Tips for waltzing through Missouri Bloomfield reunion taking us back
Transcription
Tips for waltzing through Missouri Bloomfield reunion taking us back
An organization of past and present, military and civilian, staffers and employees, their families and friends of the U.S. Armed Forces daily newspaper, The Stars & Stripes. NEWS May 2011 Bloomfield reunion taking us back to our roots We’ll be staying at the comfortable Drury Inn in Sikeston. Tips for waltzing through Missouri By Sue Mayo The Drury Inn is easily accessible from Interstate 55 (Exit 67) and Interstate 57. Missouri State Highway 60 is now four-lane across the southern part of the state and is a beautiful drive. For those traveling from or through Kansas City, I suggest that you use Highway 71 to Harrisonville, 7 to Clinton, 13 to Springfield, 60 to Sikeston then north on Interstate 55. All of these are four-lane highways and have much less traffic than Interstate 70 across the middle of the state and through St. Louis. If you fly to St. Louis you can rent a car at the airport or use BART, a van service, to travel to Sikeston. Contact BART directly (1-800-2842278) to make arrangements. At the present time the cost for one person one-way is $80, a second person making reservations at the same time is $70 or if six passengers make reservations together it is $260 for the group. There are also four weekday flights each way between the St. Louis Airport and Cape Girardeau Airport and two flights each way on Saturday See Travel, Page 2 By Jim and Sue Mayo Our reunion will be held Sept. 22-Sept. 25 in Bloomfield, Mo., birthplace of Stars and Stripes, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the newspaper’s founding in 1861. We’ll be staying at the new Drury Inn in Sikeston, Mo., where a block of rooms has been reserved for us. Each room contains two queen-size beds at the rate of $89.95. To get this reduced rate we must book at least 20 rooms, and reservations must be made by Aug. 22. The rate includes the hospitality room, a full hot breakfast and an evening “kick-back” with hot entrees. The banquet will be on Friday evening (Sept. 23) at the convention center next door to the Drury. On Saturday, the group will visit the Stars and Stripes Museum/ Library in Bloomfield and have lunch before returning to Sikeston. The board meeting is tentatively set for Friday, Sept. 23, at 9:30 a.m. in the hospitality room. The general meeting will be the same day, starting at 11 a.m., also in the hospitality room. To make reservations on the Internet go to: http://www. druryhotels.com/Reservations. aspx?groupno=2112170 Reservations may also be made by calling the toll-free number, See Reunion, Page 2 Stars and Stripes Association Inc. is a California non-profit corporation with more than 300 members worldwide. Address, 1510 West Nottingham, Anaheim, CA 92802 CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICES: Calvin Posner, membership manager, P.O. Box 674525, Marietta, GA 300060076 or [email protected] In memory of Maurice (Maury) Martin, Col., USAF (Ret.), whose efforts as co-founder made this association possible. OFFICERS President: Mike Mealey, 337 Applebrook Drive, Malvern, PA 19355, phone 610-722-0783, Fax 610-722-0784, e-mail [email protected] Vice President and Secretary: Ron Goben, P.O. Box 502, Camino, CA 95709, phone 530-647-0511, e-mail rong@ directcon.net Membership Manager and Treasurer: Calvin Posner, P.O. Box 674525, Marietta, GA, 30006-0076, phone 800-819-2028 or e-mail [email protected] DIRECTORS Chairman Emeritus: Toshi Cooper, 15 Possum Hollow Road, Newark, DE 19711, phone 302-454-6488, e-mail tgmcooper@ comcast.net Joseph Baker, Stars & Stripes Museum/Library Association Inc., P.O. Box 1861, Bloomfield, MO 63825 George Higuchi, 306 Surrey Road, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002-1540, phone 856-667-3008 Jim Hummel, 3023 Delta Road, San Jose, CA 95135, phone 408270-2349, e-mail [email protected] Walt Trott, P.O. Box 477 Madison, TN 37116-0477, phone 615-868-3248, e-mail [email protected] Bob Trounson, 446 Theresa Lane, Sierra Madre, CA 91024, phone 626-355-0570, e-mail [email protected] Newsletter editor: Joe Schneider, 4053 Mount Brundage Ave., San Diego, CA 92111, phone 858-278-0394, e-mail aztecjoes@ aol.com ALLIED WITH The Stars & Stripes Museum/Library Association Inc.