PENNANT PARADE
VOL. 2
NO. 12
NOV. 6,
1945
14th DAY
AT SEA
[cartoon caption: "NOW - WHERE WERE WE?" (Milton Caniff)]
We are here! Before us is Seattle - America - that Utopia we've all longed
for all these many months or years. Now, we must pause and ask ourselves, "Where were we?" This is a rather hard-put question. In a way, it is like a punch in the
jaw, leaving us stunned and groggy. We are hesitant; fuddled in answering. For
the most of us, a great flow of foul, muddled waters has run under the old proverbial bridge of time.
Time and
its war have changed us and revolutionized the world about us. We
can no longer expect a return to our normal leisures and livelihoods. WE'RE
DIFFERENT AND THE WORLD'S DIFFERENT.
So, we must find the new person, hewn by war, within ourselves and make it
keep pace with the trend of time's ups downs. Face the blatant world with a
proud and new slate
- the one you fought for and won. Show weakness, and you
will surely be trampled upon.
Perhaps you might ask the girlfriend, "Where were we?" - but to the world
it is
"DAMN THE TORPEDOES, FULL SPEED AHEAD!"
Vol. II, No. 12 6 Nov. 1945 Page 2
STAFF
Editor.............Len Stringfield
Sports Editor......William O'Brien
Artist.............R.E. Doyle
Feature Writers....John A. Polomski
Roy K. Dumas
Richard Berlow
Bud Nye
Mimeographer.......Jimmy Lucci
Trans. CO...Capt. Richard Gimpel
Master......Capt. George Hansen
Trans. Sv.
Off....Lt. Leonard Miskit
World News by
Courtesy of the Ship's
Radio
GERONIMO
The ship's library was the 'press
room' for the PENNANT'S staff and,
in turn, we were the headache of
its voyage custodian, Sgt. Herb Metzelaar.
When we first
descended on and met Herb, he was a very affable 'trooper.' We
weren't sure he was a real trooper
until we noted his boots, insignia on hat and shoulder, and
three sets of wings distributed
here and there. Anyway, we'd move in and clutter up his local area
every hour on the hour, steal his
forbidden fruit, and play hell,
generally, with his domain. Today he cracked. With a cry of 'Geronimo'
he attacked ye editor and staff;
killed 'em all. I, myself am bleeding badly - So long fellows!
CHAPLAIN'S CORNER
"Praise Ye the Lord. O give
thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for
his mercy endureth forever." - Psalm 106:1
As we get the first glimpse
the shores of our United States, for
some, the first time in three years,
we recall a portion of 'America the Beautiful.'
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America, America,
God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.
Never have you appreciated your
country and home like you will now, after such a long absence. Truly it is a time of rejoicing,
and it should come forth with a real
spirit of thanksgiving to our God.
First of all, because we are citizens of the greatest nation on earth. Next, because He has spared our
lives and brought us safely home.
Let not our appreciation end with mere
words of thanksgiving, but
let us show by our acts and decisions of
the future that we are grateful to God by giving Him his rightful
place in our lives.
God bless you, soldier, and a
happy homecoming!
[cartoon captions:
"HEY GUYS!! GET A LOAD OF THIS"
THE STAFF
PENNANT NEWSROOM
"WHERE THE HELL DOES THE 'X' GO?"
"I WONDER IF 'MESS KIT' WILL LIKE THIS?"
["mess kit" was a nickname for Lt. Leonard Miskit - Ed.]
"I NEVER DID KNOW THE SCORE"
"SOME SH-TUFF!"
"KEEP 'EM COMIN' BOYS, WHILE I'M HOT!!"
"I DON'T CARE IF IT AIN'T FUNNY - I LIKE IT!"
"CAN I COME IN?"
"SHOVE OVER - YOU LUGS - I'M IN THIS TOO!"]
Vol. II, No. 12 6 Nov. 1945 Page 3
[cartoon captions:
SEATTLE U.S.A.
MS PENNANT
SAKE]
PENNANT'S VALEDICTORY
By Bud Nye
Processing at your separation
center will probably prepare
you pretty well for the more obvious
hazards of stepping back into the
civilian traces...like what kind
of jobs to accept for your wife,
and how much disability your athlete's foot is good for, and so on.
But here are few small items
that Reorientation may overlook
and which could cause trouble if
given any thought:
First, remember that you are
back in the States. Home. The
people here are friendly. They are warmhearted, generous folks,
fond of dancing and light wines
and of running each other over
with automobiles.
Your people are proud of you. They are interested in you, and
they want you to tell them everything you did overseas. You, of
course, will tell them. In a keg's bunghole, you will....unless you
talk unguardedly in your sleep,
in which case I suggest you re-enlist and waive the furlough.
