Camp Lejeune: New River Pioneer

New River Pioneer VOL. 1. NEW RIVER, N. C., SEPTEMBER 17, 1942. NO. 1. Radio Broadcasts Tentatively Planned A series of radio broadcasts from this base is being planned with the cooperation of station WGTC, Greenville, N. C. Tenta¬ tive plans call for the broadcast to be picked up by the Mutual net¬ work on an East Coast or a national hookup, with the initial program emanating from Recreation Hall No. 2 at A and 10th Streets in the near future. According to present plans the show will include music by the TTC Band and dance orchestra, solo numbers by musicians other than band members, singers, dram¬ atization of Marine action on the war fronts, interviews with men of the various Marine units, and, as the show goes on, other features. In line with the entertainment portions of the broadcast, it is re¬ quested that every man on the base appoint himself a "talent scout”, and send in to the Public Relations Office the names of men known to him to possess talent in any field of entertainment suited to radio: singers, musicians, actors, script writers, directors. Also wanted are men witn radio play production experience to help make the New River broadcast tops in its line. The success of the production depends upon how much members of this command pitch in with their time and talents. Some of the boys may be too modest to tell about their own abilities, so that leaves leaves it up to their fellow Marines to pass along the word to this of¬ fice. With Revue j Gripping Story of Solomons Capture Told By Marine Correspondents LINDA MOODY. Linda Moody taps it out in phisticated style in the Roxy The¬ atre Revue. so- Two Stage Shows On Tap At Tent City; Big Name Vaudeville Stars On USO Bill Two USO campshows will play here this month: "House of Magic” and Roxy Theatre Revue.” One of the hit shows of the New York World’s Fair, General Elec¬ tric’s "House of Magic”, will come to this base Friday, September 18. when the Recreation Hall at A and 10th streets will be transformed into a scientific wonderland. This fascinating product of the research laboratories gives a glimpse into the future which at¬ tracted more than three million persons at the World’s Fair. It includes such trickery as a man walking away from his own shadow: shaking hands with it and rolling it up into a box; “seeing” sound and “hearing” light; lighting an electric lamp with a match; a heavy metal dish defying gravity by floating in mid-air with no visible support, and many other intriguing feats. The shows start at 7:15 and 8:30. ROXY REVUE, SEPT. 24. From the stage of the Roxy The¬ atre in New York City, USO Camp- Leave Headquarters 51st Def. show's,' Inc.', brings to this_base on|Bn-' Montford 0830-1030-1230- Thursday, September 24, the color¬ ful, rhythmic Roxy Theatre Revue, which will play two shows in the Recreation Hall at A and 10th streets, at 7:15 and 9:15. Featuring 28 of the most talent¬ ed dancers, comedians and singers (Continued on Page Four) U5MC Bus Service Begins Operation A Marine Corps bus service has been established between the Tent Camp and the Hadnot Point Bar¬ racks, leaving the garage on the even hours. Passengers will 'at, picked up in front of TTC Headquarters Build¬ ing at 1st and C Streets, and the bus will stop at Montford Point, the Housing project office, and cir¬ cle the barracks of the 11th De¬ fense Bn., and the barracks of Ma¬ rine Corps Schools. It will then park in the parking lot at the side of temporary Post Headquarters. On leaving Hadnot Point, it will leave on the odd hours, proceeding to the Tent Camp by the same route it took going out. Schedule follows: MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY Leave TTC Garage — 0800-1000- 1200-1400-1600. 1430-1630. Leave circle on main Access Rd„ Hadnot Pt„ 0900-1100-1300-1500- 1700. Leave Montford Pt.. 0930-1130- 1330-1530-1730. For the present, buses are not available for Saturday and Sunday service. (i . to hell with the Japs” Shortly before the attack on the Japs in the Solomons, Colonel LeRoy P. Hunt, USMC, commanding officer of a combat group transmitted the following: From: Commanding Officer Combat Group “A”. To: Combat Group “A”. Subject: The Coming Offensive Action in Guadalcanal Area. 1. On the eve of our first contact with the enemy it is my de • sire to express myself regarding a few pertinent points in connec¬ tion therewith. 2. The coming action in the Guadalcanal area marks the first offensive of the war against the enemy, involving ground forces of the United States. The Marines have been selected to initiate this action which will prove to be the forerunner of successive of¬ fensive actions that will end in ultimate victory for our cause. The Marine Corps is on the spot. Our country expects nothing but victory from us and it shall have just that. The word failure shall not even be considered in our vocabulary. 3. We have worked hard and trained faithfully for this action and I have every confidence in our ability and desire to force our will upon the enemy. We are meeting a tough and wily opponent, but he is not sufficiently tough or wily to overcome us because we are Marines. 4. Our Commanding General and staff are counting upon us and will give us whole-hearted support and assistance. Our con¬ temporaries of the other Task Organizations are red-blooded Ma¬ rines like ourselves and are ably led. They, too, will be there at the final downfall of the enemy. 