“ARMY IN ITSELF”

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 May 1942, Page 3

“ARMY IN ITSELF”

ANOTHER AMERICAN - CONTINGENT ARRIVAL IN ULSTER LARGEST THAT HAS CROSSED ATLANTIC. COUNTRYSIDE HEAVY WITH NOISE OF CONVOYS. (Bv Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, May 18. Large enough to constitute an army in itself, and accompanied by millions of pounds’ worth of battle equipment, the largest contingent of United . States troops to cross the Atlantic has landed in Northern Ireland. A correspondent with the convoy said he is allowed to say that this is one of the most powerful armadas that have ever embarked on a military venture overseas. The troops and equipment fanned out till the Irish countryside was heavy with the noise of rumbling troop convoys, fast-mov-ing light tanks, and mobile anti-tank guns and artillery. The contingent comprises mainly infantry, but its composition is so miscellaneous as to indicate the fulfilment of the recent announcement by the United States Army Chief, General Marshall, that various types of American troops would be stationed in the British Isles. I Nurses attached to a Harvard University accompanied the troops. All the nurses, who are secondlieutenants, wore blue slacks —not the official issue, but adopted as protection against the cold winds of the Atlantic. Most of the ■ combatant troops are of husky physique. As soon as they got ashore the men were served with American meals. The shore organisation was completely American, though the British Army authorities gave considerable assistance. Major-General V. H. B. Majendie, General Officer Commanding, Northern Ireland District, welcomed the Americans. Major-General R. .P. Hartle, who commands the American forces in Northern Ireland, expressed great satisfaction at the arrival of so many thousands of troops. An eyewitness states that the disembarkation took several days. The Harvard University hospital unit was very disappointed not to have been the first medical to have to come to Europe in this war. They were the first to establish a hospital in France in the last war. Its doctors are drawn from the university’s medical school, and the nurses all come from its affiliated hospitals. The people of Northern Ireland gave the contingent a great welcome. They have made great friends with earlier arrivals, and the new men are already finding out the fine hospitality which greets them.