®, P.O. Box 1861, Bloomfield, MO 63825. Phone/Fax 573568-2055. Joe Baker, President; Deloris May, Museum Manager, e-mail [email protected], Web site www. starsandstripesmuseumlibrary.org Stars and Stripes Association News Editorial matter about The Stars and Stripes and Stripers should be sent directly to the editor, who reserves the option to edit copy. Neither the association nor the editor attests to the accuracy of submitted articles published. Views expressed by authors are their own. Printer: Diego and Son Printing, 2104 National Ave., San Diego, CA, 92113, Phone 619-233-5373, e-mail info@diegoandson. com. 2 Reunion, From Page 1 800-325-0720, and giving the same group number. To aid in ongoing planning for the reunion, please register as early as possible. Here are some of the amenities at Drury: Free hot breakfast includes Belgian waffles, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, and sausage. From 5:30-7 p.m. – The rotating hot-food menu may include items such as hot dogs, chicken strips, egg rolls, charbroiled meatballs, baked potatoes and more. Drinks on the house – Each adult paying guest can have three complimentary alcoholic beverages per day. Free long-distance – One hour every room, every night. Free wireless Internet access – high-speed Internet in all rooms and the lobby. Free soda and popcorn from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. every night in the lobby. “And much more.” The Drury Inn is at 2608 East Malone Ave., Sikeston, Mo. 63801. Telephone: (573) 472-2299. Travel, From Page 1 and Sunday. The present cost is $49 one-way. Contact the airport at www.capeairport.com or 573-334-6230. There is not a good public transportation system between the Cape Girardeau Airport and Sikeston, but both Hertz (573-339-7250) and Enterprise (573-339-7800) have car rental service at the airport. Traveling on Interstate 55, the distance between the Cape Girardeau Airport and Sikeston is no more than 33 miles. Sikeston is about the same distance from Memphis as St. Louis; however, it would be necessary to rent a car to travel to Sikeston if using the Memphis Airport. Remember, prices fluctuate with the cost of fuel, so may be different when you make a reservation. The following mileage to the Drury in Sikeston may be of interest: From the Stars and Stripes Museum: 29 miles; from the Cape Girardeau Airport, 26 miles; from St. Louis Airport, 157; from Memphis, Tenn. Airport, 151; from Kansas City via Springfield, 403; from Kansas City via St. Louis, 378. Correction The last edition credited Gen. Eisenhower for reviving Stripes. Jim Mayo’s research shows that Gen. George C. Marshall ordered the revival. Bill McNamara published the first continental edition on July 4, 1944 in France. STARS AND STRIPES ASSOCIATION NEWS STARS AND STRIPES ASSOCIATION’S REUNION 2011 September 22 – September 25 HOTEL Drury Inn 2608 E. Malone Ave., Sikeston, Missouri NOTE: Make motel reservations on-line at http://www.druryhotels.com/Reservations.aspx?groupno=2112170 or call 1-800-325-0720 and use the same group number. Make reservation by August 22, 2011 for the $89.95 rate for one room with two queen beds. After that date, rooms will be provided on a spaceavailable basis at prevailing rates. REUNION ACTIVITIES REGISTRATION To register for the reunion activities, please complete the form below carefully to assure proper credit and spelling of names. Registration fee is $100 per person if mailed by August 1, 2011 and $125 after that date. This includes the hospitality room each day and evening of the reunion, Friday evening banquet, transportation from the motel to the Stars and Stripes Museum/Library and lunch on Saturday. Member(s’) Name(s)__________________________________Number in Party_____ Address:_____________________________________________Phone:_____________ City:________________________________________State:______ZIP Code:________ Email__________________________________________________________________ Guest(s):________________________________________________________________ Payment calculation and instructions: Registration by August 1: $100x_________ (number in party) = $_______________ Registration after August 1: $125x_________ (number in party) = $_______________ Number in party needing transportation from the hotel to the museum on Saturday_____ I plan to drive to the museum on Saturday; number in my vehicle_______ Send checks or money orders payable to: Stars and Stripes Museum (note Reunion 2011 in memo), Mail to: R. Sue Mayo; 18084 State Highway J, Bloomfield MO 63825 Friday night banquet buffet menu: Roast beef w/gravy, chicken breast in mushroom sauce, au gratin potatoes, whole green beans, glazed carrots, green salad, dinner and cinnamon rolls, cheesecake and chocolate cake, cash bar Saturday lunch buffet: Fish, shrimp, chicken