In the States, the standard
greeting is "Hello." The hello is
not a mark of subservience; it is just the civilian way of saluting and is a show of mutual respect between, say, boss and employee. I remember one of my bosses in the old days. He used to
breeze in every morning and give
us all a big cheery hello, including a shower of breakfast toast crumbs. One faction in the office claimed that it wasn't a hello at all, but just a post-subway belch. That is neither here nor there;
the important thing is, he did it
with smile.
When you get home, don't let
the array of gleaming porcelain in
the bathroom scare you. Experiment; most of the plumbing fixtures are self-explanatory, and
the most you can lose is a couple pairs of
soiled socks before
you are thoroughly oriented
on plungers, plugs, taps, and the like.
The young women are wonderful.
They are all quite
beautiful and, best all,
they speak English fluently.
Lewd pantomime, gentlemen, is out. For good.
It might be well, before
taking a young lady out the
evening, to get up a short list
of adjectives and adverbs to substitute for that utility word
you've found so handy in the Army. The list could be pinned inside
the lapel for easy reference.
Then, instead of saying, "I hear
Oklahoma! is a
_____ good musical," you could say, "I hear Oklahoma! is a very good musical," or "I hear Oklahoma! is an excellent musical." In a jam, if you were to lose the list, you could even get by with, "I hear Oklahoma! is a musical."
Keep your sentences short
and simple for the first few weeks. When you have gained confidence, you can start using old forgotten words like nice, beautiful, pretty, pale, smooth, small, and
wonderful. Don't be
nervous, now. Act just as if you've always been a civilian.........
Vol. II, No. 12 6 Nov. 1945 Page 4
IT PAYS TO KNOW
ABOUT WEARING YOUR UNIFORM AFTER DISCHARGE:
You are entitled to wear your
uniform from the place you
receive your discharge to your
home, provided that you go there
within three months of the discharge date.
You may also on
occasions of public ceremony
such as parades or meetings of
veteran or other organizations.
In such cases, you may wear the uniform
with the highest rank or
grade that you held during the war.
You may wear decorations
and service ribbons which have
been awarded to you, on your uniform on occasions of public ceremony, or on your civilian clothes
when desired.
ABOUT REPORTING TO YOUR LOCAL
DRAFT BOARD:
One thing that you must do
immediately after discharge or separation from
the service is to go to
the local draft board,
whether or not you have registered previously, and report the fact
that you are now separated from
the armed forces. You are required to do this within 10 days after discharge. If the board is distant, write a brief letter telling them when and where you were discharged, the address where you can be reached, and your Army serial number. You will receive
a classification card which will
establish your identity and Selective Service status. If
the
card comes back 1-A [eligible to be drafted - Ed.], take one (1) each samurai sword and
disembowel each (one) of the board members.
You must keep your local board
advised of any change of address
so that you may be notified of
any change
in classification or
any other event which concerns
you officially or personally. Remember that you have the same
obligations as any other civilian.
Failure to register or to report
changes of address is a federal offense.
Later on, you may change
your residence and may wish to
use the employment facilities of
the local board in your new community, which you may do by presenting to them your copy of WD AGO Form
53 [military discharge document, now called DD Form 214 - Ed.]. Go to the nearest
Selective Service local board for
any additional information.
SPORTS
The 'regatta' is over and among other things, I
have my
heart set on a football or hockey
game, a little hunting
and fishing, and, well, sport.
I also have my heart set
on never having such a program
interrupted again by a lousy kraut, Jap, or any other breed.
I believe there is only one
way to see
to this matter. No
individual can accomplish it
alone. WE - the lads that
spent these rotten months and years
out this way, can do it though,
and here is the formula:
We've
always been pretty
good at knowing baseball averages,
racing forms, football or basketball statistics, but how many of
us kept the score on what was going
on in the world around us? Not many!
It is up to us to keep the
'world' box scores this time; to
insist on realistic foreign
diplomacy and action in order
that budding threats never blossom.
An aggressive, well-informed
civilian populace would have checked this last mess, and, believe it or
not, boys, WE are about to be
the civilian populace!
Happy Hunting! ....................
[cartoon caption: "HE JUST KEEPS SAYING 'POM-POM, POM-POM?' WHAT DOES HE MEAN?"]
["Pom-pom" was slang for women's breasts, or sexual intercourse in general. - Ed.]
Vol. II, No. 12 6 Nov. 1945 Page 5
[cartoon caption: "HOME FROM THE ORIENT?"]
GOVERNMENT AID
Your second interest after being discharged will probably be to get yourself a job. The gov't
has made a number of arrangements to help you do this. Form 100 is
made up for you to use in finding a job.
