Lew Bauman, A Co., had agreat deal to do with the efficient lay-out of materials which led to the recordbreaking erection of prefab hangers.During one period the steel members gotso hot in the sunlight that work couldbe done only at night.

Stringing those electric lines was adilly, too. I wonder how many embryolinemen wound up spiking themselveswith their own climbers. It's no trick toclimb a pole about 8 inches through atthe butt and with the bark still on it.

In one of the rare accidents an A Co.man lost his ring finger-jumped overthe stake side of a 6-by and his ringcaught on the top.

The temporary pierced plank taxiwayfor the expected C-109s at Kalaikundawas laid in one continuous 16 hour shift.Naturally the 109s didn't come in untila day after it was finished.

Who remembers the P-40 smackinginto the top of the revetment at Kalai-kunda? The engine went right onthrough a couple of godowns. I was

operating one of the dry batch plantsand saw the whole tragedy from myperch.

How we loved the Air Corps! Everyjob we sweated out the worst part withthe most meager sanitary facilities. Thenwhen we finally put in the piping andinstalled the showers, we moved out andthe Air Corps moved in.

A Co's first "permanent camp on theLedo Road was at Shadazup where manyof us heard our first sound of war. Onenight a Jap bomber tailed a transportinto the Warazup strip and laid a feweggs which we could clearly hear. Thiscamp was named Camp DeGarmo afterT/5 Robert N. DeGarmo who died of cere-bral malaria. Here we lost the servicesof T/4 Williams who dove into shallowwater and cracked his neck.

That "precipitous stretch of road" aswe moved south was so bad that on somehairpin turns the trucks had to jockeyback and forth a couple of times tonegotiate them. We eventually pulledinto our new camp a few miles north ofBhamo and found the advance party bar.becuing a water buffalo over an openfire. It was here that we celebratedChristmas by draping a living tree withgreen painted light bulbs, singing to Sgt.Cullen's guitar, passing out goodies toslogging Mars men, and toasting eachother in Fighter Brand. >

This is all only a thumbnail sketch.My days with the 1875th ended in Jan.uary when I was shipped over the Humpto China for another year. But I got an-other bonus in your April '63 issue withthe spotting of the picture of the USSGENL. HUGH L. SCOTT. She left Shang-hai for Seattle with me aboard in De-cember 1945. -THE END

CHINESE CLASS at Ramgarh in "dry fire" pra ctice sighting and aiming, under the guidance ofU.S. Army personnel. Photo by Ray Kirkpatrick.

JUNE, 1963 19

News dispatches from recent issuesof The Calcutta Statesman

CALCUTTA-A highly artistic Balucharsari from Bishnupur, Bankura, describedas a rare thing, fetched Rs 10,000 at arecent public auction at Raj Bhavan, Cal-cutta. Altogether a sum of Rs 22,355 wascollected in aid of the National DefenseFund through the auction of gifts whichincluded p a i n tin g s, watches, silvermedals, cups, etc.

NAGPUR-A labourer was frozen todeath and another was found lying in aprecarious condition in a local cold stor.age. The two victims were loadingpotato bags when the chowkidar, notknowing they were still at work, closedthe door and left them in. Police arrestedthe chowkidar for allegedly causingdeath by negligence.

RAWALPINDI-Efforts are being madeto bring about a ceasefire between war-ring tribes in the Mahmud Agency of theformer North.West Frontier Province. Thetribal war was set off by an attack bythe tribe of Major Sultan on the tribeheaded by Haji Abdullah Jan. The tribalchiefs are cousins. Firearms have beenused freely by both sides and manycasualties have been reported in thefighting, in which about a thousandtribesmen are believed to be involved.

DACCA-More than one million peopleout of a total population of 50 millionare suffering from tuberculosis in EastPakistan, according to a survey conduct-ed by the Provincial Tuberculosis Asso-ciation.

KATHMANDU-Amidst eye-filling pag-eantry at the Nepalese royal palace,Crown Prince Virendra wore the holythread to be "initiated into the duties ofreligion and of the Kshatriya prince" ashe entered the adult world. The 18-year-old bespectacled prince is studying atEton. To judge from his beaming smile,he apparently enjoyed the ceremony de.spite the minor though painful operation,"karnabheda," or the piercing of the ear.lobes as a part of the rites. The religiousrites also decreed that the prince ask foralms as part of the ceremony.

