Bombing Crews From Texas, Oklahoma,
. Based in England, Pound Hitler’s Europe
- A A-... .
Southwestern Boys
Eager to Finish Job
And Get Back Home
i
By SGT. JIM SWARTZ JR.
Released by Western Newspaper Union.
The tender beauty of an
English spring surrounds this
American medium bomber
station, but the fighting men
from the U. S. A. are too busy
with their big job to notice it.
Most of these fellows come
from the Southwest — Texas
and Oklahoma—from the cat
tle ranches and oil fields.
I talked to a score of these fliers
at a Marauder bomber station in
rural England. I heard them re-live
past experiences in the skies over
Europe . . . spin their dreams of
victory . . . and plan for a peaceful
future back in their home towns in
the Southwest.
And I saw a look of determination
on the faces of these men that made
me glad I wouldn’t be one of the
enemy when these Yanks from
Texas and Oklahoma take their
bombers to the Nazis' Invasion front
yard.
Alex Owen is one of these fighting
neighbors of yours. He came all the
way from Tyler, Texas, to man a
.10-caliber gun in this war, and he’s
the kind of lad you'd like to know.
Alex enlisted in the air forces
back in 1941, after making friends
with countless citizens of Tyler from
behind the counter in "Men's Cloth
ing" at a local department store.
Today he is a veteran tail gunner
with 39 missions over France, Hol
land and Belgium to his credit. And
he wears the coveted Distinguished
Flying Cross, the Air Medal and five
Oak Leaf clusters.
What docs the Big Show mean to
Alex Owen? Ask him and you’ll get
an answer as honest and straight
forward as a fellow-Texan’s word of
honor.
"I wouldn’t miss It for one helluva
lot,” he told me that day. “Sure,
It’s rough. We’re not fighting a war
with kid gloves on, man.”
‘Back to Tyler.*
That was Alex's story, and it’s
much like the one I heard from
another Southwestemer that day at
this American bomber base in rural
England.
His name is Joe Shouse, an
engineer-gunner from Coweta, Okla
homa, a small, friendly town 30
miles from Tulsa.
Joe (officially, he is Staff Sergeant
Joe W. Shouse) is a 22-year-old vet
eran of 35 missions, and he says the
coming invasion can't start too soon.
Back in 1041 and part of 1942, Joe
was a sheet metal worker for the
Spartan Aircraft company, In Tulsa.
But when you mention postwar
plans to the young Oklahoma gun
ner he says he has put them all on
the shelf for the duration.
"I’m too excited about the Job
I’ve got now,” Joe told me that day
In his Nissen hut “home" at this
Marauder base.
His hut-mates and fellow-gunners
like to tell you how cool Joe is
under Are, and after a brief conver
sation with him you agree with
them. And when I left Joe that day
I figured I’d met the "typical” fight
ing man from the Southwest.
Then, a few minutes later, in
another Nissen hut, I met other air
force men from your home
mmmim
FROM BASES in England, me
dium bombers range deep into Ger
many, France and Norway, wreck
ing enemy factories, harbor instal
lations and railroad yards.
towns . . . and their stories are the
kind you like to hear, too, because
these neighbors of yours will all be
in the aerial front lines when the
big fight comes home to the Nazis.
There were three Texans in that
Nissen hut, and as you approach its
front door you see this sign over
head: “The Gangsters’ Roost: Texi
cans Included.”
THE CREW of i medium bomb
ing plane la a strongly welded five
link chain, In the conception of Sergt.
W. D. Morey of Kelly Field, Texas.
The five men—navigator, mechanic,
pilot, bombardier and gunner—train,
fly and fight as one.
Inside, around a warm, pot-bellied
stove, there is Ramon Western, a
crew chief from Alvord, Texas.
And next to him there is a young
mechanic by the name of Tommy
Busselle, a Houston youth who used
to play a saxophone In a home-town
orchestra. Then, to round out the
Texas trio, there is Bob Allen,
another Houstonian and an aircraft
electrician.
I wondered about that legend on
the door, and Tommy Busselle gav s
me the details.
•‘We call it the ‘Gangsters’ Roost’
because that explains how some of
us ground crew chiefs get our equip
ment.’’ (This with a wide grin play
ing across Tommy’s face.) "And as
for the word ’Texicans,’ that was
robust youth who proudly boasts
that he is three-fourths Indian (Semi
nole and Delaware tribes) and then
adds, grinning: "The other 25 per
cent of me is as Irish as Paddy’s
pi*"
Walt (or "Chief,” as he’s known
at this field) is one of the crack
crew chiefs in his group. His ship,
"Baby Bumps,” has gone out on
53 missions without turning back,
and the Chief, who is a former oil
field roustabout from Dewey, Okla
homa, is plenty proud of that record.