On it will be all the important
information about you which an employer would like to have, so it's best to use it.
The Selective Service System maintains a Veterans Reemployment Program. This program has been
organized so that it works in
Washington, in your state capital,
and in your own community. On your local Selective Service Board
there is a man who has been assigned to advise you about getting a job. He is known as a Reemployment
Committeeman. When you report to your
local board after discharge, be sure and meet him. He will want to go over your Form 100 with you. Information on this form becomes useful to him in helping you get your old job back or a new job in line with your special training.
IF YOU WANT YOUR OLD JOB BACK:
If you worked for a private employer and cannot call on him immediately,
make application in writing
to him at the earliest
possible time and keep a copy of your letter. Tell him when you can probably return to work, but remember
that you must make application for
reemployment within 40 days after
the date of your discharge.
Your former employer is required to give you your old job back
(or its equivalent) if he possibly
can, at the same rate of pay and
with the same seniority and privileges you previously had, provided you apply within 40 days after your
separation from active
service. Moreover, the law says that he will not discharge you without cause within one year of your reemployment.
If
you have difficulty, go to
your local reemployment committeeman, who will do his best to help you. If necessary, he can obtain the assistance of the U.S.
District
Courts and the federal district attorneys.
This service is free.
IF
YOU WANT A NEW JOB - OR - IF YOU WERE NOT PREVIOUSLY EMPLOYED:
In such a case, the United States
Employment Service (USES.) is ready to assist you. The
USES is a nationwide federal organization that helps people get jobs. Its services are free. An
important part of the USES is its
Veterans Employment Service.
In each local employment office
there is maintained a Veterans Employment
Division which gives
special attention to the employment of
veterans. Get in touch with any one of its 1,500 offices when you
leave the Army. You will be helped
in getting a job in your own city
or in any place where there may be a
need for a person of your abilities.
IN MEMORIUM
I assume when we resume
Our life in tweedy mufti,
We'll forget the days in Army Phase
When our clothes were dark and dusty.
[Mufti is plain civilian clothes worn by someone who normally wears a uniform at their job. - Ed.]
We'll forget the louse,
Who made his house
In between the stitches.
And
his neighbors,
Who confined their labors
Throughout our moldy britches.
It broke my heart,
When I had to part
With a set on down the line.
We'd become a pair
By weeks of wear,
And things were going fine.
When one night, clear and bright
The siren started blowing.
It seemed some nip [Jap - Ed.] had
found a ship
And was out to do some sowing.
I performed a roll
Into a hole [foxhole - Ed.]
And made mudpies with a buddy.
Then one hit
Near our slit!
Ye gods! my
pants were muddy!
I buried those 'knickers' on the spot;
Inscribed this nomenclature,
"Here lies
a pair killed with one shot;
Made by a call
to nature."
W.P. O'B.
[William O'Brien, the sports editor. - Ed.]
[cartoon caption:
SOUTH SEAS TRAVEL BUREAU
INFORMATION
BEAUTIFUL PALAU
VISIT ENCHANTING OKINAWA
"I DON'T THINK PVT. BLOW IS THE RIGHT MAN TO HAVE HERE!"]
Vol. II, No. 12 6 Nov. 1945 Page 6
[cartoon caption: "JAPAN TO U.S.A. - BY RAIL"]
DEAR EDITOR
So we took the skipper up on
it. Yep, he'll learn to offer
return trip tickets.
It all started back in Jan.
1943 when the Boat Bn of the
542nd Amphib Engrs shipped from
Frisco to Australia aboard the
Pennant (same old ship with a
few improvements - refrigeration
system).
We stopped over at Auckland, New Zealand, for about
18 hours; and since the Chaplain
was on the ball, he got us kegs
of beer, which was consumed
quite readily.
In your first edition, you
mentioned some of the "elite"
outfits aboard, but there are
a hundred some Amphibs here, too,
from the 2nd Engr Special Brigade - sorta feel like we should
have been mentioned. After all,
we've had units working with
every divy represented aboard,
as well as the Air Corps. During our campaigns "over there,"
units of the brigade were awarded seven Presidential Unit
Citations, as well as participating in 87 different amphibious assault landings.
- An Amphib.
Editor's Note:
Parade's apologies to the
542nd Amphibs. Our first edition overlooked all sorts of things,
but we hope that this final
edition will medicinally smooth
over all our past sore spots.
OUR THANKS
The Parade's staff wishes
here to express its sincere gratitude to the Ship's Troop Office and especially to Lt. Miskit (a
regular guy) for their cooperation, helping us get the paper out.
[cartoon captions:
E.M. MESS HALL
"SEND TWO MORE KP'S!"
"'SCUSE IT, SARGE!"
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