THE SQUADRON PULSE
For the Men of the Fightin’ 3rd Published in the Philippines
Vol. 1. No. 13 Weekly May 27, 1945 3rd Airdrome Squadron APO 74
LEST WE FORGET
Dammit! Must we run a second editorial on an old issue? But, it seems that we must, so this time read what we have to say carefully and let it sink in.
The issue was first proposed in the March 10th issue of the Pulse, but whether it lacked the selling punch or whether you, the Vet, stood around with your finger up the wrong aperture, nothing more was heard---so now comes Proposal II...& one more chance to get on the ball.
PROPOSAL II....On the evening of May 29th, McQueen, Chris James, Wilson, Mascolina and your editor were gathered around a table in the ritzy Club Carabao. We talked of the Frisco Conference, our home ties & the complexities the GI must iron out before he becomes a solid citizen again. Mirth was gradually giving way to the subject of a 3rd AD [Airdrome - Ed.] Postwar Convention. It was the shot in the arm we needed and without further ado, burrowed into the stumble blocks that usually confront such a venture. Our first discovery was that the sands of time were wastin’ and if we were ever to get something done, the groundwork must be laid out immediately. Problems will naturally arise, but even the biggest snags that we could cook up between us failed to dislodge the plans we tentatively outlined for such a convention.
First of all, we must know the approximate number of men interested. This, we will ascertain, simply enough, by posting a roster sheet on the bulletin board for those eagerly interested, to sign. This roster will be retained by the chairman & his committee whomsoever elected. These men will be discharged with the great and fundamental duties of keeping the veterans intact as a fraternal body and with the promotion of conventions.
Next comes the funds which would require of each member a fee as his contribution toward expenditures. For safeties sake, the collected fund would, if agreed upon, be deposited in a bank somewhere in the USA and there to remain until it is needed by the chairman and committee to pay expenses of mailing, et al.
[cartoon caption: WELL, HOW ABOUT IT MEN? SHALL WE GIVE IT A BLOODY GO? LET’S HEAR SOME NOISE -]
As we figured it, a convention would be wisely held every 2 or 3 years, or within a reasonable time to keep the ole Fightin’ 3rd spirit aglow. Each convention however, for a change of scenery, we feel, should be held in different cities, yet to the convenience to the largest number of members. It was suggested that Columbus, Ohio, the site of activation, would be the most colorful spot for the No. 1 shindig. Its convenience, its familiarity to most of us and its popularity as a convention town all adds to its favor. But, that decision rests with you, the veteran. Other places, such as Washington, D.C., St Louis, New Orleans or Kansas City are equally good, as well as convenient.
There are many snags to be smoothed over before such a grandiose affair can be safely pigeonholed away for good ole postwar days, but, if enough men show enough enthusiasm, nothing can stop us.....Fact is, nothing can stop the 3rd anyway....we all know that. Ye Editor
THE SQUADRON PULSE
Vol. 1. No. 13, May 27, 1945
Editor..........................Pfc. Stringfield
Contributing Editor...............Cpl. Calkins
Layout..............Sgt. Bland, Sgt. Mascolina
Chief Compositor..................Cpl. Drecoll
Compositor........................Cpl. Harrell
This paper may be mailed home.
FLASHBACKS - L.H. STRINGFIELD
A NIGHT ON THE PERIMETER
(2nd Installment)
It was suddenly dark. Only a trickle of moonlight seeped thru the thickening mass of black cloud as it played ghostly on the ridge of brush near the river.
For a minute I lay impressed by the eerie scene before me. If I had seen a character out of Poe’s creation scramble from the bushes, rather than a Jap, I wouldn’t have been more surprised, for the atmosphere was definitely Poe.....it was unreal, like a backdrop of some Frankenstein movie, lacking only a rolling fog.
For minutes a hushed quiet lay over us. I was conscience [conscious?] of Majewski being very alert. Somehow I felt that his impression of the sinister moonglow was the same as mine. To my right sat Launi, his head slumped over into his upraised knees and pillowed arms. He was dozing. Then, as though he sensed my thoughts, which were cussing his silhouette, he unfolded himself from his tired position and spread out behind the parapet. More minutes passed in breathless quiet, the moon began to show its full crescent, stars emerged and spangled in diamond radiance. It was a night that provokes one to lighter thoughts, even fanciful ideas about the sky and its infinite mysteries. The Army is forgotten.
Then comes the loud, rustling, crackling noise. It’s just a few yards ahead. Cold and numb thoughts swim thru your head and you lay tense, waiting. Silence, then it comes again, closer now. Slowly you melt from your frozen position and crawl noiselessly, and oh so cautiously, to the edge of the parapet......then you look over. Seeing nothing astir within eyesight, you recoil to your old position. The others are alarmed and tense. They question you in monosyllables. You answer them dumbly. “Dunno what it is, but sumpin’s out there and moving.” Three pairs of eyes come up to stare. The helmets are removed. They’d be a dead giveaway in the moonglow. A breeze is now astir, and with it a tall brush nods then twists, and writhes angrily. This is disturbing because that cracking sound is still somewhere near, and if it were a Jap sneaking about, it would be difficult to distinguish his shifting maneuvers from the swaying of the brush.
