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(Courtesy of Mr. Lee Schnur, 2nd ATS)
HEADQUARTERS
SUBJECT: HISTORICAL REPORT
At .0001, April 22, 1944, the Second Air Transport Squadron (Mobile) became activated. Lt. Col. Clyde A. Ray assumed command of the Squadron at Homestead Army Air Base, Homestead, Florida on the above date.
While activation date was April 22, 1944, planes and personnel were moulding into this day practically one month previous. Flying officers, Ground officers, Crews and all type of personnel that go to make up a flying unit were called in from all over the United States to become a unit which was destined to play an important part in the overall war effort of the United States Army Air Force.
Men began trickling into the Homestead Army Air Base from the 15th of April to the 15th of May.
Before the Commanding Officer lay the tremendous task of moulding a unit together within thirty days. It was done and was proven every day after that eventful April 22, 1944.
Our first month delt with our tenure of duty in the States and the formation of the unit into a smooth working organization.
Squadron Headquarters was set up in one of the buildings easily accessable to all. Squadron Operations under the capable leadership of Capt. Frank Sylvester and Capt. Robert Howley was set up in the Base Operation's hanger.
The first few days took up processing and was a rather tiresome if not monotonous job. Soon the squadron began to take shape and looked like an organization. A large amount of credit for this is given to Capt. Ralph L. Stevenson, the squadron adjutant. Within two weeks he performed the almost unbelivable task of having three hundred and fifty men working together as an efficient unit.
We were at the edge waiting for the day that would eventually come, D-day. Everything possible that we might need overseas was thought of, a washing machine, a refrigerator, pressure cookers, special service equipment and countless other things that would make life easier. The Lucky Strike Corporation gave us two hundred thousand cigarettes. On the seventh of May, the officers held a final shindig and got together at Winnies' Riptide in Miami Beach. The enlisted men were given special passes and transportation into Miami for their final blowout in the States. After this date we were restricted to the base and we knew that D-day was not far off. Lt. William Davis took a trip to Ohio for tech supplies. Ships were going all over the state picking up our last-minute needs.
On the twentieth of May, we were alerted for immediate shipment overseas. Twenty-four hours later the orders came and after church services at midnight, twenty C-46's with Lt. Col. Clyde A. Ray at the helm lined up on the runway at 0200, May 22, 1944 ready for the unannounced destination.
At precisely 0200, Lt. Col. Ray's ship was committed for take-off, ready for the longest single complete, thorough movement in the history of the Army Air Forces. For the next hour and forty minutes (every five minutes) a Second Air Transport Squadron C-46 took off.
Rumors were rampant as to where we were going. It could be India, it could be Europe, it could be Russia. No one knew, but everyone felt that they had the right idea. To our great surprise, our pilots opened up the secret orders and we were destined for Deversoir, Egypt.
Our first leg of the journey was from Homestead, Florida to Borinquen, Puerto Rico. Both officers and enlisted men were pleasantly surprised with Eorinquen and an enjoyable relaxation period was had by all.
At 0200 the following morning we were on our way to Atkinson, British Guiana. From there to Belem, Brazil and from there to Natal. The next hop would be over nothing but water from Natal, Brazil (the jumping-off spot) to the "Rock" Ascension Island, somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Everything was being taken in stride. The pilots were cool as could be. Their coolness gave a note of confidence to all the men who did not have the knowledge of what a tremendous help this was to be. Twenty ships took off from Natal, Brazil beginning on the night of the twenty-fourth and they hit the "Rock" right on the button the following morning. We remained there long enough to refuel and were on our way again. This time our destination would be Accra on the Gold Coast of Africa, a very long flight over the ocean. This was termed as our first stop in what we termed as the foreign lands. From there we took off for Maduguri. This leg nearly proved to be fatal and was our only mishap of the journey. Six of our planes were told to land at Kano where they remained overnight. Early next morning they were told to proceed to Madugari to join the rest of the squadron. While taking off, one of the ships lost control and careened madly down the runway. Lt. Frank Arlaskas proved the first hero in our unit when he succeeded in getting his ship out of the way of the oncoming monster and saved forty lives in doing so.
No one was injured, thanks to God and we continued on our way. We spent the following night at Maduguri. We then took off for Kartoum, Anglo Egyptian Sudan. From there we reached our destination. The following day we arrived at Deversoir, Egypt, exactly nine days after leaving the United States. History had been made and the U.S. Army Air Forces had one more unit to be proud of. We were happy the trip was over and was ready to settle down to a calm Army life on the banks of the Suez Canal, not far from Cairo.
