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McCollumHome AfterYears Overseasr.t3W itli Air Force ServiceCommand in Africaand Italv; surmountiinconveniences.i(Stall Sergeant Harvey L. McCollum has returned to the United Statesitafter twenty-nine months service intthe African and Italian theaters, withthe 12th Air Force Service Commandi i 1He left the States three years ago thisMemorial Day, again landing* atBrookfield on a date one clay over theVthree years. Needless to sav. Brookfield and home seemed like a para-cidisc.Sgt. McCollum, as a crew directori)in the maintenance field, has directed1]the salvage and re Pair of airc raft -olall descriptions and nations.Shortly alter the attack on PearltHarbor. McCollum landed in Africa.in that mysterious aid historic conn- .try. Algiers. When our boys landedI iHij there, they created a little, nation oftheir own and with what they could salvage from the natives began to liveain typical army style.hTheir bath tubs were their helmetsI and the dailv wash, dulv at fended, to.was the preliminary to a number ol ]tlt; .socks, shorts, shirts, trousers and whatdnot, swinging from a clothes line in, ^ the hot breeze of the desert, much tothe amusement of the white robedArabs.A square army tent was* McCollum'shome for the twenty-nine month period and the home was shared by otherGI's, who cooperated to install “para]lor. bedroom and bath.The shower baths were imgeniousaffurs. made of large oil drumsmounted on a platform. Filled withblt;water in the morning, the hot desertsun boiled it by night.From Algiers, McCollum Was sent to Tunisia on detached service and laterwnlt;aiwas moved to the island of Sardinia.then Corsica. His last base beforecoming home was in Italy.Wherever the bovs sieved anylength of time, they created all thehome atmosphere they could an Ilaughed and ioked in the midst ofs'aiBottvd(suffering and death. For example. at Casa Blan'a. they built a sign-whichtrwas a reminder of sorts: Kins is City,G 700 miles; London. 1,900 miles; NewYork, 4.600 miles, and Toluo 10.600miles.liiAThe boys took hundreds of pictures of which McCollum has a lavne nu’m-SJ\vci'Siher showing the people. their homes.the destruction, the ruins of an'dentI:ol, . .'works of art and ancient architecture.In his field of operations, he described the conditions from the firstlanding until the return home. ThiswiW!air force‘landed when there were nolanes except those of the enemy. Theinenemy had dr supremacy and the mechanical crews were taxed to the ut-rnA'ifmost to keep what few planes theyhad in the air. Any time an Americanfiver was shot down or made a forceda T1arlanding, he made every effort to landbehind his own lines. News storiesare reolete with the braVer v did)aof;ogr11!upcrho.man efforts of these boys as they brought in the. cripples; when ^:hey wore physical wrecks themselves.er)a(1(.Little Ls said of the ground crew,but they were the boys who kept tlu war moving along. Hard work and 111ingenuity such as only free-born \meri an boys possess, kept those planes flying and re-mode fighters ind bombers out of wrecks.The C-47 was the “work horse” in [he battle zone, ind.thc Kansas City auilt fighter-bomber, the Mustang,~ — j j .v . —was the favorite.Pictures in McCollum’s possession diow wrecked German Messer-schmidts, Italian planes. Englishofneatiioorthr rillines, and our own.When he was based in Italy, he hadi chance to see, first h,ind. the rav-ges of war on the Italian front. Theood situation was at all times serous. In the south, olive oil. which01BiMthe “lard” of Italy, could be hadn abundance, but there was no transportation. In the Po Valley there wasnore abundance.Shortly before V-E Day there were •umblings of the end of hostilities.Phis was reflected in the attitude ofhe Italian people. McCollum says,nd it seems to be a proven fact, thathe Italians were “all out” for thosevho were on top. Thus when theillies took over, the Italians becameGW(idPrsiHiPi•nthusiastically for the Allies andheir jov on V-E Day sbemed to bemit-u-crwhelming.Policing the country -and feedingIKAihe people became a task of great pagnitude. coupled with the fact that n seme sections, the so-called aristo-rats of the large Italian cities scem-d to think that thev should have all7he luxuries of a peaceful, prosrferous i.ition. It was the “little” people whoaade the sacrifices.opportunty to look over the Italian girls, andhev were naturally quite friendly.iut McCollum, being a newlywed.BimtoDOerMofckaving marriad Miss Betty Erwin, ofLihis city, prior to his enlistment, sayscobe Italian girls couldn't compare withhe bride who was waiting for his re-urn.Like others in his group, he willsosilpport to Miami. Florida, for rrassign-lent in about thirty days. The pol-hr.s been to base these veteransor.zo
Newspaper Details
Brookfield Argus
Brookfield, Missouri, US
Fri, Jun 01, 1945
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Mid-Continent L.
MO, USA 16 Dec 2019
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