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[Spans across entire page]
Page Four[far left]
THE SLATER NEWS[centered]
September 6, 1945[far right]

Our Servicemen Here And There [Spans across Columns 1 and 2]

[Column 1]
Capps Writes Of
Pacific Campaigns

The following letter was
written by Joseph B. Capps,
S-1/C of the U. S. Navy, to his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. William
H. Capps, of Route No. 2,
Marietta, S. C. He formerly
worked in the Preparation Department
of our plant and is
now serving aboard the Astoria
in the Pacific.

Dear Mom and Dad,
[Photo of man with U.S. Navy across cap]
Just a few
lines to answer
some questions you
have been
wanting answered
for a
long time. We
had a pleasant
surprise
— censorship restrictions
were somewhat relaxed,
and we can now tell you some
of the story of what we've
been doing out here.

On our way to join the fleet,
we stopped in Hawaii and managed
to see Pearl Harbor, Honolulu,
and, of course, Waipipi
Beach. They tell me a recent
issue of a well-known magazine
has glamorized the place
into one of those beautiful
tropical islands. We haven't
seen that issue yet, but if that's
the case then they had a top-
notch photographer, or else
he got to places that were out
of bounds for us. Somehow it's
just not like the movie, and
any Hula girls that may have
been there apparently got word
that we were coming and
scrammed. We did have a
chance to swim and get cocoa-
nuts though.

We later joined one of the
fast carrier task forces that
runs around this end of the
ocean. Our job was to accompany
the carrier and protect
it from various types of attacks.
It managed to keep us
busy and to provide us with
our share of excitement. In
case you've forgotten, we arrived
out here when the campaign
for the Philippines was
the major operation. Our part
in that was to accompany the
carrier, which provided air-
coverage for the landings and
operations on Mindoro and Luzon.
You remember Luzon was
where M. J. Francis was killed.

Remember reading of the
Typhoon off Luzon? We were
there, with thousands of miles
of ocean all around us. We
were right up in the middle
of it and spent two days just
hanging on to anything we
could find in order to stay on
our feet and stay in our bunks
at night. Waves fifty and sixty
feet high tossed the Astoria
around like a cork, and crashed
over the deck with such force
that she shuddered from stem
to stern, and the wind whipped
up such a spray that we
couldn't see for more than a
hundred yards. The Astoria
came through like a veteran
though, and we all had an experience
we will never forget.

Then we got word that a Jap
force was somewhere in the
South China Sea, which seemed
quite possible since the place
was still considered to be more
like a Japanese lake. No

[Column 2]
[Photo of Ivester in Navy uniform]
Invester Victim
Traffic Accident

Tonald R. Ivestser, young
Anderson man who was recently
discharged from the United
States Navy after 31 months
of service, was accidentally
killed in an automobile accident
in Coolidge, Arizona, on
August 10. The body was returned
to Anderson for burial,
and military funeral services
were held on August 15.

Young Ivester lived at Slater
for three years, prior to
moving to Anderson with his
famly in 1938. He was a
brother of W. G. Ivester of
Slater, and the son of Mr. and
Mrs. W. C. Ivester, of Anderson.
Since his discharge from
service he had been employed
at San Francisco, California,
but was planning to return to
Anderson soon.

Friends here of the Ivester
family regret very much to
hear of the passing of this
young man, and extend their
deepest sympathy to the bereaved
family.
___________________________

American force had entered it
since early in 1942. We sailed
in, but in spite of a wonderful
search we failed to locate any
of the Jap fleet. There was a
lot of Jap shipping though, and
our carrier planes sent a
record tonnage to the bottom,
and had a wonderful time
blowing up naval installations
all up and down the Indo-China
and South China coast.
I imagine the Japs in China
were quite happy when we
finally left.

Next comes Iwo Jima, Tokyo
and Kyushu; we had a finger
in those pies also. It was pretty
thrilling to think that we
were so close to the heart of
Tokyo. Our planes were right
there probably sending the
Emperor scurrying for his air-raid
shelter. I suppose he's getting
used to it by now, but I
think we must have surprised
him that time.

Iwo Jima, I've already told
about, except for the fact that
our two-day bombardment
earned us a Bronze Star for
our Asiatic Pacific ribbon.
That makes three ribbons now
with our American Theater
and the Philippine Liberation
Ribbons we were awarded for
our part in the Luzon and Mindoro
operations. Incidentally,
we have a Bronze Star on that
one also. We'll look like a
walking rainbow when the

[Column 3]
OLD BARBER SHOP

Oh, where is the old time barber
shop
Where men, on ev'nings met,
To have their whiskers trimmed,
and read
The pink Police Gazette?
It used to be an ideal place
For real he-men to share;
And women were a strict taboo
To any barber chair!

Oh, how clearly I remember
Those pleasant hours I spent
In that atmosphere of manhood
That knew nothing but content.
But that was many years ago,
Before swing tunes were born,
When a woman in a barber
shop
Was looked upon with scorn!

Alas, how things have changed
today!
The women hold the rein;
And the man who wants a hair
cut
Is regarded with disdain!
All barbers bow to females
now
And it isn't in their plan
To cater to the simple wants
Of any bearded man!
By Russell Doyle
_____________________________

Astoria brings us home. I hope
that won't be long, and I don't
believe it will.

