The ORD news [May 12, 1944]

              3S03RD AAF
BASE UNIT THE ORD NEWS FORMERLY
BTC 10-SHUN
VOL. 3. NO. 2. Greensboro, N. C, Friday, May 12, 1944. FREE DISTRIBUTION
She's G. I. Mother Of Wac Detachment
SILVER-HAIRED AIR WAC, Pvt. Emmie S.
Mertins of Asheville, (left) showing a- Mother's Day
floral offering to Sgt. Louise Fowler, is known as
"mom" to most of her buddies in the Wac detach­ment
here. Pvt. Mertins' husband is receiving
treatment at the veterans hospital at Oteen, she has
a son in training as a Seaman 2nd Class with the
Naval Reserves at Pensacola, and a daughter who is
now also joining the Women's Army Corps. She has
been assigned to duty at the Commissary.
By
Bond Flag
Earned
Employes
For the s e c o n d consecutive
month, announces Maj. L. B. Can­non,
officer in charge of the Per­sonal
Affairs section, civilian per­sonnel
of this post-have maintained
a war bond purchasing record
which entitles the unit to the Sec­retary
of War *T" flag.-
The pennant has been ordered
and will be presented at formal
ceremonies upon its arrival. It is
awarded all units having a record
of 90 percent or more of civilian
personnel purchasing War Bonds
regularly, with purchases totaling
at le=st 10 percent of the gross
payroll.
During the month of April, Maj.
Cannon reports, 93.1 percent of post
civilian personnel participated in
the war bond purchasing program.
The amount of bonds purchased
during .the month represented 10.1
percent of the total payroll for that
period.
Among the major departments of
the post, the Medical employes
alone had a record of 100 percent
participation. Quartermaster and
Adjutant General employes each
had 96 percent participation. Of the
smaller groups, perfect 100 percent
records were made by the offices
of Rail Transportation, Signal,
Chemical Warfare and Enlisted
Men's Welfare.
Individual membership cards in
the "Bond-a-Month" club will be
issued to all employes buying one
or more bonds each month.
Personnel Of Post To Observe
Another Wartime Mother's Day
Aquatic Meet
Starts Monday
In Proximity Y
The aquatic GIs get their chance
to kick water in somebody's face
this week with another post swim­ming
meet scheduled to get under
way Monday at 7 p. m. at the Prox-
'imity YMCA and the finals set for
the following evening at the same
• time in the White Oak Y.
The meet follows the same pat-
.Jem of those of the past, the last
lAvhich was won by the former
8nd group, now Section Q. There
! be eight events. Any man may
enter one individual event and
one of the two relays, as well.
These are the events: 40 yard
free style; 60 yard free style; 40
yard back stroke; 40 yard breast
stroke; 60 yard individual medley;
. 160 yard relay (free style); 120
yara medley relay, and diving in
. which there are three compulsory
dives—the swan, back dive and
jhaii twist, and three thai are op­tional.
In. the 60 ya»d medley, a man
swims 20 yards with a back stroke,
20 more with the breast stroke ana
the final 20 free style.
Another wartime Mother's Day
will be observed Sunday with ac­cented
emotions by millions of
mothers and their sons — and
daughters — in service.
Separations brought about by
the present world conflict bring
special emphasis and meaning to
the day for all men and women
in service, and for their mothers
"back home." For many soldiers
and WACS, Sunday will be the
first Mother's Day spent away
from their home communities,
their families and their homes.
GIs here at this AAF overseas
replacement depot deluged the
main PX greeting card counter
weeks in advance, exhausting the
supply of Mother's Day greeting
cards last week. Hunlreds of or­ders
were also taken at a special
PX boom for flowers to be wired
home to mothers of G.I. Joes a-nd
G.I. Janes stationed here.
For some mothers, the situation
is reversed, for among the Air
Wacs who recently reported for
duty are several mothers who
themselves are wearing khaki in
the service of their country. Sev­eral
of these have sons or daugh­ters
also serving in various
branches of service. For these,
particularly, mail call has-been an
all-important event during the
last week. For these, Sunday will
be a day of memories, and of
prayer.
Army Nurses
All Enrolled
In Aid Society
All Army Nurses stationed on the
post now have joined the AAF Aid
Society, bringing the total of of­ficers
who have enrolled in the so­ciety
to 138, it is announced by Maj.
