European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 6, 1945, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Yank the army weekly 1945 screen credit too Are now by Tom Shehan there was nothing about t5 Braidwood Mcmanus that would suggest he was an he had Flat a perpetual hangover and a bad Case of soda Fountain Crouch from eating at that Why i was amazed when i read in the stars stripes that he had entered the Allied boxing championships at the Foro Ditalia in naturally i hurried right Down to the Little Bistro on via Roma where Braidwood held to find out what it was All i found him with a Cigar stub in his left hand and half a Glass of Vino in the talking to a rugged looking Joe with a rather celtic whats this i asked about you fighting in the Allied boxing Champion ships in Rome there you he jumping to conclusions like you always i just wrote special services and told them about the Braidwood Mcmanus figuring id get some publicity for my but i never said that i was going to do any whats the Braidwood Mcmanus entry i asked very shake said with horizontal Hes going to win the welterweight title at the Allied boxing before i left the Braidwood asked me to vide up to Rome with them the Day before the tournament and work in Corner when he ill say this for Hogan he talked about As Good a fight As Ive Ever All the Way to Rome he kept telling Mcmanus what he was going to do in the always referring Back to what hed done As a he had won something like 24 fights As an if you can Call a fighter who sold the watches he won an remember the he would that i whipped Ripper Ralph Parit Elone in the Golden gloves at the Garden he was pretty rough until i sunk my Hook into his they kept hollering a la Banzai meaning for him to put one in my but he never Laid a Glove on i was a Little fat at the time and i  take any my father had promised me a new Green Corduroy suit for the third Avenue social club picnic if i after i hit Pantelone with that Hook and doubled him i was Able to get in Over his guard and i knocked him out in the second i not Only had to listen to the Guy All the Way to but around the hotel that evening As we were stopping at the one of those Swank joints that used to be popular with the and Braidwood  let me out of his wherever you found Braidwood there was plenty of conversation about most of it contributed by Hogan the next morning we went Over to the Foro Ditalia for the braid Woods brow puckered into a permanent wince and his head shrunk Back into his shoulders like a worried turtles when his Guy Drew Marcel Cerdan for the first serdans name didst mean a thing to not even after Braidwood told me that he was the european id seen some of those euro Pean champions fight at the but i began to get the idea of How Good he was supposed to be when i Learned that the French soldiers were offering the gis Odds of four to one that he would Knock out Hogan in the first those would be Long Odds for Joe Louis to Knock out Rny old Man in the first but not Many gis were willing to cover the wallpaper Money that the Poilu were waving in their there was a hell of a crowd of italian and american soldiers in the Foro i walked Down to the ring in front of Hogan with a bucket in each and Braidwood brought up the we climbed into the ring and i could Tell from the noise that went up that the French Man was right behind at serdans those French soldiers started clapping their hands in unison and hollering serdans name on the Cerdan Cerdan they gave him a hell of an but i didst see him until Jack the called us to the Center of the ring for preflight Marcel was a handsome Frenchman with dark curly one look at those sloping shoulders and i knew Why he had lost Only three fights in seven years in the but if Hogan was Over awed by his appearance he never showed Back in the Corner he Shook hands with dont he ill take care of this Paloska and be right he made a Quick return but not like he As soon As the Bell Cerdan was out of his Corner and across the ring to meet the More sluggish he straightened horizontal with a left to the Side of the head and then knocked him out with two rights to the i dont know what Cerdan had in his but it took Braidwood and me half an hour to bring Hogan when the lights came on again for he didst say much More than enough to convince us that he was he still didst know what had the sudden ending of the fight spoiled the tournament for so we walked Back to the Moderno with about a Block from the hotel it started raining and who haunt been very held out his hand and Felt the then he said to Thill probably keep the crowd wont Mack braid Woods answer convinced me that he was a born fight keep the crowd hell he they called it off Page 14