The White Falcon - 20.03.1959, Page 2

Page 2
THE WHITE FALCON
Friday, March 20, 1959
Chaplain A
'An Open Wire'
by Chaplain Austin N. Dibenedetto
The odds are heavy against a fellow these days. Unless he plans
his moves, he misses. Prom your first day of training you in the
service of your country see the attacks of the enemy. They swoop
down on you like MIGs coming out of the clouds and heading for
the alley. In the face of the enemy you see pride, lust, anger, in-
temperance, discouragement and loss of Faith. You can’t help but
recognize the fire power of the enemy.
Don’t try to fight the force along. Get help. Get through to head-
quarters. There are no medals of honor for a soldier who endangers
the outfit, for the soldier who forgets his duty.
You owe yourself an open wire to God called prayer. The nice
thing about prayer over military lines of communication is this:
you always get through.
Until the going is tough many people forget to talk to God. Then
they really get down to business. And God is supposed to answer.
Servicemen do the same thing; they often make prayer a part-time
job. With not. much work.
It would be well frequently to check your conviction on prayer.
In other words, do you really believe that prayer is always an-
swered? Maybe not the way you want it, but answered. What is
your reaction when your prayers seem not to be answered? Have you
ever put into practice the fact that you don’t have to be on your knees
to pray? Do you try to communicate with God daily?
Tuning in on the Divine Frequency regularly will put you right
on the beam.
'Denominational Services'
Announced For Protestants
Staff Chaplain, Lt. Colonel Joseph C. Sides, has announced that
in addition to the general Protestant Services now being held for
Keflavik personnel, the following denominational services will be held
by lay leaders each Sunday at Keflavik Airport.
Denomination Time Place
Christian Science 1115 Chapel Annex (T-612)
Church of Christ 1330 Base Chapel
Latter Day Saints 1500 Chapel Annex (T-612)
Episcopal 2000 Base Chapel
Spring's Here for Sure
When Easter Comes Up
(By Armed Forces Press Service)
Rebirth! The snows of winter melt, the earth turns green.
The bare bones of trees glow with buds. The air takes on
a fresh, soft fragrance. Suddenly there are birds in the sky,
and once again squirrels are
It’s Easter. It’s spring!
Is there anything incongruous
about one of the greatest of
Christian holidays also being a
time of joyous festivity? Not at
all. Although we are celebrating
the Resurrection—surely an occa-
sion for rejoicing—we are also
welcoming the advent of the ver-
nal season.
You feel it in your blood. You
understand why Easter derives its
name from that of Eostre, the
Anglo-Saxon goddess of light who
was honored each April by a
festival.
It’s a time for the young in
heart, regardless of their years.
It’s a great time for kids—when
Mom hardboils the eggs in
vegetable dyes, when the win-
dows of pet shops come alive
frisking in the parks,
with frisky bunnies and fuzzy
chicks.
Did you know that the idea of
Faster eggs came down to us from
ancient Persia and Egypt? The
eggs represent new life—the re-
current theme of all spring festi-
vals from earliest times. As for
the Easter lily, fragile and frag-
rant, it has long been associated
with the religious observances of
Holy Week preceding Easter.
No discussion of Easter in the
U.S. would be complete without a
salute to Irving Berlin whose en-
gaging song “Easter Parade” did
for the day what another of his
ballads did for Christmas. Wher-
ever you are, at home or overseas,
you’re sure to be hearing it—and
finding yourself humming it.
You’ll be “on the Avenue.”
THE WHITE FALCON
Volume 9 Number 6
HEADQUARTERS, ICELAND DEFENSE FORCE
Brig. Gen. H. G. Thorne, Jr., USAF
Island Commander Iceland (ISCOMICE)
The WHITE FALCON is an official Armed Forces newspaper published bi-monthly at
Keflavik Airport, Iceland, by and for the Army, Navy and Air Force personnel of the Iceland
Defense Force. The WHITE FALCON receives AFFS material. Views and opinions expressed
herein are not necessarily those of the Department of Defense.
Deadline for copy: noon Friday before the date of publication. Telephone numbers: 4156, 4194.
