Run for the -Hills, Boys

Two months ago, the Marines called up its reserve 236th Fighter Squadron. The officers and men, most of whom lived in Denver, were told they had until Nov. 13 to wind up their civilian affairs. Warrant Officer John V. Cox sold his house, quit his job. Lieut. Jay Gardner sold his furniture, sent his wife and children off to live with his parents in Topeka. Lieut. William Matthews trained a man to take his civilian job and stood by. So did the rest of the 152 reservists in the 236th Fighter Squadron. Last week a second notice came through: the squadron would not be called to active duty after all.

For those who could not readily put their civilian lives back together again there was one possible out. The order from Washington said helpfully that hardship cases "could apply for and probably get active duty."

The incident was only one result of the armed forces' haphazard and unfair reserve program. Reaching in all directions for men the armed forces had grabbed blindly in the direction of some 2,500,000 reservists. Thousands were called up, given no idea when they would get out. While Selective Service was deferring non-reservists with dependents, reservists with dependents were hustled into uniform.

Defense Secretary George Marshall was trying to straighten out the snafu. He ordered the services i) to make up their minds how many more men they will need in the next six months, 2) give 30 days notice to those who are going to be recalled, 3) inform all others they will not be mobilized for at least four months. He also directed that reservists should be kept on active duty only until volunteers and draftees meet manpower requirements. Around the Pentagon, estimates of those requirements went up again last week with reports of the reverses in Korea (see WAR IN ASIA).

George Marshall's greatest concern was that irreparable damage had already been done to the country's reserve program. When reservists now on duty were released, few of them would feel like staying on in the services. Said a Pentagon officer: "After this experience, nine out of ten of them will run for the hills."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.