Well, getting back to the
war, the Japs apparently resented
our intrusion at Kyushu,
as you must have gathered
from reading about the U. S.
S. Franklin. We practically
lived at our jobs for one three-
day period, and had to eat K
rations at our stations since
there was no time to get regular
meals. We were close
enough to the Franklin and
Bunker Hill, when they were
hit, to see the terrific explosion
and the clouds of black
smoke. It wasn't a pleasant
sight, but it was a big moment
for all of us when we learned
they could save the ships.

We're pretty proud of our
record for those several days.
The Astoria's job was to shoot
down enemy planes as they
came at our force. There are
some pretty tense moments as
you watch them coming in, and
a lot of yelling and cheering
when you see them get hit and
crash in flames.
_______________________________

[Spans across Columns 3, 4 and 5]
THE COMMUNITY THEATRE
Slater, South Carolina
Offers
Good Entertainment For The Entire Family
At
REASONABLE PRICES
Picture Programs Carefully Selected
Show Dates
Mondays — Fridays — Saturdays
First Show 7:00 P. M. Second Show: Following First
ADMISSION PRICES
Adults 25c
Children (Under 12) 12c

[Column 4]
OFFICE NEWS[spans across Columns 4 and 5]

We are glad to see Lucille
Cunningham and Kate Watson
back at work after their vacations.
Both said they stayed at
home and "just rested."

Connie Henderson and Doris
Anderson spent a recent week-
end in Charlotte, N. C. as the
guests of Mrs. Katherine Nunnis.

Ruth and "Boots" Taylor
spent last week-end in Rutherfordton,
N. C. with their
cousin, Mrs. Margaret Tyner,
and aunt, Mrs. Tessie Swink.

Frances Coleman's brother,
Cpl. James Coleman, spent last
week-end at home. After recently
returning to the States
from Germany, he has been
stationed at Fort Bragg awaiting
reassignment.

Amber Stroud spent last
week-end in Easley with an
aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs.
Tom Childress.

Betty Foster spent a very enjoyable
day boat riding in Brevard
the past Sunday.

Vera Hembree was delighted
to have her boy friend, Jimmie
Balloch, Jr., of Renfrew, home
last week-end.

Doris Anderson is very happy
to have her husband, John,
home from Germany. We are
all happy for you, Doris.

"Boots" Taylor's boy friend,
Harold Brown, of Uniontown,
Pa., who has recently returned
to the States from Germany,
visited in the Taylor home recently.

We are all very sorry to see
Sally Geogoules leave the Office.
Sally's home is in N. Y.,
and she has returned there
since her husband, Gus, has
been transferred from the
Greenville Army Air Base.
_________________________________

nawa operation, we ran up our
score to quite a respectable
number. So you see, we are
proud of ourselves and our
ship.

We've just been back to port
again, and it seemed good after
quite a while at sea. Some of
the operations are long and
take us almost to the Emperor's
back yard. So we welcome
the chance to get ashore and
stretch our legs. This time
we've had a chance to see some
natives, all of whom apparently
intend to make their first
million selling souvenirs. I
don't think they have ever
heard of coins; everything is

[Column 5]
We welcome the following
girls to the office staff: Gladys
Hawk — Payroll Department,
Betty McMullan — Typist and
Dot Toby — Temporary Production
Clerk.

Elizabeth Ammons had as
guests last week-end, her sister-
in-law, Mrs. Gilbert Rogers
and son, of Duncan and her
cousin, Miss Ruby Keasler of
Enoree.

Mrs. Frank A. Cook, and
children, Abie and Gloria, recently
visited Mr. and Mrs. J.
B. Cook at Fountain Inn while
Mr. Cook was on a business
trip to Detroit, Michigan.

Mrs. H. T. Tucker of Greenville
spent the week-end with
her sister and brother-in-law,
Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Atkinson,
at their home on First St.,
Slater.

Miss Alma Ledford recently
enjoyed a motor trip to River
Falls.

Miss Maxine Brown was a recent
visitor in Newberry.

Miss Lily Alexander visited
her mother, Mrs. Ella Alexander
at her home in Central this
past week-end. Miss Alexander
reports her mother has been ill,
but is improved now.

Mr. and Mrs. W. Earle Reid
visited Mrs. Reid's mother,
Mrs. J. T. Phillips of Campobello,
during the week-end.
They also visited Mr. Reid's
father, the Rev. T. E. Reid of
Gowansville.

Miss Inez Graham has returned
to Slater after spending her
vacation at Myrtle Beach.

Mr. and Mrs. Roy Whitmire
visited relatives at Kannapolis,
N. C., over the week-end.
________________________________

"one dolla" or "fife dolla" unless
you have an orange, cigarette,
or a bar of soap. They
would almost give their house
and all of their belongings for
any one of these three!

Well, that's about all I can
tell now, so I had better close.
Answer soon, and don't worry.

Love,
Your son, Joseph
_________________________________

The only difference between
the saint and the sinner is that
every saint has a past and
every sinner has a future. —
Oscar Wilde