Oroville Mercury
July 3, 1941
Editorial Page
Dan L.
Beebe, Editor and Publisher, George Wangelin, City Editor.
The Movie Airman And The Real Article
We can say for Oroville that the association
with the members of the 21st USA Pursuit Squadron has
been pleasant. The boys are gentlemen. Quite different,
they are, from the roistering, hard-drinking airmen of the films,
who must have hard liquor every few minutes in order to keep going,
drown their sorrows or something. Some joke smith of the Fellows
Club at their meeting this week asked Lt. W. Edwin Dyess, commanding
officer of the squadron, whether the airmen drank as much in real
life as they do in the movies. Dyess replied that Oroville
had had a chance to answer that question for itself. He explained
that an airman’s private life is his own, but that any drinking
on duty would be strictly punished. But that has offered him
no problem. The movies feel it necessary to hit upon a type
in each classification and play that type hard. Otherwise
the audience might not recognize the classification. It is
a lazy way of working. It would be more difficult to present
each flyer as a separate individual. It was the same way with
newspapermen. The movies made each one a desperate, sallow,
sarcastic drinking man. Finally there was so much complaint
that they had to get away from that self-created style. Next
time any of the thousands who saw the 21st at the airport
see the hard drinking type of air corps man on the screen they will
know that they are watching an inferior production, cheaply made
for a quick turnover. We must demand something better from
our motion picture producers.
Oroville Mercury
July 3, 1941
Fast Pursuit Ship Dives Over Town
A P-36, one of the speedy pursuit ships which
was stationed at Oroville Municipal Airport during wartime maneuvers
last week, flew over Oroville this morning. Lt. W. Edwin Dyess,
commander of the 21st
USA pursuit squadron, was believed
to have been flying the plane. Dyess may have been flying
routine “cross-country maneuvers” out of Hamilton Field. The
plane’s dive over town may have been a greeting.
Oroville Mercury
July 3, 1941 What Outfit Buddy?
Thirty-third division Various National Guard troops of Illinois
were welded into the Thirty-third division in the summer of 1917.
The division known as Prairie and Illinois, trained
at Camp Logan, Houston,
Tex., previous to its service in France.
The division served in the Amiens sector
with the Australians from July 19 to Aug. 20, 1918. From Sept.
9 to Nov. 11, some units of this division always were in the line,
serving north of Verdun and west of the Meuse
during the Meuse-Argonne operations. It served 27 days in
active fighting areas and 32 days in so-called quiet sectors.
The lads from Illinois capture more prisoners
than any other National Guard division -3,987, including 65 officers;
ninety three artillery pieces and 414 machine guns were also seized
from the enemy. The division advanced 36 kilometers against
resistance. The Thirty-third now is based at Camp Forrest,
Tenn. The insignia is a yellow cross on black circle, a combination
of the division’s colors. Yellow was chosen because it was
the only paint available in Texas when the
division was marking its equipment. The cross, long used to
distinguish government property, had terrifying effect on Philippine
natives.
Stu’s Notes: Dan Beebe thought highly
of our American Soldiers and especially the Oroville Area ones.
I think that is why I’ve found so many stories in the Mercury’s
that I have. At the time he wrote the above article he already knew
the war was soon to come. This article on our Airport is the
earliest I’ve found of it being an Army Air Base. The National
Guards of America, I still hear people say they didn’t or don’t;’
go to War, well I think they’ve been doing it since Gen. George
Washington first Mustered up the young men of America.
Gen. George Washington is a Hero of mine and now I’ve finally got
him in one of my stories. Our National Guards of America are
really doing a big part in the War on Terror. Many going back
3 and 4 times, under orders, yes many volunteer over and over to
go back but I think we are sure asking a lot of these young soldiers.
It reflects a lot by the suicide rate of this war. Occasionally
we see a Nation Guard man or women in uniform around our land, if
you do, thank them, if in a restaurant pay their bill without letting
them know, the waitress will take care of it for you.
Oroville’s
Sgt. A.P. “Bud” Henkell fought at Amiens
in WWI perhaps next to those above National Guardsmen. See
our web site for his story, Thank you Daryl. POW/MIA ceremony
went well, thanks all that helped.
Thank you, Feather River
Parks for the platform for our Missing Man Table. Very few
Communities do this honoring ceremony, so mark your calendars for
the 3rd Friday in September next year.
You’ll not regret it. 100,000 Americans cry our, “Remember
Me, I gave All never to be found.”