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fi Former Student In Relates Experiences Carolina Alumna's Story Told To Student Reporter By Charles Wickenberg, '45J "I opened the morning paper and read: 'Honolulu Star-Bulletin--Dec. 9. -Among those reported missing after the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7 was Mrs. James R. Samsel of Columbia, S. C., wife of Lieutenant Sanisel, U. S. Army... ' "It was just another story at first glance-then I suddenly felt as though I had been moved into a vacuum as I abruptly realized that there was something definitely wrong with those few lines of print . . . That was AIE!-I was reported missing!" This petite brunette, seated in a large overstuffed chair, spoke in a soft faraway voice as she told of those hectic and historic days im mediately following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She is Airs. James R. Samsel, and very much alive, living in her home town of Colum bia-several thousand miles away, and only fourteen months away from-warl She is the former Lois Jenkins, alumna of the University of South Carolina, class of '43. She is living with her parents at their home now. She continued: "I dropped the paper and rushed I from the house. I wasn't sure where I was going, but I knew Jim, my husband, would think I was dead, and I had to get word to himi somehow." Her husband, then a lieutenant, has recently been made a captain. He is James R. Samsel of Hillsboro, Oregon, a graduate and outstand ing athlete of Oregon State. At that moment he was on duty "some where on the island." In spite of civilians having been warned off the streets, AIrs. Samsel wandered up and down a highway leading to the exterior of the island in the hope of seeing someone she. knew who could take word to her husband that she was alive and un hurt. Her vigil was rewarded when she hailed a supply truck of* her husband's regiment and sent him the message. Mrs. Samsel's experiences during. the raid on the island of Oahu, and the days that followed, including her harrowing voyage across the sub infested wvaters of the Pacific, run the gauntlet from the ghastly to the ridiculous conglomerations of enmo tions that can be brought about only by war. In the soft light hours of the tropical dawvn of that memorable day, Sunday, December 7, 1941, she and her husband, like the rest of the island's inhabitants wvere slum bering the last sleep in a wvorld of peace. They were jolted in their beds by a terrific explosion nearby. (The Samsel's cottage was on a military post, Schofield Barracks,', B EVERAGE COMPANY]I * ROYAL CROWN COL A 1211 ASSEMBLY STREET * WHY TAKE WE PAY FOR LIFE - HEALTH AND ACCWC Capital Life & Hea LESTER L. BA 1117 Hampton Street S *Foi WI SP "A GOOD I 1323 Taylor Street Ralph Lewis, '29, Alumni Editor Mailed by the Alumni Association Of :e to members of the Association and to >n-member alumni in the Armed Forces iose addresses are on file in the Alumni ffice. Thick Of Fighting In Jap Attack which adjoins Wheeler Field. Both were targets of the Japanese at tack). They were itnmediately awake, and as she pulled on a house. coat another explosion cracked the window panes and shook the small house. Their first thought was an earthquake. She ran into the yard where her dog was scampering in circles and barking at unfamiliar planes which skimmed the tops of the tall trees that towered over the street before their house. Then suddenly bed lam broke loose as a thundering ex plosion rocked the ground and black mushrooms began to appear in the sky. From the house came a man's sleepy voice. "What the devil is the Air Corps doing practicing at this hour?" Voman-like, Airs. Sansel called to her husband as a plane swept over-she could see the pilot-, "Jim, do come here and look how cute these planes are camouflaged!" "What do they look like, (lear?" Chirped Ars. Samsel, "Oh, they've got pretty red balls on their sides and wings." From the house came an awake man! One look was enough. A plane roared by nearly touching the trees! Another explosion jarred the earth! A machine gun chattered somiewhere above! In split seconds Mrs. Samsel found herself scooped up in her husband's arms and de posited in the center of the floor in her living room with her husband halfway out of the door again! Yelled he, "You stay right there!" Yelled she, "You come right back in five minutes!" It was nearly