Staff
Supervising Editor ............... M/Sgt Harry D. Briscoe, USAF
Editor................................ A/3C Donald Francis, USAF
Reporter .............................. A/3C Alton Jackson, USAF
IsafoldarprentsmiOJa h.f.
by Kay Howard
“The Ugly American” by Wm.
Lederer and Eugene Burdick.
In the imaginary kingdom of
Sarkhan, southeast Asia, the fic-
ticious Ugly American and his co-
workers are the persons responsi-
ble for carrying out American for-
eign policy today, only the names
have been changed.
Ten brief fast moving sketches
drawn with knife-like precision
present the views of the authors.
We meet Luck Sears, the Amer-
ican ambassador who refuses to
learn Sarkanese. Col. Hillandale,
the Ragtime Kid, who communi-
cates with the natives via his
jazz harmonica. “Tex” Walchek,
tough, clear headed U. S. Army
Major, attached as an observer to
the French foreign legion. Joe
Bing, loud mouthed, empty headed,
ICA information chief. Father
Finian, a Jesuit priest who stym-
ied the Communists with their
qwn bait. Homer Atkins, the ugly
American engineer who realized
what the Sarkanese needed was
not high quality roads to ride
bicycles on but simple pumps to
water their land, and who suc-
cessfully worked with a Sark-
anese to produce the pump. In-
effective Senator Brown, so stifled
by a diplomatic reception he was
unable to get answers he hon-
estly sought.
Years of experience in dealing
directly with problems in south-
east Asia have given Lederer (En-
sign O’Toole and Me) and Burdick
(Ninth Wave) more than a fac-
tual background for the writing
of a novel. They have deep per-
sonal convictions about the con-
duct of Americans who represent
the U. S. abroad. Many books are
written damning U. S. foreign
policy. This is one to point out
in plain language to the general
public constructive action to cor-
rect the situation. The authors
plea is for a few highly-trained
career diplomats, steeped in the
language and culture of their as-
signment, who are willing to live
quietly by native standards and
who have an interest in diplomacy
beyond being ostentatious.
“Coppermine Journey”
From 1769 to 1772 Samuel
Hearne explored thousands of
square miles in Canada’s “Barren
Land’s. “Coppermine Journey” is
an account of his adventures sel-
ected from his journals. He went
alone on his 5000 mile walk from
Churchill on Hudson Bay to the
Coppermine River and the Arctic
coast. Twice he was deflected but
the third time reached his goal.
The journal contains penetrating
observations about the natives and
detailed information about the ter-
rain and its wildlife. Nowat.
author of “People of the Deer”
and “The dog who wouldn’t be”
has carefully selected the most
absorbing passages from the jour-
nals to form an absorbing tale.
AF Academy Gets
New Planetarium
Air Force Academy, Colo. (AFPS)
—The stars in the eyes of cadets
here are not all on the shoulders
of generals now that the Aca-
demy’s handsome new planetarium
is open for business.
Built along basically circular
lines, the structure has an outer
shell 71 feet in diameter with a
hemispherical outside dome. It
can duplicate upwards of 4,000
star patterns which will be used
lie at certain times.
Alaska As Duty Station
Favorite with Services
(By Armed Forces Press Service)
Purchased from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million—about
two cents an acre—Alaska now has a population of 210,000
of which one-fifth, or some 45,000 are members of the
Armed Forces and their dependents.
Alaska’s main cities vary from
7,100 people in Juneau, the state
captital, to populaces of 55,000 in
Fairbanks and a booming 95,000
in Anchorage.
Military social life mainly cen-
ters around on-base club and
activities. Servicemen, who can
wear civilian clothing off-duty,
find big-city attractions high
priced. For the outdoorsman, how-
ever, Alaska is a wonderland of
virgin forests, with winter sports,
camping, hunting and fishing the
favorite pastimes.
Military housing, for the most
part, is modest but good and, as
in the U.S., availability changes
with the area. Because funda-
mental furnishings are provided,
shipments of household neces-
sities and personal effects on
permanent change of station to
Alaska are limited to 2,000
95th Tank Sends
Weasel to Rescue
The fourth of March through
the sixth was a ‘first’ for many
people of Keflavik Airport, and
for the 95th Tank Platoon of the
2d Battalion Combat Team.
