World War II Chronicle: July 9, 1943
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Last month we discussed how Japanese pilots would often try to kill American pilots after they bailed out of their airplanes. On today’s front page, American combat pilot says the Germans don’t fire on pilots once they hit the silk. In fact, he mentions a German pilot shot down a bomber and then circled the plane until all the crew were out, then finished the plane off so it couldn’t return to action… Page two: multiple Chicago firemen are killed and many others are wounded after a fire causes a roof to collapse. Ultimately, 10 firemen perish…
George Fielding Eliot column on page 10… Sports on page 22, featuring a column by Grantland Rice… Chicago White Sox pitcher lost his no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning when New York’s Joe Gordon hit a double. Grove got Billy Johnson to ground out and Chicago wins 1-0. Grove is now 7-0 and will improve to 9-0 before finishing the season with a 15-9 record… Injured Yankee left fielder Charlie Keller will be replaced in the American League All-Star lineup by Detroit’s Dick Wakefield…
On page 22, the French military commander in North Africa decorated 1st Division commanding general Terry De La Mesa Allen and his assistant Teddy Roosevelt Jr. for conspicuous service.
Roving Reporter by Ernie Pyle
(first of five articles on the WAACs).
NORTH AFRICA — This is a short series about the WAACs in Africa. There aren’t so very many of them over here so far. The ones who are here are a sort of test tube, but they are working out so well that many others undoubtedly will be coming along to reinforce them.
There is a distressing shortage of WAACs. There are only 60,000 of them altogether, and I’m told the Air Forces alone would like to have 300,000. If you happen to have 240,000 potential WAACs around the house, would you please let us know?
There are fewer than WAACs in North Africa. All of them live in a big headquarters city. They are not dodging bullets, not living in foxholes, not blood-and-gustsing around at any front, as some of the more romantic pieces written about them seem to intimate. They are, in fact, living not very differently from what they would in service at home.
The first WAACs over here were five captains, on very special confidential work, who arrived last December after being torpedoed on the way. These five, by the nature of their work, are separate from the regular WAAC unit and live together in a villa. Since then four other WAAC officers have come for similar duty.
An example is Lieut. Sarah Bagby, who is confidential secretary to Lieut. Gen. “Tooey” Spaatz. Lieutenant Bagby, incidentally, is the 11th member of her family to go into uniform.
Now to the bulk of the WAACs. There is one full company here — 274 women, including five officers. They arrived January 26. They aren’t scattered around Africa; they are all concentrated in one city.
Half of them live in a requisitioned five-story office building. Street cars, buses and Army vehicles flow past their door constantly. From their rooftop you look right down upon the city and its harbor — it’s one of the most striking views I ever saw.
The other half live in a convent just on the other edge of the city. They have taken over about half of the convent, and the girls live in huge rooms little different from college dormitories. Their quarters surround a crushed-stone patio with an ancient well in the middle. It all looks like a picture out of the Middle Ages. It’s one of the most peaceful places I have ever seen.
There are five women officers to run the company — two captains and three lieutenants. One of the five is a doctor. The officers call the girls either by rank or by their last name only. First names are never used. Despite these formalities there seems to be a gentler exchange of personalities between WAAC officers and girls than between officers and men in the Army.
Some WAAC officers are grim and severe. One of these might dismiss an auxillary from here presence with a stiff and chilling “That’s all, Holmes,” while another officer would perform the same mission by saying, “Get the hell out of here, Holmes, you rat,” in a manner that would send the girl off singing to herself for an hour.
One very fine officer I know indulges in morale-building horseplay that would probably shock the Articles of War right out of their covers — such as returning an extremely snappy salute with a snappier one that resembles a baseball pitcher’s windup.
The WAACs have conducted themselves beautifully over here. Naturally one has a sip too much of wine now and then, or stays out past hours in the moonlight, but on the whole their conduct would more than meet the approval of any fair-minded person.
The WAACs, like everybody else, are subject to many rumors. This might be as good a place as any to dispel one of the vicious ones. It has been whispered about town that 25 per cent of the WAACs have been sent back, and they were older women who simply couldn’t make the psychological adjustment to being so far from home.
Actually the WAACs are neither prissies nor toughies, but just nice natural girls the same as they would be back home.
Evening star. (Washington, D.C.), 9 July 1943. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1943-07-09/ed-1/