TUESDAY AFTERNOON, JUNE 27, 1944
THE BATTALION
PAGE 7
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OFFICIAL NOTICES
Classified
WANTED—To buy bicycle in good con
dition. Write Box 1922, College Station.
Announcements
CANDIDATES FOR DEGREES: Any
student who normally expects to complete
all the requirements for a degree by the
end of the current semester should call by
th Registrar’s Office NOW and make
formal application for a degree.
H. L. Heaton
Registrar
The Library is trying to locate volumo
XVIII of Catalogue of Birds, shipped
from the British Museum (Natural His
tory). If received by anyone on the cam
pus. please notify Mrs. Sugareff, Order
Librarian at the Library.
The third order for A. and M. Miniature
Rings will leave the Registrar’s Office
Thursday noon. Get your orders in before
11 a.m. The next order for A. and M.
senior rings will leave on July 1st.
BATTALION CARDS—The Battalion
will be delivered to the rooms in each
lorm from now on, and only those boys
taying Student Activities fees will receive
• he Batt. If you paid the fee and do not
receive the paper please come by the Stu
dent Activities Office with your receipt
in order that we may place you on the
subscription list. No student will receive
••he Batt without a Batt card.
NOTICE OF INTENTION TO ISSUE
STREET IMPROVEMENT WARRANTS
STAT EOF TEXAS
CITY OF COLLEGE STATION
In compliance with the provisions of
Chapter 163, Acts of the Regular Session
of the 42nd Legislature, 1931, notice is
hereby given that it is the intention of
the City Council of the City of College
Station, Texas, to pass an ordinance on
the 2nd day of July, 1944, authorizing the
issuance of the City of College Station
Street Improvement Warrants in the
amount of $10,000.00, for the purpose of
paying claims to be incurred in the con
struction of certain street improvements
in said City, said construction and improve
ments to be done under the direct super
vision of and paid for by the day by the
City Manager of said City as the work
progresses. Said Warrants to be payable
serially in not less than five years from
date; and to bear interest at the rate of
three per cent per annum.
WITNESS MY HAND this the 15th day
)f June, A.D., 1944.
ERNEST LANGFORD,
Mayor, City of College Station,
Texas.
Executive Offices
Saturday, July 1, will be a holiday for
regular College students in lieu of July 4.
Students will be permitted to leave after
their last class on Friday, June 30, and
return by reveille, Monday, July 3.
Instructors are not authorized to change
class schedules on Friday.—F. C. Bolton,
Dean.
Aggie Exes Receive
Oak Leaf Clusters
Two more Aggie Exes have dis
tinguished themselves in this war
thus far according to dispatches
just received here.
Staff Sergeant Parr Fowler, a
former Aggie, recently received
the second Oak Leaf Cluster to
his Air Medal for “meritorious
achievement” as a ball turret gun
ner in a Flying Fortress operating
over Europe.
Sergeant Fowler was attending
A. & M. when he entered the air
forces in September, 1942. His par
ents are Dr. and Mrs. S. R. Fow
ler of Silsbee, Texas.
For “meritorious achievement”
while participating in numerous
bombing attacks on military and
industrial targets in Germany and
the Nazi-held countries, Major
Archie V. Benner, son of Mr. and
Mrs. A .V. Benner, 3605 Montana
Street, El Paso, Texas, has been
awarded a second Oak Leaf Clus
ter to his Air Medal.
Major Benner, attached to the
STUDENT CO-OP
Bicycle and Radio Repair
PHONE 4-4114
Eighth AAF, pilots a Flying Fort
ress while also acting in the ca
pacity of commanding officer of
a heavy bombardment squadron.
Prior to entering the service,
Major Benner was a draftsman in
the engineering office of the South
ern Pacific Company in El Paso.
He received his B. S. in Architec
tural Engineering from A. & M.
Presbyterian League To
Hold Social Wednesday
A social will be held by the
Presbyterian League on Wednes
day, June 28th, at 6:30 p.m. The
place is the Old Manse, which is
just beyond the Aggieland Studio,
and everyone is invited.
—McELROY—
(Continued iiom page 1)
wounded in taking the keyhole to
the entire Southwest Pacific cam
paign. Over 5700 Japs died in their
defense of the atoll.
“There never was a dull moment
on Tarawa,” McElroy declared.