Deversoir was known as the Country Club of the Middle Eastern Theatre. The weather was temperate. Swimming was in order daily in the Suez. A shuttle plane flew into Cairo and we were able to see the pyramids and other main points of interest and education.
Within forty-eight hours we were operating efficiently. Movies were held nightly in an open air theater. The red cross served coffee and doughnuts nightly to the men and they had an excellent service men's club located on the beach of the Great Bitter Lake. The morale of the men was very high. The officers also had a fine club. All in all it was a splendid set-up.
However there was still a question as to what and where our mission might be and where it would take us. Our commanding officer flew to Casa Blanca to secure information but reached no definite conclusions.
Tragedy struck in a mild manner. One of the enlisted mens' barracks burned to the ground destroying all their personal belongings. The Red Cross came to their help and secured for the men, the necessary toilet articles and items that were sorely needed.
Mail became muddled up, due to the A.P.O. change and we didn't receive any mail for many weeks, still morale remained high. Then when everything was going smoothly, one evening at about 2100, orders came to proceed to Kalaikunda, India, to carry out our mission. That night proved to Lt. Col. Clyde A. Ray and all others intrusted in the welfare and guidance of the Second Air Transport Squadron (Mobile) that we were an efficient, smooth-working organization. We completely loaded our ships that night in the darkness and bid farewell to Egypt that following morning.
The trip to Kalaikunda, India was uneventful with the exception of two historical sights, the Holy Land and flying over the Taj Mahal, Agra, India. We stopped in Iran and also at Karachi, India. From Karachi we headed for our final destination (temporarily).
Enroute, Capt. Jules Prevost, our engineering officer, became quite ill and for a few days it seemed as though we were going to lose a very valuable man. However good fortune was with us and he joined us again in good health.
Life came to Kalaikunda, India on the fourteenth of June, 1944. Things were in a great muddle upon landing. First off, we didn't know where we were going to "Chow Down", second we did not know where we were going to sleep. So we bitched and moaned as all soldiers are wxpected to do and proceeded to get things solved and taken care of. That was the first experience in Kalaikunda.
On the following day we really got the ball rolling. Squadron Headquarters and Operations was set up on the line. Also, a branch exchange was set up where a man could cool his whistle after a hot day of work. Some of our early days at Kalaikunda were spent undex temperatures of 130 degrees. Within days things were back to normal and we were once again operating as efficiently as conditions would warrant.
The engineering section was operating twenty-four hours a day and our mission had begun. There was constant traffic between Kalaikunda and Chengtu, China, via the "Hump".
Within a matter of a few weeks our squadron had surpassed the record of any previous organization. In most cases it was a great experience for the pilots and the crews. Flying over enemy territory with the possibility of a few Zeros on your tail was no joke. The prime mission of the Second Air Transport Squadron was to carry fuel and supplies to China, the main item being gasoline.
Generally, the men made five consecutive trips over the "Hump" and then back to Kalaikunda for a brief rest. The system was changed whereby the men could go direct to Jorhat and then over the "Hump" to China and after a ten-hour rest period, return to Kalaikunda where they made ready for another trip. A mild epidemic of Malaria broke out among our radio operaters, five of them became ill. Our flight Surgeon, Leslie M. Lisle did an exceptional job in the medical care of our organization.
And then the Monsoon rains came. Some tents were flooded and swept away. Still we came back for more and then we were given orders to move to a new area on the base. Once again our mobility was proven and we set ourselves up in quite fashionable quarters.
Things ran smoothly, however two planes were made Class 26 in the operations over the "Hump". The pilots wanted to be able to keep flying. They would have flown twice as much if allowed to.
The "Mobile" seemed to have left us and we became more or less permanent party at Kalaikunda. The field had changed considerably for the better and there were no complaints.
During the month of August, total trips over the "Hump" fell to 155 trips. Our previous trip total had been 206 trips. The reason for the drop was due to the fact that the length of the missions had been increased approximately 40%. Instead of loading at Jorhat and taking a load over, we were loading at home field and just stopping at Jorhat to refuel. This met with the disaproval of many, but to no avail. We continued on fulfilling our mission, doing an excellent job.
