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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 27, 1951)
€ E sior ven Gro A er 25 ern 1 !n in th in Pi oi b; ti- p' f< vi Vi ]V E E A I i b li Battalion First Reported Conflict One Year Ago Today- Fighting in Korea Leaves Effect on A&M By DAVE COSLETT Battalion News Staff IT WAS one year ago today that Battalion readers began -■■wondering where this peninsula named Korea was. In the space of that year, the course of the war which is not a war has wrought its changes on A&M. The first mention of the crossing of Parallel 38 by North Koreans was on The Battalion editorial page in the Tuesday, June 27, 1950 issue. An editorial there bore the title “Our Role in the Korean Conflict.” That editorial ended with this paragraph: “The earnest wish of all peoples is that this is not a dress rehearsal for World War III, as was the Spanish Revolution. Or, even worse, that the shots fired on the 38th parallel were not the opening shots of a world conflict from which could emerge no victor.” The author of that editorial had earned a Purple Heart on Korean soil before the end of 1950. He’s still there, com manding a tank platoon somewhere around the 38th. KOTC Cadets Disturbed Probably among those most disturbed by the incident in Korea were A&M cadets at ROTC summer camps through out the nation. Rumors spread fast and some of the Aggies firmly believed that what had promised to be a s\x-weeks training period might well become a full-hitch. These fears, however, were groundless. Students returning for the Fall term didn’t find too much change in things. Significant, perhaps, were a few of the items in the initial Fall issue of The Battalion. One front page story announced that senior veterans would be eligible for commissions if they would enroll in one year’s work in advanced Air or Army ROTC. An editorial optimistically announced that “Things are Rolling in Korea.” The school-year was going to be significant for other reasons than Korea, however. It was to be our birthday year as the oldest state college in Texas. And, besides, we were swinging open the doors of our new and beautiful Memorial Student Center. A huge bronze plate near the main entrance of that building named those to whom it was dedicated—Aggies who had lost their lives in defense of their country. Other Ag gies were even then engaged in another world conflict. A&M People Answer Duty Call i Each day found more ex-students and members of the faculty and staff answering a call to active duty. One of the first to leave was “Colonel Joe” Davis, assistant to the com mandant at A&M. Well known Aggie names had begun to crop up in the war news. Early in the campaign came reports of an infantry- combat team under the leadership of Col. Guy S. Meloy. Colonel Meloy had been A&M Commandant from 1946 through 1948. Another Colonel, Ray Murray of the Class of ’35, was leading Marines in the Inchon landing and subsequent ac tions. The football season stole the spotlight for a while. While the traditional 12th Man roared an encouragement to the best football team in years, other Aggies on another side of the world heard the games if at all, by Armed Forces Radio Service. Anniversary Day and the inauguration of Dr. M. T. Harrington as twelfth president in the 75-year history fol lowed quickly. Speakers at both occasions alluded to the sig nificance of the military history of A&M. ROTC cadets were finding their class-room work of a much more serious, and concerted nature. Instructors solemn ly warned them of the possibilities of active duty upon grad uation. Korea News Better News from the Korean front soon began to take a turn for the better. Other news emphasized the fact that a very brutal war was still in progress. Word arrived that 1st. Lt. David R. Blakelock, Class of ’50, had been one of the first Aggie casualties. The Engineer Regiment of the Cadet Corps held a memorial review in his honor. The Spring semester found college students throughout the nation dropping out of school to join the service. The entry of Red China into the war had made the Korean situa tion bleak again. Because of the military nature of the school, A&M lost but a handful of students. Others were urged, however, that they could best serve their country by first finishing college. Graduating seniors in the Cadet Corps were getting in some field practice, too. The old principles of company com bat were tried out in mock assaults on Easteiwood Hill west of the Campus. __ , . Besides these outward changes, Korea was having a marked effect on something else at Aggieland. Student mor ale dropped to a low ebb. The attitude ot What s the Use began to pervade student thinking. Graduating Seniors Disheartened Graduating seniors, especially, saw little to cheer them in an indefinite future that would face them when they left college. The Army ahd the Air Force provided that future by issuing calls to most of the June graduating class. In the meantime another Annual Aggie Muster had come. The “Roll Call for the Absent” gave another grim re minder that Aggies were still engaged in the Korean conflict. The opening of summer school found the first Summer Freshman Cadet Corps in A&M history. Emphasis on the military aspect of A&M continued. Now, on the first anniversary of the outbreak of Korean , hostilities, students look back on a year that has added a sobering aspect to college life. i Their future is still an indefinite one. Reports of possib' moves toward peace are counter-balanced by the expect^ launching of new Red offensives. Other