*
Ernie Pyle Gave True Picture Of American Gl, Say College Residents
In less than one week American
have suffered from the death of
two of its greatest personalities,
Franklin Delano Roosevelt and
Ernie Pyle. Ernie Pyle, sometimes
known as the ‘doughboys” war
correspondent, was killed Tuesday
by a bullet from a Japanese ma
chine gun on a small island just
ten milps west of Okinawa.
Although the cadets as a whole
do not keep up with Pyle’s column,
it is read by practically all of the
faculty members and their famil
ies, many of which knew him per
sonally.
Dean F. C. Bolton expressed his
opinion that Pyle was perhaps the
greatest human - interest corre
spondent the world has known.
/
He said that Pyle had a way of
writing his stories so that every
one at home felt that they really
understood the life of the combat
soldier. Pyle, said Dean Bolton,
has given us a picture of our
fighting men that has never been
given before.
Dean T. D. Brooks, who follows
his column in the Dallas Morning
News, said that he believes Ernie
Pyle has done more to show us
on the home front what is really
going on over there more than
anyone else. He remarked that
Pyle shows the war as it really is
to the GI Joes and their comrades.
Dean Brooks said that President
Truman was just about right
when he made this statement up
on hearing the word of his death.
“No man in this war has so well
told the story of the American
fighting men as American fighting
men wanted it told.”
Mrs. Gibb Gilchrist stated that
she read Pyle’s column regularly
and has for some number of years.
She feels that his articles are very
true to life and that he shows the
moms and dads, sweethearts and
wives how their loved ones are
really living, and dying. Mrs. Gil
christ said that his news stories
are just like letters that are sent
home by the boys over there that
are in the thick of battle.
Mrs. G. B. Wilcox says that we
are really going to miss him be
cause he writes about the everyday
life of the plain soldier, a story
that we are all eager to listen to
and know about. Mrs. Wilcox said
that more of us are interested in
the life of the GI more than any
thing else, and that Pyle was the
only correspondent that has really
been able to give us a complete
and authentic picture of it.
Mr. G. B. Wilcox, head of the
Student Personnel Office, said that
it will be quite a loss to the read
er's that used to keep up with
their loved ones through the column
written by Ernie Pyle. Mr. Wilcox,
who has been reading Pyle’s col
umn for quite some time, feels that
he was the “doughboy’s” interpeter
of the news. He believes that Pyle
has shown a kind of sympathetic
understanding of the GI that has
never been shown by any other
correspondent in this war.
Byron Winstead, Publicity Di
rector of the College, said that he
met Pyle personally when he was
inaugurated into the Whittier’s
Club of Houston a number of years
ago, and he feels that no other
correspondent has brought the
news home as straight forward and
in such and understanoing way as
Pyle. Mr. Winstead said that Pyle
was very close to A. & M. through
his association with Major R. L.
Elkins, formerly with the Ag. Eco.
department and now with the Tank
Corps. Pyle met Maj. Elkins dur
ing the African campaign, and they
became good friends, in fact it
was through Ernie Pyle’s column
that the people on the Campus
found out about Maj. Elkins being
wounded in action.
Mr. Winstead said that Pyle
wrote in a language that could
be understood by everyone, and
the boys that he wrote about were
just like the kid next door, or the
boy down in the next block. Pyle
usually filled his column with per
sonal items about the soldiers that
were of interest to everyone who
had any relatives or loved ones in
the service. Mr. Winstead said that
Pyle gave more credit to the In
fantryman than any other corre
spondent has done in this war. He
knew what he was talking about
when he wrote of the hardships
that the boys were going through,
because he was living with them
and going through their same daily
routines of life on the front lines.
And that is why, said Mr. Win
stead, that Ernie Pyle was the best
loved war correspondent of the sol
dier and civilian, because he liked
What they liked and wrote what
they wanted him to write.
President Truman sums up his
comment on Pyle’s death by saying
that nobody knows how many indi
viduals in our armed forces and at
home he has helped through his
writings. But all Americans under
stand now how wisely, how warm
heartedly, how honestly he served
his country and his profession. He
desei'ves his nation’s gratitude.
DIAL 4-5444
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER
OF THE CITY OF
COLLEGE STATION
Texas A&M
The B
College
alion
WEEKLY
STUDENT NEWSPAPER
DEEP IN AGGIELAND
TEXAS A. & M.
VOLUME 44
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, THURSDAY AFTERNOON, APRIL 19, 1945
NUMBER 76
Muster Ceremonies In Guion Saturday Night
Cadet Wiegand To Be Decorated At Formal Review
General Marshall Says ROTC Program To Be Expanded
A.&M. Men Once Again To Join Hands
Around World At 1945 April 21 Muster
Strengthening of
Courses After
War Is Scheduled
In a letter addressed to Presi
dent Gilchrist, General George C.
Marshall, Chief of Staff, announc
ed that the present plans of the
War Department are to expand the
ROTC program well beyond its en
rollment before the war and to
strengthen it by raising the courses
to the college level.
He made this statement in .re
gard to the doubt of certain col
leges and universities as to the
continuance of the ROTC program
and the participation in this pro
gram by those colleges and uni
versities engaged in the program
at the present time.
A. & M. will be offered the op
portunity to continue its affiliation
with the War Department in this
important phase of our Military
preparedness, continued Marshall.
The five star Chief of Staff added
that the War Department will no
tify college officials promptly as
soon as details of their post-war
plans in this respect have been
formulated.
At the present time the univer
sal military training bill is being
debated and upon its outcome will
probably depend the continuance
of College ROTC after the war.