strips, slaw, potatoes, hush puppies, cash bar May 2011 3 Nightmare on the Early News desk Tom Scully worked at PS&S from 1957 to 1977, starting in the proof room, getting up to the rim and spending his last 10 years as the paper’s news slotman. Below is his account, true he says in every word, of a day he rolled in to the Early News desk. By Tom Scully One morning at around 1:30 or so whilst whiling away some time chatting to a lovely bar girl in a closed but still serving Shinjuku bar, it suddenly occurred to my booze-fogged mind that I had the Early News job that day, startup time 2 a.m. I had worked on the rim the day before and had, as usual, proceeded after work to go bar hopping with the guys. I don’t recall how I wound up in Shinjuku. In any case Early News was a vital one-man job, vital in that the guy doing it had to sort through all the UPI and AP teletype, selecting an assortment of worthy articles for the News Editor who showed up at 5:30. I got to the paper on time, staggering in to be greeted by hardworking Teruyoshi “Terry” Takesue, the night teletype monitor, who immediately brought me a cup of coffee. (I firmly believe that Terry’s coffee pot saved many a guy’s job at PS&S.) He already had a bunch of copy on my desk and so I lit up a cigarette and went to work. It was summer and Stripes was then housed in the old wooden building that reportedly had served as a stable for the Japanese cavalry. The daytime sun caused the building to heat up during the day and that heat proceeded to radiate throughout it all night. The only relief was the four 4 khaki colored fans droning away high up on the wall near the windows. I suspect now that the windows must have had screens but they didn’t seem to stop any number of moths and lovely green iridescent beetles from careening around the newsroom in a kind of kamikaze attack. I had gotten a little way into the pile of copy when I fell asleep. Terry didn’t disturb me, likely because he figured I could use a few winks. When I awoke, I don’t know how much later, there was a helluva lot more copy on my desk. Determined to carry on, I stripped to the waist and rolled my pant legs up to my knees. I also began drinking cups of ice water from the fountain down the hall, figuring that would help sober me up. No luck, I again fell asleep, not once but several times, to awake as before to a growing pile of yellow teletype copy in front of me. By now I couldn’t see the desk top and the neatly piled copy was about, so help me, four inches deep. Panic set in as I visualized News Editor Warren (The Frog) Girard arriving at 5:30 to see his Early News guy asleep, head down on a mattress of teletype. What shame! I’d never live it down. So now I really bore down, when it occurred to me that another cup of ice water might help. I legged it down the hall, got the water and sat down at the desk. I took a sip of the water and then my mind said, “You stupid bastard, wake up!” With that I pulled my shorts and trousers away from my waist and poured the cup of ice water into my crotch. I don’t know if the ice water coursing over my gonads did the trick, but I finally began making some headway on the copy. It was around 5:20 or so when I thought I had things somewhat under control, though by no means in good order, so I strolled out to the front door to get some of that cool morning air. I was standing on the helipad tarmac when I spotted Warren’s rusty old Oldsmobile coming through the gate at the other end of the compound. Thank God, I thought, here comes my savior. I walked out a couple of more feet when Warren, ever the happy-go-lucky guy, proceeded to bear down on me in the Oldsmobile, chasing me into the building. Wow, I thought, he’s in good shape this morning! I figured Warren was my savior because nobody, but nobody, could select copy, edit, size it and lay out a page as fast as The Frog. He sized copy for length by the span of his outstretched thumb and little See Nightmare, Page 8 STARS AND STRIPES ASSOCIATION NEWS WW I Stripes originator had guts, patience By Frank Praytor, PS&S ‘52-’54 Do you know who originated, fought for, wrote and edited the “soldier’s newspaper” of World War I fame? How about an Army secondlieutenant in his 40s with more guts than a slaughterhouse, patience matching Job’s and perseverance exceeding that of WD-40 inventors? And how about a tongueboggling Polish name like Viskniskki That’s Visk-nisk-ki. I didn’t know beans about WWI origins of Stripes until I read a book, Unsung Patriot, sent to me by Sue Mayo, archivist and librarian at the Stars and Stripes