The ORD news [May 5, 1944]

              3S03RD AAF
BASE UNIT THE ORD NEWS FORMERLY
BTC 10-SHUN
VOL. 3. NO. 1. Greensboro, N. C, Friday, May 5, 1944. FREE DISTRIBUTION
Don't Forget Mother's Day On May 14
SENDS FLOWERS—S/Sgt. Chester W. Brown, assigned to the
Post Exchange, orders roses to be delivered to his mother, Mrs.
W. 3, Brown in Russellville, Ala^ for Mother's Day. Taking the
order in the booth at the Main FX is Miss Dorothy McPherson of
Greensboro.
War Department Urges
Army, Navy Air Merger
Secretary of War Stimson has asked Congress to de-
'cide "as soon as possible" to merge land, sea and air
forces of the United States under a single Department
of the Armed Forces.
Once the decision is made, Stim­son
asserted, "even though not car­ried
out until after the termination
of hostilities (at least in the Euro­pean
.theater)" many "present mili-
•tary questions could be more easily
resolved.
Members of the Special House
Committee on Post-War Military
Policy, who heard Stimson, said that
legislation to effect such a merger
was likelv to be reported soon. Sec­retary
of Navy Knox is reported to
have favored the merger.
Proposal Outlined.
The proposal as outlined by Lt.
Gen. Josenh T. McNarney, Deputy
Chief of Staff, includes:
A Secretary of the Armed forces,
under whom Under-secretaries of
Army, Navy and Air would func­tion;
The addition of a common sup­ply
serv'ces department;
A U. S. joint chiefs of staff or­ganization
headed by a chief of
staff to the Constitutional Com­mander
in Chief and including the
Chiefs of Staffs of Army, Navy and
Air Forces. A director of common
supply services, subordinate in rank,
would he added to the group.
Secretary Stimson paid tribute to
the voluntary co-operation during
the war by both Array and Navy
personnel but pointed out that "our
experiences in the war have abund-anly
brc|!ight out that voluntary
co-operat|on, no matter how success­ful,
cannot under any conditions of
•warfare, and particularly triphib­ious
warfare, be as effective in the
handling of great military problems
as some form of combination and
concentrated authority at the level
of staff planning, supervision and
control."
Duplication.
He revealed that despite the ef­forts
of the two services there were
many duplications of time, mate!
riel and manpower with resulting
loss of effectiveness, resources and
power.
Stimson warned that although the
m
Section Q Gains
Leg On Banner
;The old 1182nd group, now Sec
tion Q. has won the first leg of the
competition for the gold athletic
and physical fitness banner.
A new race of three-months du­ration
started on May 1. The first
such banner became the permanent
roperty of the 1186th when that
foup won it three times running.
The 1182nd compiled a total of
1760.5 points in capturing-, the first
hold on the new banner. Breaking
rfihat total down, it got 12 points for
baseball; 78 for basketball; 237 for
boxing; 15 for cross-country; 4 for
goal-hi; 10 for handball; 14.5 for
horseshoes; 12 for the obstacle
course; 32.5 for physical fitness;
12.5 for ping pong; 16 for Softball;
85 for tug-of-war; 30 for swimming;
103 for volley ball and 99 for wres­tling.
The 1179th, now Section N, was
irunner-up in the competition with a
total of 401 points.
actual changes could not be made in
the critical period of the war, it is
"of the greatest importance that the
general principle of consolidation be
determined as soon as possible."
General McNarney stated that the
consolidation was needed not only
to increase effectiveness in war but
in the coming peacetime demobili­zation.
Brig. Gen. John M. Palmer, re­called
to active service about two
years ago to study demobilization
and postwar problems, urged the
nation to remember Washington's
advice which called for universal
military training so that a "citizen
army" of substantial size is always
ready.
Brig. Gen. William P. Tompkins
told the committee that he has "yet
to find" an officer in the War De­partment
who does "not believe
that a single department of the
armed forces is the best solution
to the problem."
Logical Step.
Undersecretary of War Patterson,
Assistant Secretary of War for Air
Lovett, Lieut. Gen. Brehon Somer­vell
and Brig. Gen. H. S. Hansell,
Jr., told the committee it would be
a logical step to make air one of
the three legs of the tripod in the
merging of the two departments
into one. They were unanimous in
giving air forces equality with
ground and sea forces.
Post Trans formed Into ORD;
BTC Ended, Nam e Changed;
CO Cautions About Secrecy
Security Vital
As Weapon In
Deciding Wars
A special statement on the
importance of military se­curity
was made this week
by Col. Converse B. Lewis,
post commanding officer,
simultaneous with his an­nouncement
that this train­ing
center will hereafter be
known as an AAF Overseas
Replacement Depot.
