THE JANUS
AFS at Princeton May - July 1995 Ben is an old hand at exhibits and AFS Archives had three major projects gave us every encouragement and the for FY1995: the Bergen-Belsen Album, benefit of his expertise at every step of the the 50th Anniversary Field Service World way. War II Reunion, and an AFS exhibit at The exhibition occupied the seminar Princeton University. Mirabile dictu! We managed to accomplish them all! (See pp. 2-4 also.) As for the Princeton exhibit, this seemed to be the right year, being the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II and the 50th anniversary of the graduation of the Princeton University ..,...C _ . . Irll[ ~IIJlIII/ class of 1945, eIght of whose members had .....-:--' ," ~;!I served with the Field Service in the war. ~ ',.~_ At the same time we were recognizing the fr~~\ \&~--lo~g and distinguished caree.r of the AFS _Jt ~~~~ .~ Pnnceton, NJ, Scholarship Program ~. ' chapter. It all fitted together nicely and ~'-;..., .' Ben Primer, Princeton University Archivist ~~)~-. ~ and Director of the Seeley G. Mudd ~~~'\ _ -:;. Manuscript Library, agreed and gave us a '\."::' -....>~...::-' V,;i_, date on which to open our exhibit time to -'.:/ -" ~ '. coincide with the University Alumni Reunion.
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AFS at Prineeton .............•................ 1-2 Roger Bardwell ..................••........... 2-3 Restoration of the Reunion Dodge Ambulance. . . . • . . .. 3-4 50 Years After Liberatlon-AFS at Bergen-Belsen ......• 4-5 Looking for AFS Driver Named "John" . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 5-6 Accessions ......................•......•..... 6-10 Exhibitions .........................•......... 10 Janus Classified 11 Cliff Bissler, "Mandalay";replyfrom Capt. Payne 12-13 Photo Enclosures ....•••...............•........ 14 Mail Returns ••..............•........•........ 15 Last Post •......••.....•................•... 15-16 John Patrick ..•............................... 16
room of the Seeley G. Mudd Library, a brick and wood-paneled space looking out on a charming little walled-in area filled with ivy and a Japanese maple tree. The plan of the exhibit emphasized the part that the University had played in the history of AFS, beginning with its founder in World War I, A. Piatt Andrew, and incorporating World War II, the French University Fellowship, and moving
history of the Princeton AFS Chapter. In addition to the exhibit itself we displayed a selection of several volumes from the Frantz - Parkhurst Memorial Napoleonic Library which AFS presented to the Firestone Library of Princeton University for its Rare Book Collection. Notable elements in the exhibit included the full length portrait of Piatt Andrew painted by Waldo Peirce, and Andrew's certificates of service, as well as other memorabilia of the founder. Also prominent in the World War I section of the exhibit was a facsimile of Peirce's painting Aux Morts, honoring the members of the Field Service who died in World War I. AFS in World War II was honored by a montage of photographs of all the Princeton men who served in AFS as they appeared at the time of their service. Upward of a hundred guests attended the opening and were served refreshments by the Library. Representing the University officially were David Joyce, University Librarian, Steven Ferguson, Curator of Rare Books, Ben Primer, Director of Seeley G. Mudd Library . Richard Spencer, President AFS Intercultural Program and Ben Primer both addressed the guests. The drivers attending the ceremony also spoke briefly of their AFS experiences: Frank Lichtensteiger, Peter Warren, Louis Auger, Davis Spencer, John Smith, John Hendrickson, and Thomas Cook. The AFS Intercultural Programs, were represented by Ailsa Eckel, Director AFS International Development, Nick Lorentzen, National Director AFS Australia; Luis Prieto, AFS Dominican Republic; Georg Broch, National Director AFS Norway; Jennifer Froistad, National
Director AFS USA; Eleanora Golobic, AFS Archivist; Kristine Anderson, AFS International Communiciltions Manager; Keith Otterberg, .. Director of External Affairs-AFS USA. Roger Bardwell, an,AFS hero In September of 1994, AFS World War II Volunteer Driver Roger Bardwell (CM 90) lost his life rescuing a small boy trapped aboard a runaway steamroller in a local park. Here are excerpts of the articles written about Roger's death and the award of the Carnegie Medal.
