own And Farm
In Wartime
prepared by the Rural Press
Section of O. W. I.
Any of This $25,000,000 Yours,
Vet?
There are approximately .$25,
50,000 waiting to be picked up by
jnie 30,000 veterans of the last
,ar at the Veterans Administra
on if they will apply for it be
„.e the maturity date of their
■rviee certificates (bonus! which
i most cases is January 1, 1945,
is stated by Brig. Gen. Frank
Hines, Administrator of Vete
rs Affairs. All these veterans
ave to do to collect this money
i to exercise their rights in con
ation with their adjusted ser
ice certificates. Some 15,000 vet
rans can collect up to $625 each,
art of which is interest they are
ow being charged on loans and
art interest they are losing by
0t having applied for the bonds
iat were issued in exchange for
irtificates. The others can col
let in addition to the .face value
[ their . certificates an average
f $250 each in bond interest by
itchanging their certificates for
ends now,
(i. I. Joe's Post-War Plans
Seven per cent of the men now
i the Army have definite plans
>r operating a business and five
>r cent plan on farms, according
( a survey conducted among
oops in the United States and
rerseas by the Information and
duration Division, Army Service
orces. For the most part they are
terested primarily in relatively
nail enterprises, with half of
iese having definite plans saying
iat they will invest $4,000 or less.
Kural Housing Facts Sought
Rural housing authorities have
sen asked to submit applications
ir allotments for rural low rent
susing construction that they will
• prepared to undertake in the
rst three post war years if fed
■al funds are made available,
lilip M. Koutznick, Commissioner
1 the Federal Public Housing
uthority, announces. No funds
e at present available to local
fusing authorities and any future
iblic housing activities will de
ad entirely upon the authority
id appropriations that the Con
ess may provide for this pur
se, lie said. The FPHA seeks to
iow the desires and needs of lo
l communities before making
y recommendations to the Con
ess. Rural housing authorities
e asked to provide in their plans
r the housing needs of small
Yvel' farrr44*. ^
S.V Holds Line Against Land
Inflation
With careful search, some good
ms can still be bought at fair
ces despite higher land values
the Farm Security Adminis
tion, in reporting that 3,369
in purchases made during the
it fiscal year, under the Bank
d-Jones Farm Tenant Act
e based on its policy of holding
line against land inflation,
ut with farm land values in
ny areas approaching boom lev
tenant purchase loan appli
ts, who must find for them
ies the farms they wish to pur
se, erperienced more difficulty
year in locating farms that
sured up to Ff|A standards
could be bought at prices FSA
id approve.
Ithough average land values
eased 15 per cent during the
fiscal year, farm purchases
need by FSA averaged no more
acre than the farms bought in
vious years. They are financed
the basis of then productivity
I quality was not sacrificed,
l average purchase price per
m last year was $4,262, corn
ed with $4354 the year before
m 5,144 farms are bought. Dur
the first five years of oper
in of the tenant purchase pro
which began in 1937 farrup
imilar quality were purchased
n average of $4,033.
Mrs. Eudora B.
Riggan
Ira. Eudora B. Riggan, 00 died
jtlie home of her daughter in
lleton, Saturday morning. Fu
ll services were conducted from
I residence Sunday afternoon
burial followed in the family
etery at Mountain View in
hen County.
Ir . Riggan was the widow of
J lute Rev. C. N. Riggan and
■ daughter of the late Tom and
|y Johnson Flemming of War
I County. She died on her sev
l-first wedding anniversary.
Irviving are four daughters
I Florence Vaughan of Warren
lMrs. C. M. Moore, Sr., Misses
1 and Ella Riggan of Little
124 grandchildren and 25 great
|dchildren.