MARGHERITA-An elephant calf waskilled by a tiger near here recently afterthe mother elephant was defeated in afierce battle and forced to flee. The grimstruggle was witnessed by labourers who

20

were engaged in cutting cane in theBordumsa region.

CALCUTTA-Instead of being rowed,boats along the waters linking Bangurwith Kestopur near Untadanga, Calcutta,have recently been dragged along the 10-mile-long canal from the bank with ropesby boatmen. Masses of water hyacinthhave blocked the way of a large numberof boats coming from Kulti to Calcutta.

DARJEELING-A clerk working in thedistrict intelligence office in Darjeeling,who had to borrow Rs 200 from a col-league two months ago to take his familyto Calcutta, has won the first prize ina well-known Calcutta sweepstake. Theclerk, Suhash Ranjan Dutta Choudhury,drey Ayala in the Grand National and isdue to receive Rs. 73,879. A displacedperson, he will now be able to fulfil oneof his cherished dreams, buying a housein Calcutta.

TEZPUR-Villagers of Jamuguri, 45miles from here, are looking for anothertiger. They surrounded one with nets reocently, keeping it within the ring of netsand defeating its repeated attempts toescape. A cobbler bought it from the vil.lagers for Rs 350, paid a shikari Rs 20 toshoot it through the ear as he did notwant the skin damaged, and thenpromptly sold it to a European teaplanter for Rs 500.

CALCUTTA-The Il\dian Red CrossSociety is celebrating Its centenary thisyear.

AGRA-The Archaeological Depart-ment of the Union Government has pro-hibited professional photographers fromtaking pictures of the Taj Mahal in thefuture. The ban is said to have beenenforced under the existing regulationsgoverning historical monuments. It doesnot, however, extend to Agra Fort, thetombs of Akbar and Etmad-ud-Daula.The local photographers association hassaid that the ban will adversely affectthe tourist trade and the publicity workof the Government.

BOMBAY-A man who claims to havelived without food and drink for the last12 years has been under observation ina city hospital. The man, who is 34 yearsof age and hails from Ahmedabad dis-trict, has adopted the name Amba Mataji(Goddess Amba) because, according tohim, the goddess appeared to him in adream 12 years ago, when he was a cookin Poona, and told him she had enteredhis body which would be sustained byher celestial food, ambrosia. Since then,he claims, he has been living as a sadhuin a forest without food and drink. He isliving as a woman, wearing a sari, orna-ments and long plaited hair bedeckedwith flowers.

EX-CBI ROUNDUP

We

Welcome

Your

Return

. ,

Hotel Schroeder

Milwaukee

July 31 - August 3, 1963

".21

Commander's

Messageby

Eugene B. BrauerNational CommanderChina-Burma-India

Veterans Assn.

Milwaukeeans helped write anotherchapter in the history of the China-Burma.India Veterans Assn. May 18,when a plaque marking the birthplace ofthe CBIVA was unveiled on the facadeof the Hotel Wisconsin in downtown Mil.waukee.

It was here, in the waning days of1948, that CBIVA was founded, at are.union attended by CBIers from morethan a dozen states. Dedication wasmarked to coincide with Armed ForcesDay and the spring exec meeting ofCBIVA.

It has been my singular good fortuneto have been able to participate in all15 of the national reunions held to date.Joining me in that special category areLes Dencker, our first commander,Charles Mitchell, our seventh cornman.der, and Shelby Welch, Carlile, Ill. Withthe exception of Shelby all three of uswere fortunate to be a part of this dedi.cation. I am sure Les and Chuck were asthrilled as myself to be witness to thisdedication.

As my hours in office are now at thecountdown stage I would like to expressmy thanks to all who have in some man.ner contributed to its success. I realizenot everyone was able to contribute onenew member but I have confidence thatpledge will be redeemed when the occa.sion presents itself. I am aware also thatit was not possible for each of us to makeas large a contribution toward the Dr.Seagrave Foundation Fund as we wouldhave wanted. In some instances it waseven impos~ible. What has been contri.buted and what is yet to come into thefund is deeply appreciated and will helpthe cause. A complete report will bemade at the reunion and its results willbe known to all of you.

*' * *Special reunion rates for all rooms at

Hotel Schroeder have been announcedby the reunion committee. For air.condi.tioned rooms with bath and TV, the ratesare $9.00 for singles, $12.00 for doublesand $14.00 for twins. With bath and TVbut without air. conditioning, rates are$8.50 for singles, $11.00 for doubles and$13.00 for twins.

