UNITED STATES ARMY RECRUITING SERVICE

June 8, 1942----------KOIN 10 »45 P.?I.

SOLDIERS OF THE AIR

A1TNCR: KOIN presents -—------------------------------->- Soldiers of the Air I

'iUSIC: THEr.E "SECOND CONNECTICUT REGIMENT" (475) UP AND FADE TO BACKGROUND

ANNCR: Wanted: Hen of experience who have the courage and daring to pry themselves out of the comfortable rut of their early forties 1 Wanted: Men

who know construction and demolotion, — men who are willing to let the

United States Army Corps of Engineers use the skill and wisdom of their maturity. If you are under forty-five, experienced in any branch of engineering, and still long to challenge life and to show these youngsters a thing or two about construction, here’s your chance* The United States Army needs experienced men,— hundreds of them, for the Corps of Engineers, Yes, the army needs men like Stub Davis, operator of a fleet of dump trucks since his father, "the old man", retired a few years ago. Ever since Stubs son, Jack signed up and was sent overseas, the old man, "Pop" Davis, who has just turned sixty-five, has been itching to enlist. In fact, he has gone so far as to go up to three twenty-three Main Post Office, and right now he’s trying to convince Sergeant Bill Harris that he’s as good as----- but wait,-- let’s

listen in at the Army Recruiting Service and get the story from Pop

Davis himself. (FADING) Pop seems to be a little excited about being turned down--------

BILL: I’m sorry, Mister Davis, but that’s the way it is. You see,  

POP: (EXASPERATED) No, I don’t seel You give mo a fleet of dump trucks,

and a crew, and one of them fancy new uniforms the soldiers are wearing and I’ll do the restl

BILL: But the regulations—

POP: Stuff and nonsense 1 Red tape I Bother and— and tarnation, Scrgeantl

Give me the trucks and the drivers and never mind the uniform. I can

move more dirt in eight hours than-—

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BILL: I'm sorry, Mister Davis, honestly I am, but there isn't a thing I can do about it. In the army we learn to take orders,—

POP: Now look hero, young man, arc you trying to toll me I wouldn't make a good soldier, just because I'm arguing— (LAMELY) arguing — arg

BILL: (LAUGHING) Or arguing.

POP: (WITH A GLEAM OF HUMOR) Yeh, I guoss I been yelling pretty loud, ain't I? I got so used to yelling at the truck drivers I don't seem to get out of the habit my son. Stub says--

BILL: Stub says no yelling, ch?

POP: Say, Stub can out-scrccch me any day of the week. (PAUSE) You know, about three years ago Stub said he figured it was time I rctirod and took it easy, but dog nab it, Sergeant, there's times when I figure he just wanted to get rid of me so's he could do the screeching himself.

BILL: You moan yelling at the truck drivers?

POP: Yoh. Yelling louder'n the truck motors, yelling above the steam shovel, yelling— Aw, yelling just for the fun of it. Us Davises just natur- ally got to exorcise our lungs, and since I retired from tho dirt moving business I ain't had much chance — (CHUCKLING) Leastways, not until I took on this truck driving class of females, —

BILL: (INCREDULOUSLY) A truck driving class of females? What on earth--

POP: Mobbo I moan a class of truck driving females-- women drivers.

BILL: You going to replace your men drivers with women?

POP: Why, no. Lcatways Stub ain't said nothing about it» These women figure they is going to be drivers for Uncle Sam, transport drivers, ambulance drivers, and that sort of thing, and mo not having nothing to do, I'm teaching them.

BILL: What does Stub think of that?

POP: (CHUCKLING) Stub don't know nothing about it, and he ain't going to, if I_ have anything to say about it. Say, if he ever caught me out

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there on Sunday afternoons with them female women in pants driving his precious dump trucks----Tarnation, he would yell I

BILL: Stub sounds as if he'd make a good army sergeant*

POP: (EXCITEDLY) Say,— do you mean what I think you mean?

BILL: What do you think I mean?

POP: (iIUCH INTERESTED) You mean, why don't Stub enlist in the engineers

and do what I been wanting to do for the army?

BILL: Why not?

POP: (EXCITEDLY) And then I could go back to dirt moving and bossing the

trucks and -

BILL: (CHUCKLING) Yelling at the drivers.

POP: Yes, sirl Yelling at the ---(DRA: IATICALLY) Why, you dirty-necked,

fuzzy-faced offspring of a tractor 1 Hove over and let a good driver past I

BILL: Good heavens, man, is that the way you talk to those women drivers?