Museum/Library in Bloomfield, Mo. It was written by a talented writer and lawyer, Virginia G. Vasallo, granddaughter of the WWI Stripes founder, GuyT.Viskniskki (b. 4/28/1876). She delves into the life of Viskniskki, whom she never met, with an abundance of detail, but with a style that makes it a page-turner for anyone interested in Stripes history. She draws her story from a substantial number of official documents, writings and letter exchanges her grandfather left in his wake when he died in 1949. At 13, Guy Viskniskki was a printer’s devil; at 16, a reporter responsible for writing and putting together a weekly newspaper for its sight-deficient publisher who happened to be one of the “Bloomfield Ten” originators of the first Stars And Stripes in Bloomfield, Mo. He followed his father into the Army in 1898 (Spanish-American War); rose to corporal, then sergeant; got on friendship terms with Col. Teddy Roosevelt and was a civilian again two days before Christmas, 1898. As a youth in Carmi, Ill., Guy Viskniskki was in conversational reach of not only his employer, but also with another “Bloomfield Ten” May 2011 member, John Schell. His uncle had been a member of the force occupying Bloomfield at the time the original Stars And Stripes was published. When the U.S. was drawn into WWI, Viskniskki, out of a sense of patriotism, volunteered for frontline duty. He was a junior-grade commissioned officer by then. Instead, he was assigned to the censor section where, in his own words, played “nursemaid” to civilian correspondents covering the war. Ms. Vassallo quotes her grandfather’s memos pointing out that morale was deteriorating rapidly among American forces fighting in the trenches. He proposed publishing a newspaper for the troops containing news, features and comics, devoid of overt propaganda, as a medium for improving attitudes. He even worked out financing economics entailing paid advertising and subscription rates. Profits, if any, were to be redistributed back to troop units. He exploited an indirect line to the ear of General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force, through a major on the general staff. Pershing reviewed Viskniskki’s thought-out, well- articulated proposal and authorized him to implement it. The agonizing task began. He negotiated a printing source as well as supplies of newsprint, picked writers with journalism experience and an artist. After his paper became enthusiastically accepted by the troops and widely lauded as a winner, he noted years later, acerbically, that Pershing publicly took personal credit for the creation of his creation. Ms. Vassallo takes the reader through all the difficulties, mechanical and human, Viskniskki encountered getting his paper up and running, then had to fend off those who sought control of it. She leaves to her readers the really big question to answer: Was the title given it by Guy Viskniskki inspired by the stories he heard from the mouths of the “Bloomfield Ten,” several of whom lived in his hometown of Carmi and nearby Fairfield, Ill., and one for whom he worked? She points to the “many threads connecting Guy to that first Stars And Stripes published in Bloomfield during the Civil War.” She doesn’t discount the possibility that the idea for the title did spring from his memory and he avoided referring to it because he enjoyed the impression that he originated the title himself. None of Guy Viskniskki’s memoirs, and there are many, ever referred to the Bloomfield edition, or acknowledged its existence. But he obviously heard a lot about it. Try to convince Museum Founder Jim Mayo that the kid never heard the S&S title mentioned while he was growing up and working within earshot of those Bloomfield veterans. Unsung Patriot is one fabulous read. Until you read it, you don’t really know the story how our newspaper was reborn in WWI, or See Book Review, Page 8 5 Former ombudsman Monroe dies at 90 Former “Meet the Press” moderator Bill Monroe, who served twice as the ombudsman for Stars and Stripes, died Feb. 17 at a Washington, D.C., area nursing home. He was 90, and had complications from hypertension, according to news reports. Monroe held the Stripes position from 1992 to 1995 and 1997 to 1999. He also edited the Pentagon’s “Early Bird,” an internal newsclipping service. He retired about a decade ago. His first tenure as ombudsman began three years after Congress directed a change from military to civilian leadership at Stripes and the creation of the position. He spent considerable time helping the staffs understand the relationships