U. S. ARMY ENLISTMENT BROADCAST

APRIL 22, 1941 KOIN 10:30-10:45

ANNCR: KOIN presents. ..... ."Soldiers of the Air'."

MUSIC : THEME- "SECOND CONNECTICUT REGIMENT" (475) UP AND FADE TO

background.

ANNCR: This evening, KOIN is pleased to co-operate with the United States Army Recruiting Service in presenting the second of a series of regular weekly broadcasts bringing you the informal, informative and interesting story of the "Soldiers of the Air'."

ÌÌUSIC: THEME UP aND OUT

ANNCR: Ladies and gentlemen, again we present our two friends of last week, Bill "Butch" Harris, the old-timer of the foreign service, and the new recruit, Larry Foster. You will remember the two boys had an appointment at the Vancouver Barracks for a physical examination, prior to entering the service, and by the looks of the boys there seems a lot of enthusiasm in the air, and I have an idea they are eager to relate their experiences. . .How about it Larry?

LARRY: I sure am, Mr. . It was a great experience.

ANNCR: How about you Bill. . .did you get your old-time thrill out of it?

BILL: It's always been a thrill to me, Mr. , despite the fact that it's old-time stuff with me.

ANNCR: Well, Larry, we're waiting.

LARRY: It was just as Bill said last week about the private chauffeur. Vie got down at the recruiting station at 8:30, and right on the dot we were off to Vancouver in a swell recruiting station wagon and it wasn't long before we were being assembled for examination. You know the first thing they did was to hand us an identification disk. . .

BILL: "Dog Tag" to you Buddy from now on.

LaRRY: Is that what they call 'em. Gosh I've sure got a lot to learn.

BILL: You're going to have a new vocabulary when your three years are up

ANNCR: So you've been accepted Larry. . .Congratulations.

LARRY: Thanks, Mr. , and am I proud? Why say I never knew how healthy I was. I never had such a going over in all my life.

2-2-2

BILL: You ain’t seen noth' yet brother.

ANNCR: How about you Bill. . .Have any trouble?

LARRY: Trouble'. He went through that exam like nothin'.. It was just

like his enlistment. . .presto.

BILL: Why not? I've been looked after by Uncle Sam for fifteen years -

why shouldn't I be in perfect physical condition?

LARRY: I'll say. . .It sure is a wonderful feeling when the Doc says

O.K.

ANNCR: Larry, tell us about the routine of the exam.

LARRY: Sure. . .After I got my "dog tag" I was sent over to the Sergeant for questioning - and let me tell you the Quizz programs haven't got a thing on him.

BILL: Yeh'. I'll never forget the first question a tough old army Sergeant

asked me. He looked at me with a cold steely look, and said,

"When were you born, and WHY?"

LARRY: I'll bet that burned you up.

BILL: It did, but that bird just kept lookin' at me, and I just kept

right on answerin'.

LARRY: Nothing like that now. Those fellas over there at Vancouver are swell. They try to make you feel at ease.

BILL: Did he ask you, what did your old Uncle Arthur die of — if any?

LARRY: They asked me so many questions I don't remember. When I got through there the next place I went to was the finger print man. Then I knew they had me for fair. No foolin'.

ANNCR: Of course we all realize how necessary all that sort of identification is. But I suppose the real physical test followed after that?

:ARRU@ It sure did'. X-ray, heart and all that. . .Then came the high spot of the show. We all had to strip and line up and go into our dance. . .The guy behind me said, "Here is where we go into our terpsichore."

ANNCR: You mean they put you through the exercises to get your physical reaction?

LARRY: Yes. . .Before I got through I thought I was an esthetic interpretive dancer. But Mr. , you should have been

Bill. (Laughs)

BILL: Wait a minute Larry. . .Anybody tell you you were a Pavloya.

LARRY: No, but I sure got a kick out of watchin' you.

BILL: All right young feller I'll remember that.

ANNCR: Boys '. boys '. this is all in fun you know.

BILL: Sure'. I know. I'm just thinkin' of the fun I'm goin' to have.

LARRY: After we got through with part of it. . .we had to visit the dentist. But Bill didn't make me feel any to good before I went in. As I was going through the door Bill began singing the Yanks arc coming.

BILL: That was for laughing at me while I was doing my calisthenics.