POP: (SLIGHTLY GRIEVED) Sergeant Harris, you don't know the Davises, With

women we’re vociferous,— but gentle.

BILL: Well, Pop, I'm sorry the army can't use you. Bring that son in,

though, and we'll sign him up for the engineers.

POP: (CONFIDENTLY) Sure, I'll bring Stub in tomorrow, Why, when I tell

him about the army needing construction foremen------ (FADING) Stub'll

sign up all right----

MUSIC: LIVELY UP AND OUT

SOUND: TRUCK MOTOR (S Q 127) SUP TO ESTABLISH BACKGROUND, THEN FADE TO BG

STUB: (IMPATIENTLY) Look, Pop, I can't do it, so stop arguing with me, will

you? Can't you see this truck is stuck and the driver (YELLING ABOVE TRACTOR)---Hey, you ill-visaged oaf I Give her the gunl

SOUND; TRUCK MOTOR UP AND FADE TO BG

POP: (IN DISGUST) Ill-visaged oaf I No wonder that driver's stuck. Now

if you ask me--

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STUB: Well, I don't ask you! (MORE KINDLY) Go..on, Pop. Let me handle these trucks. This is a tough job and I —

POP: (STUBBORNLY) No tougher'n what the army engineers do.

STUB: (YELLING) Hey, you, svring on that wheel! Wat do you think you are, a radiator ornament?

POP: (COMPLETELY DISGUSTED) Radiator ornament!

SOUND: TRUCK UP CLOSE THEN OUT AS STUB SPEAKS

STUB: (CALLING) Swing it! Swing it! That's it Now,— out you go and dump that load. (PAUSE) You sec?

POP: (STUBBORNLY) No, I don't see.

STUB: This is a new generation, Pop. We do things different. You handled drivers oneway, by calling them coarse names. I handle them by —-

POP: (DOGGED) I could manage 'em, honest I could. (PAUSE) Look, son, the army won’t take me. I'm too old. But they need construction men bad. They need 'em to make the going easier for the young fellows (PAUSE) You know, Stub, ever since Jack enlisted, why I get to thinking

STUB: Yes, I know, Pop.

POP; What if it was Jaok come to a stream and couldn't got across on account there hadn't been enough engineers to bridge it? Dog nab it, I

STUB: Stop it, Pop. There's no use getting all worked up about something we can't help. Half the drivers have talked about quitting to enlist anyhow, and if I started encouraging them, why

PGP: (ENTHUSIASTICALLY) They'd all join up!

STUB: (WITH DETERMINATION) Now look, Pop, you toddle home and let me get back to work. Until we got a crew you can manage there isn't a thing— Hey, where are you going?

POP: (FADING RnPIDLY) To get me a crow I can manage!

MUSIC: LIVELY UP AND OUT

SOUND: CROWD NOISES UP TO ESTABLISH BACKGROUND, THEN FADE TO BG AS POP SPEAKS

POP:

(YELLING ABOVE CROW) Ladies I Ladies 1 (PAUSE) Ladies! (PAUSE THEN

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YELLING) Why, you- bonny bunch of buttercups,--- Shut up I (PAUSE) Well, now, that’s better.

JANE: (A LITTLE OFF MIKE) Sorry, Pop, we were just arguing about double

clutching. Mary says she------

HARY: (FADING IN) I say I practiced on my passenger car. It works swell.

Now I can shift dorm on one of these multiple speed jobs and-—

JANE: (ON MIKE) Yes, but Pop,—

MARY: Sure, sure, you aro better on backing up than I am, but that’s because

you’ve got such long legs and can stand on tho running board and still reach the foot feed----

POP: O-kay, o-kay. We’ll soon find out how good you arc. (PAUSE) Now,

listen, you (GRI’ILY) pulchritudinous little crack-pots, are you serious about driving real trucks?

SOUND: CROWD NOISES UP

MARY: (ABOVE CROWD) Sure we are I We want to drive for Uncle Sami

JANE: (ABOVE CROWD) I want to drive an army trucki

MARY: I'll settle for a jeep.

POP: (ABOVE CROWD) Well, then, listen, I got an idea.

SOUND: CROWD NOISES DOWN AND OUT

POP: You know them trucks, them dump trucks we been practicing on every

Sunday? Well, I figure we could haul dirt as good as anyone. We could run them trucks.

MARY: Who's we?

POP: You girls,— and me.

JANE: Sure, we could. When do we start?

POP: Tomorrow night, when the swing shift goes off duty.

JANE: (DISMAYED) At night I You mean the graveyard shift?