Col. Lewis is vitally interested in
the practical application of security
measures. His attitude is that a
soldier injured is a fighting man
lost, and therefore, casualties should
be minimized and the army's strik­ing
power sustained by employment
of every practical security measure.
"Security is a weapon that vitally
influences the outcome of battles
and wars," said Col. Lewis. "A part
of the business of training sol­diers
is to teach the soldier not only
how to kill but to keep from being
killed. Therefore, the importance
and value of security can never be
minimized." /-v_-
A vital phase of security is the
safeguarding of military informa­tion.
Every soldier, Air Wac, and
civilian employee begins to re­ceive
military information the mo­ment
he or she enters the service
of the Army; and it comes to them
in every-increasing quantity and
importance with the weeks, months
and years of their service. A sol­dier
must possess military informa­tion
in order to do his job of train­ing
and fighting. Civilian employ­ees
of the Army must likewise pos-possess
military information to
function properly in their respec­tive
jobs." he continued.
-So Much; No More.
"Each is entitled only to such
military information as is necessary
to perform properly his or her
(Continued On Page Three.)
,— ——• • •
Jackie Coogan Taken
For God By Burmese
Burma— (CNS) — F/O Jackie
Coogan is accustomed to idolatry.
As a child movie star, he was
gasped at and sighed at from coast
to' coast. But he had to come all
the way to Burma before anyone
mistook him for a god.
Coogan, the first glider pilot to
land Allied troops behind the en­emy
lines in Burma, said that the
Burmese natives thought he was
a god when they saw him alight
in their paddy fields.
Give This Paper
A Name And Win
Valuable Prizes
Don't look now, but this bust­ling
newspaper is casting around
for a name. We're wide open to
all suggestions, and to the sol­dier
who gives out with the
prize winning title goes three
books of War Department
theater tickets PLUS a free
subscription to the newspaper
—the Duration and six months.
Already offered and not too
excitedly received are the fol­lowing
titles: "Take-Off," "Con­tact,"
"Helluva-Roar," and the
tentative label appearing on the
current issue, "ORD News." So
start noodling, soldier, and try
to dream up a title.
Since we're no longer Basic
Training Center No. 10 the name
BTC 10-SHCN must be dis­carded.
So we're waiting to hear
from you.
Send replies to the Editor,
Post Newspaper, Public Rela­tions
Office. We'd like to have
them within a week.
Look Below For
Your New Mail
Address Here
Here are necessary facts con­cerning
your new mail address
released by Capt. Milton H.
Rodman, Postal Officer;
Mail for military personnel
should be addressed as follows:
"Rank, Name, Serial Number
"Branch , Section ——
"8503rd AAF Base Unit
"Overseas Replacement Depot,
"Greensboro, N. C."
The designation "Wac Detach­ment"
in place of "Branch"
should be added ahead of "Sec­tion
D" for all Wac personnel.
Mail sent to personnel at the
Station Hospital should add "Sta­tion
Hospital" in place of
"Branch" ahead of "Section E."
Personnel of the 1209th Guard
Squadron now in "Section A"
should add the designation "Mili­tary
Police" in place of "Branch"
ah?ad of "Sectoin A."
Permanent Officer personnel
should designate "Officers Mail
Section" as part of their address.
All personnel are advised to
ascertain definitely their proper
"Branch Mail Center" before.in­forming
correspondents of their
correct military address.
South Pacific Vet Well Remembers
Candy Flown To Guadalcanal Area
Some of the AAF veterans of ac­tion
tell you how they felt when
flak burst around them on their
first mission. Others vividly de­scribe
the taste of the beer they
had in Khartoum and compare it
with the stuff they used to acquire
in Algiers. But to shy, young
Texas-born T/Sgt. Walter D. Fau­bion,
the war which he fought for
sixteen months in the South Pacific
"will always bring back memories
of $250 worth of candy bars and a
group of tired, half-dazed Marines
who almost cried when he distrib­uted
the candy to them.
Back in October, 1942, the Ma­rines
were holding on to beleagured
Henderson Field by their very
teeth. A Flying Fortress, with Sgt.
Faubion aboard as crew chief,
would fly in from New Caledonia,
gas and bomb up at was then the
world's busiest little airfield and
then blast Japanese installations on
the island.
The men on that B-17 during the
few minutes that their ship was on
the ground, would see long files of
weary-looking, begrimed Marines
returning from or going into "the
front lines. Before leaving New
Caledonia one day, the crew de­cided
to take up a little collection
and buy all the candy they could
get their hands on for the boys in
the Solomons.