Keflavik was snowbound from
that Wednesday until Saturday
morning. During that time the
Tankers worked around the clock
to help the Defense Force per-
sonnel. They patroled all roads
24 hours a day, helped stranded
vehicles, and rescued marooned
personnel.
One dramatic bit of work dur-
ing that period concerned a wom-
an in the CAA quarters. She had
to be taken to the hospital, but
due to the snow drifts, and limited
visibility she couldn’t make the
trip in a wheeled vehicle. The
Tankers were called for assist-
ance. SP-5 Fred Cook, driving a
Weasel (a small track vehicle)
and SP-5 Norman Boudreau were
dispatched to her aid.
The trip out wasn’t too bad, but
the storm increased and it was
necessary for SP-5 Boudreau to
walk in front of the weasel to
guide it in its return trip. The
walk for Boudreau was from the
CAA quarters to the main base,
a distance of about two miles.
Credit is also extended to Lt. Don-
ald Valz, Commander 95th Tank
Platoon; 1st Sergeant Robert
Fredrickson; SFC Robert Alban-
ese, SFC Raymond Gyger, SFC
John DiGioveanni, and SFC Stor-
emski, the Tank Commanders;
SFC Hubert Robinson, SFC Anth-
ony Emodeo, SP-5 Fred Cook,
and SP-5 Norman Boudreau who
took turns driving the Weaseles.
as instructional aids in celestial
navigation.
Seating capacity of the plane-
tarium is 288. The interior per-
forated dome, 50 feet wide, serves
a 1,200-pound multiple projector
which can be moved in any direc-
tion to project star patterns on
the dome.
This projector, equipped with
10,000 moving parts and seven
miles of wire, duplicates star pat-
terns of the southern hemisphere
from one end and northern hem-
isphere patterns from the other.
In addition to its educational
mission at the Academy, the plan-
etarium will be open to the pub-
pounds. Single servicemen and
bachelor officers have adequate
quarters and accommodations.
Private rentals, on the whole,
are expensive, sparse and scarce.
Utilities—heat and light—also run
high. For these reasons, when
government quarters cannot be
obtained on concurrent travel, the
service generally recommend that
dependents remain at home until
military housing is open.
Where government housing is
not furnished, however, military
personnel with or without depen-
dents are entitled to either an
additional housing or cost of liv-
ing allowance, or both, depending
on whether they eat in post mess-
es. These differentials are based
on costs in excess of the averages
in the U.S.
Although there is a considerable
amount of trailer living, parks
are few and crowded. Conse-
quently families are no longer
encouraged to bring trailer homes
with them.
Commissiaries are well-stocked
with essentials and prices are
relatively moderate although 95
per cent of Alaska’s foodstuffs
are shipped in. Exchanges, cloth-
ing stores, base laundries and
other services meet stateside
standards and are available at all
stations. Foods can be bought
locally but not cheaply.
Schools through the 12th grade
are excellent and are accredited
anywhere. While the University
of Alaska just outside Fairbanks
offers the only four-year curr-
iculum, dependents attending col-
leges in the U.S. are authorized
one round trip a year on a „space-
requirement” basis so that stu-
dents may rejoin families after
the school terms.
Automobiles are a basic ne-
cessity for families and are deem-
ed “highly desirable” for others
unaccompanied by dependents, due
to limited military and civil trans-
portation. Personal vehicles shipp-
ed to Alaska, however, should be
in good repair because in the 49th
State, where long-distance travel
is by air, there are few paved
roads and a dearth of garage
facilities.
Probably the best .testimonial to
the attractiveness of military life
in Alaska, despite some short-
comings, is the considerable num-
bers of service personnel who an-
nually request extended tour at
its bases.
Air Force Picked
Service Of Choice
Forty-three West Pointers and
84 midshipmen in the 1959 gradu-
ating classes have tentatively pick-
ed the Air Force as the Service
of their choice.
Until this year, 25 per cent of
the graduating class from both
West Point and Annapolis were
permitted by law to accept com-
missions in either the Army or the
Air Force. With the Air Force
graduating its first class of 205
in June, the figure was halved.
In 1958, from a class of 499
U. S. Military Academy cadets,
142 chose the Air Force, 135 of
whom went into pilot training.
The Naval Academy class of 792
of that year contributed 185, with
57 going to flight school.