POP: (GRIMLY) I mean the McArthur shift, and if any of you (VOICE RISING)

lily-livered little anemones ---- (LOWER) If you ain’t got the love of

freedom in your hearts and perfect control of a -dump truck in your hands

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—you better stay homo between the shoots.

JURY: We'll be there Fop. Just tell us exactly what you want us to do.

PCPs Well, that's better. Nov/, I figure wc got to dramatize this little

deal to put it across,. You girls get into them coveralls of yours,— and I'll get that Sergeant Harris of the Recruiting Service out there in that big silver trailer and truck with all that music and stuff, (FADING) and we’ll show that Stub Davis how to handle a crew. ’ .

MUSIC.; (AT DISTANCE AND CONTINUING) MILITARY 1URCH .aS IF FROM LOUDSPEAKER

SOUND: TRUCK UP AND HOLD THEN CUT WHEN STUB SPEAKS

STUB.; Let’ her. go.' Let her gol O-kay, that’s all., boys, We’ll knock off now. Line up the trucks 1 (PAUSE) Oh, hello, Pop. What are you doing out here this time of night?

POF: I was just figuring on a little job for Jack,.

STUB,; Are you crazy? Jack's in Australia.

POP: Yeh,

STUB: What's that music? Sounds like a parade.

POP: It is.

MUSIC; UP A LITTLE aS IF LOUDSPEAKER WERE DRAWING NEARER

Stub: Well, of all the — What's Chat big silver truck coming in here for?

POP: (INNOCENTLY) Truck? In here?

STUB: (YELLING) Swing that floodlight around, Frank. (FAUSE) A little

more to the right so we can see. (LOWER AS IF READING) Well, of all the — "United States Army Recruiting Service." That's what it says— right on the side of the truck—

POP: Yeh.

MUSIC; UP LOUDER

BILL: (AT DISTANCE AND ABOVE MUSIC) Here you are, Pop, truck, music, girls

and all, Nov; you take over!

POP: (WITH ENTHUSIASM) O-kay, Sergeant. Keep that music going-- and —

blow that whistlei

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SCUNE; LHISTLE BL. .ST______REPEATED

POP: Fall in, you cherry-chcekod little chicudcesl

STUB: Well, of all tho -- Lho arc these women?

POP: (HAPPILY WITH THE MUSIC) Tum-ti-tum-ti-tuml Up you go, gals, into the

cabsi (PAUSE) Now, wind 'em upl

MUSIC: FuDE BENEATH TRUCK

SOUND: TRUCK/MOTORS UP LOUD

POP: (SHOUTING) Give 'em the guni (PAUSE) Swing 'om around and follow’

Number Ono over to the shovel I

SOUND: TRUCK FADING IN DISTANCE

POP: (GLEEFULLY SHOUTING) Doublo clutch that Federal, you mess of magnifi-

ccncel Double clutchi

STUB: ’That's the idea, Pop? I don't get it.

POP: Sergeant Harris, where’s that paper with the dotted line?

BILL: Right here, sir. (PAUSE) Application for enlistment in tho United

States Army Engineers.

STUB: (SERIOUSLY) Pop,-- is this the little job you wore figuring on for Jack?

FOP: Yeh. You said —until we got a crow I could handle. Well, I got 'em.

STUB: But my regular crew, what about them?

POP; Sergeant Harris, didn't you say you could use a few more fellows up to forty-fivo?

BILL: I sure did,

STUB: (SUDDENLY) I got it J (SHOUTING) Hoy, you mcni You dirty-eared,

dust-covered, earth movers—

POP: (INTERRUPTING) You've got a new job----- in the United States Army.

MUSIC; THE"IE UP AND OUT

ANNCR: There's a nevi job for you too, you older men, in the United States .¡.rmy.

If you know bridge construction, highway construction, have experience as a water supply expert, concrete foreman, as an electrical or chemical engineer and arc under forty-five and in excellent health, Uncle Sam

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wants you in the Army Engineers. Inquire at three twenty-three Main Post Office for particulars on those special openings for older men. (PAUSE) Listen again next Monday night at ten forty-five over this station when you will again hear----

SOUND: TELEPHONE BALL JJJD RECEIVER IL J SEP FROM HOOK

BILL: Army Recruiting Service. Sergeant Harris speaking.

ANNCR: Next week at this same hour KOIN will present another in this series

of Soldiers of the Air. Tonight's program was written by Claire Warner Churchill of the Oregon Writers' Project of the Work Projects Administration, Harrison E. Devereaux, State Administrator, and produced by members of the Portland Civic Theatre. The cast included:

IUSIC: THEME UP AND OUT