European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 19, 1948, Darmstadt, Hesse V rugged terrain requires rugged soldiers. Above a greek patrol. Hunts for Markos bandits by John Hanlon chasing guerrillas in the Rocky Hills or Whiting away his time in a Small Mountain Village the greek infantryman is probably the toughest and most underpaid Soldier under arms today 1 1 buni6n for bunion the greek army infantryman is the toughest Foo Soldier under arms today. There is no one like him for my Money in operation. As a unit his army lacks punch and Power. Batty else on its current record it is Light in the win column. As far As each Soldier is concerned however that s the higher ups doings and none of his own. But on the level of his primary business carrying Rifle and pack making tracks fighting heis without a challenger. For individual hardiness even the red army dough boy must stand a few paces Back. As for an american Soldier he would prob ably Bolt the ranks and with Complete justification if he were asked to oper ate in the manner of i i have just spent a month with greek soldiers who were actively fighting mar Kos guerrilla mob. I lived with them ate with them and went on two Bandit Hunting operations with them. I thought knew most of the aspects of soldiering Tough soldiering having served the last War in the paratroops. I was wrong. To had never seen Nick and the Way heroes business. Take the matter of hiking. Nick can out plod anyone who Ever pulled on a combat shoe. Recently one company on the scent of a guerrilla group marched up into the Hills for two Days. Walking from Dawn to dusk. On the third Day it made Contact and chased the bandits for the next 48 hours. On the fifth Day it turned about an marched Back to Camp. Not one Man during the entire trek fell out or even straggled behind the column. On the return hike they Sang most of the Way. In one regiment i know of soldiers not on duty go on a daily practice March 10 just to keep in shape. At night the same men take their regular turn standing guard. I accompanied another outfit on a Mountain reconnaissance. We left the Valley at mid afternoon an took those Hills upwards for two and a half hours solid. The Pace granted was slow and most of the heavy equip ment was carried on the backs of Burros the jeeps of the greek army. Nonetheless the going was dreary and difficult. No vegetation grows on the greek Hills and the splintered Rock makes walking a task. Finally about six o clock the com Pany commander flagged the column to a halt and ordered a break. The Burros he explained to me. Apologizing for the Stop need a Nick in stature looks like any other Soldier with a few minor variations. Heis squatter maybe his skin is dark and his Beard is heavy. Put him in the Fieldor a few Days without a shave and he and his buddies look like Bill Mauldin Swillie and Joe in Masse. I n Many respects individually he Isa lot like Willie and Joe he feels the same about combat hates the rear Echelon in this Case Athen would like to see a woman once in a while but would pass her up for a Chance to get the hell Home. Some of these Nicks have been away to the wars since 1940, when Albania attempted to invade Greece. Afterwards they were Legal guerrillas fighting the italians and the germans. Now they fight other greeks. As one23-year-old Soldier said All my life i be worn a s uniform is basically British from dish pan helmets to Hobnail american items such As sweat ers shirts and socks Are beginning to appear. Incidentally the knitted woo Cap is worn too but greek commanders Are not so fussy about when and under what conditions it is worn As other officers have been known to Soldier is issued one Complete uniform. At night he washes his own clothes and Hopes they Are dry by morn ing. If his one pair of shoes needs re pairing he takes them to the Cobbler and Waits until they Are finished. Since there is no established front i guerrilla fighting few units Are engaged in Bandit Hunting for pro longed periods. The result is that the usual formula for Battle one fourth fighting three fourths waiting is dilute for Nick who spends nine tenths of his time just these sitting and waiting periods he has no such things As Redcross clubs movies or Uso shows that most armies provide to help Burn up the hours 6f boredom. Most outfits in fact Are hidden away in tiny villages where such things As movies Are unknown. Leaves and passes Are rarely granted usually Only in Case of emergency. Some soldiers have been stuck in one Village for More than a year. They leave Only for fighting. Nick s food by american