The White Falcon - 03.02.1945, Blaðsíða 4

4
THE WHITE FALCON is published weekly by and for the
American Forces in Iceland, under supervision of Special Ser-
vice Section, Iceland Base Command. Some material is supplied
by Camp Newspaper Service, New York City, republication
of which is prohibited without CNS approval. THE WHITE
FALCON has been passed by the censor and may be mailed
home for one-and-one-half cents.
IBC Special Service Officer .Capt. Hebcr P. Itussell
Supervising Officer ........Lt. David Zinkoff
Editor .....................Sgt. John Moran
Associate Editor ...........Sgt. J. Gordon Farrell
News Editor ................Cpl. Robert Hill
Staff Reporter .............Pvt. E. C. Gray
Circulation ................S/Sgt. Rosario Tessier
AN EDITORIAL:
Red Army Strikes At
Home Of ‘Supermen’
There's so much in the news these days that almost
nothing seems “startling” or “momentous" anymore,
l et, if the Soviet announcement, Tuesday night, of the
lied Army's entry into the German Province of Bran-
denburg cannot be called “startling" or even unexpect-
ed, it informed the world of what — almost certainly
— will be looked upon as one of the most significant
events of the entire European War.
While it is rated as a highly industrialized area and
therefore important for the Germans to defend and the
IAllies /• attack, Brandenburg is of chief concern be-
cause its principal city is the German capital of Berlin.
The third largest city in the world, Berlin — perhaps
to a greater degree than most other capitals — stands
as a symbol of national unity. Until JH70, when modern
Germany came into being, Berlin had been the nucleus
around which the Hohenzollerns had built the militar-
istic state of Prussia, and since the 15th Gentury, Prussia
.— the birthplace of the “Tomorrow the World" school
of thought — has dominated all other German states
in war and in peace.
What effect a Soviet occupation of Berlin might pro-
duce upon the Nazi war effort is anybody’s guess, but
undeniable is the opportunity it will extend to the Allies
of stifling Prussian influence over the rest of Germany
for all time to come.
CIO Unit Asks Discharge
Of Soldiers Essential
To War Production
The International, Execut-
ive Board of the CIO, Unit-
ed Automobile Workers, has
gone on record as favoring
the discharge of any soldier
who is found essential to war
production instead of fur-
loughing enlisted men to take
war jobs to relieve the labor
shortages. The Board also
suggests that Selective Ser-
vice cease inducting men
where shortages are known
to exist.
America Needs
Henry Wallace
Asserts FDR
Pres. Roosevelt this week,
in a message read by Mrs.
Roosevelt at a testimonial
dinner to Henry A. Wallace,
said: “America, its people
and its government need
Henry Wallace now more
than ever. I count on his aid,
his wisdom and his courage.”
Later in a speech, Wallace
(whose nomination for Sec-
retary of Commerce is be-
fore the Senate) said that he
would not prefer the post
“if there were a serious
danger of a too little and too
late man being appointed.”
As for the proposed plan
to separate the lend-lease
agencies from the Commer-
ce Dept., Wallace added: “I
feel that from the standpoint
of 00 million workers, pro-
fits of business, incomes of
farmers and the welfare of
the country as a whole as
well as the protection of the
U S. Treasury, I could do a
better job if the two were
combined than if they were
separated.”
At Philadelphia, Vice-
President Truman asserted,
“Henry Wallace is a very
able man and the best Secre-
tary of Agriculture we ever
had.”
Servicemen Invited
By ARC To Coffee
American officers and en-
listed men are reminded
that there is a standing in-
vitation for them to stop
and have coffee and re-
freshments, provided by the
Red Cross, at the Ski Club
on Sundays.
GI PHOTO 07 THE WEEK
Iceland is quite pleasant in the summertime as this photo by Pfc. Don Gurney
reveals. These two young- Icelandic girls and their little brother are busy working on
their father’s farm located near Thingvellir—famed site of the first Althing (Ice-
landic National Parliament) which was established in 930 A.D. Air Corpsman Gurney
receives a carton of cigarettes and an 8x10" enlargement of this (or any other photo
he desires) for his GI Photo of the Week.
