Lunenburg High School - Echo Yearbook (Lunenburg, MA)

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YOUTH IN THE PRESENT CRISIS EXC ERFTS FRYEM SENIQWR ESQAYS nln View of the present crisis which now confronts this nation, it is eminently fitting that each individual become aquainted with the precautions necessaryu for National Defense. Much has to be done now to teach each citizen civilian defense. There is much being done now to reach each citizen and teach him what to do in an emergency, but many more citizens have to be reached, and it is through the children in our schools that these citizens are to be reached. In order to teach the children about National Defense, our teachers must become students of it. These teachers are going to be taught by qual- ified graduates of defense courses. What the teachers have learned, they will teach the pupils. As these pupils learn the means of de- fense from their teachers they will in turn relate what they have learned to their parents, and the parents will gradually tell their neighbors and relatives, so that everyone in time will be prepared for emergencies, These children are going to play an importantqpartmin the safe-guarding of their homes and the saving of lives. lmfl I By Donald Stone But fighting men cannot win alone. To conduct a present-daypwar it requires the labor of ten persons to supply one fighting man. The workers in industry can be taken from numerous other sources than those of the army. Men of German birth not wanting to serve in the army, conscientious objectors, men who are barred by physical defects from active military service, women, and certain prisoners--all can be used to supply the demand, but it will still fall short if there aren't many volunteers from the youth. The unskilled laborer in present-day industry starts out as a sort of apprentice and in a short time has learned some special work, usually on a machine or an assembly line. This time is very short compared to the two or three years it used to take to learn a trade. By Roger Foster In this, our present day, it is necessary that we have the power and backing of a well-equipped and trained army, navy, and air 'force. In order that we may have this it is necessary that the young men, and women, too, should have some sort of a military training. Today, ev- ery man who has reached the age of twenty-one years must engage in some sort of military training. At first, this was to be for one year only, but since the fast-moving and unpredicted events leading up to the attack of Pearl Harbor, this time limit has been changed to three years and now it is for the uDurationn, which is an indefinite number of years. At first there was much resentment toward the govern ent's action in changing the time to three years instead of the one year training period. Then came the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor and yinstantly' the country was aroused. Quickly thf American spirit changed, as young men under the age of twenty-one left their various jobs and school work to volunteer in their country's service. No more are we a dormant, drifting country, but a country aroused and embit- tered, ready to strike back with deadly precision, and it is the young men from 18 to 35 or from 18 to 25 years who make up our fighting forces of the present day. , By Belle Russell 8 9

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. Fw f 'THE' lflffflillllil ,A STDLDIEK ' By William Hidden I - A low slung, drab-colored, armored car sped along on the country road that wound through a dense forest. The trees were torn and shattered from shellfirc, and there were craters in the road where shells had found their mark. In the distance there was a heavy, ground-shaking booming of artillery, and nearer, the lighter banging and rattling of rifles and machine guns. There was the sharp, acrid odor of gunpowder in the air, and every once in a while a plane roared and his low overhead. H In the heavily-armed scout car were eight soldiersg six in the back manning the three machine guns, whose wicked looking muzzles stuck over the steel sides, and two in front, the driver and a man be- side him carrying a light submachine gun. All the men were alert and 'healthy looking, but the driver, a Sergeant, 'stood out from the rest. 'Lean and tanned from months of training, he looked grim and business. 'like in his khaki uniform, with a holstered automatic on his belt. He peered intently through the little slit in front of him, hhnds gripped the wheel tightly. Every once in a while, he had to swerve to avoid a shellhole, and every time he came to a dense bush or thicket that might conceal an anti-tank or machine gun, he slowed down ' There.was a feeling of tenseness in the car since this was to be the first actual fighting of the men. affected by this anxiety and he felt was uncertain and confused, and the head that he would forget everything the enemy. The, Sergeant, especially, was his responsibility heavily. He thought kept running through his he had learned when confronted by ' In fact, he notice the little from a thick bush a loud nWham!n in was so absorbed black muzzle of beside the road the back of the in an his own thoughts, that he didn't antitank gun protruding a little The first he knew of ,the gun was truck and something jagged whizzed past his ear and imbedded itself in the steel windshield in front of him. There was silence for a moment, and then a dazed and horrified voice called. nHey, Sarge, that shell. It got Tom. He's dead.n The word ndeadn brought the Sergeant back to his senses, and he was surprised to find that he knew exactly what he was going to do. Stopping the car out of sight of the antitank gunners, he grabbed the submachine gun out of the hands of the surprised soldier beside him, and said grimly, Ulf I'm not back in five minutes, you take over .n And.he ju pod out the door. ,a n-V4 - ,, - V n I n Iait u minute, Sarge, yelled the man, Let me go too. You can't take them over all alone.W In a determined voice the Sergeant replied, UNO, you stay here. This is my job.n And he started off through the underbrush. Three minutes later, the quick clatter of the submachine gun was heard by the soldiers in the car, and in a moment the Sergeant came striding up the road, jumped into the car, and drove off again, with a new air of confidence about him. The soldiers didn't bother to ask any questionsg they knew what had happened. As for the Sergeant, he only wished the enemy would show up againg he knew he could take care of them now. ' 8 8

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While America is fighting, we must have teamwork in industry. 'We must all hang together,n as Ben Franklin said, nor we shall surely all hang seperately,n America must win the battle for industrial co-oper- ation if she is to be secure. Everyone has his part, every worker, every employer, and every labor leader. As General Chiang Kai-Shek said, nlf we perspired more in time of peace, we would bleed less in time of war.n France failed in the factory before she failed at the front. Her people forgot how to pull together. Employers refused to sacrifice. Men refused to work. In her zero hour desperation was no substitute for preparation. By Robert Foster From moving pictures shown in the school, inter-American under- standing is encouraged. These pictures are often about one of the American countries. In these moving pictures, manufacturing, agricul- ture, and natural resources are shown to interested citizens of some of the other American countries. Since the war has been going on, more and more of these moving pictures are shown in the theaters of the different American countries. By Robert Arnold In the line of education most of our schools have started a course of Spanish and many pupils have eagerly taken it up. Latin American history and geography have also been put into courses. The governments have been putting American teachers down there who have been teaching English to the young natives. One of the new things that has come in lately is that colleges of both Americas have been sending students to learn the ways of the other country. In that way American students learn the ways of the Latin Americans and vice-ver- sa. So you see, the young people are doing their part to help put over the Good Neighbor Policy. By Russell Simon Again and again we hear it said, nThese are the days that try men's souls.' Yes, but they are also days that call for greater cour- age on the part of women. They must be ready to make real sacrifices-- some almost unbearable--so that their sons, friends, or even husbands may be able to defend those that are still at home. Women can knit, sew, or crochet for the Red Cross, buy bonds, and, if near a camp or naval station, invite the Men in Service to their homes. They enjoy nothing better--it gives them a chance to be with a family and to do family things which they are deprived of while serving their country. By Edna Dailey Govern ent officials at Washington want baseball to continue as long as possible. People at war need diversion and entertainment. There mugt be some interruption from the grind of war. Baseball makes good soldiers. By Leo Padula 9 0