The Key West Citizen Newspaper, December 10, 1953, Page 5

Dream Of Key West Sol¢:2r Comes! woo True—He Is Home For Christmas By JO ELLE: Oscar Avila is home for Christmas. That is @ dream that Oscar had hoped would come true! through more than a year of heavy fighting in Korea. Oscar, who is the son of Ignacio ~ - Thursday, December 10, 1953 N KELLER Avils, 514 Elizabeth St., was in the tion for his unit as well as three Beth Ordnance Ammunition Com- battle stars on his campaign rib- pany of the U. S. Eighth Army. bon He landed in Korea at Inchon) where his troop ship dropped anch- or under the cover of darkness to unload troops, supplies and am- munition. ‘The battle-weary men and woun-| ded they were replacing were at the port for the trip back to the States. Troop ships didn’t linger in one spot any longer than neces-' sary at that time when they were under constant threat of aerial at-| tack and enemy artillery. | Oscar's outfit went forward at ence to the Army Supply Points. | These ASP were the ammuni- tien dumps that kept the front line fighters supplied with shells, | bullets and bombs. | If there was one thing the North Koreans liked to do better thao having outright front-line assau!ts, it was hunting out the ammo dumps with their aircraft, Oscar discovered, as night after night passed without sleep while his unit worked on round the clock shifts to keep the ammunition moving to) the front. | They worked on twelve hour re-) lays, and would no more than hit the sack when the air raid alarm would sound and there would be no hope of sleep. Oscar was riding on a truck foaded with high explesives one celebrating among the tired men. Getting The Key West Citizen whenever the mails were brought up front was one of the highlights for Oscar who had a time keeping | his hands on it long enough te read it, as a newspaper from the States was prized almost as much as letters from home, he said. And many of his newspapers went to the front, tucked in a | jacket, to be taken out and read during lulls in the fighting. It was hard to believe it when| the truce finally came, Oscar said. There'd been so many false hopes, so much delay, The fighting con-! tinued up to the very second that the cease-firing order became ef fective. | At that moment, Oscar put down the ammunition, and ne and his buddies looked at each other in the unaccustomed quiet. There was no} Next morning nearly every man/| in the unit attended a chapel ser- vice. And how does it seem to be | home? “It’s great said Oscar “1 can hardly believe it yet. Jubilation broke loose on the troop ship after the return voyage when it passed under Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. | “Everyone cut loose and yelled and cheered,” he seid, “Because THE KEY WEST CITIZEN Pege 5 Korea To Key West By Popular Demand We Are Repeating All Prices Used In Our Grand Opening Sale! RAYON RAYON DACRON and RAYON Gabardine Sharkskin Gabardine SLACKS SLACKS sLacKs 2 810% 2% 912° — gang EACH $5.50 EACH $6.98 CREASE and SPOT RESISTANT SIZES 28 TO 42 ALL WANTED COLORS LONG SLEEVE SPORT SHIRTS oe s7 50 CORDUROY Light and Dark Shades EACH $3.98 s4ss Te Fill Your Christmas List Robes __ $7.98 to $14.98 Denim Slacks $2.98 xSweaters 3.98 to 7.98 Ties 1.00 DROW Stores for MAINE TO FLORIDA Style Quality Satisfaction Guaranteed Men se Price COTTON FLANNEL PLAIDS and CHECKS $298 GUARANTEED WASHABLE WHITE DRESS SHIRTS IT WAS A LONG TRIP HOME for Oscar Avila, son of Ignacio Avila, 514 Elizabeth St., but his hopes were realized when he stepped off the bus ih Key West in time for Christmas after nearly a year and a half’s service in the U.S. Army in Korea,—Citizen Staff Photo by Finch. Fleet All Weather Unit Has evening when flames on the hori- we knew we were really State- zon turned into day. He and side then.” A band playing the the driver were divided between national anthem welcomed them fear of being seen by enemy air-jon the pier at San Francisco, and eraft and curiosity as to what was the Red Cross was there with cof. causing the flames. fee and doughnuts and a big wel They learned when they returned|come. The troop ship's skipper to their Base. Five hostile air- wished God-speed to his grateful raids had ripped into Inchon and passengers who were them sent to fired the pure ail and gasoline)separation centers for the process Hose __ 49cto 1.00 Shorts 69c 2.98 and 3.98 Slipper Sox. 2.98 xJackets 3.98to 10.98 Pajamas 2.98 Wide Selection Fabrics - Colors for $875 EACH $2.98 @COMBED BROADCLOTH @GUARANTEED COLLAR AND CUFF storage supplies, The skies glowed fifty miles away from the flames and explosions. American Sabrejets gave chase and shot down most of the Norti, Korean planes. Greatest menace to what pre- carious personal safety there was behind the