Walt likes to talk about such
things as the coming invasion, and
the day when he can go back to the
Oklahoma oil industry.
"Well, I volunteered in this man’s
army, didn’t I?” the "Chief’ blast
ed out. "And until this war’s over
in both leagues I’m goin' to stick it
out."
When the war in Europe is all
wrapped up, the Chief wants to take
his Marauder over to the South Pa
cific (with Ramon Western, his crew
chief pal from Alvord, Texas) and
send it out against the little yellow
men.
Then Walt says he’ll be ready to
head back to Oklahoma. Is he going
back to the oil fields? "Hell, yes,”
is the Chiefs reply to that one.
As I was leaving Walt with his
second helping of steak and potatoes
that day, he told me that I should
have met the real hero of the Scott
"tribe.”
"He’s my kid brother, Yoeman,"
Walt said. "Right now he’s finishing
up aviation training back home, but
one of these days you’ll be hearing
A MARAUDER soars through fleecy clouds over the patchwork Eng
lish countryside, en route to a bombing mission on the continent. The
B-26 Is the fastest medium bomber in the world, with a speed of more
than 350 miles per hour, delivered by its two 18-cylinder, 2,000-horse
power engines. (All pictures official U. S. Air Force photos.)
the brain child of a sergeant from
New Jersey who doesn’t know how
to spell ’Texans.' These 'foreigners’
hand us a lot of laughs," he told me.
Ramon Western is a Texan with
a clear-cut idea of what he's going
to do to help win this war.
A crew chief, he sent one bomber,
"Damita," on 40 missions to Hitler’s
tottering European fortress. Then,
when the trim Marauder went down
one day, Ramon took up the fight
with a successor, "Damita II." He
has been in England since June.
1943, and he'd be as happy as a
bomber mechanic knee-deep in
grease if the invasion started tomor
row morning.
Before the war, Ramon worked
his way through three years of
school — at John Tarleton Junior
college, at Stephensville, and Texas
A. & M. college. He lacks only a
few hours’ credit for a degree in
agriculture, and when he gets back
to Texas he wants to go back for
that sheep-skin. Only this time he
won’t have to work his way, because
he’s bought a pile of War Savings
bonds for that education.
Wants to Go ’Jap Hunting.'
And when the war in Europe is
won. Ramon says he’d like to take
his Marauder (always a crew chief
calls the ship he works on "his
ship") to the South Pacific and send
it out "Jap-hunting.”
The two Houston youths in that
Nissen hut told me that those senti
ments were theirs, in spades!
Bob Allen, for example.
Bob is an electrician for several
ground crews at this field, and he
doesn't kid himself about his sum
mer sleeping schedule. "These sum
mer nights in England don't start
till midnight . . . which means
we’U darned near work the clock
around, I guess. But I’ll just put off
the shut-eye until I get back home.”
And when he gets back, he says
he’ll probably finish this education
at the University of Texas. Then he
wants to take up where he left off as
a field salesman for a heating sys
tem firm in Houston.
One of the most colorful charac
ters at this station is Walter Scott, a
big things from him. No, he’s no
lousy grease monkey like me . . .
he’s a bomber pilot, de luxe.”
And that’s the story, as I heard
it, of the Scotts’ personal offensive
against the Axis.
Two MrKinncy Boys.
Before I left this Marauder sta
tion that afternoon, I happened
across a couple of aerial gunners
who made me wonder if I were
standing on Main street in Mc
Kinney, Texas.
First, there was a fighting son of
the Lone Star state by the name of
Forest (Staff Sergeant Forest C.)
Board, and before I had even gotten
his name, I was introduced to
19-year-old Jimmy Ashley, another
staff sergeant gunner. Both of these
air force fighting men came from
McKinney to fight their share of
this war, and because their thoughts
on this “Invasion Eve" are as genu
ine as a Texas handshake, I thought
you’d like to know them.
Forest is a veteran of 35 missions
over enemy territory, and he's
“daddy” of the McKinney duo, at
the age of 33. Back home, he was a
traveling salesman for a bill-fold
company, with a territory that
stretched across Missouri, Arkan
sas, western Tennessee, Louisiana
and Mississippi.
Then came the Fourth of July,
1942. The McKinney flier says it was
nothing more than a coincidence
that he enlisted on such a patriotic
occasion but when you talk to him
you get the Idea that it shouldn’t
have happened any other way.
“Let’s get the Job over with,”
the likable Texan told me, “because
I’m anxious to get back on my old
job. Heck, I’ve still got my sample
case . . . and a list of my old cus
tomers.”
And there you have the real story
of how these fighting sons of Ameri
ca’s great Southwest are meeting
the great challenge. There’s a gleam
in their clear, straight-looking eyes.