"We gave it out to everyone who
was around and asked nothing in
return," Sgt. Faubion, a pre-Cadet
at this post, recalled this week.
"The Marines, too tired- to talk,
took the candy and just kept quiet.
Some gulped at the throat. Person-
T/SGT. WALTER FAUBION.
ally, I felt like crying."'
"When we got back to our plane,
we saw a pile of Jap souvenirs
stacked in front of the ship," he
continued. "The Marines wanted to
thank us. Each had given us his
most valuable possessions—Jap­anese
watches, sabers, guns and all
the things that some of them had
risked their lives to get. That
Fortress standing there with the
Marines' gifts all around it is. one
scene I'll never forget."
All together, Sgt. Faubion flew
thirty-two missions over Guadal­canal
and such Jap bastions as
Rabaul and Munda. But he esti
mates that he must have been on
a hundred more air trips all over
the South Pacific. For after the ac­tivation
of the 13th Air Force in
January, 1943, he was chosen crew
chief for -Maj: Gen. Nathan Twin­ing,
then commanding general of
the 13th and now head of the U. S.
15th Air Force in the Mediteran-nean
theatre of operations.
Sgt. Faubion paid great tribute
to Gen. Twining who is a native
of nearby Charlotte, N. C. He
called biV. "one of those generals
whose enlisted men will remember,
like and respect a long time after
we've won this war."
Repeatedly minimizing his own
efforts down there, Sgt. Faubion
(Continued On Page Three.)
Deputy Heads
Announced By
Col. C. R. Lewis
From a basic training
center which molded sol­diers
for subsequent special­ized
assignments as ground
technicians and air crew
rnen, this installation of the
AAF Training Command
has been transformed into
an overseas replacement de­pot.
Its official designation, it was
announced, is 3503rd AAF Base
Unit, Overseas Replacement Depot,
Greensboro, North Carolina.
Col. Converse R. Lewis, post com­mander,
yesterday announced the
deputies who will administer the
three major sections of the post.
They are Lt. Col. Charles W.
Kiser, deputy for administration
and services, formerly assistant
executive office here; Lt. Col. Dan­iel
R. Baugh, deputy for training
and operations, former executive
officer at Jefferson Barracks, and
Lt. Col. Rudolph W. Eldien, deputy
for supply and maintenance, for­merly
S-4 at Jefferson Barracks.
Many Processed.
Tn addition, there will be the of­fice
of the air inspector, function­ing
directly under the commanding
officer', and the air inspector here
now, as before the reorganization,
will be Maj. Charles A. Tosch.
Since the functions of this sta­tion
were revamped before the ac­tual
announcement of a reorganiza­tion,
many AAF men already have
come through here for processing
and have been moved to ports OX
embarkation for points overseas.
Col. Lewis commended the of­ficers
and noncommissioned of­ficers
on the manner in which it
ha« been operating through the
transitory period in a meeting last
week. He said:
"I know that this field has just
undergone a reorganization. You
had a difficult job and a difficult
problem. You've done it. You're
sending out men. You are reor­ganized
from a' basic training cen­ter
to an overseas depot. You've
done a remarkable job. From now
on we want to get consolidated and
get straightened out more and
more. From what I understand,
it has been soldier business. I'd
like to commend you."
Personnel New.
Meanwhile, the elimination Of
other installations from the AAF
Training Command has resulted in
numerous personnel arriving here
for assignment from these installa­tions,
including Jefferson Barracks,
Gulfport Field, Seymour Johnson
Field and Lowrey Field.
Jefferson Barracks has come un­der
the jurisdiction of the Seventh
Service Command. Gulfport Field
has been assigned to the Third
Army Air Force. Seymour John­son
Field recently was taken over
by the First Army Air Force.
Basic Training Center No. 10 was
activated here on March 1, 1943,
and served primarily in the early
months to develop soldiers of civil­ians
classified tor ground crew
duty.' Later preariation cadets
streamed in to learn the basic prin­ciples
of soldiering. More recently
men came in from War Training
Service and ASTP units for re-classiiication,
along with others
with overseas experience.
— 1 • • .
Field Jackets
Can't Be Worn
Off This Post
Field jackets may be worn on
the post during inclement weather
or whenever needed, but are spe­cifically
banned off the post at any
time. There is one exception-drivers
of vehicles and EM on de­tails,
when actually engaged in the
performance of their duty, will be
permitted to wear the jacket.
Field jackets and raincoats will
be worn at drill as directed by unit
commanders and when worn by all
members of the organization. When
worn it-will be with all buttons
and zippers fastened.