It would be well to give a little description of a mission that a crew participated in. The usual hours of takeoff from Kalaikunda were from ten at night until ten in the morning. The crews were awakened and given one hour to report to operations. Their ship was fully loaded with gasoline to be delivered to China, after clearing with operations, they were ready to go.
Actual flying time of their mission from Kalaikunda, India to Tsinching, China was approximately 9 hours and 30 minutes. The usual route was from Kalaikunda to Jorhat, there the plane was refueled and the crew was able to eat at the line mess, this took about an hour. The total time from Jorhat to China was about 5 hours. Usual altitude for flying was 16,500 ft. sometimes over 20,000 ft. Much of the time was spent flying on instruments. The clouds were handy at times as there was always the possibility of meeting a Jap Zero. It happened many times. Some of the experiences that happened on the "Hump" were having both engines cut out, and by the grace of God have them come back in. Sometimes planes would ice up to such an extent that there was a continual loss of altitude. This made it necessary to lighten the load by throwing the drums of gasoline overboard. It was something to see the crew tie themselves to the side of the ship at 20,000 ft. and open the hatch and start rolling the big drums of gasoline overboard. It made one wonder if now the time had come and it would be necessary to bail out.
After 532 trips by our outfit over the hump, we had not had to jump. Upon arrival in China, at a base known as A-l we were met at the ship with transportation to either the mess or a Hostel. On first making those trips, the crews could hardly get there fast enough in order to have some of the "eggesses" that have been lacking since leaving the States. Also one of the features of the field was the hot shower we were able to take. A Chinese would fill a five gallon bucket with hot water and then would turn on a sprinkler system on the bucket to get a nice warm shower. After this it was the time for the pilots and crew to relax. They usually "hit the sack" or played some poker. As a rule, in the evening there was a movie. Some of the boys would go into one of the small villages close by. That is, Old Tsinching, just off the runway, or New Tsinching, across the river only reached by taking a sampan across. Both of these villages were interesting and an education to those who were able to visit them. There was one nice place to eat in Old Tsinching called the "Stork Club", very different from what we had at home, but then it was a diversion. We were able to get roast duck, roast chicken and other types of Chinese food and those that wished could partake of the old "Liquid Spirit" in the form of Chinese wine. The Chinese were very friendly and constantly put their thumb up and give us "Ding Hao" (very good).
Those who were "going out" were awakened anywhere from three until six in the morning. On a clear day it was seldom that a trip got monotonous. After four hours on the return trip we would land at Jorhat and once again prepare for the last leg to home base. The average of our pilots in trips over the "Hump" so far runs about 25, which is tremendous.
Some special missions from the base at Tsinching to the advance forward area of China were accomplished. These missions run practically to the Jap lines. It took courage to fly our ships (without guns or armor) so close to enemy territory, with the possibility of being attacked by enemy aricraft.
Lieutenants Grossoehme, Paxton, and Arlaskas are just a few of the pilots who flew within a few miles of the Jap lines to take supplies and parts, thus enabling another wounded superfort to again be airborne for another raid. One of our C-46's had been hit by Japanese bombs and its wings were badly damaged, it wasn't long until it was flying again.
On the first of September, the enlisted men had a "grand opening" of the Squadron Club. Here they served drinks and gave the boys a chance to relax after a hard day's work. Everyone settled down to a normal daily routine and the morale of the unit was as good as any in the theatre. Everyone got along well and there was a friendly feeling between the officers and
enlisted men. Games between them were always excellent contests to watch.
Effective on the first day of September, all First Pilots became 1st Lts. Capt. Hawley, chief pilot, was promoted to the rank of Major as was Capt. Frank Sylvester, our genial operations officer. Lts. Simmons and Walter French became 1st Lts.
Tragedy and sorrow struck our squadron on the 8th of Sept. 1944. Lt. Dave Hayden, pilot; F/0 Francis Johnson, Co-pilot; S/Sgt Okie Venable, crew chief; Corp. Charles Cooper, radio operator and Corp. Paul Kenney, asst. crew chief, took off on a mission from Kalaikunda to China in the early morning and were never heard of again. Undoubtedly they joined other air heroes who had given their lives.
On the twenty-second of Sept. the base opened the Base Officer's Club. The officers had all donated thirty rupees for its building and it was worth considerably more. On that night, once again, the Second Air Transport boys got together and really had a good time. We had now entered our sixth month since activation and fifth month overseas and could truthfully say that a better bunch of fellows could have never gotten together in one group. Every man in the squadron would have done anything for each and every man in it.