“What ya see?” someone asks nervously. “Nothin’” is the unsteady reply. By now you have a firm grip on your carbine, gradually you gain confidence. But there still is that thick feeling in the back of your head and there is little, damn little inclination to relax.
“I don’t see nothin’ either,” comes a tardy, mousey voice. “Maybe it’s rats.”
Suddenly you feel relieved. Rats, sure that’s what they are...just rats. Hell, there ain’t a Jap for miles.....there is a terrific rustling and flapping of bushes behind us now. Now we are sure that it’s rats...for no Nip no matter how cunning, unless he were invisible, could get past 3 pairs of vigil [vigilant?] eyes and maneuver to strike us from the rear.
As the night wears on, fatigue becomes more of issue than noises or even a stalking Jap. One man tries to stay awake while the other one or two snooze, but finding a snug position is nearly an impracticability, so you just stay awake.
Then came Dulag! Rain, spitting at first, gradually grew into a steady downpour. Lightning, in constant purple flashes, lit up the grassland in a fantasia of weird fairyland color and made each of us loom suddenly fantastically large & misshapen in our bundlesome raincoats & helmets. Thunder cracked and its vibrant rumble made the ear, next to the wet earth, tingle. Then the rains came down heavier. You could not stand, lest the lightning made you an easy target, so the only thing to do and be safe was to hug mother earth, enjoy the rain and lousy clinging sand and wait for breakfast and a cup of coffee.
MY DAZE By R.V. Calkins
A few years before a tub called the “Mormacsea” was knocked together, christened and dropped into the Pacific Ocean, the nomenclature and use of the Thompson Sub-Machine Gun was a sealed book to lots of people in the States. Outside of a few ordnance experts, and Dillinger and Toughy [probably meaning Roger Touhy - Ed.], the citizen would as soon fool around with a hungry python as a Tommy Gun.
THEN CAME PEARL HARBOR. (Crash! Somber background music in background scenes of guys standing in front of recruiting stations, tearful women, etc.)
So the draft boards and the recruiting stations and the old ivy covered Army Camps get together and contributed a number of men to the War Department who organized a strange and unusual organization called the 3rd Airdrome Squadron. At that time, these men, still fresh from the farms and factories and poolrooms, knew practically nothing of the gas-operated, repeating up-and-down lickety-split Tommy Gun. In fact, very few of these men (excepting armorers, ordnance, and Sgt. Lindsey) learned a gosh damn thing about it until a few weeks ago when Sgt Eckles, Cpls. Waltner and Hotchkiss bravely tore away the smokey veil of mystery & showed (through a series of compulsory lectures) that the Tommy Gun, M-1 is really as simple as a B-32 and the best friend you’ve got. (Dog and wife running a close for second place.)
After hearing Cpl. Waltner explain how disgustingly simple the Tommy Gun is, we keep kicking ourselves for not having one around the house to fool with in our spare time before the war. Naturally we can’t remember everything he said, but we did learn a lot. For those who weren’t fortunate enough to have Cpl. Waltner as teacher, the following may help you the next time you decide to tear down a Tommy Gun.
This weapon is pretty deadly if you are in range of fire. When attempting to fire it, get behind it, release the safety and pull trigger. Easy, isn’t it? Now why does this weapon operate as it does? Well, inside the mechanism somewhere, there is a thing called the “sear.” The bolt coming back (or going forward) releases a spring which pushes a gadget, which, after a loud noise, finally lets go---BANG! And there you are! So you see, it all depends on the “sear.” Next time we see Waltner, we’re going to find out what the “sear” looks like.
A lesson we can all learn, men, is to wash and polish our Tommy Guns thoroughly--especially the day before inspection.
THE GRAPEVINE By X-2
Sam Rosenblum is now boasting proudly the fact that he has won the “Neatest Tent” crown from the former and popular title holder, Zulkowski. With your hands tied, Rosy, how did you ever manage?
SOCIETY NOTES: Lew Carter, The Rebel and Elliot Low still find it profitable to brown [meaning brown-nose? - Ed.] the Filipino aristocracy. Every night you can see them decked out in their khaki best, pacing off to catch the truck to attend either a festive funeral, birthday or a birth in a certain Miranda family. It’s strictly a case of the elite.
It was brought to the attention of X-2 thru the ole grapevine that some of the men with astoundingly high scores marked up for themselves on the range, got them not by accurate shooting, but by simply fouling up in their addition.
It has been proposed that a day of silent sobbing be set aside in the near future for those who have lost their girlfriends during the last two years of absence. Grievance services will be held in Club Carabao, with Russell serving as usual behind the bar. Most of us should be present.