Cotton Ginning
Report
nsus report shows that 26,506
I of cotton were ginned in Hal
| County from the crop of 1944
to December 13 as compared
24,716 bales for the crop of
THE ROANOKE NEWS
BSTABL1MHKI) fN 1H«« — SERVING HALIFAX AND NORTH « MPTON < OUNT1BS _
* KEEP mu
x \wiihu:***\
WAR BChJ
t
I
Seventy-Eighth Year
Pi»bli*hf»d Pverv Thur»<)«v - Weldon. North Carolina
THURSDAY. DKC. 28. 1911
War Department Adopts New Policy
Notifying Next Of Kin Of Oveiseas ;
Casualties Giving Events In Detail
Original Casualty Notification
Telegram To Be Followed By A
Direct Air-Mail Letter t rum The
Commanding Officer Or Chaplain
Of Soldier’s Company
PROGRESS REPORTS
GIVEN ON WOUNDED
In Case Of Slight Wound In Com
bat Postal Card To Be Mailed
Family
The War Department has adopt
ed a new policy in notifying the
next kin (or emergency address
es) of Army casualdes overseas
whereby detailed information may
be received in the shortest possible
time, Major General Frederick E.
| Uhl, Commanding General, Fourth
I Service Command announced to
day.
General Uhl stated. “In audi
tion to the orig.nal casualty notifi
cation telegram and letter of con
dolence sent the emergency ad
dressee from the War Department
in Washington, a letter will be air
mailed directly from the Com
manding Officer or the Chaplain
of the organization to which the
soldier was attached. This letter
w.ll be sent within a short while
after the casualty <• curs and will
be specific in detail relative to the
circumstances of death, .uneral
arrangements and overseas burial.
‘ When men are seriously wound
, ad, the information will be for
warded direct from the hospital
to the. emergency addressees.
“Relatives and friends of Army
personnel casualties should keep
in mind that from the time of
receiving the original notifica
tion from the Adjutant General un
til the supplemental information
I arrives from the overseas theatre
! no further word will be ava.lable
at the War Department.
“Prior to this new procedure,
the only information in the War
J Department was obtained thru
the initial casualty report sent by
I code indicating that the soldier
| had been listed as a casualty on
j a specific date. This made it im
| possible for the office of the Ad
| jutant General to answer the
i many queries for additional de
, tails on deaths. Under the new
i program these details will be sup
plied families at the earliest pos
sible date from the soldier’s eom
. manding officer.”
I Major James F. Morison, rei
' sonnel Affairs officer, Headquart
ers Fourth Service Command
£ointed out, “In addition to sup
I plying direct information on deaths
j a new procedure is being put into
! effect towards supplying progress
| reports on wounded and seriously
ill. Some of the hospital personnel
will write a letter to the emergen
cy addressee immediately follow
ing the admission of a seriously
I wounded man to the hospital, tell
! ing briefly the nature of the wound
Fifteen days later a card will be
sent telling of the progress made
by the patient which in turn will
be followed by a second letter in
another fifteen days, provided the
wounded man is still on the ser
iously wounded list. As long as he
is in this condition this procedure
will continue at 15 days intervals.
"In the case of soldiers wound
ed in combat but not seriously ill
a postal card will be sent evei y
fifteen days stating the condition
of the soldier.”
General Uhl explained this
new procedure in both instances
will naturally be of great com- (
fort to emergency addressees as ■
well of value to the War Depart-1
ment. It eliminates the “middle
man’-so to speak-by having the
reports made out at the hospital
and mailed immediately to the. per
son concerned, instead of being
first transmitted to the Adjutant ^
General and thence to the emer-^
gency addressee.” ,
General Uhl emphasized that
this new plan will in no way elim
inate the “message of cheer which
each emergency addressee is en
couraged to send at Gov. ex
pense to a wounded soldier once a
month, nor will it affect the pres
ent policy whereby a special report
is submitted to the Adjutant Gen
eral In the case of any patient
Gaston And Macon
Boys With 1st Army
Sixth Army Group, France —
Artillery barrage preparations that
opened the French First Army's
drive along the Swiss border to
the Rhine smashed and neutralized
enemy artillery and fortifications
in the Belfort Gap region.