On Sept. 27, 1944, Captain Joseph Paxton and his crew crashed against the mountainside just out of Hsian in the forward forward area. He and his crew were on a special mission flying nearly to the Jap lines from Tsinching. Included with Capt. Paxton on this flight were Co-pilot 2nd Lt. James 0 Neill; 1st Lt. George Smith, engineering officer; S/Sgt Joseph Mahan, radio operator; S/Sgt John (Abe) Lincoln, crew chief and Corp. Luther Turpin. They were not only a valuable crew, but all of outstanding character and personage. They were a great bunch of airmen.
During the first week of October saw two of the staff officers being promoted. Lt. Edward Leonard, asst. operations officer promoted to Captain. Lt. James Dietz, squadron communications officer promoted to 1st Lt. Every month enlisted men were sporting more stripes.
This month was our most successful to date. We were operating with two less ships than was required and still with more than two weeks left in the month, we had well over ninety trips over the "Hump". Many of the crews had well over thirty trips to their credit and were eagerly looking to a trip to the United States upon completion of forty-eight to fifty trips to China.
The monsoon season was over and the temperature had dropped accordingly. What a difference from the way it was four months before upon our arrival. Then it was 130 degrees and very uncomfortable; now it was even cool enough to use blankets at night.
The latter part of October had passed with a "business as usual" atmosphere tinged slightly by the prevalence of usual rumors that came from nowhere and could be about anything-a normal trend of imaginative minds and a sure sign of restlessness.
A number of ships had come up for engine change, and two or three special trips were made to Agra for critical supply items. Fellows lucky enough to make the trip returned with beautiful souvenirs and tales about the impressive "Taj Mahal", the wonders of Fort Agra and especially the abundance of fresh foods, almost "stateside" at the Air Depot messes. The Province of Bengal did not lend to the same resources. Spam refuses to turn into T-bone and regardless of the myriads of Vienna sausages, the mess hall did not turn into a Coney Island hot dog stand.
The post exchange rations had been coming in as usual, but the boys with the bars were beginning to wonder where their "Jungle rations" (monthly quart of whisky) got lost.
As month's end grew nigh, something was definitely brewing. When Lt/Col. Clyde A. Ray and Major Frank S. Sylvester returned from the Air Transport Commands' Theatre headquarters at Hasting's Mills, the cat was out of the bag--another move was coming up. Preparations were made for packing all organizational equipment and the move was to be made on a shuttle basis while continuing operations. The fields air traffic set-up was to handle the loading as if it were more cargo going over the "Hump".
On 30th October, Major Hawley, Capt. Stevenson and the technical and administrative supply officers, Lts. Davis and Funderback, took a trip to Deragon, India in the Assam Valley to look over the set-up of our new home. With them was Lt. Dietz, the priorities and traffic chief who stayed with Lt. Funderback to get things started and take care of the ships as they arrived. The base was just in its infancy as far as facilities and new personnel were concerned. It had a steel mat runway, tents and an occasional straw basha for dwelling and an acute shortage of mess facilities.
On the 31st of October, the first of the squadron's planes arrived with some personnel and equipment, and as soon as the crew could be fed and the ship loaded, it was on its way for the first operational Hump mission with gas for China even before normal housekeeping had been established. Again the standard of "mobility with facility" had been maintained.
Our mission was to fly "aid to China" based upon the Air Transport Command's designated distribution of cargo and'receiving of China base priorities. For the most part, gasoline was the commodity. The new set-up was good for several reasons.
The weather was dry, making steel mat runways and taxi strips adequate. A spacious steel mat loading ramp adjacent to warehouses and offices of the priorities and traffic section, which was served at the rear of a railway siding made for quick and efficient loading operations and Deragon was much nearer the Hump than Kalaikunda had been.
Capt. Tom Miller, chief of the squadron priorities and traffic section developed a speedy, safe loading tie-down procedure, by incorporating his system on the entire base. The eventual results were the maximum loading of forty to fifty planes in a twenty-four hour period using the low number of three 6X6 trucks and three fork lifts to accomplish the job.
With the shorter air route to final destination, greater utility of assigned aircraft was attainable. Better still, the crews could make daylight Hump trips and be back the same night. This was a source of improved morale and everyone had a better feeling of accomplishment with greater facility. Also, a round trip could usually be made on one full service of fuel without carrying back some from China part of the precious cargo in the planes tanks.