five hours. In the meantime, still soniewhat in doul)t as to just -what was going on. she turned on the radio. Between blasts of bombs and gunfire she could hear a voice ordering and pleading for all doctors, nurses and aides to report to their posts at Dice and for blood donors to go to heir nearest first aid station. Then, "The Japanese are attacking Oahu. Civilians are warned off the streets. Take cover l" She took cover. Wh'len Lieuten ant Samsel returned, lie found his wife sitting under the dining room table, knitting. He stayed long enough to collect his field kit and bid his wife good-bye. She didn't see him for five days. During those five days she was moved fromi place to place with the ther women of the p)ost. Several hours after Lieutenant Samnsel Ileft trucks arrivedl to take the women and children of that neighborhood to a barracks so that they would all be easier to account for. It was on her arriv'al at the bar racks that she sawv her first and( anly twvo casualties of the war. As they dismounted from the trucks, he saw twvo soldiers being borne on stretchiers towvard a first aid station. NVomen gasped, wvavered. Curiosity uled. "WAere they maimed in action?" a weak voice asked. "Naw," replied one of the bearers, 'Dey lost dere haids in de excite mnent an' shot each odder I" A wtounded man groaned. Late the same afternoon they A CHANCE? EVERYTHING ENT - HOSPITALIZATION Ith Insurance Co. rES, President Phones: 2-2206 or 2-8828 STUDENTS! excellent work on your laundry leave it at the Canden can give you one day service and CIAL RATES TO STUDENTS LAUNDRY ..AU NDRY" Phone 2-2147 Issued in coope Law Alumni Group Cancel Banquet The University Law School Alumni association cancelled its annual banquet, which ordinarily would have been held in connection with the State Bar association meet ing in Columbia this week. "Too many of our members are in the armed forces or war work that has taken them out of the state," said Calhoun Thomas, '24A, 26L, president of the Law school group, who made the announce ment. Officers of the association, in ad dition to Mr. Thomas, are Randolph Murdaugh, '38L, of Hampton, vice presi(ent, and John Bratton Davis, '38A, 38L, of Columbia (now at Camp Sibert, Ala.), secretary. were allowed to return to their homes to gather a few personal ar ticles and blankets. That night they were move(l into the interior of the island for safety. Their ride to the interior was a nightmare heaped upon a night mare. In the thick (lark of the blackout the flimsy school bus with its human cargo of nerves felt its way slowly like a blind man around black splotches in the road. As their eyes became accustomed to the night they could see that the splotches were huge s&mingly bot tomless shell craters. Weird shapes of wreckage could be made out in the night. Suddenly they camc out of a wood onto a high hill-everything was as bright as day! They saw Pearl Harbor bathed in the fire of treachery. Mrs. Samsel (lescribed it. "Vague blurs in the bus about us became people in the red glow. We were a great (listance from Pearl Harbor, but we could feel the heat from the flames that clawed at the sky. Ve could (listinguish nothing but smoky shapes at the source of the flames, an(l the reflection of the flames and smoke on the water. It remin(led me of 'Gone WNith The Wind!'" Late that night the bus reached its destination, a school somewhere in the interior of the island. They were (irecte(d to what evidently had been the school library. There were no beds, but fatigue softened the floor, and America's first refugees slept a restless sleep. The next morning as they awoke they were greeted by * rvmnr that during the night the Japanese had landed p)arachutists in that area. The report was considleredl con firmed when soldiers arrived and announcedl that the refugees would be moved into town to stay with friends. It was due to this that Mrs. Samsel was reported missing. She failedl to tell the authorities where she was going to stay and was thus unaccounted for. It was difficult to believe as I talked with this, one of the USA's first refugees, that slightly over a year ago she had had her "baptism of fire." I asked her about the ef fect of the attack on the morale of the people. She smiled and said, "I think I can best answer that by telling you about a little fellow in Jim's out fit. When the raid came, his buddy was one of