The planning that directed that
barrage and the location of the
German guns that were smashed
before they could hinder the drive
was just a part of the day's work
for the 1st F eld Artillery Obser
vation battalion, which is working
with the French First Army in
France.
Using “sound and flash" meth
ods, the soldiers of this battalion
located enemy batteries accurate
ly and quickly. When it was time
for the drive to start, Amer car,
and French artillerymen, working
side by side, quickly smashed the
enemy’s big guns.
“One story of how effective our
location was is that an enemy bat
tery fired a couple of rounds to
show an inspecting German gen
eral staft hew good they were
Major E. J. Morris, Jr„ Sylacauga,
Alabama, battalion commander
explained. “But no sooner did t.ney
f.re than we replied. Our Lcation
had been perfect and the Fun,,
shells landed right on the farge
and wiped out the battery and the
visitors.”
The battalion commander went
on to explain that their job is ;o
"gather information to neutralize
enemy artillery activity dur ng me
critical phase of operations, and
to supply survey :or artillery.”
The battalion has been in the
line continuously, except for per
iods of moving to new pos.tions,
since December, 1942, reporteuly
longer than any American unit
since 18G5. This battalion is .uso
the oldest American Held artillery
observation battalion in tne Army
according to officers of the orga
nization.
Soldiers in the battalion include:
Sgt. Edison B. Burnette of Gast
on; 1st Lt. Walter B. Thompson
and Sgt. William B. Rodwoll of
Macon.
James T. Johnson
Listed As Missing
James Tillery Johnson, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Johnson of
Raleigh, formerly of Scotland
Neck, is reported missing in action
in Germany, November 29, accord
ing to a telegram received by his
parents from the War Depart
ment.
Pfe. Johnson was in the infantry
in the 9th army and was prooably
in the drive on Dusseldorf which
was underway at that time. In a
letter from him dated Nov. 25 he
said German artillery is giving us
a fit, please pray for us constant
ly.
He enlisted in the infantry on
August 1942 and went overseas
this fall.
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have an
other son in Germany, Capt. Hugh
Johnson, Jr. The two brothers
saw each other three times m
November and spent awhile toge
ther on Armistice Day. Capt. John-j
son is with the Field Artillery. j
Pvt. Edgar Terry of Camp
Blanding, Fla., is spending a leave
here.
Mr. and Mrs. M. J. Canipe and
family spent the holidays in West
ern North Carolina with relatives.
Mr. and Mrs. L. L. Kitchen and
family of Virginia Beach, Va.
spent Tuesday with Mrs. H. V
Pope. • ,
Lt. Harry Kittner of Camp
Lejunne, N. C., spent the week
end at home.
who has been hospitalized either
for wounds, injuries or illness and |
who takes a dangerous turn for|
the worse.
Kin? Cotton Seeking Candidates
For '45 Maid Of Cotton Contest
- f
Application Blanks Now
Available At Council
Office in Memphis
Mempnis, Term. — (Special) —
Want tc be Maid of Cotton in 1945,
young lady? The way’s wide open.
Speakmg for the American cot
ton industry, the National Cotton
Council today extended an invita
tion to all girls Detween the ages
of 18 and 25. inclusive, who are
natives of one of the 17 cotton
producing states, to Decome candi
dates for the tide. The winner will
be named in Memphis. Tuesday,
February 6, but to ce eligible all
candidates must submit completed
application clanks and photo
graphs on or before January 20.
The winner will receive a 90
day, all-expense tour of the major
cities of America, during which
she will sell War Ponds, visit mili
tary establishments, greet public
officials and otner celebrities, ana
be featured in fashion shows em
phasizing the care and conserva
tion of cotton fabrics. In advance
of her tour, she will receive a
special period of training in New
lork. The Maid will be accompa
nied by a chaperone at all times.