A brief resume of our Radio Operators activities were shown from 15-30 October. This shows a total of 1744 hours flown by 27 operators or an average of four hours per day per operator. The radio men preflighted, inspected or serviced equipment of 132 planes, an average of nine per day. Lt.Dietz, chief or the section made a routine Hump and forward area flight as a Radio operator for inspection purposes and to observe some of the operator's problems.
On 2nd November, the squadron lost some of our personnel in the administrative area: Warrant Officer (J.G.) Herman M. Miller, asst. Adjutant; Capt. Ralph Stevenson, adjutant; Capt. Jules Prevost, engineering officer were moved to new assignments in the Air Transport Command. Also Lt. Horace H. Gaffney, intelligence officer transferred, Major Bob Hawley became the commanding officer of another similar squadron at Deragon--the 3d A.T.S.
Capt. Stevenson and Capt. Prevost were promoted to Majors at the time of their new assignments. Apparently the squadrons loss had been the individuals gains.
The squadron's broad-shouldered smiling, poker-playing young "Old Man", as Lt. Col. Ray was referred to, was transferred to a Calcutta hospital from where later word came of his transfer to "Uncle Sugar Able".
The outfit that once termed itself "Ray's Raiders" (developing from reports in the forward area of China that formations of large twin-engined, yellow-nosed ships had been spotted over fields behind Jap-held territory, took on the name of "Sylvester's Circus" as Major Sylvester, promoter first class, assumed command and turned over operations to Capt. Eugene M. Moore. He truly turned out to be a "Man of Letters", indicated by his paper work or red tape, especially one bulletin he published. Paragraph 3 read in its entirety: "T.S.") Several pilots gave up a lot of flying time to become "wheels" in the operations section.
Lt. Ralph A. Wakefield, an old timer, crashed on take-off with his crew late in the evening of 15th November. Only while searching for his ship was the density and vastness of the surrounding jungle fully realized. Here the grimness of carrying on a war was impressed on the minds of Lt. Wakefields companions.
The word "Mobile" seemed to be the magic pass word to good morale and the proof was on its way at the time. On the 19th of November preparations were made for another move of most personnel and equipment in one single haul with thirteen aircraft to a new home at Luliang, China, situated in the province of Yunnan, in a valley of a small river at 6,064 ft. above sea level.
Early in the morning of the 20th of November the yellow nosed ships began the trip. Over the "Hump" the weather was generally CAVU (ceiling and visibility unlimited) and the newcomers got a good look of such historical projects as the Ledo and Burma Roads and a glimpse of the hard-won field of Myitkyna. To the north could be seen white capped peaks, and there is no doubt that the wide expanse of rugged country below, doubly endeared parachutes and jungle kits to the newly initiated, thinking about "just in case" flying at an average altitude of 12,500 ft. Also, passengers did very well without oxygen.
Shortly after sighting Lake Ehr at the foot of Mt. Tali off to the left of the course, "Sylvester's Circus" went down beneath the overcast, past the walled city of Kunming and over a large stone forest to land on the very long runway of Luliang.
This was the home of the 1343d Army Air Force Base Unit located in the western province of Yunan, a primitive province on the East. The altitude was above 6000 ft. and the soil was acid and the area vast. Underlying the top soil of a few inches was solid rock. Trees were few and the wind was constant. The airbase was surrounded on all sides by mountains.
The people were known as Miaos, an ancient race of people from the Himalayes. These people were being assimilated very slowly by the Chinese who were apparently newcomers to the area. These people were friendly but being away from the traveled world were somewhat wary of white strangers. They were basically a courteous, hospitable and cheerful people and predominantly of the peasant class. They worked from dawn to dusk on their meager farms and their clothing was mostly patchwork, the cloth being made by hand from cotton grown in the Chengtu area. Every bit of labor was accomplished by manual labor or with the help of large water buffalos. Occasionally we would see a woman with bound feet, a custom outlawed years ago. The village or city of Luliang was located approximately three miles north of the base, it was truly an ancient city. It was surrounded by a wall about thirty feet high made of stone. The ramparts on top were styled much like the castles of feudal Europe. A tower or blockhouse was situated at each corner. The gates, located on the north, south, east and west were tremendous, standing twenty feet high with each section ten feet wide and about two feet thick. The streets were cobbled and rocky and only wide enough for the average vehicle. In the center where the street intersects was a high pagoda shaped tower known as the "Drum Tower."