“For Christmas, Charlie (his name
for the Jap bombers) remembered
us with five air raids but he slip
ped up on the date because we were
on the East meridian date and he
was on the West date. Instead of
hitting us with his five raids on
our Christmas he .arrived on his
conception of the Christmas date.
Just to make sure he came back
three times the next day which to
us was Dec. 25. (Tarawa is just
beyond the international date line
and three degrees north of the
equator)*.
As to air raids McElroy said
that they caused him little concern
although he went through 72 of
them in the 88 days he was on
the “Rock.” “We always knew the
route Charlie was coming in on so
if he wasn’t on our beam we stood
outside our bombproofs and watch
ed the Marine anti-aircraft firing
at him. If he was on our line we
didn’t worry either for we knew
that he had nothing which would
hurt us in the shelters where we
went. (The concrete emplacements
had outer walls 54 inches thick, re
inforced with anchor chain, and
after a large concussion chamber,
another 24-inch wall protected the
inner chamber where the shelter
was.)
He confirmed the report that his
battalion had repaired the existing
air strip built by the Japs and
had made it usable for the landing
of planes in exactly 25 hours after
they landed on the reef. “The Ma
rines were finishing up the Japs
at one end of the island while we
took care of fixing the strip at
the other end. As they pushed
them farther on we moved in be
hind them to complete our priority
No. 1, the strip. A short day’s
work in those days was 22 hours
and no one complained because of
wages or hours. Our main concern
was to get planes down on that
strip for our protection. The Ma
rines were doing all the good tak
ing care of the Japs so we were
able to take care of our own task.
Some dozer operators did get a
few casual Japs they kicked up
from behind logs but we just took
those which came our way—we
didn’t go looking for them.”
He also disclosed that the enemy
forces engaged on Tarawa were
not the ordinary run-of-mine Japs
but the Imperial Marines, all six
feet or better and men who fought
to death rather than surrender and
to prove his statement of size,
showed a Jap bullet-proof vest he
took from a Jap sniper on the
island and later wore himself. Fit
ted to a six foot, 185-pound Soph,
it still was too large for him. The
vest showed where the Marine
sharpshooter had shot the Jap
through the neck with one shot
rather than waste ammunition by
firing at the steel plates protect
ing his body. “Here is where a
30 calibre termite ate through his
protection,” McElroy said, point
ing to the perfect pattern chewed
out of the neck line of the best by
the bullet. I happened to come
along and saw the vest and since
the Jap had no more use for it
McElroy did, and he got himself
some protection. I was shot at
plenty but managed to get by
without a scratch.”
He is now back in the United
States and a patient in the U. S.
Naval Hospital at San Diego, Cal.
A series of physical ailments ren
dered him unfit for further foreign
duty and he was evacuated from
Tarawa before the invasion of the
Marshalls where his battalion
again carried on their record
breaking work. At Tarawa they
received the Presidential Unit Ci
tation with star and battle star
for that campaign. At present he
is on a 30-day convalescent leave
from the hospital but will return
to his base at the end of this
month for reassignment.
He attended A&M and is a mem
ber of the Class of ’38. He was a
temporary member of the publicity
staff in ’34-’35 and returned in a
full-time capacity in 1937 and re
mained on the staff until his en
listment in the Seabees in March
1943. He served with the 29th Di
vision (Blue and Grey) in World
War I in France and England but
says he was too old to get back
into the army this time. Asked
why he was in at all he replied,
“I guess it’s just being around a
bunch of Aggies in a military at
mosphere; maybe it was just an
old fire horse hearing the gong
and wanting to go to the fire. I
asked them for action and I’m tell
ing you I got it but am more than
glad I was able to be there and do
what I could to get this thing near
er the end.”
Mrs. McElroy, secrettary in the
publicity department, will return
to San Diego with “Mr. Mac.”
A. B. CATHCART
— DENTIST —
Over Madeley’s Pharmacy
South Gate - Phone 4-4724
Your Name Engraved
reel
You boys who have purchased K. & E. Drawing In
struments from Loupot may have your name engraved
FREE in 24 kt. Gold by presenting your purchase slip
at Lou’s. Bring in your sets with your purchase slip and
we will be very glad to engrave your name—AND RE
MEMBER, IT’S ABSOLUTELY FREE OF CHARGE.
These leading sets of drawing instruments, the K.
& E. Brand, sell reasonably,
$16.00 to $18.00 sets for only $14.50
$26.00 to $29.00 sets for only $22.00
---THANKS---
Loupot's Trading Post
“Trade With Lou—He’s Right With You”