SUMMERTIME
- GI FORUM -
This newspaper most cordially invites reader comment. Address
letters to: Editor, THE WHITE FALCON.
Dear Editor:
With regard to the lead article in your edition of Jan.
20, 194b, I have the following comments. It is obviously
comprised of three parts: an account of an official sur-
vey of IBC personnel taking USAFI courses, informat-
ion concerning what these courses have to offer a GI
and an exhortation to enroll in them. The first is straight
news, the second fit matter for a special feature, and the
third — if it belongs anywhere in your paper — belongs
on the editorial page. You even go so far, in your clos-
ing paragraph of this front page news article to use the
pronoun “you,” addressed to your paper’s readers. This
is the most flagrant paternalism and arouses doubts in
any reader as to bow much of the policy and content of
The White Falcon is undictated by Command channels.
Insofar as the article to which I have reference con-
tains straight news, there is this further criticism: it is
far from certain that its news value is sufficient to warr-
ant the prominence you give it.
.... Perhaps I’m wrong, but I've never encountered
any wild enthusiasm for or interest in the USAFI on the
part of FBIs of my acquaintance .... I agree with what
evidently is your policy: to inform your readers of op-
portunities of which they might well take advantage,
and further to persuade them to follow such a course
of action. I don’t believe your methods of doing so are
either justified or very effective, however.
If you desire to publish a newspaper of and for GIs
you will be successful, appreciated and trusted a good
deal more if you relieve them of any suspicion that you
are preaching to them, or that (which is worse) you’re
being obliged to preach to them by official order. In the
past I have noticed that much the same things are true
regarding your handling of war bond campaigns. Army
life is ridiculous enough as it is without adding to the
empty and official gestures through which we have to
plow every day.
May I finally suggest that you turn a good advertise-
ment man loose on this USAFI business if you want it
to become popular? Run a series of clever, succinct and
attractive ads on the subject made buoyant by a little
humor and GI slang. However, label these efforts as
ads. Such honesty in itself would be sufficiently startl-
ing to assure you your readers’ complete attention.
Above all don’t be ponderous, sententious, or platitud-
inous- *
Pvt. William Q. Keenan, Camp Turner.
(Expediency is the cause
of many transgressions—
journalistic and otherwise,
and Pvt. Keenan’s charge of
“paternalism” is to a degree
justified in the case to which
he refers. We ask our read-
ers’ forgiveness, for we dis-
like the trait as much as he
does. However, we’d like here
and now to record the fact—
and it is a fact—that The
White Falcon is not “dictat-
ed to.” Responsibility for its
shortcomings rest on our
shoulders alone. — Ed.)
ARMY PAPER "STARS AND STRIPES
GIVES VERRAL LASHING TO 18,000
GIs OVER THE MILL IN ETO
“We don’t know the AW-
OL rate in the Red Army
but our guess is that it’s low”
began an editorial in last
Sunday’s Stars and Stripes
which lashed out agajnst the
reported 18,000 AWOLs in
the European Theater.
The editorial continued:
“The bitter fact can also go
on record that there are
18,000 American soldiers in
the ETO who haven’t the
faintest idea of what this
war is about and who see-
mingly know nothing about
its causes and care less a-
bout its outcome. These are
men who make it a business
to murder their pals by en-
gaging in black market
skullduggery — who deny
the great Overwhelming
mass of informed-thinking,
loyal Americans the amount
of food and fuel they need
to finish their jobs-”
Lt. Gen. Ben Lear, Deputy
Commander of American
troops in the ETO, was quot-
ed as saying that he was “not
alarmed” at the high figure
of AWOLs since it was like-
ly only a few thousands were
wilfully absent. He said most
of the others probably were
simply overstaying their
passes or were accidentally
delayed in getting back to
their units.