lines in Korea was activ- ity of snipers and guerrillas whose sneak attacks and fifth column activities were a constant threat. They were numerous around the ammo dump where almost nightly) attempts were made to set fire to} | the explosives. Especially helpful in putting down the guerrillas, Oscar said, were the civilian South Koreans who could identify their northern countrymen, and report them at once, It was difficult for Americans to distin- guish the looks of the North Kore- ans, from other far-easterners who were loyal to the United Nations. The twenty-seven year old Key | Wester also gave a soldier's | praise to the excel fighting of | all U. N. units engaged in com. bat In the Korean theatre. He | singled out the French, Belgians, | Greeks and Turks, The French, he remarked were somewhat dis- heartened when, upon the truce and withdrawal of troops from Korea, they were shipped at once te French Indo-China for more fighting. | Asked if he had seen any Soviet military personnel, Oscar replied “No, but I have talked with many of our wounded sent back from the lines to 121 General Hospital at Yong Dong Po, and many of them had seen Russians; also ex-| change prisoners reported seeing high-ranking Soviet army officers in North Korea.” | The work of the U.S. Navy was described by Oscar as being most important. “They helped us out of the tight spots and knocked out communications, and gave tmport- ant supporting fire,” he said. Osear, who Is a private first ¢lass, wears the Presidential cita- ‘Fawtu New Look a ing of their final papers. Oscar artived in Miami Fort Jackson, S. C., and didn't waste any time getting to the! Greyhound bus station to begin w the last leg of the long journey back home to Key West for Christ mas, from The Naval Air Station’s Fleet All eather Training Unit, Atlantic, at Key West, Fla., has completed its conversion from propellor driven fe aircraft to an all jet training squa- “ = RRS dron, it was announced today. Hell Week” Changes Modern F2H-4 Banshee jet fight- PROVIDENCE, R. I. (®—No ers have replaced the last of the more silly initiation stunts for Bry-famous Grumman F6F Hellcats ant College students pledged to which hav? been seen in and a fraternities. round the skies of Key West for During hell week—the initiation| the past five years. period—the neophytes will do use-| when FAWTU was formed here ful tasks, Some will be assigned to 7 _ painting furniture at a school for /@ 1948, this famous World War II additional radar the deaf, others to raking leaves fighter, with on a hospital grounds, or painting equipment, was selected as the benches at a recreation center plane to train pilots in all-weather And the name of the week has techniques and night fighter tac- been changed to help week, dur- tics, In 1950, FAWTU began opera- ing which some 23 useful projects ting the .TV-2 two-place jets as in- will be undertaken struments trainers, but since these F ‘malt To “Helleats” CHIEF H. L. GOULD (center) of Fleet All Weather Training Unit, here, cuts the cake baked celebrating the departure of the last “Helicats” from Key West. Left to right, the pilots are: Lt. B. T. Higgins; Lt. W. P. Mills; Lt. J. K. Norrie and Lt. H. Frost. Completed Conversion To Jets | aircraft were not radar equipped, the F6F continued as the night fighter trainer. { In October ot this year, the first radar equipped Banshee jets ar- rived at FAWTU and the Hellcat was gradually repiaced, giving way) to the modern, swifter jets. Commemorating their departure, a cake was baked by L. M. Lefore, CSSN, and presented by Chief a-! |viation machinists mate UH. L.| Gould to Lt, R, T. Higgins; Lt,| W. P. Mills; Lt. J. K Norrie and Lt. H. Frost, the four pilots who! ferried the last of the Helleats out| of Key West. Chief Gould was leading chief of the first squadron to fly the Hellcat into combat dur. ing World War II. All the F6F’s from FAWTU were flown to the Naval Air Station at} Norfolk, Va., where after an over- haul and repair period, they ‘will| jbe reassigned to other commands still using the Hellcat. Suit Is Droppe OKLAHOMA CITY (® — Neigh- \bors filed charges recently against |a young swain and complained suitors of two teen-age sisters on {West Eubanks street were turning ithe block into another Times Square. Yesterday, resigned neighbors said the situation is “as normal} jas you can expect when two pretty girls are concerned,” and asked the suit be dropped. Harry T. Hudson, the harassed father of the girls, replied when asked if there was any slowdown jin traffic since the suit: “I can't jtell the difference.” | It Is estimated that the United WOODROW Stores for Men 404 Duval Street =~ $0557! defivered locally; state ond focal taxes extra. 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