Application blanks can be ob
tained by writing the National Cot
ton Council, P. O. Box 18, Memphis
1, Tennessee. On the basis of the
informaition and photographs sub
mitted by contestants, a limited
group of finalists will be selected
on January 20. and will be invited
to appear before the judges on
February S. The selection will be
based on personality, appearance
and background, Vxtbj*--ep''?l con
sideration being given for singing,
dancing or dramatic ability.
Now in its seventh year, the
contest is one of the outstanding
Dan Cupid tagged 1944’s Maid,
Linwood Gisclarii. In this all-cot
ton wedding dress, she became the
bride of an Air Forces captain at
the end of her tour.
events of its kina in the nation. In
1944, the winner was Linwood Gis
clard, a senior at Louisiana State
University, who received an of
ficial citation from the Treasury
Department for the volume of War
Bond sales she turned in.
The contest is con tucted by the
Council in behalf of the entire cot
ton industry, and is sponsored by
the Memphis Cotton Carnival As
sociation, the cotton exchanges of
Memphis, New Ori'-ans and New
York, and the Council.
Mrs. John M. Shear in
Mrs. Donnie Knight Shearin, 01*,
wife of Jolm W. Shearin, d eil aud-:
denly at her home near here Wed
nesday at noon. Funeral services
were eonuucted by the Rev. R. L. J
Bain at it arris Chapel Friday,
morning at 11 o’clock. Surviving
are her husband and the .allowing
children; j. K. Shearin and .Mrs !
W. K. Dodson of Portsmouth, Yu.; I
Fa.tie, Kathleen and George Sitear-|
in of Hollister; B. W. Shearin ot'i
Rocky Mount, John Oihe Shearin|
oi ti.e armed lorcts in France.|
_Mrs. C. l. Cannon ot Washington,
D. C. and Mrs. Walter Ruthledge
oi Oxford.
James Thomas Benn
James Thomas Benn, 61), died
at his home here Saturday night
after a iong illness. Funeral ser
vices were conducted Christmas
Day at 2 o’clock from the resi
dence by the Rev. D. L. Fours and
burial followed in Cedarwood cem
etery.
Mr. Benn was a retired agent ot
the Seaboard Air Line Railway
which he served for 53 years. He
was a member of the Weldon Me
thodist Church.
Surviving are his wife, four
sons, Neil Benn of Wilson, Jim-j
mie Benn of Portsmouth, \ a.. J
T. Benn, Jr. and Dan M. Benn ->fj
Weldon, two daughters, Mrs. Ken-j
neth Faucett of Noriolk, \ a., and
Mrs. J. 1. Wyche, Jr., of Weldon,
also one brother, C. J. Bern oi
Roanoke Rapids and several grand
children.__
Frank Pope
Frank Roy Pope. 70, died at his
home in Scotland Neck Sunday
night after a short illness. He is
survived by his wife, Mrs. Louise
Pope, two daughters, Mrs. William
F. Murtin of Norfolk and Flor
ence of the home; three brothers
Jim Pope of Spring Hill, Asa Fcpe
of Scotland Neck and Hubert of
Roanoke Rapids. Funeral services
were held Tuesday afternoon at 3
,o’clock from the chapel of the
Scotland Neck Funeral Home, con
ducted by the Rev. Mr. Stair of
Enfield.
Pallbearers were C. B. Parks
Edward M irtin, Norman Pope
Herbert Pope, Joe Pope and Ho-,
bert Pope. 1
I HEARD THE BELLS ON
C HRISTMAS DAY
I heard the beils on Christmas
day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, goodwill to
men.
And thought how. as the day had
come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, goodwill to
men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace cn earth,”
I said;
For hate is strong,
And rocks the song
Of peace on earth, goodwill to
men!”
Then pealed the bells more loud
and deep;
"God is not dead; nor doth he
sleep!
The wrong shall fail,
The right prevail,
With peace on ear:'., goodwill to
men!"
—Longfellow.