the first dlown-he died in this chap's arms. That did something to him, just like tihe war has done something to tihe Ameri.. can people. HeI slept by hlis ma chmine gun. When an alert sounded lhe was tIhe first in a battle station. He would watch the sky with plead ing eyes. "He was typical of the soldiers. They wanted tihe Japs to come b)ack more thlan they wanted anything in their lives. They wanted thenm to come b)ack more than they wanted thleir lives!I" Mrs. Samsel's story was inter rtupted at this poinlt b)y the cry of her restless ten-months-old baby boy. His name is Jim too. He's never seen his daddy. His daddy has never seen him. "But he will some day-soon!I she smiled. . The b)aby slept. * RECORI Columbia's Most Comi DIXIE RADI U-NO-WE 1712 Main Street ration with the U. of S. C. Ali They Promised Jacqueline Conner and Ens. Cyril Ray Parrott, '42A, February 18 in Timmonsville. They will live teni porarily in Washington where En sign Parrott is in school. Dorothy Williams, '33Ed, and Joseph Samuel Civil, February 25 in Columbia. Nancy Gilder Coleman and Lieut. Richard Harris Wallace, '43C, Feb ruary 17 in Greenwood. Mary Alice Moroso, '44A, and Ralph Thompson Baeuerle, January 18 in Baltimore, Md. They reside in Dundalk, Md. Marion Jean Flowers and Harry Velpo Still, '34A, February 13 in Florence. They are living at 1200 Madison Ave., Florence. Lillian Lucille Gayle, '44A, and Lieut. Joseph William Douglas, '40 Ed, February 25 in Columbia. Kathryn Hawkins, '42C, and Lt. Robert Burkhead Hill, February 17 at Grinell, Iowa. They will live in Salt Lake City, Utah, where Lieu tenant Hill is stationed. Helen Hutto and the Rev. Angus McKay Brabham, Jr., '37A, Feb ruary 6 at St. George. They reside at Grover. Mary Hammond and Kenneth E. Prince, '34A, '41G, February 27 in Spartanburg. They will make their home at 301 Peachblossom Ave., Chattanooga, Tenn. Alumnus Heads Industrial Unit William Lambert DePass, Jr., '24 L, Camden attorney and Kershaw county master in equity, was ap pointed chairman of the South Car olina Industrial Commission by Gov. Olin D. Johnston, '23G, '24L, last week. The appointment has been sent to the senate for confirmation. Mr. DePass succeeds John M. Wise, '05L, of Chester, who was chairman of the commission until lie resigned recently. Mr. Wise, who formerly was president pro tempore of the State Senate, had served about a year of the six-year term in the industrial commission chairmanship. The new chairman is a native of Camden, and has lived in that city all of his life. He served in the House of Representatives in 1925 and 1926, was elected magistrate of Camden in 192C and served two years in that position, after wh;-h he was elected master in equity, in wvhichi position lie has served since. Alumnus DePass and Governor Johnston are University law class mates. Reunion In Print While Pfc. Roderick F. Turnbull, '41C, is with the army in the British Isles, Mrs. Turnbull (Lela Hughs), '42A, is teaching in Westminster, commiutinig from WValhalla. Byron Eugene Burns, '41C, was recently commissioned a second lieutenant after completing officer candlidate school at Fort Benning, Ga. Edna L. Cook, '43A, is cashier for the South Carolina Electric and Gas Company in their Lexington branch office. Lt. (j.g.) William Rankin Bruce, '37C, is on active duty on the At lantic. Capt. Roy Alexander Powell, '40L, formerly manager of Radio Station WCOS in Columbia, now with the Army in England, writes: "Have visited London, Oxford, Isle of Wight and many other historic places in Britain. The English are most cordial and are making every effort possible under the circum stances to make the Americans feel welcome and at home." Benjamin Alfred Barringer, '220, who is a teacher and farmer at Lib erty, N. C., has five sons, the oldest of whom will soon be seventeen. A/C Fred R. (Tony) Fanning Jr., '36A, '38L, of Orangeburg, and A/C Richard Jason Ham, '42A, of Co. lumbia, are stationed at the basic flying school at Majors Army Air Field, Greenville, Texas. lete Record Deportment 0 COMPANY - NO - RADIO Phone 422103-04 I front wmni Association Future Alumni Irene Marcia Coplan, born De ceniber 6, 1942 to Louis Coplan and Mrs. Coplan (Helen Kronrad), '39 Ed, in Columbia. Condon Rodgers, a daughter, born Feb. 23 to Floyd Dwight Rodgers, Jr., '35J, and Mrs. Rod gers. Belle Boone Howe, born February 24 to Ensign Gedney Maine Howe, '37L, and