under the new structure. In particular, he reviewed attempts by U.S. Forces Korea to manipulate the news. While Monroe found that the structure worked – the commander/ publisher and Commander in Chief, Pacific, almost never put any pressure on the editor – the process underscored the need for the ombudsman to be able to intervene. Monroe also established the practice of the ombudsman writing periodic columns. The significant change during his second term was the introduction of the ombudsman meeting regularly with reader focus groups. Monroe had gained national prominence during his nine-year tenure as moderator of “Meet the Press.” Starting on NBC-TV in 1947, “Meet the Press” has been one of the longest-running programs in American broadcast history. Monroe had long worked for NBC News in Washington and had been a panelist on the show before being named in 1975 as its 6 moderator. He succeeded Lawrence Spivak, the program’s cocreator, and was later followed by journalists such as Marvin Kalb, Garrick Utley and Tim Russert. 1984. Bill Monroe Monroe left the program in William Blanc Monroe Jr. was born July 17, 1920, in New Orleans. He graduated in 1942 from Tulane University in his hometown, then served in the Army Air Forces in Italy during World War II. Afterward, he worked in radio and print journalism in New Orleans. He once interviewed celebrated jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong – who had been barred because of his race from the city’s finest hotels – as the musician shaved in a shabby rented room. Civil rights became one of the hallmarks of Monroe’s early career. While news director in the early 1950s at the New Orleans NBC-TV affiliate, he produced some of the station’s first editorials and often weighed in on school desegregation. His efforts landed him on a White Citizens Council’s list of “traitors to the South,” he once said, and led to threats to him and his family. He was married to Elizabeth Harrison Monroe from 1941 until her death in 2008. Survivors include their four daughters, Lee Monroe of West Hartford, Conn.; Arthe Monroe “Taysie” Phillips of Thurmont, Md.; Catherine Monroe of Manassas, Va., and Maria Monroe Poole of Union Bridge, Md.; and five grandchildren. Monroe became NBC’s Washington bureau chief in 1961 and later D.C. editor of the “Today” show, a job for which he received the prestigious Peabody Award for broadcast journalism. Throughout his career, he was critical of the Federal Communications Commission’s regulation of broadcast media – a first step, he said, toward abridging the constitutionally guaranteed rights of free speech and free press. A dispatch from the Washington Post was used in compiling this article. Bill Magnusson, bookstores mainstay William Daniel “Bill” Magnusson, who worked 25 years as the merchandising supervisor of The Stars and Stripes bookstores at bases in Germany, died Sept. 23, 2010 in DeLand, Fla. He was 91. Bill was born Dec. 3, 1918, in East Boston. His mother, Catherine Coakley, was originally from Ireland. His father, Oscar Wilhelm, was originally from Sweden. He was inducted into the service in February1942 and served in the Pacific with the 405th Signal Company Aviation 5th Bomber Command. He was discharged as a sergeant after the war. In 1947 he enlisted in the Massachusetts National Guard as a sergeant with the 67th Fighter Wing Headquarters. In 1949 he graduated from the Massachusetts Military Academy as a second lieutenant and was ordered to extended active duty in October 1950. He served as executive officer See Magnusson, Page 7 STARS AND STRIPES ASSOCIATION NEWS Grave marker mystery in England A mystery half solved describes the story about a grave marker in an English cemetery identifying “Pvt. Fred Boyer, 1943, Stars and Stripes Det.” Thanks to research by our newsletter editor, Joe Schneider, we now know that Boyer was born in 1922 in Connecticut and was a resident of Wayne County, Mich., when he enlisted in the U.S. Army in Detroit. He died Aug. 13, 1943. The unsolved part of the mystery is the “Stars And Stripes” engraved on his grave marker. Sue Mayo, librarian of the Stars And Stripes Museum Library in Bloomfield Mo., has searched for Boyer’s name in copies of Stripes published in 1943 without finding it. What started it all was an e-mail letter to Schneider from Arthur Brookes, caretaker of the Cambridge American Cemetery. He was interested in the “Stars And Stripes” part of Boyer’s headstone and curious enough to inquire. All we know is that Pvt. Boyer’s burial site is identified as Grave 41, Plot C, Row 3, in