The big news about McDonald this week is that he didn’t make the news. Of course, now Shorty Long, he........but, maybe we shouldn’t talk about that.......
Biologically, it’s a mystery what Lindsay is wearing between his nose and upper lip. We’ll wager that if it’s not washed off soon, it might start to look like a mustache.
To those of us who live near the tracks at home should feel particularly homesick now that we have a choo choo chooing us to sweet slumbers at night.
SPORTS ROUNDUP...........by Fessenden
BASEBALL
TWO WINS: ONE TIE
This week saw the softball team keep the record of no defeats in league play, chalking up two wins from the 479th Serv Sqdn 6-5 and the 2025th QM Co 7-3. One tie game with the 1827th Ord Co called in the 10th inning with the tally at 1-all.
STATISTICS
| 3RD ADRM vs 479th SERV SQDN |
Berning,sf
Smith,cf
Cathcart,ss
Stouch,3b
Fowler,lf
Schmitz,1b
Rose,rf,p
Rohal,c
Goelzer,2b
Henry,p,rf |
|
AB
4
3
3
3
3
2
3
3
3
2 |
R
1
0
1
2
1
0
1
0
0
0 |
H
1
0
1
3
1
0
2
1
0
0 |
PO
3
1
2
1
0
5
1
5
3
0 |
A
0
0
2
1
0
0
2
3
1
0 |
E
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
1 |
RBI
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
2
0
0 |
3rd:
479th: |
4
0 |
0
0 |
0
0 |
0
3 |
1
0 |
1
0 |
0
2 |
-
- |
6
5 |
************************
| 3RD ADRM vs 2025th QM CO |
Berning,sf
Cummings,ss
Smith,cf
Stouch,3b
Fowler,lf
Schmitz,1b
Rohal,c
Goelzer,2b
Rose,rf
Henry,p |
|
AB
3
4
3
3
3
2
3
1
2
0 |
R
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
2
1 |
H
2
2
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
0 |
PO
1
1
0
1
1
7
7
3
0
0 |
A
0
3
0
1
0
2
2
0
0
1 |
E
0
2
1
0
2
0
0
0
0
0 |
RBI
2
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
2
0 |
3rd:
2025th: |
1
0 |
1
0 |
2
0 |
0
0 |
0
1 |
3
2 |
0
|
-
- |
7
3 |
************************
| 3RD ADRM vs 1837th ORD |
Berning,sf
Smith,cf
Michod,ss
Fowler,lf
Stouch,3b
Schmitz,1b
Rohal,c
Goelzer,2b
Henry,rf
Rose,p |
|
AB
5
2
3
3
4
4
2
3
4
4 |
R
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0 |
H
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
1 |
PO
0
2
3
1
2
13
4
3
2
0 |
A
1
0
5
0
3
0
0
3
0
1 |
E
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0 |
RBI
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0 |
3rd:
1837th: |
1
0 |
0
0 |
0
0 |
0
0 |
0
1 |
0
0 |
0
0 |
-
- |
1
1 |
************************
| BATTING AVERAGES |
Berning
Cummings
Cathcart
Stouch
Fowler
Schmitz
Rohal
Smith
Henry
Rose
Michod |
|
AB
17
9
7
13
13
11
12
12
8
9
2 |
H
5
4
3
4
4
3
3
3
1
4
1 |
AVG
.294
.444
.444
.308
.308
.272
.250
.250
.124
.444
.500 |
BASKETBALL
THIRD WINS NO. 4; LOSES NO. 1
During the past week, the Sqdn basketball team temporarily enjoyed undisputed League leadership by winning its fourth straight game, whipping the 870th Engrs. by the count of 30-25 on Monday and then being humbled for the first time by the 8th Fighter Control 24-17, dropping the 3rd into a tie for third place. Monday’s game with the “Gravel Slingers” was a nip and tuck ball game until the final quarter, then the 3rd turned on the heat to win by a five-point margin. Johnny Stouch sparked the victors with nine points, causing no little commotion by sinking several spectacular one-hand shots from near midcourt.
Thursday’s defeat at the hands of the Fighter Control Club toppled the “Fightin’ 3rd” out of both the League leadership and also out of the ranks of the undefeated. The 8th took the lead right at the beginning and they held on to it throughout the entire game just as tightly as Ace holds onto his “A” bag. Legal, the winners’ lanky center piling up 13 points, proved to be the leading factor in the 3rd’s downfall.
Noticeable in the game was the lack of fight on the part of the 3rd, which heretofore has been its chief asset. Big Bill Fowler was high man for the 3rd with 7 points.
TOTALS FOR THE 870TH GAME:
Stouch,f
Brentano,f
Fowler,c
Cathcart,g
Brown,f
Bland,g |
|
G
3
0
1
3
1
0 |
F
3
1
4
2
2
2 |
P
9
1
6
8
4
2 |
|
|
