Stearns High school - Northern Lights Yearbook (Millinocket, ME)

Page 31 text:

The sun appeared in full force as the :Xmericans entered Algiers. A few shots had been tired. but opposition was ex- tremely light. It seemed to be just an- other day to the native Nloslems. who were going about their business calmly. .lack Collins and his buddies looked up a narrow. dirty street and decided to investigate further. 'llhey had no busi- ness doing so: but, to tell the truth. they were quite disappointed at the lack of action and decided to find some if pos- sible. just as they entered the dark street. a fusilade of bullets niet them. There had been no warning. and thc Yanks had fallen into the trap neatly. Slowly they dropped. as if their bones had turned to jelly. Collins rolled over and lay still in the dust. Une. two. three hours slipped by. It was not until high noon that another tloughboy. yielding to the same tempta- tion that had enticed .lack to enter, made his way into the narrow street. Startled. he stared at the forms before him. lt was a gory sight. All three men lay in grotesque positions. sprawled in pools of their own blood. l'pon examination. the doughboy found no sign of life in any of the wounded Yanks: but. to be on the safe side. he sprinted out of the street and up to a soldier with a walkie- talkie . Quickly a doctor was called for. As yet. few emergency cases had been reported, so it was not long before an ambulance rolled up. :Xttendants care- fully placed the three bleeding figures on stretchers. and within five minutes the ambulance was rolling towards the nearest field hospital. ll! 'lf lk Sli Forceps Quickly and silently the nurse handed the instrument to the white-clad doctor. l'robe. With this instrument the doctor prodded with care for the bullet. He had already extracted four from the body of .lack Collins. and this was the last. Suddenly the doctor smiled under his mask. Taking the forceps. he got a good hold on the small lump of lead and brought it to light. He stepped from the room and removed his equipment. Xl'ell. he'll live now. 'llhe surgeon breathed with relief. Had quite a time of it. though. He should go back to the states. lt was too bad about the other fellows. wasn't it? They didn't have a chance. If if ii FY 'l'he small. gray steamer plowed through the calm Atlantic. Ou its sides and deck were painted brilliant red crosses. signs of mercy. Inside was the first contingent of wounded to return from the .-Xfrican front. 'l'here were l27 men. and among them was 'lack Collins. Still on his back. but cheerful as ever. he looked forward to seeing Richfield again. It was this thought that had kept him going through many dull days. All aboard the steamer were oblivious of the submarine whose periscope was a bare foot above the water 300 yards off the port bow. Inside the sub the cap- tain and mate were conferring in Ger- man. As the mate turned from the peri- scope. he spoke. There is one there. and it has no guns. We could shell it successfully, llerr Captain. Good Let me see. Yes, you are right. Give orders to rise. Silent minutes passed as the sub sur- faced. 'l'he captain and mate stepped out on the slippery deck with their binocu- lars. followed by the silent Crew. She will make a good target. llerr Captain. Yes. Give orders to tire-but wait! What is that on the side of the ship? lf?-'ll

Page 30 text:

try it again. Ten-shun! OK. Right face! 'l'he thirty odd privates went into many interpretations of right face . Look, rlopes. when I say right face--. Ilere Sergeant Mooney went into an explanation of all phases of right face and related terms. When the meaning of his little speech seemed to be understood by all. he put them through a drill with a fair degree of suc- cess. llowever. the crowning Haw came as the squad was marching back to quar- ters. On the double! commanded Ser- geant Mooney. The privates looked at each other with amazement. All seemed at a loss to explain this command ex- cept Collins. Boldly he went up to the sergeant. Pardon me. sir. hc stammered. 'ibut if you'll show me where the double is l'll he glad to get on it! Sergeant Mooney was speechless. wk ir -is at jack Collins wandered aimlessly past headquarters after eating his evening meal. As he did so. his eye glanced at the large bulletin board hanging there. Out of sheer curiosity. he ambled close enough to read it. Show tonight at eight for soldiers off duty-all interested in basketball please report to Lieut. 'lef- ferson-K. P. duty-all men in Company ll4 report to officers after supper for special assignment. XYhy. thought Jack. that tneant him! Bubbling over with ex- citement he rushed up to Sergeant Mooney's tent. All others in his squad were present and in the same state of excitement as -lim. XYhat's up. sarge ? lley. quit yer shovin'. I wuz here fnst l Hope it ain't no hike! Sergeant Mooney dispelled all this ex- citement by appearing. Xtith a sharp command he silenced the group: and then. in a very serious tone. he gave the news. Look. yon bums, keep quiet. Every- one be at the dock in six hours in full equipment. Mere goin' across. Silence reigned for a moment. and then the men came to. Shouting and yelling. they hurried off to their pack- ing. 'l'hc time was short. but nothing could stop these Yanks. They were on their way now! lk Pk all is Sh1. Quiet. now. Remember, guns out of water. no talkin'. and keep goin' no matter what. Oh, good luck! One after another. the men of Coni- pany 114 silently jumped out of their barges and waded up to the noiseless shore. The first streaks of dawn were lighting up the dark sky. and in the dis- tance one's eye could just perceive the moon's gleam on the city of Algiers. It was the African Invasion! Silently the men reached the beach. Still not a murmur of life came from the shore. All around them. as far as they could see. men were landing in the same manner. Machine guns were hastily set up. scouts fanned out through the dense brush: in fact, every job was done to perfection. Pic. john Collins waded ashore. grim- ly carrying a box of machine gun bul- lets. He trotted over to the spot where his two mates were already assembling the weapon. and squatted down beside them silently. ready to start feeding the gun as soon as hostilities began. How- ever, nothing happened: and as the ad- vance units had already penetrated the thick sage to the coastal highway. the weapon was dismantled and, with his comrades, Jack made his way towards the distant city. I31l

Page 32 text:

It seems like a red cross, Herr Cap- Que of the tain. So it is. Give orders to submergef' Hut- Don't argue. Do as I say! Yes, llerr Captain. Silently the German reentered the sub, and in the Atlantic fog the slender craft silently disappeared in search of fairer game. nf wr 4- 4- Richtield's lone postman again went towards the Collins house, but this time his walk was lighter. It was spring in Minnesota, and everything seemed to know it. The singing birds, blooming flowers. and budding trees all appeared to be full of life. On his porch sat ,lack Collins, drinking it all in as if he'd never seen it before. Good morniu'. jack. I got a whole bushel o' mail here fer ye'. There's a letter front Washington that looks like it might be important! Do ye want it now ? No, thanks, Mr. Ross. just set it down with the other letters and give me the C'01n'iz'r'.' Thanks. Goodbye, jack. See you tomorrow. Bye ,lack Collins was already read- ing the sports. XYARREN DANIELL '43. 0 Teacher: Give me a sentence with an object. Frosh: Teacher, you are beautiful. Teacher: W'hat's the object? Frosh: A good mark. - 0 L Boom F.: You heard the old one about the farmer who said of his peaches: 'We eat what we can and we can what we can't'? Bob Gates: Yep, I heard that one, but did you hear that I sell what I can and what I ran't I cancel P I was just thinking, is all this gas ra- tioning worth while? I have a nice lit- tle car. I used to take sotne dandy trips in it. Why. I drove to work 'most every day. It always took me to the movies and back. I shopped in it and it came in mighty handy, too. Lots of nights, I just rode around for the sheer love of I bought that ear, paid good driving it. money for it. I could afford to run it, too. My car was more than just a me- chanical thing: it was a part of me, What right has a group of politicians to take that car from me? Sure, I know tl1ere's a war going on. I buy war bonds, and I don't mind losing sugar. coffee. and other things-but my carl How can I get along without it? I'll bet there are many people, all over the country. who are still running theirs. W'hy. I know people right here at home who haven't any more right to run a car than I have! 'l'hey rate, I guess. W'hy doesn't some- one. somewhere, invent synthetic gas? This walking is driving me crazy. W'alk to work: walk to the post office: walk to the grocery store: walk to the theater. Walk! Walk! Walk! Yes, let me see -where have I heard that phrase. Walk for health ? Can it be possible l'm falling for this walk business? thank Why. yes, that's ity I ought to God that I am able to walk. I'm begin- ning to think of the thousands in hospi- tals that can't walk, of the shut-ins all over the world, doomed to wheelchairs for life. Of that great man who holds the highest office in our country. W'hat wouldn't he give to be able to walk as I do? Here's where I lift my chin and smile. And watch out, brother, because here comes one of Uncle Sam's will- ingest walkers! Roskus G.-xLv1N '43. l33l