L. B. Cannon, personal affairs of­ficer.
The Army Nurse membership
total 57.
The AAF Aid Society, formed as
a direct result of the efforts,of Gen.
H. H. Arnold, commanding general
of the AAF, and Mrs. Arnold, is or­ganized
as a post-war relief agency
for AAF personnel and their de­pendents.
It is now collecting
funds with which to carry out such
relief work. Membership in the or­ganization
will not necessarily enr
title a former AAF officer or en­listed
man to benefits, however. If
entitled to aid, the veteran need not
hold a membership card.
There are four classes of mem­bership:
Patron members who pay
$100; life members who pay $50
•with no further dues; benefactor
members, five dollars per year, and
members-at-large, whose dues are
one dollar a year.
Membership applications may be
made to Maj. Cannon.in Building
r-i8i.
Everyone Works
In This Army^
India.—(CNS)-Cpl. John Wolfe,
a staff car chauffeur, was driving
along a muddy road with a load
of brass in the rear seat. Suddenly
the car became mired in the "mud
and wouldn't move. Cpl. Wolfe
gazed hopelessly at the hub-deep
muck.
One of Wolfe's passengers, a gen­eral,
turned to the others, a colonel
and two lieutenant colonels, and
said: "Well, gentlemen, what are
we waiting for?"
Then one star, one eagle and two
silver leafs proceeded to push two
stripes and a staff car out of a
muddy hole.
Thousands Seek
Infantry Service
Washington (CNS)—The War De­partment
has announced that thou­sands
of enlisted men under 32
recently requested transfer to the
Infantry so that they can "fight the
enemy at close quarters." In many
cases these requests are being
granted, the WD added.
One Year Of Service
Marked This Week By
Greensboro VSO Club
Greensboro's bright and spacious USO Club a year ago
this Monday swung wide its doors to servicemen for the
first time, and, to commemorate the occasion of its anni­versary,
club officials are planning a full, diversified,
week of entertainment for the GIs.
It is a timely coincidence that
the USO's birthday and Mother's
Ideas Pay
Inspirations
Bring Passes
To Two EM
Two GIs have received three-day
passes, and a civilian employee has
been awarded a cash sum of $5 for
prize - winning ideas submitted
through the post's Suggestion Box
department, it is reported by Capt.
Paul Brown, recorder for the spe­cial
board in charge.
Soldiers who received the coveted
three-day passes as rewards for
their mental efforts, are S/Sgt.
Richard F. Tull of the 1188th Train­ing
Group, and Pvt. Warner B. Dan­iels,
302nd Wing, 1181st Group. Miss
Virginia Riddle of the Motor Pool
is the prize-winning civilan em­ployee
who received $5.
Pvt. Daniels' suggestion that safe­ty
guards be built on each side of
all bridges on the post earned his
three-day pass, while S/Sgt. Tull
submitted the recommendation that
tin cans be placed around guide
lights over entrances to orderly
rooms, as shields. The cans will pre­vent
water dripping from the roof
directly on the hot bulbs and crack
ing them.
To win her $5 cash prize, Miss
Riddle suggested that a directory
of Headquarters be posted at the
front entrance, with directions, in
order that persons unfamiliar with
the building might locate their ob­jectives.
Similar prizes ace still offered GI
Joes and employes for sound, usable
suggestions. If you have such an
idea you will be making a contri­bution
to the post, and perhaps be
qualifying for a pleasant three-day
respite from duty by dropping it in
one of the manv Suggestion Boxes
scattered throughout the camp. Put
your mind to work!
Hail Proves Useful
To GIs In Assam
Assam.—(CNS)—It doesn;t hail
much in Assam but when it- does,
GIs take full advantage of it. Dur­ing
a recent heavy hailstorm,
Yanks gathered up the glistening
hailstones to cool their beer and
cokes.
New CO Of Wac Detachment
Comes From Military Family
. The daughter of a soldier, born
on an Army supply base at
Newport News, Va., the new com­manding
officer of the post Air
Wac detachment, 1st Lt. Mary L.
Porter, boasts a background that
has been more or less GI all her
life.
Lt. Porter, who succeeded 1st
Lt. Zola M. Schumacher as Wac
commander last week, is a
daughter of Col. E. D. Porter,
Chief of Infantry training for the
16th Corps at Fort Riley, Kan.