the cemetery under management of Magnusson From Page 6 with Company A, 97th Engineer Construction Battalion with the European Command. He was released to the Reserve June 1952. Living in Europe allowed Bill and his family to travel all over the world. He retired to Florida in 1981, where he worked part time as a security guard. Surviving are his wife of 56 years, Lucie Louise “Lee” Magnusson; three children, Daniel Magnusson, May 2011 Brookes. Boyer died of lymphatic leukemia, according to information obtained from Brookes, Bill McNamara, who directed many of the start-up offices of Stripes in Europe, said he has no memory of Boyer. If there’s anyone who does, Joe Schneider and Arthur Brookes would love to hear from him or her. — Frank Praytor Barbara Coffee and Michelle Magnusson. He also had a daughter, Kathryn Nee, from his first marriage to Eleanor Magnusson. Several grandchildren and great-grandchildren also survive. Appreciation Thanks to Stripes Publisher Max Lederer, Jen Stepp, Dave Feldman, Jim Shaw and Jim Houston for helping with this edition. Allan Dreyfuss had varied career Allan Leon Dreyfuss, 91, whose multifaceted career included a stint at The Stars and Stripes, died March 21in Ann Arbor, Mich. His varied endeavors included covering the Nuremberg trials of Nazi leaders and writing speeches for Henry Ford II and New York Mayor Robert Wagner. He also wrote plays, three of which were staged, including “813: American History,” produced by Ann Arbor Civic Theatre in 1999. Allan Dreyfuss was born in Brookline, Mass., the son of Alice Schwab and Charles Dreyfuss. He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Chicago. With World War II under way at the time of his graduation, Dreyfuss enlisted in the Army Air Forces and began a career in journalism as a reporter for The Stars and Stripes. He later worked with the Associated Press, United Press International, and Reuters. One of the major events of his life came in 1945, when he was assigned to cover the trials in Nuremberg, Germany, which lasted four years, of Hitler’s military and political entourage. Between the close of trial testimony and the tribunal’s judgment, he wrote a summary of charges against the 21 main defendants, later published as “These 21.” In 2006, Stars and Stripes republished it with a new foreward by Dreyfuss. His wife, Cecilia, died in 2001. He is survived by four children, Anne Elisabeth of New York, Peter of Oakland, Calif., Stephen of San Francisco, and Jonathan of Ann Arbor; and four grandchildren. He also leaves his companion of nine years, Patricia Pooley, and her daughter, Rachel Pooley. 7 Nightmare From Page 4 finger, twisting his hand as he went down the copy sheet to gain multiples of that finger spread distance. When he got the length he wanted he simply tore the rest off at the edge of his desk. With that done, he went down through the copy, rapidly crossing out paras, sentences he figured weren’t needed. The miracle was that his stuff always fit. The guys in Production thought he was a genius. I was back at my desk when Warren appeared at the far end of the Newsroom. Mornin’ Warren! I shouted happily. And then the morning got just a little dark because the answer I got back was, “Sick, sick, sick! Jaysus, I’m sick!” The Frog was pissed. I immediately tried to explain to him that owing to unforeseen circumstances I was a bit behind in sorting the copy. Taking his first sip of Terry’s ever ready coffee, he replied, “Don’t worry about it. Just give me what you got. We’ll get the f______ paper out.” And we did, or rather Warren did. Book review, From Page 5 about the man who started it and kept it going. Stripes has published continuously since 1943, when it was, again, brought back to life to serve American forces in World War II. It is confined to offshore distribution by, some say, political influence and pressure from national newspaper publishing interests. Needless to say, the above According to the publisher’s was not Tom’s usual performance. The website, the price of Unsung Patriot records show that he was a copydesk is $21.95, plus $3 shipping. Remit to stalwart. Sadly, Warren Girard passed Krazy Duck Productions, PO Box 105, away on March 19, 2005. A special Danville, KY 40423. thanks goes to artist Jim Hummel for Sue and Jim Mayo provided capturing the graphic image of Tom’s considerable assistance for ordeal. this book review.. Please register as early as possible for our reunion First Class Mail Change Services Requested P.O. Box 674525, Marietta, GA 30006-0076 Cal Posner Stars and Stripes Association