LARRY: Yeh? But I felt swell when I got through. The Doc said my teeth were perfect. Then came the moment I was waiting for.

ANKCR: What was that?

LaRRY: Going bufire the Recruiting Officer. . .Right off the reel I said. "I want to be an AIR SOLDIER." "Know anything about it?" he says, Gosh, my heart sank. . .1 told him I didn't. So he said, "Your physical test is O.K. Guess you better go into the next room to be interviewed and wd'll tell you more about it after that."

ANNCR: Guess that was pretty strenuous wasn't it?

LARRY: Mr. , when they got through with me, I felt like I've been in a goldfish bowl on inspection, but I got by, and they told me they were sure I could make the grade. Was I happy? By this time I lost all track of Bill, and I begun to get kind of worried. I thought, being an old-timer, he hud been already assigned and on his way and I wasn't going to see him any more.

BILL: Was he surprised to see me? I'u been waiting two hours for him. I thought they were operating on him.

LARRY: Yeh, can you imagine — Bill goes before the Recruiting Officer, shows him another paper about being a master mechanic air man in the IT. S. Army, and they tell him to go outside and wait for orders. Can you beat it?

BILL: Why not? What do you think I've been doin' all these years, just polishing my rifle? No sir boy, I went to Uncle Sam's school, and now I'm going to one of the many guardians of his air force.

LARRY: Gosh Bill, that sure makes you a "Soldier of the Air" too, doesn't it?

BILL: (PROUDLY) And how, boy, and how',.

4-4-4

LARRY: Just give me one year and I'll be right in step with you.

BILL: I know you will lad, I know you will.

AN1JCR: Larry, I was noticing your uniform. It looks like a million.

LARRY: You can imagine how surprised I was when I put it on. You know

I had an idea they would throw just anything at me.

BILL: Pardon my interruption, that little remark you just made,"throwing

anything at me", reminds mo of my first enlistment when I first went to get my outfit. I looked like somebody threw me into a sack. My shoes were two sizes too large, the sleeves of my coat hung down to my knees, and who should I meet as I'm coming out of the bunk house, but the steely eyed Sarg., that asked me, "Where was I born and Yfhy". Well, I stood at attention with half of the sleeve hanging down to my elbow. . .and he barks at me. . ."Nhat do you think you are?" I just whimpered at him, "Sergeant, I'm tryin’ to be a soldier and it looks like they won't let me," and I could see he was just dying to bust out laughin'. . .and I said, "Please Serg, help me will you?"

LARRY: What did he do?

BILL: He stood there laughin' for five minutes, and then he said,

"Come on kid, I'll show you the ropes,, and tomorrow you'll be all set."

LARRY: Gosh, they weren't as tough as they were supposed to be, were

they?

BILL: Oh, they were a tough lot all right, but they hud hearts as big

us all out doors. But nowadays it's different and I'm. mighty glad of it. See oui' boys going down the street tailored to the nth degree, makes me awfully proud.

LARRY: You can imagine. I just told the supply officer the sizes of

my hat, shoes and suit and look, you'd think it was cut especially for me.

ANNCR: Then what, what did you do?

LARRY: I asked Bill when he thought we would be sent to our assignment

and where it would be.

BILL: I told him he had already been accepted for the PORTLAND COLUMBIA

AIR BASE. You should have seen that boy's face.

LARRY: Yeah, I was sure that Bill and I had to split up and I felt pretty

low.

5-5-5

BILL: Yeh, but I didn't have to guess what happened when I saw Larry

come tearin' toward me yellin' and laughin'. I guess he forgot that I told him that when you are accepted for a definite assignment that is where you go.

LARRY: Nov; that I was sure we were going to be together I said, "Bill,

I got about five dollars, we're goin' to celebrate," but Bill put the kibosh on that in a hurry.

ANNCR: Why did you do that Bill?

BILL: Just because that's a lot of hooey. I told Larry to go right

over to the finance officer and plank down that dough right away and if he was going to be a buddy of mine, that stuff was out. He's going to use his money right and save just as much of it as he can, and when his enlistment is up, he'll have enough saved up to take a nice trip, and see things like any business man does, because, young fellow, you're going to work, and work hard, and you'll be mighty glad to relax for a time before you start on your next enlistment.