Train Animals Now
For The 1945 Show*
Beef animals for show or sale
should have a liberal supply of
bedding plenty of fresh water, and
salt during the feeding period.
They need not be housed too close
ly hut should be protected from
severe cold and especially stormy
weather. Young animals generally
get enough exercise but older an
imals need exercising. It may be
advisable to keep a mineral mix
ture before the cattle, especially
where no legum hay is fed.
These are pertinent suggestions
coming from Leland Case in charge
of Extension animal husbandry at
State College. He also advises
halter breaking early and training
of the animal how to lead am
show to the best advantage.
Show cattle should be kept
clean by washing and brushing
Case suggests at least one wash
ing a week during t! e month be
fore the show. Clipping heads and
tails, improving tty? appear nice
of the horns, and proper tiv.m ling
of the feet are points to >e h ant
ed by smart showman. The coun
ty agent will be glad to give
pointers on this work.
Crusade For Christ Rally
At Methodist Church Jan. 3
Bounds Back
From Overseas
i
William F. Bounds, Aviation Ra
dioman Third Class, U. S. X. R.,
of Weldon, has returned from a
tour of duty as aircrewman on a
| Navy torpedo plane based on a
j baby flattop, the U. S. S. Gam
1 bier Bay, which fell victim to
| strong '.ire from Jap battleships
i and cruisers off Samar Island on
| October 25.
Bounds, a radioman and gun
ner abroad a General Motors-built
Avenger was attached to Com
posite Squadron Ten. He was in
the thick of the invasions of Sai
pan, Tinian, Guam, Peleliu, Angu
ar, and Ul.thi, and saw action in
the battle off Samar.
He took part on numerous com
bat missions, many of which were
against enemy-hud installations
such as gun positions, buildings,
and troops. His crew chalked up
I many successful strafing and bomb
! ing flights as it helped pave the
: way for our invading forces in the
Pacific.
He is the son of Mrs. C. P.
Bounds and the late Mr. Bounds
o. Weldon and is a graduate of
Weldon High School.
Wounded In Action
i
Mr. and Mrs. E. M. Wimbro v of
Weldon have been notified by the
1 War Department that their son
I Pic. Daniel Smallwood (Tickie)
I Wimbrow was seriously wounded
* in action in France on December
, 10th.
I
! Littleton Man Helps i
Repair Planes’ Guns !
An Eighth Air Force Liberator
Bomber Station, England-“Always
have the guns ready" is the motto
j of the Armanent Section of the
I 467th Bombardment Group, com
manded by Col. Albert J. Shower,
j in which Pfc. Leroy C. Three
witts is an ammunition wotker. I
I Pfc. Threewitts and his cowork
ers exercise an over all control of
i all armonent on the station, from
I the pistols and carbines of the
! ground men to the deadly .50-cali
i bre machineguns with which che
Liberators are armed. Loading am
munition belts, mfaking monthly
checks on each ship’s guns in or
der to check for proper care and
maintenance are part of their du
ties.
Working night and day, Three-;
witts and his fellow workers are:
making sure that the guns carried]
by our 'bombers will safeguard j
tnem on their many forays into:
Hitler’s “tortrees •
Private Threewitts who l.ves in
Littleton, N. C„ is the son of Mr.
and Mrs. J. E. Threewitts o'. 216
Park Ave., Emporia, Va., and en
tered the Army March 23, 1943. A
graduate of Littleton High School!
he was employed by the Newport
News Shipbuilding Co., before en
tering the Army._
Install Lodge
Officers
Littleton—J. D. Pope will be in
stalled as master of the Royal
Hart Lodge. No. 497, at ceremonies
to be held January 8. Other officers
to take office include F. 1L Eason,
senior warden; A. G. Wilcox, ju
nior warden; D. W. McPherson
treasurer; A. W. Parker, secre
tary; D. W. King, senior deacon;
Raymond Ward, junior deacon; A.