"A Carnegie Medal for extraordinary heroism has been awarded to Roger Bardwell, the Evanston [ILl resident who was killed last September after rescuing a 5year-old boy from a runaway pavement roller in a park ... Bardwell was one of 19 individuals from throughout the United States and Canada ...The medal is given to civilians who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others. Five of the 19 honorees, including Bardwell had died while peljorming their heroic deeds. ...Two brothers, ages 5 and 7, were seated atop an idle piece of construction equipment ...when the engine started suddenly and the 19, ODD-poundmachine started to move in reverse. While the older by jumped off the vehicle, the younger boy remained trapped.
Bardwell... pulled the child to safety and was apparently reaching for the controls to stop the roller when he tripped and fell into the vehicle's path. He died of his injuries a short while later.... " Evanston Review, September 28, 1995
"Roger Bardwell was 69... An avid swimmer, sailor, motorcyclist and traveler... 'He was a man you would expect to instinctively leap onto a runaway steamroller to save an endeared child,' family and friends said. 'He was always the kind of person who sees something that needs to be done and does it,' said his wife, Hedy Cohen, 'not wait for someone else to do it. ' Born in Rock Island, Bardwell grew up Wisconsin.... He earned a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and served as superintendent of Elk Grove Village District 59 from 1960 to 1966 and from 1975 to 1977. "
engine was seized, there were no seats and rust had claimed the transmission, windows, floors and much of the body. I worked on the body whenever I could between May and late August, when my father and I made an exhausting 4-day run across country to trailer it from Portland, Oregon to New Haven, Connecticut and brother Rob's garage. ÂĽ
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Chicago Sun Times, September 19, 1994 Restoration of the Reunion Dodge Ambulance
The following is the continuation of Hugh Gemmell's account of restoring the Dodge ambulance presented at the recent 50th Anniversary AFS World War II Drivers Reunion, Williamsburg, Virginia. Excerpts of this account appeared in the special edition JANUS - 50th Anniversary Drivers Reunion Report. "We brought along a renovated 1942 Dodge ambulance of the sort he had used in the war. Originally, intended to be a giftfor my father, the idea of including it in the reunion gradually grew in our collective imaginations, with the advice and encouragement of Eleanora N. Golobic, Archivist of the AFS Museum in New York City. When purchased in May 1995, the ambulance was in poor condition. The
Rob had located a 1941 Dodge half-ton pick-up as a parts vehicle. So far so good. He worked, often until 2 am, rebuilding the doors, cutting glassfor the windows and coping with numerous electrical nightmares along the way. Meanwhile, I was able to locate another ambulance m Portland to supply us with a "new" radiator. This was shipped, along with two seats obtained from a junkyard, by UPS, to Rob in mid-October. One week before the reunion, reinforcements arrived in the shape of myself, my father and my brothers, Donald, Colin, Will and Douglas. My
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cousin, Brian is a New Haven native and, so, had a short commute to lend a hand as well. The day before the reunion began, the ambulance was concealed from view in a lot adjacent to the reunion site. Last minute touchups continued until just a few hours before the unveiling of our masterpiece. At last the time had come for Rod Weeks, of Seattle, Washington, to play the pipes and precede the vehicle while Rob had the honor of driving it in.... " 50 Years After Liberation--AFS at Bergen Belsen Last spring our AFS Archives and Museum was pleased to present (in cooperation with AFS Germany) an impressive album documenting the American Field Service at BergenBelsen. The album contains excerpts from George Rock's "History of the American Field Service: 1920-1955," "The Belsen Story" - selected photographs from Carl Zeigler's chronicle of 567 Coy, commendations of AFS by military officials, drawings by William Congdon, and much more. On May 27, 1995, AFS Interkulturelle Begegnungen e. V. (AFS Germany), held a memorial ceremony remembering the victims of Bergen-Belsen and honoring those who liberated the camp. Guests at the ceremony included former AFS ambulance driver Norman Shethar (CM 53), AFS International Vice President Ebbe Skovdal, Dr. Klaus T6pfer, Federal Minister of Planning and Building for the Federal Republic of Germany, and Gottfried Beer, Chairperson of AFS Germany. "Dr. Thomas Rahe, Director of the Memorial Center at Bergen-Belsen, welcomed the group and expressed his thanks to all ambulance drivers who belonged to the medical team at Belsen
in 1945. Then Ebbe Skovdal described the development of AFS exchange programs after World War II and their evolution to the present, as well as their prospects for the future.