LARRY: Bill wants me to feel like a business man.

BILL: Sure I do. I told you that last week, and I'm going to keep

battin' at you until you realize that you're in the biggest business the world has ever known. It's the business of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; put that in your mind, son, and don't let go of it for one moment.

LARRY: Don't worry, I won't, now that I'm in this uniform. I don't

think of all this as war exactly. It seems to be something bigger and greater for the future. Sure I know, that we stand ready to give our lives for those we love, but so does a policeman for his community; a fireman gives his life to save a man or a woman from a burning building, but both departments go on functioning all the time fighting to eliminate danger, and that's why I feel I am part of this movement. I have become a part of our great national protective service that's going to keep our homes as we want them to be.

BILL: Atta boy, nov/ you're talkin' like a real "Soldier of the Air".

■ You're going to learn it from the ground up, and be on the job any time they need you in any capacity.

LARRY: You bet I am, and I never realized it as I do this moment, dressed

in the official uniform of Uncle Sam.

SUGGESTION; SNEAK IM THEME AS BG ABOVE THEN FULL FOR ABOUT THIRTY SECONDS AND FADE TO ANNCR.

ANNCR: Well, Larry, that last statement of yours should inspire us all, and thanks to both of you boys for being with us again tonight. Vie have another guest with us tonight, ladies and gentlemen, that I am sure you will enjoy meeting. We asked him to come up to our meeting and add a few words of his own along this subject of the Army accepting recruits for the Air Corps and Foreign Service branches of the service. Ladies and gentlemen, may we present

OFFICER; Thank you Mr. . I wonder if our two friends

happen to know just how good their chances are for acquiring some more of that specialized training that we're always talking about in the army. Just in case they don't, I might mention that the army's training program for aircraft mechanics will soon be stepped up to 100,000 a year, which is double the present rate.

There's also another angle to this thing. Although Private Harris appears to be set on a career in the army as an enlisted man, Private Foster here still has a good opportunity to qualify himself for appointment as a Flying Cadet and an Air Corps pilot before his enlistment expires. The recruiting service is busy now planning a recruiting blitzkreig to meet the coming heavy demand for Regulars to train both as aircraft mechanics and Flying Cadets. Any young nan in the service under the age of 27 has the privilege of taking the examination to qualify for this Flying Cadet training as an air reserve officer.

The selection of flying cadet appointees is recognized as the toughest problem of the coming increase in Air Corps strength. At present, about 2000 cadets a month are getting appointments. It takes this 24,000 a year to supply the Army 12,000 flyers. About 20,000 get washed out.

When the war department steps the rate of training to 30,000 a year, it will have to find 60,000 cadets a year or 5,000 a month. According to present indications, about 35% of those 5000 will come from young men who are unuUlu tc sh^w'credits for two or more years of college study, but who have enabled themselves to pass the mental examinations. Which is where Private Foster's

opportunity lies.

At present, the Office of Education is working out a system for supplying supplementary courses from schools nearby army camps to aid the Army in helping likely-looking, non-college cadets to pass the mental exams.

I would certainly recommend that Private Foster take the opportunity to discuss this matter with his commanding officer, because as it has been said many times before, you just get what you yourself go after in the regular army.

For any young man, no matter whether in civil or military life, this flying cadet training presents a real opportunity. A cadet is paid $75 a month while in training, in addition to his maintenance, and receives $205 a month as a second lieutenant, air reserve, on active duty after graduation as a Flying Cadet. For appointment as a flying cadet, it is required that you be between the ages of 20 and 27, of good character and in good health, a single United States citizen, and that you have the equivalent of two years of college study. If you have those two years of college training, you are exempted from the mental examinations. If you have only a high school education, the privilege of taking these examinations is still yours. For application blanks or for further information, just write any army recruiting station, or to our Portland office in room 323, the Main Post Of°ico Building at Northwest Broadway and Glisan Streets. ANNCR: Thank you very much, sir. You have just heard ___________________

who was kind enough to come to this studio and add a few words to our program. You are all invited to come up to the studios again next Tuesday night if you can and we'll have another informal chut about what’s doing in this Army you're joining to become a soldier of the air.

MUSIC: THEME (475) UP AND FADE TO BG.

ANNCR: This program producer................Recruiting Service, Oregon

Writers Project, KOIN..........