standards is third rate and insufficient in Garri son his breakfast consists of a cup of Tea once in a while it s Cocoa. Dinner invariably is potatoes and Lamb covered with a fiery red sauce slopped together in a mess kit. Supper is More Lamb and More potatoes served cold and in one Lump. Every other Day Nick receives a loaf of bread. This must do him for six meals. But that is a specially Good ration compared to his Chow when he takes to the Hills. In action he is Given Only bread cheese and american canned goods. On one two Day excursion wit the greek soldiers my meals consisted of half a loaf of bread and a slab of cheese. The canned foods Are usually fish Salmon Ocean herring sardines and those familiar american army delicacies meat and vegetable Stew pork sausage with apples and corned beef hash. Nick like a lot of others does particularly relish these. One evening while far up in the mountains i sat Down to supper with a greek Soldier. He dug into his pack came up with a can of pork sausage and proceeded to open it yes with his Bayonet. I pointed to the can held my stomach and made the face i Reserve for Canne pork sausage. The greek burst out laughing indicated that he Felt the same and seeing that i be offended at his disdain for the american food Flung the can Down the Side of the Hill. We Shook hands and made our supper of bread and cheese when it comes to actual fighting Nick is without fear. Sometimes it might be said he is without Battle brains As Well. He will stand up on a Ridge Light fires at night american advisers in Greece have put a Stop to that in Sel defense one said and walk around the Battlefield As though it were an Athen dance floor. I watched through Field glasses on Soldier actually leave his own line and do Battle with a Bandit who was a neutering to outflank a machine gun. Calmly Nick stalked the Bandit. Whence moved Nick moved. After this cat and mouse Duel had run its course Nick apparently decided to Call it an afternoon. Push pull on the safety Click Click on the trigger and the out flanker was done in. Later i asked him Why he had taken such a Chance. That so and so he said wanted us to surrender. When he got close he shouted put Down your guns. Don t sell yourself for 13 american Cigar tvs the Bandit referring to the daily Garet ration each Soldier receives was wrong. They Are greek Cigar ets Bough with american funds that was too much for us Nick said patting his Rifle. So i sent his spirit Back to see Joe pay the greek private receives 45,000 drachma per month. Sounds like lot but actually it is about $4.50. This sum incidentally represents a 100 percent increase Over his pay of several months ago. Three Good meals in Middle rate restaurant Are enough to deplete his month s income. Greek generals for that matter do not make out much better. A Captain in the Amer ican army by comparison receives More pay than a greek general Man relations in the greek army Are curious. In the Field the officers Are ruthless treating the soldiers like serfs. In Garrison they baby them. A tank platoon out on a Field exercise did a bad Job. The platoon Leader finally blew up gathered his group together and proceeded to Lac into them in the tradition of All cavalry men. This done the platoon adjourned to a cafe in a nearby Village where the platoon Leader bought wine for All officer even second lieutenants has a Batman and the latter is always at hand and at Bat. In Garrison he per forms the functions of maid Matron Butler and aide. In the Field he works like a slave. He prepares the officer food that is cuts his bread and cheese serves it to him carries his helmet runs his messages protects him and sets up his Pup tent at night. Once the tent is up and the officer s Bedroll smoothed out the Batman is free to curl up on the ground with his two blankets and like the other soldiers sleep under the stars. Yet the Friendly feeling Between officers and enlisted men is unbelievable. At a regimental dance i attended for instance All barriers were Down As officers and men joined in on the ancient All male greek dances. As each officer took the floor he was roundly and sin Cerely cheered by All the enlisted men in the the conclusion of one of the More vigorous numbers an enthusiastic Cor poral lifted his battalion commander to his shoulders and carried him around the Hall. Then after lowering his co to the floor the Corporal kissed him on . This done the Corporal went Over to the commanding general guest of Honor at the affair and planted an other kiss on the old Man s , including the general roared in approval. Weekend june 19, 1�u