And there's determination in their
hearts. Texan and Oklahoman to
gether, they’ll be over here until it’s
time to make the welcome trek back
home.
FLYING CADETS at Ellington
Field, Texas, practice their radio
code sending and receiving with the
roar of the great motors thundering
in their ears. These future bombar
diers and navigators know that when
they are in air combat they will
have to hear above the crash of
bombs, crackling of machine guns
and booming of ack-ack as well as
the hum of the engines.
The flying schools of Texas are
turning out thousands of air corps
men monthly.
MSM0S
*00
Help Yourself to a Salad!
(See Recipes Below)
Salad Magic
Salads are in season summer, win
ter, fall and spring, but in spring
you can reauy
have all the vari
ety you want.
There are crisp
greens aplenty,
perhaps fresh
from your own
garden, and loads
of fresh fruits and
vegetables to complete the demands
of health and satisfy the appetite
for really fresh • from • the - garden
foods.
Everywhere you go you hear peo
ple saying, “A salad is just the
thing,” or “I want something green
and crisp.” It’s a sign of spring,
this desire to eat foods that fit with
the newness and freshness of spring.
A new idea for serving is to try a
salad buffet for it will save your
preparing individual salads for ev
eryone. Simply set salad ingredi
ents in bowls, park them on a tray
and whisk them into the dining room
for everyone to make up his own
combination. In the picture illus
trated above, you will notice the
bowl of salad dressing is surround
ed by crisp greens, and then there
are bowls of grapefruit sections with
avocado pears, strawberries, pears
or peaches and prunes stuffed with
cottage or cream cheese and nuts—
all the makings for salad for helping
yourself to any combination that ap
peals to you and your guests.
Salads can double for both the
salad and dessert course, or they
can be the mainstay of your lunch
eon for the club.
*Salad-Dessert Loaf.
(Serves 6)
1 envelope plain unflavored gelatin
% cup cold water
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon melted butter or sub
stitute
H cup mild vinegar
3 tablespoons vinegar
H teaspoon salt
Ya teaspoon paprika
Few grains cayenne, if desired
H cup milk
2 tablespoons canned pineapple Juice
1 cup prepared fruit
1 cup evaporated milk, whipped
Soften gelatin in cold water. Beat
egg yolks and salt. Add vinegar,
•alt, butter, cay
enne, paprika and
pineapple juice
gradually. Whip
lightly. Add milk
and cook In top of
double boiler un
til of custard con
sistency, stirring constantly, ne
move from Are and dissolve softened
gelatin in hot custard mixture. Chill,
stirring occasionally while cooling.
When mixture begins to set, fold in
whipped, evaporated milk and fruit,
cut In small pieces (orange, cher
ries, canned pineapple, grapefruit.
Lynn Says:
Give Yourself Health! Egyp
tians cultivated salad foods such
as onions and garlic; Romans en
joyed chicory and lettuce. Why
shouldn’t you?
Your cues to a good salad are
few but important: ingredients
should be well chilled, attractive
ly arranged and served with the
proper dressing. Most fruit sal
ads take a whipped cream dress
ing or cooked dressing or mayon
naise flavored with fruit Juices.
Occasionally, in the case of a
bland fruit or citrus fruit, a
french dressing is a must.
Seafoods are usually marinated
before mixed with other ingredi
ents. Marinate shrimps, crab
meat, etc., in french dressing
even though you may use mayon
naise to hold the salad together.
The above trick may also be tried
with potato salad. It Improves
flavor.
Lynn Chambers’ Point-Saving
Mena
Broiled Chicken
New Potatoes Peas
Biscuits Jelly
•Salad Dessert Loaf
Orange Marmalade Bars
Coffee
•Recipe Given
peaches, pears or any desired fruit
combination). When firm, unmold
on platter and garnish with green
pepper. Trim platter with salad
greens.
Shrimps in a salad can make up
the main dish for a warm night sup
per without too much fussing on your
part:
Shrimp Salad.
(Serves 6)
2 No. 1 cans shrimp
214 cups diced cooked potatoes
1 cup diced celery
Ya cup chopped green pepper
H cup french dressing
2 tablespoons lemon juice
% teasoon salt
% cup mayonnaise
Salad greens
3 whole tomatoes, cut In wedges
8 green pepper rings
Ripe olives
Combine shrimp, potatoes, celery
and green pepper. Add french
dressing, lemon juice and salt. Chill.
Just before serving, moisten with
mayonnaise. Serve on chop plate
garnished with salad greens, toma
to wedges, green
pepper rings and
ripe olives.
A salad that s
substantial and
really good is one
that combines fish
with macaroni. A
subtle combination of seasonings
makes it Just perfect eating:
Macaroni-Salmon Salad.