She reported for duty here last
week from Jefferson Barracks,
Mo., where she had served for
one month as commanding officer
of a large Wac detachment. Prior
to that time Lt. Porter had served
at Seymour Johnson Field and
at Camp Atterbury, Ind.
As the daughter of an Army
officer, Lt. Porter has traveled
widely throughout the United
States and the world. "Home,"
she explains, "has always been
wherever dad was stationed," and
her father's frequent transfers
have taken her, among other
places, to both Hawaii and the
Philippines.
The new Wac commander has
a sister serving as an ensign in
the Waves, stationed at Bunker
Hill Naval Air station near Peru,
Ind. Without giving ages, Lt. Por­ter
pointed out that she is the
oldest of the all-military family
by explaining that her father was
a 1st lieutenant when she was
born, a captain when her sister
entered the-world. Her mother
1st LT. MARY L. FOSTER.
is making her present home in
Galesburg, 111..
Lt. Porter was sworn in to
the Waac, before it dropped the
"Auxiliary" from its name, on
August 4, 1942.
Day are just'a day apart, for it is
the express purpose of the United
Service Organization to provide "a
home away from home."
Indeed, the USO has decided tdl
go all out for GI Joe on Mother's
Day to give the event a double-barreled
significance. For it will al­so
mark off the end of the club's
first year of service, at 363 North
Elm street, and the start of a sec­ond.
It has been a year of which
any USO might be proud.
Hospitality Hour.
There will be free doughnuts and
coffee in the morning, as usual, but
the hospitality hour will be
lngthened into two hours, and the
refreshments will be more in keep­ing
with the good cheer and con­viviality
of the day. The dispensing
of punch and cake will start at 3
oclock in the afternoon and last
till 5 in the main lounge. Mothers
of servicemen will toe present as
special guests.
You can make a voice recording
between those same hours, and
even if it be a trifle late, it wouldn't
toe a bad idea to speak your
sentiments of the day and have
them sent home. The USO wiU
take care of the details.
A community sing is listed for
5 p. m., and a fast, melodic variety
show of soldier entertainment goes
on at 7. Alfred Hitchcock's "Shadow
of a Doubt," a grade A suspense-ful
film, will be screened gratis at
Tournament Night.
Other nights in the week will
probably feature a special attrac­tion,
though plans haven't fully
developed. Tonight is tournament
night, with prizes in bridge, ping
pong and checkers; and informal
dancing with GSO girls in attend­ance.
A regularly scheduled dance with
music by a. military band is set
for Saturday night. A band concert
at 8 is Monday's big draw. Bingo,
fun nisht and dance instructions,
as well as voice recordings, are
all a part of the Tuesday doings.
Another weekly Wednesday night
dance is on the program, while
on Thursday the Army Wives club
meets, at 3 o'clock in the after­noon,
a quiz party goes on at 8,
along with the arts and crafts class,
and dance instructions once again
for the uninitiated at 9.
Key Overseas
Personnel May
Get Furloughs
A plan whereby key personnel*
both officers and enlisted men,
whose jobs are of a nature which
makes them in a measure indispen­sable
in overseas theaters may be
granted ' non-emergency leaves and
furloughs to visit their -homes in
the United States and then return
to their assignment overseas, was
announced by the War Department
in Washington.
The War Department pointed out,
however, that personnel returned
for these non-emergency leaves and
furloughs, while distinct from per­sonnel
returned under the rotation
plan, will be included in quotas for
overseas theaters under present ro­tation
policies and will not increase
the number of men returned to this
country.
Return to Jobs.
Personnel returned* under the ro­tation
plan are not ordered over­seas
again until they have per­formed
duty in the United States.
Personnel granted non-emergency
leaves and furloughs will not serve
in the United States, but will be
returned to their overseas jobs. The
task of finding suitable replace,
meni overseas for such personnel
on leave or furlough will be of
only a temporary nature, until the
expiration of leave.
Theater commanders in all but
the Central Pacific and European
theaters will be authorized to grant
to key personnel non-emergency
leaves and furloughs within the ro­tation
quotas for their tfieaters.
The basic problems which prevent
the shipment of large numbers of
men to this country for rotation and
for leaves and furloughs remain.
Theater commanders will be in­structed
to regard leaves and fur-
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