European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 24, 1945, Darmstadt, Hesse Yank the army weekly August 1945 Charlie people Oki the front by Margaret Davis yank staff writer Texas do not leave a uniform Man on the pick him be Nice to the service if you buy him a soft drink and wish Good he is the Best Friend we have in this wicked world you Are Short of come in and if you Are Short of fare in the City Charlie will give it to on duty 7 to 7 memories shall never so reads the sign outside Charlie Mitchells underpass cafe at 502 Commerce Street in and Charlie Means every word of his thou Sands of i friends All Over the world will vouch for Charlie is a Little Man with Brown Spaniel a closeout grizzled Mustache and deep lines in his he wears Short sleeved White an apron tied around his Waist and a soda perkers White Cap that manages to look like a suntan Cap that has been worn in the tropics for a couple of although he was born in Georgia and has lived Dallas 27 he Speaks with a greek and very his father was a greek orthodox Charlie has very Blacka Edwhite ideas about As his sign he thinks this is a wicked but he never seems to meet very Many wicked people who Are ugly to Charlies ideas form the decorative Motif for his the cafe is just wide enough for a counter with stools and one Row of Little but it is plastered All Over with Bible Jesus the Good Shepherd carrying a Jesus the Light of the world knocking on a door and carrying a the baby Jesus under a new England looking Apple tree with Mary and there Are texts that say things like eat Here and you will hunger again but eat of gods word and hunger there Are pictures of Stalin and Chiang Waishek mixed up with the Bible pictures and a new picture of Truman by the Cash there Are dozens and dozens of snapshots of gis and under Palm Trees and in the with b24s and Jap hug Ging girls and lugging one of the coca cola blackboards furnished cafes to write menus on is covered with straggling capitals that read stand up for we Are very proud for our Flag and our the neatly lettered signs say no drinking and no profane said a Guy from love is the sort of joint you would expect any i to run from like hell you would think it was All too damned Good to be would think that it was such a Good Goody setup that it would make you sick to your stomach if it was but that would be before you knew and it does not take very Long to know he didst use the words hell and damned where Charlie could hear would have Hurt Charlies and Charlie is a fellow whose feelings you dont want to Charlie has been serving free meals to gis who Are and otherwise lending them a helping Ever since Pearl the meals total tens of last Christmas Charlie and his wife served free Turkey dinners to 225 gis and gave them 24 Cartons of hoarded out of the cafes they sent 400 Christmas packages to gis when we got in the War Charlie didst intend to go on running his which had stood for 18 years opposite the old he took 11 Days off after Pearl Harbor to get things fixed so his wife and daughters could and then he went Down to the Post office to he was 45 they Tell he we know you Are a Good but we dont think we can use i get Back to the Corner out there and a Soldier says to could you buy me a cup of Coffee so i bring him in and i give him a and when he thanks me i know then what i am going to do in the yes it Hurt that Little so i in Gonna see they have in Gonna see they have so i paint up the that same it has the Date at the what Charlie has done in the War has Cost him a lot of couple of thousand one letter Charlie has received i have just now received the i think that there int any one that would do for me what you have already done for but Charlie knew that Guy before in if he comes Home i get the if he he Dies for yes Charlie says things like that just As if he were telling you the Price of Ham and and you dont squirm at because that is the Way Charlie More Charlies Loans Are or or to men who wander in i Charlie i give it to you if you wont Send it i Send it Back to you if you a few try to pay me Back but i just mail the Money right Back to Charlie has about letters1 from his friends big corrugated cardboard boxes that canned goods come in and nine Cigar All full of they thank him for cigars in new phonograph records in fishing Hooks and films in the sugar and Coffee in the letters say things like i Haven forgot ten you and never i Felt like i was Back Home when i came in your i had breakfast there and you didst allow me to pay my it made me feel Good All thanks for treating me so darn swell when i was in Dallas and give my regards to your fam every time i meet another i who been in Dallas he asks me if i know Charlie and pulls out one of your the letters Arent All from one from Connecticut says i received a letter from my son overseas and he said you were very Good to and i thank you for being so kind to in a letter from the Mother of a Brit ish Soldier who had been Over Here Are there More americans like you and requested Charlies the Mother of five gis sent a Christmas card to the Best Man in the gis and their folks dont Only write they ask him to help them with their personal yes Charlie i visit 27 women who write their husbands they want a divorce or who just dont write at the Hus bands write me and say please do about 20 i fix up All but i do no Good with the no writes one of the husbands who sent Charlie an sos when he didst hear from his family i hear from my Little girls often and they Are doing just you sure have been a Nice Friend to me and i appreciate if you ask Charlie which of his Soldier friends he remembers Best he laughs impish by and i never remember any of they walk in and you remember me and i now lemme see and then they Tell me All about the men Charlie knew when they came in from Camps in 1941 and 1942 Are coming in from Over seas to see him seventy three returnees came in to say hello during Christmas one i telegraphed Charlie that he was coming through by bus on his Way to the Pacific and please to meet him at the station As he have time to come to the i didst remember what he looked but i go and a Soldier come up and who you Lookin for and i a and he Pat me on the Back and that while Charlie was a weedy civilian kid in the cafe was showing a Soldier his notice to report for he said he had been in the army before and had been no body was paying much attention to but Charlie must have had an Eye on the for suddenly the kid was confronted with a plate stacked with country Fried the kid wolfed Down the Steak and thank where you going now Charlie the kid didst seem to and Charlie reached into the Cash pulled out some Money and handed it to that All Charlie said to the you come and see me before you Charlie came Back to the yes whatever you i wish you would Tell All my boys to drop me a he that what i to hear from those Page 22