trouble- spots injp world threaten a broadening of the warfare to far-remw. fronts. For the present at least, the student can only concentrate on today and hope for a better tomorrow. His future hinges on the future of the world. And right now no one can predict that. Battalion Editorials Page 2 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27, 1951 Progress: One Up-One Down W7ITHIN a stone’s throw of one another, " busy workers are toiling with two era’s at A&M—the future and the past. The new Administration Building grows brick by brick as Foster Hall ends a 52-year life on the campus. This picture of contrast is hardly with out a lesson, especially now as A&M cele brates its seventy-fifth birthday. Foster was a modern and attractive dorm itory in its early years. The years, however, The Dangerous July 4 Highways TAYIN’ PLANS for the Fourth of July celebration? Then don’t try to stretch that proposed trip too far or you may be shortening your life. With Independence Day just one week away, state and national safety associations are issuing warnings to motorists that a hol iday highway is the most dangerous one to travel. The National Safety Council, which esti mates that American motorists will drive far enough next Wednesday to circle the earth ’62,646 times, has reminded motorists that traffic accident deaths are up seven percent this year from last year’s total. And, though the Fourth falls in mid-week, warns the Council, the one-day holiday may be a deadly one. That warning applies especially to local students who may have thoughts of putting some, distance between themselves and the campus during the short break from summer classes. Traffic tragedy would be a high price to pay for that trip home. Take it easy. Plan your trip within reasonable distances and respect the rights of other holiday drivers. That way we can all get back safely. took their toll and reduced the building to a decrepit storehouse. Now it is being removed entirely. Buildings, though, are not the only ele ments in the life of a college that outgrow their usefulness—that become, in fact, ac tual hazards. And these other elements, whether they be in student-life, instructional methods or general administration, must also be replaced with safer and more attractive counterparts. It’s very fine to treasure a few memories of the past. That does not mean, however, that we should not remove them because of sentimental value. Tomorrow will not wait while we stop to cherish memories. We must build today to make that tomorrow better than our yesterdays. Tastier Chow Sought by QMC rTASTIER CHOW—that’s the avowed ob- jective of the U. S. Quartermaster in send ing George Mardikian, San Francisco res taurateur on a tour of mess facilities in Ko rea. The civilian food service consultant for the Quartermaster General he plans to visit all divisions and as many companies as pos sible. The AP reports that he has promised to cook some of his special dishes. Mardikian avows the Army is getting the best food available. “The trick,” he says, “is in the preparation.” And he adds that Army chow has improved 100 percent since the war. If GI Joe is his usual self he will probably ask which war. And something tells us he would be inclined to be skeptical about the whole business. It wouldn’t be the Army if you couldn’t gripe about the food. Interpreting the News Lack of Offensive Blamed On US. Cold War Conduct By J. M. ROBERTS, JR. Associated Press News Analyst rOR YEARS one of the chief criticism of America’s conduct of the cold war has been what is de scribed as a failure to take the offensive. One of the disappointing things about the critics, however, has been their failure to explain how to do it. Tell the Russian people of Demo cratic aims, they say. Make Amer ican policy clear. It is incredible that large bodies of people, Soviet and non-Soviet, should still be in doubt. But they are. Gray Appointed The appointment of Gordon Gray, president of the University of North Carolina and former sec retary of the Army, to head the psychological warfai'e board is an effort to meet this problem. The general idea is that Gray shall set up an organization to coordinate the work of numerous government agencies, see that they do not conflict with each other as they have from time to time; in other words, to present a united propaganda front. At the moment, instead of an orchestra, the United States has ♦many soloists trying each to sing his own song to the world. There is the Army, which broadcasts what it wants outsiders to hear and which uses fugitives from the Rus sian sphere. Activity in Japan Much of this, activity is now centered on Japan. The State De partment does much the same thing in Europe. There is constant over lapping and failure to lap. There’s the E. C. A. advertising You ’re in the Army Now Draftee’s First Day at Camp The Battalion Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Founder of Aggie Traditions "Soldier, Statesman, Knightly Gentleman” Entered as second-class matter at Post Office at College Station, Texas, under he Act of Congress of March 3, 1870. Member of The Associated Press Represented nationally by National Ad vertising Service Inc., at New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. (Editor’s note: Associated Press special correspondent Reiman Mor in is on a tour of Army camps to find out how the United States trains its 1951-style army. Start ing at the beginning this first article tells what happens when the draftee arrives at the induction center.) By RELMAN MORIN AP Special Correspondent jPAMP