The White Falcon - 18.11.1944, Qupperneq 2

THE WHITE FALCON
OUR FORCES — ALWAYS ALERT
Published by and for the American Forces in Iceland, undef
the supervision of Special Service Section, Iceland Base Com-
mand. All photographs are by the U.S. Army Signal Corps'un-
less otherwise credited. THE WHITE FALCON receives material
supplied by Camp Newspaper Service, War Dept.
This paper has been passed by the censor and may be mailed
home for one-and-one-half cents.
—SINKING OF GODAFOSS
BY NAZI SUBMARINE
THE WHITE FALCON is written and edited by enlisted-man
personnel.
IBG Special Service Officer ..Lt. Col. Lee F. Gilstrap.
Supervising Officer ..........Lt. David Zinkoff.
Managing Editor ..............Sgt. John Moran
Associate Editor .............Sgt. J. Gordon Farrell
Troop News Editor.............Cpl. Robert Hfll
Staff Reporter ...............Pvt. E. G*. Gray
Multllith Operator ...........S/Sgt. N. H. Heppel
-ABROAD IN ICELAND-
(Continued from Page 1)
BORG SQUARE
What GIs popularly
call "Borg Square" is
actually called Aust'
urvollur (meaning East
Square) in Icelandic.
The misnomer, derived
from the Hotel Borg, a
prominent building fa
cing the square, is a
convenient one due to
the difficult pronun-
ciation of Austur-
vollur and is probably
used for that reason.
The square was orig-
inally part of one of
the first farms in Ice
land, being owned by
one of the first Nor-
wegian settlers here
in 876 A. D. It was
thus named Austurvol-
lur, meaning the east-
ern part of the lawn
or farm.
For many recent
years it has been used
as a "village green"
but in 1936 flower
beds and paths were
laid out and the sta-
tue of Jon Sigurdsson
was erected there.
Jon Sigurdsson who
lived from 1811 to 18-
78, is considered to
be the "father" of
Iceland—the undispu-
ted leader of the na-
tion. A prominent sc-
holar and statesman,
he was also the first
modem parliamentarian
in the nation and de-
voted his life to the
development of the
country.
Flanking one side
of the Austurvollur is
the Reykjavikur Apotek
(the Reykjavik Drug-
store Building) which
is the oldest merchant
enterprise in Iceland.
Founded in 1760, the
Apotek is also the fi-
rst and oldest chemist
or drugstore, in the
country. The nearby
Hotel Borg was built
in 1929.
Olafur Thors, met the
vessel bringing surviv-
ors. Rescue vessels
sent to the scene made
careful patrols of the
area to be sure that
none of the survivors
might be overlooked.
Accounts of surviving
crew members vary some-
what, but it is evident
that the torpedo struck
jthe Godafoss port side,
aft.
LIFE RAFTS SUCKED DOWN
IN UNDERTOW
Hairsbreadth escapes
aboard during the few.
minutes the vessel re-
mained afloat have been
described by surviv-
ors - some of the es-
capes followed by death
in the cold water al-
ongside, as swimmers a-
pproaching life rafts
were sucked down by the
sinking vessel’s under-
tow. Three crew members
^were in the crew's din-
ing room on deck when
the torpedo struck. Sp-
lintering timbers bloc-
ked the door, but they
climbed through a rift
in the wall.
ONLY ONE WOMAN SURVIVES
DISASTER
Aslaug Sigurdardottir
- the only woman to es-
cape alive, jumped from
a lifeboat hanging on
the starboard davits
below, just as the raft
slid into the water.
She was not even damp-
ened until the long
wait on the heavily ra-
ft began, where she
and half-a-dozen com-
panions sat waist deep
in water during the two
hours that elapsed be-
fore rescue vessels
came. The 20-year-old
girl, returning home a-
fter two years' study
at Columbia Univer-
sity's Teachers' Coll-
ege in New York, calm
after the ordeal her-
self, said that all had
conducted themselves
like heroes - that th-
ere had been no shouts
and no confusion. The
only other of the 12
passengers to survive
was Agnar Kristjansson,
Reykjavik youth, who
was also returning from
studies in the United
States.
OOT NOTES
By
’ P«T. t. J(uk (rVA.y
Not too many GIs- know that at Red Cross
Headquarters here there are three girls kept
busy all day just running the office....They
are: Miss Edith Holgrate, Collinswood, N. J.:
Miss Elsie Strand, Los Angeles, Calif: Miss
Dorothy Fitzpatrick, Jeffersonville, Mo....So
for those who wonder why they do not ever see
these girls at the Centers, or if they do, why
they aren't around more often, remember that
they have already put in their day at headquar-
ters and do not have too much time for extra-
curricular activities.
* * *
Billboard's current rating of popular
songs: "I'll Walk Alone"..."How Many V Hearts
Have You Broken?"..."Dance With Dolly"..."Toge-
ther "..."Swinging on a Star"..."Is You Is or Is
You Ain't"...Now that all the major radio pro-
grams have returned to the air for the winter,
Hooper lists them in this popularity standing:
Bob Hope...Edger Bergen...Walter Winchell....
Jack Benny...Joan Davis - Jack Haley. ....Screen
Guild Players...Radio Theatre...Kay Kyser.
* * *
Back home people are talking about: The
new twist on Gin Rummy, called Oklahoma Gin...
it takes two ppcks, has two-3pots wild, the
Queen of Spades counting fifty...Television's
new programs now being broadcast, which have a
certain resemblance to early movies like "The,
Great Train Robbery"...That the top shows on
Broadway are still the old ones..."Oklahoma!"
"One Touch of Venus"..."The Voice of the Tur-
tle"... "Carmen Jones"...Although some of ther
openings this season like "Bloomer Girl" "Song'
of Norway" "Anna Lucasta" and others, are close
runner-ups.
* * *
Records of a special two-hour Christmas
Show for servicemen overseas has been made by
the Armed Forces Radio Service for distribution
to outposts all over the world...The show fea-
tures Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Dinah Shore, Fred
Allen, Ginny Simms and many other top-notch en-
tertainers .
—CHILL WILLS SHOW
(Continue!? from Page 1)
ing" as Hitler would
sing it,
Singer Lynne Arlen
wowed the GIs with her
charming stage presence
and her shapely gowns.
It remained for Tay-
lor and Mi Okie Trout to
bring down the house
with their juggling for
they epitomized all the
glamour associated with
old-time vaudeville.
Wills, a past-master
at comedy, popped up
all over the theater
heckling the audience
and performers, alike
with his sharp humor.
As usual, S/Sgt. Bar-
ney Morel and his Air
Corps Band did a bang-
up job in the pit.
ARC Marks Turkey
Day With Football
Movie And Formal
Thanksgiving Day will
be observed with a full
program of activities
at ARC Club 14.
At 1500 hours, the
Icelandic premiere will
be held of the techni-
color movie of the 1944
Ga. Tech - Tulsa Sugar
Bowl game.
Army, Marine and Navy
personnel join in the
presentation of the Co-
lors at 2015 hours.
Sgt, John Moran, Editor
of the White Falcon,
will give a short talk
on Thanksgiving,
The Air Corps. Band
takes over at 2030 to
swing out for the dan-
cers at the Thanksgiv-
ing Formal.