Norman Shethar gave an emotionfilled account of his experiences during the liberation of Bergen-Belsen. After the official speeches, each person received a single white rose to lay at the base of the memorial wall for the Bergen-Belsen prisoners. In 1993, Norman spoke of his Bergen Belsen experience at the AFS Germany Volunteer Assembly. It was this earlier contact that prompted Bill Orrick, Director of AFS Archives and Museum to present an album of AFS' contributions in war-time Germany as a legacy of the AFS mission." AFS Intercultural Programs President Richard Spencer's letter, written expressly for the Bergen-Belsen Memorial Album, expressed both the sorrow and the hope that have been woven into the lessons of the Holocaust: "When they arrived, the volunteers literally had to step over bodies left on the ground where they fell. Despite the arrival of medical help, more than three hundred prisoners died each day from starvation and disease. After several hours at BergenBelsen, many volunteers, like the survivors
who stared at their rescuers with vacant eyes, became emotionally numbed by the shock of what they had seen.... "APS' mission has changed dramatically since the war. APS staff and volunteers are working on every continent to prevent incidents like those at Bergen-Belsen from ever occurring again. APS steadfastly believes that cultural differences can be mediated peacefully through education and nurturing of international friendships. Accomplished at the local level, organized student exchange provides multicultural perspectives that persevere throughout the student's lifetime. "To expand the viewpoint of just one individual, in many ways, can change the world. The work of AFS strives to promote understanding, tolerance and good will among all people of the world. "We are fortunate to be facing a future with greater global awareness than ever before. Peacetime is a blessing, which is why we must never, everforget the past. " Looking for AFS Driver Named "John" The following is a fax message from Geoff V. Ford, 164th Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps, who is in search of members of the American Field Service with the British Fifth Infantry.
Further to telephone conversation on 11.12.95 I have been trying to locate a member or members of the American Field Service who gave their services driving Dodge Ambulances with the British Fifth Infantry Division in the area north of Naples during the spring of 1944. I was a member of the 164h Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps. I had a driver whose first name was John (I don't recall knowing his surname). We worked first south of the Garigliano River taking wounded back from the Infantrypositions (Cameronians, Inniskilling and Wiltshire Regiments) to the Main Dressing Station at Mondregone. A Brigadier (high ranking British Officer)
ordered the ambulance over the pontoon bridge to the north of the river and John asked what we should do and since I was a Medical Orderly/Stretcher Bearer obedience seemed the right thing to do! We then worked from an Advanced Dressing Station in a quarry, taking wounded back across the river. It may help identify the person who I served with to recall certain happenings. On one occasion an American reporter wanted to know "Where's this goddam shooting march" and we offered him a lift. He was smoking (or chewing!) his cigar in the back of the ambulance when we returned across the river. At a small railway crossing we were stopped by the Military Police who informed us the cross roads were being shelled and he had observed that ifwe waited until two shells dropped then went as fast as possible we should get round safely. This we did but the MP had misjudged because the next two shells landed each