KILMER, N. J., June 27 —<dP)—A bus rolled up to the main gate, bringing 60 men, draftees. • The driver paused, got a sig nal from the MP, and went on through. And suddenly, for the men inside, the world beyond the gate became immeasurably distant, as remote as the stars. Nobody spoke. Nobody sang, “you’re in the Army now—.” Each man picked up his own bur den of gnawing anxiety and lone liness and shouldered it in his own way. One yawned, denoting boredom. One plucked at his sky blue tee-shirt. Most of them look ed blank, or tired. “You’re in the army now—.” For some of these men, this was the first time they had ever been away from home. For all of them, x'Y/f \ there was an uncertain future, cer tainly uncomfortable and probably dangerous, 24 months of it. The best officers, today, know exactly how a draftee feels, right down to the last stone in the stomach. They don’t baby the boys, but they do try to help them over the first rough spots. When these 60 stepped out of the bus, they went first to a large room, not unlike a college lecture hall. The chairs had a wide, flaring arm to use for writ ing. There they got their first army orders, heard the first words of advice. They were greeted by warrant- officer George F : . Ryan, a big blue eyed Irishman from Buffalo. He told them they would be in Kilmer for a week, more or less, before being assigned to some other camp for basic training. He kidded them, “you’ll probably go to Arizona for the summer and Alaska for the winter.” He said they would roll out every morning at five except Sun days. “Then they let you sleep late—until six.” That got a laugh. The men relaxed. They began to breathe more easily. Ryan urged them to write home, frequently, and explained how they could use the Red Cross in an emergency. Then he said— “One final thing. The Army encourages a man to go to church. You’ll be given time for that, and all the facilities are here. It doesn’t matter what you are, Jewish, Catholic or Protest ant. “Some fellows wait until the first shell drops near them before they begin to think about reli gion. Don’t you do that. Talk to the chaplains. They can help you.” He got them off to a good start in their first 15 minutes in the Army. Then they were assigned to bar racks, where they would learn to make a bed, and how to store their gear. They drew clothing on the second day. They got a $20 ad vance against their first month’s salary. It is a characteristic of this new American Army that a man is regarded as an individual, not a number. The Army tries hard to deter mine what a man is best suited to do—based on a series of tests for aptitude, ability to learn and previous experience. All that goes into his record, along with a personal interview with a trained examiner. The draftee is asked to state some prefer- cnees* (ee MISTAKES, Page 4) American economic cooperation, The Central Intelligence Agency, which keeps quiet about its work. There are the organizations of dis placed persons who work in a sort of liaison with the State Depart ment, which also operates the Voice of America, libraries, movies, cultural exchange programs and the like. The U. S. Information Service passes news and the “line” to officials aboard. Change In Controls The Gray appointment may pre sage some changes in direct con trols as well a,s in coordination, The State Department has nevet been able to work up great congres sional enthusiasm for the' Voice of America, and appropriations for it have been subject to much sharp shooting. More than once the de partment has been on the verge of losing control of this activity on the grounds that it needs to stick to policy-making not operations, in the propaganda as well as in the military field. PALACE Bruan Z-W9 LAST DAY “FORT WORTH” e//?rvDAYs /{.LMESS sy/HPAruy greeting' cards a usuEl vtvUeY^, WEDD/HGS AUU/VEPSAP/ES G-/ET CARDS REUS/OUS r/ZAtf/C YOU T/tAYEL ER/EjVDSS/P THE EXCHANGE STORE “Serving Texas Aggies” THURS. thru SATURDAY ‘ItowfU m:i ta win. juj stem TODAY thru SATURDAY Johnny Weismueller —in— 4 1 arzan and llie Ama zons Local Bioy Makes Good The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republication of all news dispatches cred ited to it or not otherwise credited in the paper and local news of spontaneous origin published herein. Rights of republication of all other matter herein are also reserved. The Battalion, official newspaper of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, is published five times a week during the regular school year. During the summer terms, The Battalion is published four times a week, and during examination and vacation periods, twice a week. Days of publication are Monday through Friday for the regular school year, Tuesday through Friday during the summer terms, and Tuesday and Thursday during vacation and examination periods. Subscription rates $6.00 per year or $.50 per month. Advertising rates furnished on request. JOEL AUSTIN ! Editor Andy Anderson Associate Editor and Sports Editor Vivian Castleberry :. Women’s Editor William Dickens Feature Editor John W. Thomas, B. F. Roland, Dave Cosiett, James Fuller, William Dickens, Frank Davis Staff News Writers Ray Rushing, Tom Rountree, R. D. Witter. Charles McCullough Photo Engravers Ray Holbrook Sports News Writers Autry Fredricks, Ed Moses Advertising Representatives Owen Lee, Calvin Janak Circulation TODAY thru SATURDAY FIRST RUN —Features Start— 1:48 - 3:51 - 5:54 - 7:57 - 10:00 LFL ABNER ROUSING WESTERN ADVENTURE! Dave Cosiett. Editorial Assistant Janies Fuller Church News Editor J. R. Alderdice. Staff Photographer NEWS — CARTOON