European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 12, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse Backing by Joe Mcbride military news editor what no b bag it s like saying there s no Santa Claus. To 10 Mil lion old timers veterans of world War ii a bag was a Way out a Way to blow off steam at the brass. But alas the old timers must Giveaway to youth and today s go has his own bundle of jargon. B bag no dressed up As letters to the editor has gone the Way of the other world War ii issues the a rations Musette bag my Ike jacket Sherman tanks Etc. B bag was born 1942 with a Plain Tive letter from pfc. Dewey Livingston asking if the stars and stripes could locate a pair of shoes for him. Dewey s request for shoes was not just a Normal one. part the letter read can Sime body please help me to get a pair of shoes to fit me i Wear size 13 a matter of fact i will Wear 13 any thing if i can get it. I am wearing overshoes right now which Are top big for me anyway even with two pairs of socks. I have had this same trouble with shoes Ever since Back the stat Sand thought maybe the stars and stripes knew somebody with a pair of13 it would be Nice to relate that the wheels turned immediately and Dewey was shod with dispatch. However when number of size 13 fees began to pile up stripes editorial closet a plea went out to Dewey to come and get your never showed up but it was amazing what he had kicked off. the problem of size 13 shoes still comes up As the adjoining column expression b bag originated the Days when America was facing War with several Well prepared giants and there was a certain amount of shortages. Troops trained with wooden rifles world War i tin helmets and Gas wooden guns were Good for Brief drills with the More sophisticated Springfield Rifle of world War i Vintage being used the firing Range. Man outfits the i who scored tops got to shoot a Garand my. Along with the Early make do and mend came the Blue coloured laundry bags. These were the forerunners of to Day s duffle bag. The Canvas laundry bags were stencilled with the i name rank and serial number and each Soldier received two bags stencilled and b. The a bag contained All the necessary prerequisites of War shaving gear Etc. The b bag contained the Nonessen trials letters from sweethearts shoe polish , the reply to a i with a Gripe was to Stow it the nonessential Bagor the words of that period blow it out your b and so was launched b bag a letters to the editor column that began with a plea from a pfc. That grew into scores of thousands of requests gripes and. Many cases facts of wrong Impact and importance was Felt by everyone the service from private to a matter of fact one rather famous general endorsed it wholeheartedly. His name was Eisenhower. Shortly after the end of world War ii the stars and stripes carried a Story that All the gis Germany were now out of tents and into warm Barracks. A letter to b bag from a freezing unit disputed this. The letter name with held naturally was shown to the unit so before it was printed. The next Clay the soldiers were heated co had heard of Eisenhower s warm interest. Dear Ann Landers i am teen age girl who is searching for some of the answers to life problems. Can you Tell me Why everyone wants the future to hurry up and get Here Why can t people enjoy today the10-year-Olds want to be 13. The 13-year-Olds want to be 16. The16-year-Olds want to be 21. Why is it that the age ahead always seem like the Ideal age to be i ran across a Little poem that expresses this thought Well. Here it is i plan for the future. I yearn for the , meantime the present is leaving me you please answer the paper for the Benefit of other who wonder about this As i do Content with today dear Content the key to the answer is found your Signa Ture. Because most people Are not Content with today the look to tomorrow with the Hope that it will offer something better. More often than not they Are disappointed. The excite ment of anticipation generally surpasses of the secrets of a Happy Peg 14 life is the ability to appreciate the Joys and blessings of the present. While it is Wise to plan for the future we should make the most of each Day As we live it and keep mind that today was tomorrow yesterday. Dear Ann Landers my sister and her husband needed a place to live. They have two children and Are expecting a third. To rented them our Small but Lovely Home. It was perfect condition. After four months they moved out and left 22 holes the Walls a broken toilet two Bro Ken windows cig Aret holes inthe Kitchen linoleum and Gar Bage the sink. They refuse to fix anything because it is not their property they paid rent. Why Are rela Tives such slobs shall to Suo Indiana dear strangers can be slobs too but it s worse when they Are relatives. Vou should have had agreement writing that the renters would leave the House first class condition As they found it. Don t sue. It is Messy expensive and probably useless. Slobs Are usually deadbeats Aswell. Dear Ann Landers the lotto from the Bride who decided to have three bridesmaids after having invited five girls to be the wedding party reopened old wound. Many years ago i was a bridesmaid who a slopped off and i never was Able to forgive the advice was right. You told her it did t make much difference How she worded it the the Friendship would Nederbo the same. How come you Are so smart about so anythings have you Learned from experience no Chicke myself dear Chick if i had experienced All the problems i Deal with i d be no shape to write column. What you read Here is the result of consultation . 