side of the ambulance as we turned left at the cross roads. The reporter was face down in the back with his squashed cigar in his mouth. I think he had found his shooting match! John or other drivers will remember there were five bodies on the cross roads that could not be avoided each time we made the journey. On another trip John may remember when the Fifth Division went "Off rations" for 48 hours due to some mismanagement of supplies. We took wounded back and John had to getfuel so I said when he came back he should back the ambulance next to vehicles of the Division on our flanks that were loading rations for their troops (who were not off rations). Italian prisoners were loading the rations and I told them to put supplies in the back of the ambulance and returned to the Advance Dressing Station and handed the rations to the Company Commander who said we're off rations for 48 hours where did you get them" then quickly said "ForgetI said that" I discovered I had shingles during latter part of working with John and when took
about 20 walking wounded back I went into hospital for a week or ten days and when I returned didn't see the American Field Service again. The AFS made a lasting impression with us. We understood them t be Quakers (Society of Friends) and in the past I did not realise that the AFS was a different organisation. The Fifth British Division was pan of the gh Army until 1944 when it transferred to the American 5th Army to attack across the Garigliano river and later go to the Anzio Beachhead. There were three Field Ambulance units in the Division - the 141 from London, the 158from Wales and the 164 from Liverpool. The shoulder flash of the Fifth Division was a white Y on a black background. If you wish to contact Mr. Ford, his address is: Geoff V. Ford, Causewell Farm Poundstock Bude, Cornwall EX 23 ODW, England, UK, tele/fax# 011-44(01288) 361871. Accessions During 1995 the Archives received and processed 57 accessions which ranged from WWI and WWII drivers personal collections to the visual materials and artifacts of the AFS Intercultural programs. The following donors presented WWI and WWII materials to AFS Archives: Axel Jansen, AFS Germany volunteer; Master's thesis at the University of Oregon, concerning AFS in WWI, "The Incorporation of Sacrifice" (1994). Ben Primer, Princeton University Archivist; Princeton In The World War (Princeton University Press, 1932), also biographical materials of the late Benjamin Strong (TMU 133), Princeton 1919; former AFS Trustee. John C. Ellinwood (CM 88); his father's Ralph Ellinwood (TMU 397-SSU 68) AFS WWI wallet and German WWII propaganda leaflet.
Richard Spencer, President AFS Intercultural Programs; Les Ame ricains et la Legion d'Honneur 1853 - 1947 (Musee de Blerancoun, Paris, 1993); a bilingual catalogue of the 1993 exhibit. James Thorington II; 1923 letter to his father Richard W. Thorington (SSU 27) from Daniel Lunt (SSU 27). Willard Walker (CM 94,IB 59-T); four photo albums of his father, William H.C. Walker (SSU 2); also the Verdun Medal and Diploma; French and AFS WWI decorations with citations, personal documents, maps, and other memorabilia. John G. Wright (CM 40, FR 8); World War I rotogravure photo of Rheims; AFS Bulletin: Special Reserve Mallet Number (1919). Hugh Crumpler (lB 1); his book On The Trail Of The Desert Wildflower (Harper Colins West, San Diego, 1994). The book given in memory of Joan Belmont contains a photographic record of Crumpler's journeys throughout America's five major deserts in search of the desert wildflower; anicle on his service as a war correspondent in the CBI Theatre. Joseph Desloge, Jr. (ME 4, FFC, CM 94, IB 59-T); autobiography, Passpon To Manhood: Adventures of a WWII Front Line Ambulance Driver with the British and the French Foreign Legion (1995); dedicated to his father, Joseph Desloge, Sr. (TMU 526), who served with the AFS in World War I. The book deals with Desloge's experiences during the Great Depression and in World War II as an AFS ambulance driver in North Africa and Italy. Foundation for Improving Understanding of the Arts, Milan, Italy; William Congdon (Jaca Book, Milan, 1995); a monograph on William G. Congdon (ME 20, CM 90). The book traces Congdon's life and creative experience between 1912 and 1994. For