Immediately outside the main gate of the airfield was "Boom Town", a village of mud huts, consisting mostly of restaurants and wine shops. The occupants were mostly refugees from Japanese occupied parts of China, who have fled to live in peace and to get rich off the Americans.
The Luliang Air Base consisted of a main runway over 12,000 ft. long and 240 ft. wide, the longest in China. It could accommodate planes as large and heavy as the B-29's. The C-47 pilots jokingly claimed that they could get in a half hour flying time before reaching the end of the runway. The field had an altitude of 6,064 ft. and formed the floor of the valley. The runway was constructed of a rock base, crushed stone with a holder of mud, dusty when dry and muddy when wet. Two fighter strips were built parallel to the main runway located to the northwest. 'They were used by fighter type aircraft mostly P-51's and a few. F-5-E2's. The B-24's of the 373 Bomb squadron and the B-25's of the Chinese Air Force used the main runway. The 373 Bomb squadron occupied the east side of the main runway where they dispersed their aircraft in hard stand revetments. The west side of the main runway also contained hardstands, which were used for offloading of cargo and passengers.
The following units and detachments were located at the base at the time that the 2nd ATS arrived:
2nd AIR TRANSPORT SQUADRON (MOBILE) A.P.O. 493 c/o Postmaster New York, New York
ACCOMPLISHMENT: 15 Aircraft, first departure 0210, 22 Jan. All aircraft completed their mission successfully. One incurred damage to wing tip, but returned safely, carrying a light load. During the mission, aircraft of Sylvester's Circus flew with no fighter cover over Japanese held fields, in weather that did not always afford good cloud cover, to within less than 100 miles of Hong Kong in the East China Coast. Participants in the evacuation reported that even before the last ship left the ground, Jap artil-lary would be heard a few miles from the base. Commendations were received from the commanding officer of the 68th composite wing, 14th Air Force. We also received good publicity from theatre and stateside newspapers pertaining to this mission. The engineering section recorded 515 flights during January, a rough average of 285 trips for each of our assigned aircraft. Average flying time of each of the ships was 236 hours. Twenty-one engine changes were made on thirteen ships during the month. The beginning of the month saw several key-personnel changes in the squadron staff. Capt. Angelo T. Lack, Jr. joined the 1343d as executive officer. 1st Lt. Anthony S. Wolfe joined the 1343d to become ordinance supply and motor transportation officer. 1st Lt. Walter J. French became squadron adjutant. He was very fair and did a good job. 2nd Lt. Earl E. Smith joined our squadron from the 1343d as Asst. Engineering Officer. Also, ten new flying officers joined us to take place of those being rotated. Thirty-five year old officers were rotated at this time. The squadron maintained a total of sixty enlisted men (line personnel and flight engineers) on flying status during the month. Seventy-five officers and enlisted men received a total of one hundred and thirty-five awards in participation in operational flights over the Assam-China air routes. To this group, awards included: 2 Oak leaf clusters to the D.F.C., 30 D.F.C.'s , 22 Oak leaf clusters to the air medal and 72 air medals. Four were given to crew members missing in flight:
O'er the jungles of Brazil Our squadron went a-flying For adventure and a thrill. We crossed the Great Atlantic Where the little fishes play And fought the fierce mosquitoes Of the Gold Coast for a day. Then on across the skyway Of a barren, dusty land Ray led his twenty raiders Through the beetles and the sand. At Kano and Maduiguiri They landed for a rest 'Twas Kano acrobatics Gave our landing gear a test. In Pharoah's ancient homeland Down by the Blue Suez We found an Army Country Club And bought a relic fez. Three happy weeks we stayed there And then one sunny day We soared aloft o'er palm trees On the route to Mandalay. The monsoons found Ray's raiders Slope lopers from Bengal A bunch of crazy fellows With jungle rations call. At noontime came siesta And then at four came tea With shadows, ricefield Annie Seemed a lighter maid to be. The C.C. tired of India And after he had gone Sylvester's Circus headed west To find another home. Soon Deragon was a-flutter And things began to hum With lots of work to do, we had No time to cry for home. Now China is the victim Of our secret snafu band And history books will tell about What happened to Japan. (Finis) |