Mrs. Howe (Marybelle Higgins), '37J. Elizabeth Delle Byerly, born in January to Dr. William Luther Byerly, '38A, and Mrs. Byerly (Louise McDonald), '39A, in Balti more, where Dr. Byerly is interning at University Hospital. The Rev. Dermon A. Sox, '31A, is addressed at 25 Twelfth St., Navy Yard, S. C. Lt. Boyd F. Dantzler, '36Ed, can be reached at Co. A, 19th ROC, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Va. Frederick Eugene Haynes, Jr., '42A, of Enorce, is addressed at Co. E. Officer Candidate Bn. (Prov), Bldg. 120, Fort Washington, Md.. Ens. David Augustus Childs, '35A, who recently completed a course at the Naval Training School at Princeton University, is now at the Amphibious Training School at Solomons, Md., after a short visit in Columbia. Lieut. Thomas Jefferson Nix, '40A, of Brunson, is now addressed 336th Sqdi., 95th Bomb. Group, Army Air Base, Rapid City, South Dakota. Yates Snowden Williams, '31C, who is an auditor in Richmond, Va., resides at 12 Lexington Boule vard, Richmond. Lieut. William Swift Arrants '39E, can be reached at Anti Tank Co., 330th Inf.; Camp Atterbury, Ind. Sgt. Berley M. Havird, '31A, '34L, is stationed at Camp Croft with the Armed Forces Induction Station. Robert Woods Twitty, '33A, for merly of Darlington, was recently re-elected vice-president and plant manager of the Marion Manufac turing company, large cotton mill at Marion, N. C. Ens. John S. Dunbar, Jr., '36C, USN air corps, previously an in structor at the Southern Aviation School at Camden, has reported for duty at Corpus Christi, Texas. James T-Tagond F-1son, '45A, re cently reported to Parris Island to b)egin training with the United States Marine corps. Theresa Sanders Jackson, '41A, wvho is a library assistant at the State University of Iowva, is ad dlressedl at Woodlawn Apartments, Sgt. Walter Bascom Carns, Jr., '42A, is stationedl at Fort Bragg, N. C., with the 321st FA, IHg. Bn., 10 1st Airborne Div. Roy Clyde Cook, '31A, 1731 D Street NE, Washington, D. C., whc is an economic expert in the Anti trust Division of the Department of Justice, has two children, a son and a daughter. Louis William Gilland, '38A, wvho was promoted to first lieutenant in November, now stationed with the 266th Ordnance Co., Camp Kilmer, N. J., issues an invitation to all USC men who come within reach to get in touch with him. "Linda (Linda Copeland '42A, now Mrs. Gilland) and I will always be glad to see them and offer them what we can in the way of entertainment .'.., writes Lieutenant Gilland. Edward Reed Finley, '31J, for. merly with the Columbia Record, has been inducted into the army as a volunteer. He reported for duty at Fort Jackson recently, and is now at SL 3ta9--T. S. S. 587, St, Petersburg, Fla. Mrs. Finley (Claudia Knowlton), '3lA, and th( two children, are in Columbia. BETTER LIGHT BETTER SIGHT * South Carolina Elect-ric & Gas Co. Ruth R. DeLoache '39, Assistant Edit< Men and women of Carolina, groduato and non-graduates are requested to se alumni news and their changing address( to the Alumni Office, University Compu Columbia, South Carolina Alumni Comment Cpl. Woodrow Oliver Wilson, '39E, of Neeses, writes us from Sta tion Hospital, Ward 1121 A-7, Camp Kilmer, N. J.: "After induc tion at Fort Jackson I was sent to Camp Cook, Calif. Had been tiere some months when the Aleutian trouble and the west coast alert came about. Being in that vicinity, my outfit was definitely 'in'. After that cooled off-Desert Maneuvers. Those maneuvers are no place for a playboy. Believe me, they're tough. Then from the Mojave Desert to overseas task force as signed to Casablanca, North Africa. Am now in the hospital here re covering from a badly broken leg." John Clark Payne, '35A, '37L, former editor of the Gamecock, now at Base Weather Station, AAFTFS, Del Rio, Texas, writes this mes sage (typical of thousands of oth ers) which the editors believe should be conveyed to the Uni versity and to the members of the Association, who have made the service possible: "The copies of The Gamecock sent to the alumni in the armed services are a great boon and you are earning the gratitude of every one of us. I am not saying this merely be cause former editorship gives me a sense of proprietory interest but be cause you are furnishing us an op portunity to keep up with the Uni versity and with many friends and classmates scattered throughout the world. The