1 am constant i Sonimun cation with outstand ing authorities a variety of Fields and they make me look a lot smarter than i am. Copyright 1968. Public her Hall Syndicate the stars and stripes 1. Com and get your shoes i am writing this letter with All of us oversized folks min that is if we try to shop at our local yes facilities. My shoes happen to be size 13 which requires me to Wear size14 socks. addition 1 Wear size 12 gloves. Now Tell me have you Ever tried to buy these sizes at the local yes Well u you have you have found out that it is impossible i have tried All major yes facilities Germany with no Luck they always laugh and Send me to the special order people Whin turn give me a sad Story about six weeks to six months wait ing time for a special order for shoes and without Opportunity to try them . addition i have tried the local German Market with the same amount of Success. However the spirit of the Gold flow i should not be forced to shop the local is suggested that at least a few of the yes facilities carry Large sizes for us unfortunate few a. Sgt. L. C. Parmeter Munich Germany editor s note he yes replies yes recognizes the writer s problem. America a customer of the writer s size must shop a store that caters especially to the very Large individual. Unfortunately the Exchange cannot go into a big Man s shop since so very very few customers fall within that size category., the Best solution yes can offer is the special order program Sale clerks who have stated that it takes up to six months de livery time Are greatly mistaken. Actually Normal delivery time is from four to six possibly brighter note several shoes size 13 c and is d Are currently Stock the following styles 477 030 080 13881 Black step Loafer 090 13880 Brown step Loafer 477 970 080 3993 Black oxford971 310 w4780 Black Chukka Boot 477 000 010 w4508 5-eyelet Black oxford020 w4508 5-eyelet Brown Oxford 014 150 l3951 slip black014 870 w4777 slip Brown should these styles not be hand at of Fth Navy should request the manager to a bin Ltd Susn 10request. Shoes would normally be available within 10 Armor Vietnam i am writing this attempt to set straight t what c consider to be some inequities the up feature article the Viet lon0s weapons by Milton Benjamin your Issue of be. / general the Overall theme is quite Correct bub Matan some generalities or. Benjamin places makes us Itoku bwe re stumbling around trying vainly to match by Lei enemy to specifically to the paragraphs concerning the pt7ji tanks and the rpg2 rocket launcher. Since Armor Southeast Asia at the Arn or schoo fort Knox Kentucky these subjects Are quite fam liar to , the rpg2 is a launcher for 82mm rockets even though the tube is approximately 40mm.More Homework needed Here _ remainder of the data concerning the rpo2 and Argeiw reel. Now let me get to the real meat of the subject the togas or. Benjamin says the . Does have Severa tank bait Auw Vietnam but what he does not say is that we also Haje Sci aarm ored cavalry squadrons and several Mcchan wed Maianu battalions and a Complete armoured cavalry regiment. Alloi units have tanks armoured personnel carriers and Tinei i vehicles. ,.n,i i,. Armor forces have been Vietnam since 19bj, no iwo steadily increased from that time to the present Date lit. A has limited their use to no greater or lesser degree than it Nab Nova Armor during the same period. ,.mnlnt pc without taking anything away from the pt76 As a ton oath hide or. Benjamin s statement that it is better suited Tor a Nam than heavier tanks is not valid. Better suited Foi Una attack defense reconnaissance better suited for what cuu Piedmont Delta Highlands the very fact that five of � � of knocked out at Lang Vei and three others sent fleeing to cambodian Border both by relatively weak forces \ " Phosti Custod antitank weapons certainly proves its Yurku. this area. Renior what has been again proved is that the employment of .1 even a Small scale usually achieves results far out of i i Tion to the number of vehicles involved stories ref Nui w Abrams moving North connected with Nova tank Emp ohm eau Lang Sci and the use of three tanks labelled tank Gnu Saigon Horn the terrain the enemy and the nature of area warfare at infant factors which differentiate combat Vietnam � " n More familiar forms of warfare encountered during Wouly Weichand Korea. It is important to understand that the Lianto have evolved will continue to improve the fighting l a