(Serves 6 to 8)
14 cups flaked salmon, tuna or
crabmeat
1 cup cooked macaroni
1 cup canned peas
W cup diced celery
Z tablespoons minced pimiento
2 tablespoons chopped sweet pickle
Salt and pepper to taste
Mayonnaise
Combine ingredients in order giv
en. Toss lightly with dressing and
serve, well chilled in lettuce cups.
The following salads are cool and
vitamin-rich, perfect foil for warmer
weather:
Raw Vegetable Salad.
2 cups raw carrots, grated
1 cup raw cabbage, shredded
Ya cup raw celery, chopped
Ya cup onions, diced
Cooked salad dressing
Mix together vegetables with just
enough dressing to hold together.
Lettuce Rolls.
1 head lettuce
1 cup cottage cheese
M cup seedless raisins
H cup chopped nuts
% cup mayonnaise
Salt
Combine cheese, raisins and nuts.
Blend well with mayonnaise. Add
salt to taste. Use large lettuce
leaves and spread with cheese mix
ture. Roll as for jelly roll; chill
and serve.
Dressing Variations.
French Dressing: Crumble V4
pound roquefort cheese into 1 cup
french dressing. Serve over greens.
Lemon Cream Dressing: To 1 cup
chilled, evaporated cream, whipped,
add 3 tablespoons honey and 1 table
spoon lemon juice. Serve with Fruit
Salad.
Mayonnaise: Add y< cup chili
sauce, 2 tablespoons pickle relish,
and 2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped to
1 cup mayonnaise. This is good over
lettuce.
Get the most from your meat! Get
your meat roasting chart from Miss
Lynn Chambers by uriting to her in
care of Western Newspaper Union, 210
South Desplaines Street, Chicago 6, III.
Hlease send a stamped, self-addressed
envelope for your reply.
Released by Western Newspaper Union.
5186 !
/^\NE of the easiest of the famous
“pineapple” designs to cro
chet—it takes only 3 balls of cot
ton thread—measures 16 inches
across and is a charming combi
nation of pineapple motifs, palm
leaves grouped around a center
diamond design.
• • •
To obtain complete crocheting instruc
tions for the Pineapple Dolly (Pattern No.
5186) send 16 cents in coin, your name,
address and the pattern number.
Due to an unusually large demand and
current war condiUons, slightly more time
'TTnErS
For painting shelves that are too
close together to use an ordinary
brush and for other tight corners,
make a “right angle brush.” Cut
the handle off an ordinary brush
and fit the remaining stub of
handle into a hole bored in a piece
of wood about 10 inches long.
• • •
To avoid losing a handkerchief
under a bed pillow in a sick room
at night, sew a poaket on one side
of the pillowcase.
• • •
To keep moths from your knit
ting yarn, take old tobacco con
tainers and give them a coat of
paint and use these cans thus pre
pared as a parking spot for the
knitting yarn.
• • •
To pipe with rickrack, turn the
raw edge of the fabric once or
twice to the inside and stitch rick
rack over it.
• » •
Darn the worn carpet. Literally,
of course, and with a rug wool
carefully matched in color. This
will take away much of the
shabby appearance.
• • •
A worn anklet makes a good
cover to pull on over the old wax
applicator when it needs freshen
ing. Wrap the applicator first with
soft cloths, then the sock is pulled
on and it’s ready for service.
* » *
Take the shine off your clothes
with sandpaper. First, sponge the
spot with cleaning fluid or with
water to which has been added a
few drops of ammonia or vinegar.
When the fabric is dry, take a
small piece of sandpaper and lift
the nap by briskly brushing the
spot. Don’t brush too hard, how
ever, or you may remove the nap
entirely.
Johnny Was for Making
Most of His Resources
Little Johnny’s mother had just
presented the family with twins,
and the household was in a state
of excitement. Father beamed
with pride as he took Johnny on
one side.
“If you’ll tell your teacher about
it, I’m sure she will give you a
day’s holiday,” he said.
That afternoon Johnny came
home radiant. “I don’t have to
go to school tomorrow,” he an
nounced proudly.
“Did you tell your teacher about
the twins?” asked his father.
“No, I just told her I had a
baby sister. I’m saving the other
for next week.”
is required in filling orders for a tew of
the most popular pattern numbers.
Send your order to:
SEWING CIRCLE NEEDLEWORK
5M South Wells St. CUtt|t>
Enclose 19 cents (plus one cent to
cover cost of mailing) for Pattern
No.
Name ..
Address .
foptrer
AHSCHMANN'S
DRY
YEAST
M /e&-lw/faded/
HOUSEWIVES: ★ ★ ★
Your Waste Kitchen Fats
Are Needed for Explosives
TURN ’EM IN! ★ ★ ★
i
I
com
ods”
• Kellogg’s Com Flakes bring you
nearly all the protective food elements
of the whole grain declared essential
to human nutrition.