alumni page has been long needed. Lieut. N. Hunt Graham, '36A, who is addressed in care of the post master, New York, N. Y., writes to Dr. Havilah Babcock, '27G, head of the English department: "Greetings from Lat. tlank, Long. blank. We are now on our way to help blow the Axis off its chassis. I can't tell you where we are be cause we haven't reached our des tination yet, however, I can say that it's hot as Hades here. The only redeeming feature about the tropics is that there is plenty of fruit. We have had great fun knock ing cocoanuts from trees, picking bananas and chasing little monkeys. The baby we caught has a tail four times as long as his body. The long tail conies in handy, at that. We just tie it in a knot around any I handy object when we want to leave him (or her-it's iiot big enough to have any rex yet). Pinc. lapples are as plentiful as rain, which comes downi in torrents. They have a wet andl a dIry season down here, the dry season being the one when it rains only half the time. "Five of us wvent to town yes terdlay on a sight-seeing tour. WVe boarded a relice of a street car and rode all over town't for the equivalent of 1c each. En route, a companion offered cigaretts aroundl. The conductor, standIing nearby, wvas of fered one also, but, instead, he took the whole pack! Every wvhere, we wvere greeted by open mouthed natives and little b)oys beg.. ging for pennies or wanting to shine our shoes. The entire coun try is disease-ridden, evidence be ing presented in the form of crippled bodies and minds. We have been instructedl not to mingle with the natives, their food or their water, which rule is adhered to rigidly for obvious reasons. "Please pardon the pencil-there YOU TRUST ITS QUALITY *Coumbia Coca-Cola Bottling C Conlumbia, 8 C. Sumter Honors General Moses Maj. Gen. Emile Phillips Moses, '00, of Sumter, was honored last week at a banquet given for hin by the people of Sumter. Before an audience of 200 General Moses was presented with a silver Paul Revere bowl by Edwin B. Boyle,'14A, ban quet chairman, in behalf of the citi zens of Sumter. . r. In a speech before the presenta tions, General Moses asserted that the American Marines in the Solo mons had as much trouble fighting the elements and insects as they did the Japanese. (Alumni Office note: Other alumni in the South Pacific have written that "the Japs are un der control, but the mosquitoes are still giving us trouble.") Concluding, General Moses said: "I never dreamed I would receive such a reception. Always look upon me not as a major general, but as a Sumter boy who has gone away and done the best he could." Alumnus Moses visited the campus in December, 1942, when he was initiated as an honorary mem ber of the university's chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa, honorary leadership fraternity. is no ink within 1,000 miles. Write when you get a chance." Lieut. Harold Carl Mauney, '36E, now with the army in North Africa, writes: "Please ask all our friends around town to write. Mail means more than money to us over here." (Alumni Office note: Although we are not allowed to publish mili tary addresses of alumni on foreign duty, particularly when units are mentioned, we shall be glad to for ward to our fighting men any mail addressed to them in care of the * Alumni office). Lt. (j.g.) Charles V. Atkinson, '39C, now at Dutch Harbor, Alaska writes: "I have just received the first copy of the Gamecock that I I have seen since I was received in to the Navy nearly two years ago; I must say that it makes a feller a bit homesick for the good ole days. I assure you that I read it from cover to cover... "Since joining the Navy nearly two years ago, I have had occasion to do quite a bit of traveling, and have seen duty both in Iceland and Alaska as well as other places-it's quite a life and I must admit that there is no branch of the service like the Navy. I have had occasion to meet many Carolina men in out of the way spots when I would least expect to see thcm; as a mat ter of fact, I had the great pleasure of bumping into a former Carolina room-mate on the streets of Reyk javic, Iceland. I realize that my many experiences are just everyday occurrences with most of the boys on foreign duty, but I would like to add mine to the rest of the list." ECONOMY DRUG STORE CUT RATE DRUGS SODAS AND LUNCH EON ETTE Five Points * Phone 8119 Motorcycle Delivery