5. Each of us has his assigned task. Let each vow to perform it to the utmost of his ability with added effort for good measure. 6. Good luck and God Bless you and to hell with the Japs. LEROY P. HUNT. Glenn Miller Salutes New River Sept. 24; "Always In My Heart" Named No. 1 Hit Glenn Miller and his band, fa¬ mous for their sweet and swing music, will salute the New River Marine Base Thursday night, Sep¬ tember 24, at 10 o'clock, on their Chesterfield broadcast over the Columbia Broadcasting System. Last week a telegram was re¬ ceived from the band inquiring the name of the post popular tune on the base. The Leathernecks were evidently in a sentimental mood for a canvass showed “Always Jn My Heart” to be the number 1 fa¬ vorite. It was closely followed by ’My Devotion”. “Always In My Heart” garnered 34 per cent of the votes; “My De¬ votion” 20 per cent with “Jersey Bounce” taking third place with 14 per cent. Of the remaining 22 per cent “Pair of Silver Wings,” was the favorite of 10 per cent of those polled. Governor Visits New River Base Governor Broughton and a party of eight persons paid an official visit to New River Marine Base Friday. They landed at Hurst Beach from a pleasure cruise down the Inland Waterway canal, and were met by Col. D. L. S. Brewster, command¬ ing officer of Marine Barracks; Lieut.-Comdr. Robert Williams, in charge of construction, and F. J. Blythe, project superintendent. A tour of the base and lunch in School Battalion Is Newest Here Formed during the past week was the School Battalion, which includes the majority of schools now stationed at Hadnot Point. It consists of the Quartermaster School, Engineer School, Motor Transport School and Cooks and Bakens School; The administra¬ tion of the Battalion is handled by a Headquarters Company. Al¬ though quartered a t Hadnot Point, the schools are attached to the New River Training Center. Heading the Battalion is Col- nnel Robert M. Montague who joined this base from the Central Recruiting Division in Chicago, Illinois, where he was Officer in Charge of the Division. Prior to that time Colonel Montague had commanded the Second Battalion of the Fourth Regiment in Shan¬ ghai, China, and the Marine De¬ tachments in Cavite, Philippine Is¬ lands. He has served in other Ma¬ rine posts throughout the world (This account of the fighting in the Solomon Islands is composed of excerpts from on-the-scene re¬ ports of Marine Corps correspond¬ ents who followed the action from its inception.) . The long line of grim, gray war vessels steaming out of the harbor as we left our base must have been a thrilling sight from the beach. It looked very comforting from where I sat to see destroyers and cruisers fore and aft and port and starboard. Scuttlebutt con¬ cerning our destination included every place from Little America to Tokyo. Only a handful knew the real objective, and they weren’t talking. We moved without incident until one day, Marines sunning them¬ selves on deck saw two tiny specks on the horizon to starboard. Soon they could be recognized as ships. Irf five minutes every off-duty man on board was crowding the rail. The two specks became three, then five, then more. Men with bi¬ noculars spotted aircraft carriers, heavy cruisers and giant trans¬ ports. It was the best morale booster I've ever seen. There was a terrific let-down for a few minutes when it appear¬ ed that the powerful convoy was going to steam right by, but it fi¬ nally swung ponderously around and fell into line behind us. Less than an hour later, another convoy rose from the sea to port in what appeared to be a mirrored duplicate of the earlier scene. For a couple of days we moved along together. Occasionally a ship or group of ships slipped over the horizon, only to reappear later on. During all this time the only dry land sighted was in the sand locker. Finally, however, we began to move through a group of blue ghost islands that seemed scarcely different from the cloudbanks the Marines had been so positively identifying as terra firma. By that time it was generally conceded that a very tangible objective lay ahead (Continued on Page Four) STAFF MEMBERS NEEDED Staff members for the NEW RIVER PIONEER are needed. Needed at the present are two men of journalistic ability. Men desiring to try out for these jobs are requested to call at the Pub¬ lic Relations Office, NRTC Head¬ quarters building for an inter view. Applicants should bring with them sufficient proof of the Marines’ mess hall at Hadnot their ability. Correspondents Point were in the day’s itinerary, from all outfits are also needed. All Units Taken At Housing Project All houses in the Federal Housing Project located near the main gate at Hadnot Point are occupied. Occupants i n с 1 u de mainly men of the first three paygrades and some commisioned officers and a limited number of civilian's. All applicants for houses will now be placed on a waiting list and assigned quarters when they are available. The USO project, under the di¬ rectorship of Miss Roebling, con¬ tinues to be the scene of much activity. Recreational facilities for children and adults are pro¬ vided continuously. The Red Cross, under the lead¬ ership of Mrs. Carolyn Hill, is en¬ gaged in making bandages. More volunteers are needed for this group. Interested parties may leave their names at the Housing Project office.