A brochure giving the complete reunionprogram, a booklet covering points ofinterest within the state of Wisconsin,and a hotel reservation card has beensent to each member in good standing.Those among you who have not receivedthis package envelope and plan to attendReunion 1963, please direct your inquiryto CBIVA, P.O. Box 1848, Milwaukee 1,Wis.

GENE BRAUERNational Commander

Reunion time is but a matter of weeksaway now, and all is in waiting for thebig gathering to open July 31 in Milwau.kee. The reunion story is told elsewherein your Ex.CBI Roundup, so I will notattempt to duplicate what is told there.I do hope that all CBI veterans who ha--:eit within their intent to attend thiSgathering will be able to do just that.I can personally guarantee you that yourtrip will be a memorable one.

This space is contributed to the CBIV A byEx.CBI Roundup as a serl'ice to the manyreaders who are members of the Assn., of whichRoundup is '!he official publication. It is im.portant ,to remember that CBIV A and Roundupare entirely separate organizations. Your sub.scription to Roundup does not entitle you tomembership in CBIV A, nor does your member.ship in CBIV A entitle you to a subscription toRoundup. You need n()/ be a member of CBIVAin order to subscribe to Roundup and vise versa.-Eds.

* * *

TAKING PART in dedication of plaque atWisconsin Hotel, Milwaukee, are Les Dencker,Joe Pohorsky and Gene Brauer.

22 EX.OBI ROUNDUP

------------------ To The Editors

FLOWER MARKET in central square at Kunming, China, in1944. Photo by Ben F. Brannon.

New York llasha• Would like to reportthat the New York Bashahad a very successful din-ner-dance at the 7th Regi-ment Armory on Saturday,May 15.

LIZ EMMONS GUSSAK,Brooklyn, N. Y.

(Heavy) will regret to learnof the recent death at Let.terman General Hospital ofJohn M. Suggs, Lt. Col.,USAF (Ret.), of San Ansel.:mo, Calif. Funeral serviceswere held at Hamilton AirForce Base chapel, andburial was in Golden GateNational Cern e t e r y, SanBruno. Colonel Suggs was a38.year veteran of the AirForce, well known fromGen. H. H. "Hap" Arnold ondown. As line chief andgroup S.4 officer, he wasone of the real backbonesof the 7th Bomb Group,from Salt Lake City Air.drome Lease days to Pan.daveswar, India. He washighly regarded in Hq.USAF in Washington, aswell. Survivors include hiswife, Grace, who lives at52 Austin Ave., San Ansel.mo, and two sons, Philip ofSacramento, Calif., and AirForce Capt. Jack W. Suggsof Bangor, Me.

LARRY HEUSER,San Francisco, Calif.

CHARLES W. ROSE,Knoxville, Md.

John M. Suggs• Former members of the7th Bombardment Group

Thomas A. Terry• Enclosed is clippingabout the death in April ofMaj. Gen. Thomas A. Terry,USA (ret.), 77, of Asheville,N. C. While in Washingtonto attend his wife's burialin Arlington Cemetery, hesuffered a heart attack inthe Army and Navy Club.His funeral was in the FortMyer Chapel, with burial inArlington Cemetery. Gener.al Terry was in charge ofdefense of the New Eng.

ELEPHANTS in Burma, which were used to haul materialsfor new bridges on the Stilwell Road. Photo by J. T. Howard.

96th Field Hospital land coast, as commander• Received a letter from of the First Coastal Artil-my dear friend and ex. lery District, early in Worldchaplain, Marion F. Woods War II. Later he was headof Grinnell, Kans., telling of the Second Service Com-of the unexpected death of mand in New York, and inhis wife, Marjory, on 19 1945 he was comandingJanuary 1963. She is sur. general of U.S. forces in thevived by her husband and China-Burma.India Thea-children, Karen, Paula, ter.Stanley and Margie. I'msure Woody would appre-ciate hearing from all hisfriends of the 96th FieldHospital and any otherswho remember his servicesin Chabua and Chanyi in1945. Our best wishes to allyour valued subscribersand to your wonderfulmagazine and crew.THEODORE CALKINS JR.,Troy, Pa.

JUNE, 1963 23

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