traces Congdon's life and creative experience between 1912 and 1994. For copies of the book write to: Casalini libri s.p.a. via Benedetto da Maiano, 3 50014 Fiesole (Firenze) ITALY If you'd like a brochure on the book, please let us know. Dean Fuller (CM 41, FR 3-T); his book A Death In Paris: An Alex Grismolet Mystery (Andre Deutsch, London, 1993). The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC; 1945: The Year Of Liberation (US Holocaust Memorial Museum, 1995); contains a Bergen Belsen photo from Carl Zeigler's (CM 88) pictorial record of 567 Coy. Richard Allemang (CM 67); photos of AFS service in Italy in 1944. An anonymous gift; 485 Coy C Platoon ambulance flag flown during the battle of Monte Cassino in 1944; given in respectful memory of Lt. Robert Carter Bryan of C Platoon, killed at Cassino on 17 May 1944. Russell Ashmun (CM 45): his WWII reminiscences "Personal History 19431945" drawing on his experiences in the Middle East and Italy with D Platoon 485 Coy; also the late Roger Bardwell's (CM 90) memoir "The War Years". John Baylor (CM 86); popular WWII cartoon book "The Two Types" by Jon (published by the British Army Newspaper Unit, C.M.F.,ca. 1944). Clifford Bissler (IB 37); his 1991-1994 correspondence with Senator Graham regarding AFS Drivers Veterans Benefits Bills, and a 1944 menu from Firpo's Restaurant in Calcutta. Howard Blair (ME 37); his paper on the AFS from its volunteer origins in 19th century until the present, and diary on his service with AFS 485 Coy in the Middle East and Italy from 1943 until his return home following the battle of
Cassino in 1944. Walter Brethauer (ME 19, CM 94, IB 59-T); 39 photographs of the AFS in North Africa and the Middle East, 19421943. George R. Bunker Living Trust in Houston, TX; the late George Bunker's (CM 41) post war artwork containing 7 contemporary paintings and 20 sketches completed by the artist in 1951-1978. Herbert Drake (ME 26); 32 photos of AFS participation in the North African campaign in 1942. Norman Eddy (ME 4, CM 88); letter on EI Alamein battle written in August 1943. Richard Elberfeld (IB 2, CM 91-T); printed materials re: the U.S. Holocaust Memorial International Liberators Conference 1981 and records of AFS service at Bergen-Belsen in 1945. William T.C.Hannah's (ME 26, FFC, FR 1); WWII personal effects including a musette bag filled with toiletries and the articles of every day use. This collection reflects an AFS driver's equipment, which was augmented in Mr. Hannah's case by packages from home. Dr. Lewis Harned (CM 41); collection of WWII memorabilia, including 37 captioned photographs 1943-1944, AFS personal records, and printed documentation relating to AFS' role in the Italian campaign and at Cassino; also a khaki cap with embroidered AFS insignia, which belonged to C. Randolph Harvey (CM 42, CM 92). Charles Horton (IB 1, CM 89-T); two WWII films and photos taken in Italy in 1944-1945 and Bergen Belsen, Germany 1945. This rare original footage includes the Monte Grande RAP, CCS north of Forli, Harrod's Staging Camp in Livorno, and the AFS 567 Coy transfer to Marseilles on the LSTs. The Belsen film displays the entrance gate to the camp, AFS drivers assisting in evacuation, and the final burning of the camp.