The text of General Marshall’s
letter:
WAR DEPARTMENT
THE CHIEF OF STAFF
Washington
2 April 1945
Dear President Gilchrist:
I have beef! advised that certain
colleges and universities maintain
ing Army ROTC have some doubt
(See COURSES, Page 6)
As Cadet Corps Observed Muster In ’44
spirit of
h ggul a iP
j £ i e RI u s t * f 19 4 4
The Corps celebrated its first Muster a year ago by having as guest speaker, Mr. E. E. McQuillen,
Executive Secretary of the Former Students Association, who is shown at the above left delivering his
address. The Cadet Committee is shown at the upper right.
Colonel Welty To
Decorate Cadet For
Gallantry in Italy
In a review to be staged by the
Cadet Corps Saturday, April 21,
Aggie Muster Day, Cadet A. F.
Wiegand will be presented the
Bronze Star for “conspicuous brav
ery in action.” Colonel Welty has
been designated by the command
ing general of the 91st Division,
of which Wiegand was a member
during the first stages of the Ital
ian campaign, to make the pi-esen-
tation of the award.
Scheduled to begin promptly at
1:30, the review is to be attended
by all cadets. All residents of the
surrounding area and all visitors
to the campus at that time are in
vited to be present as this is the
first time an award such as this
has ever been presented to a stu
dent on the campus of the College.
The formation will be the same as
all other reviews and the uniform
will be No. 2.
In the reviewing stand will be
the Deans of the various schools,
the visiting members of the Class
of ’95, and the wives of the offi
cers. In all there are expected to
be about 75 people in the stand.
It is urged that more faculty mem-*
bers turn out for the affair, for
the number of faculty members at
tending previous reviews has been
very small.
The review is to be part of the
Muster Day program which will
be continued Saturday night by
ceremonies in Guion Hall.
Invitation
Hank Avery, Aggie Muster
Chairman, has issued a spec
ial invitation to all Aggie
dates to come to the Muster
ceremonies Saturday night in
Guion Hall. Also, all Brazos
County Exes are especially in
vited to be present as joint
Brazos Co.-Cadet Corps cfere-
monies will be held. Lt. Cham
berlin, ’39, who atended tfie
Aggie Muster on Corregidor
will be the principal speaker,
said Avery.
Former College
Employees In Army
Will Be Honored
The Honor Roll plaque bearing
the names of College employees
and staff members on leave for
military service has been hung on
the wall of the main floor hall of
the Administration building. On
the plaque appear the names of
more than 370 men and women who
have been granted leave from the
College in order to take their
places in the Army, Navy, Marines,
and Coast Guard.
The plaque is made up of a
heavy plywood backboard which
has been finished in natural color.
On this ai'e mounted cast aluminum
plates showing the seal of the
College, the designation of the
(See FORMER, Page 6)
Lt. Chamberlin ’39
Is Guest Speaker At
Student Ceremonies
Saturday night at 8 p.m. the
joint Cadet Corps Brazos County
Muster will be held in Guion Hall.
Plans for the 1945 April 21 cere
monies are practically complete
and all is in readiness for the pro^
gram Saturday night. On the cam
pus for their golden anniversary,
the class of ’95 wil be honor
guests at the program. Also, all
other former students of the Agri
cultural and Mechanical College
of Texas all over the world will
gather on April 21, for their an
nual San Jacinto day muster.
Wherever two or more Texas Ag
gies get together on that day, the
muster will be official, according
to E. E. McQuilen, executive sec
retary of the Association • of For
mer Students.
In Europe, according to word re
ceived by McQuillen, a race is on
between Aggies in Paris and those
mustering on the outskirts of Ber
lin. World-wide is the scope of the
known musters for word has been
received from the Canal Zone, In
dia, Burma, Chungking, Manila
and other Pacific outposts that the
word has been passed down the
line for Aggies to gather. An out
line for a ceremonial observance
common to all musters has been
sent out by McQuillen.
Large musters will be held in
Washington, Chicago, Los Ange
les, Seattle, Kansas City, St. Louis,
(See MUSTER, Page 6)
Huntsville All-Girl Orchestra To Play For Reveille Show And Corps Dance Friday Night
Saturday Nite Dance
To Be Held In Grove
One of the few really talented
all girl orchestras will be on the
campus of A. & M. Friday evening
to play for the Reveille show that
is to be held in Guion Hall at 8:00
o’clock Friday, April 20. This fine
group of girl musicians is from
Sam Houston State Teachers Col
lege at Huntsville and is known
all over the state as a top ranking
school orchestra. Sam Houston
State Teachers College itself is
famous for producing outstanding
instrumentalists. Along with the
fifteen piece orchestra is coming
a group of dancers, specialty acts
and a glee club, all made up of
girls. The show, which is expected
to be quite a thing in entertain-
to last around an hour or an hour
an fifteen minutes. After the show
ment for Aggieland, is expected j in Guion Hall the Orchestra will
move to Sbisa Dining Hall where
it is to play for a dance, and all
the Aggies will get a chance to
Friday Night Dance
To Be Held In Sbisa
hear a dance band that picks you
up with its slow and sentimental
music and knocks you out with its
hot jazz.
Blue Rain is the orchestra’s
theme song, and a few of the other
numbers they are expected to play
are: St. Louis Blues, Pistol Packin’
Mamma, Her Tears Flowed Like
Wine, In the Mood, and a few
more that ai'e sure to go over big.
Prissy Frederick will give some
readings and do some imitations.
Ree McCulloch will play the drums
and Jane White will give a piano
solo.
The purpose of the show is to
raise money in ox'der that a monu
ment can be purchased for Rev
eille’s grave. All Aggies and resi
dents of College Station know
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“Reveille
how much Rev meant to the Corps, ! will be quite a number of pex;sons j in ox'der to make the
and so it is expected that there j turning out for the pex-formance Drive” a big success.