M. Newsom, Jr., steward; W. C.
Jones, steward; W. H. Wright, ty
ler, and H. L, Davis, chaplain.
One sign of a good sportsman is
a match stem broken in 3 pieces.
It isn’t the c garette that starts
the fire but the match with which
the cigarette was lighted, say
' Extension farm foresters.
Bishop W. \V. Peele of Rich
mond, Ya., will speak at a Crusade
for Christ Rally at the local Wel
don Methodist Church Tuesday ev
ening, January 2 at 7:3l>. Utner
speakers will be Dr. B. G. Childs
of Duke University and a represen
tative of the Conference W. man's
Society of Christian Service.
This is one of two such meet
ings to be held in the Rocky Mt.
D.strict. Delegations from the Me
thodist churches of Halifax and
Northampton Counties will attend
the Weldon meeting.
Of.icially launched by the Gei e
ral Conference of the Methodist
Church at Kansas City, Mo., on
May 3, 1944, "The Crusade lot
Christ” is the boldest and most
comprehensive program for world
redemption and renuoihtat on ev
er laid upon the hearts t ie
people caUed Methodists.
This four year, five-pie... d
Crusade is Methodism's an.
such a “time lor greatness as
never before challenged the f. i
lowers of Christ. It is Meuu.<isai
seeing itself, and seeing ,ts worn!,
whole- and resolved to do some
thing about what u sees. It .- .Me
thodism on the march doc. n t.,c
world’s Jericho Road, it i> Me
thodism aware, alarmed. aw.me .ed
aflame - and mo Diluted •• reu
ive action on the home .in ; . :. me
foreign fronts.
This Crusade for Chi .si .. .i e
major spearheads. United ' ;> . i ’
like the fingers or a h.iuu. x uv..
are: The Crusade for a New v> i
Order, World Relief aim Re > -
st . action, Renewed vungel:.-u.
f„rts, Education for C.ir i .la.)
Stewardship of ability, time a. i
money and Improvement ■>!' Sun
day School Enrollment aiu At
tendance.
The public is cordially inched
to attend the Crusade for Cura-i
meeting here next i uesuay tton
ing.
Local Boys Help
Crush Nazi 19th.
Sixth Army Group, France —
Tlie 397th Infantry Regiment of
the 100th (Centuryi Ilivis on is
one of the newest units fighting
on the U. S. 7th Army front it
Eastern France—but its memoers
have the satisfaction of kno. in;;
they played an important part u
the “squeeze play" so thorough
ly applied to the German 1'cto
Army.
While French troops spearhead
ed drives through the Saverne
Pass in the north and Belfort Gap
in the south, both routes l-.-u no:
to Strasburg and the Rhi..e. t .e
principal part o the it 1 -traiy
fought relentlessly again-'. me
thousands of Nazis caught in t.n*
mutate. With the French "Holding
the enemy in on the sides, the
397th-and’ other units of the 7m
Army—bra-/; piston-liHe aga nst
the middle.
The 397th began its push, aim
its baptism of lire, in the uensc
forests of the \ osg'es Mount.i...
in the vic.nity of Baccara; .n
fighting conditions were ns tough
as any that any troops faced along
the extended S.xth Army Group
front—the Group consisting of the
American 7th and the trench 1st
Armies.
'jc addition to a frantic eremv
who fought with the .orocity of a
trapped rat, the 397th fated in
numerable land mines, booby-traps
and well prepared defense instal
lations. The weather was cold, it
rained frequently and mud was
ankle deep. The forest, covered
with a heavy undergrowth, pro
vided cover for Nazi snipers.
But stubborn slugging and skill
ful maneuvering enabled the 397th
to push through Raon l’Etape,
Senones and other key towns lead
ing toward the Rhine and the e
ventual defeat of the last Germans
in France.
Among members of the ,H9tn
are: Pvt. James A. Lassiter and
Cpl. Earl J. Harrison of Weldon.
I