Edward C. Koenig (ME 16, FFC); WWII ambulance plaque, donated to AFS in 1942 by the staff of Buffalo General Hospital, Buffalo, New York where his father, Dr. Edward C. Koenig worked. In 1942 Dr. Koenig personally donated a new Ford Sedan as Colonel Ralph Richmond's staff car in Cairo. John W. Leonard (CM 88); prerelease copy of "A Volunteer in World War II 1944-1945" (1995); includes a glossary and maps. Robert Martin (lB 12); memorabilia of his AFS service in India which include a dagger, the Flying Tigers publication (1945), and photographs. Alfred P. Parsell (CM 92,IB 59-T); his "Notes on travels in India: Summer of 1945" (1992) and "On Leave in Occupied Italy: Rome - Siena Orbetello and Elba February 1945" (1995). Parsell and Walter Brethauer (ME 19, CM 94, IB 59-T) spent three weeks touring Northern India in July of 1945. In Italy Parsell was accompanied by Prentiss J. Drew (CM 92) and John M. Lovett (CM 92). Both accounts were based on notes and letters written by Parsell to his family while he was serving with the AFS as an ambulance driver. William G. Shearman (ME 32, FFC, CM 59, FR 3-T); 20 captioned prints of Syria and Egypt 1943; article on his service in 1943. Norman Shethar (CM 53); his speeches at the presentation of Bergen Belsen Memorial Album in May 1995 and on the occasion of the Holocaust Sunday in Little Compton, RI; also February 1995 speech at the General Assembly of the Flemish AFS. Chick Squire (ME 37, IB 57); Eugene Hammond's (ME 16, CM 92) article "Outfoxing Rommel in the Desert" (June 1995 issue of Stanford magazine). D. A. Weaver (ME 16, FR 4); an account of Unit ME 16 voyage to the Middle East "Portrait of a Young Man at
Sea" (1995). Arthur Whitehouse (CM 86); current photos of Dodge Ambulance (Ron Northrup's collection) and prints from the 1995 Williamsburg Reunion. Joseph Zarrella (ME 37); article on Patrick Dennis (ME 37, FR 3-T). Dennis, the author of "Auntie Marne" was known in the AFS as Edward Tanner. David Atkins, son of the late William James Atkins (ME 8, ME 16); WWII collection of Clifford Saber's (ME 16) watercolors. Saber began sketching members of AFS Unit ME 16 in July 1942 during the voyage to the Middle East aboard the m/ s Selandia and completed the portraits in September 1942 following the Unit's arrival in North Africa. The drawings are dated and captioned with a vignette of the subject. Saber exhibited this collection at the New York Society of Illustrators in 1943. We are reproducing here the portraits of Porter Jarrell, David Briggs, and C. Colket Wilson III.
Brigadier R. F. Baly, British Military Attache; "The Spirit Of Close Alliance" commemorative medal at the 50th Anniversary Drivers Reunion in Williamsburg this past October. Walter Coates, a British member of the E.A.V.A.;An inscribed Eighth Army bronze plaque from the East Yorkshire Regiment Branch of the Eighth Army Veterans' Association at the Williamsburg Drivers Reunion. Eleanora Golobic, AFS Archivist; Dekho! (Burma Star Association quarterly, Winter 1994, no. 117), including an article written by Clifford Bissler (IB 37), which we reproduce on page 12. Mrs. Alexa McColl Kerr; collection of the late WWII volunteer, George B. Kerr's (FR 4) service with the First French Army 1944 - 1945; a British issue field jacket, khaki tunic, sweater, shirts and trousers, socks, webbed belts and personal effects; AFS flashes and French 4th Moroccan Infantry Division insignia, German WWII artifacts such as Stuttgart 1944 Nazi newspaper, and auto mechanic manuals; also the professional photo documentation of the items and the recently published book "Letters Home" (1995) of Kerr's letters written to his parents in November 1944 - June 1945. The donors of the AFS Intercultural Programs materials include: Marianne Meyer, AFS Intercultural Programs Trustee, member Archives Advisory Committee; 6 transparencies of the 1993 AFS WorId Congress posters and AFS WorId Statistics Map. AFS Australia; Photos and slides of Jara Moserova with Australian AFS students (Prague, May 1995); Archives display at the National Forum 1995. AFS Bolivia; Bolivian Participants banner from the 1993 Congress. AFS New Zealand; AFS students photographs 1990-1993. Bernice Zalk, AFS Lawrence, Long
Island Chapter representative; collection of the Lawrence Chapter student photo albums, scrapbook, and slides, 1964 1982; also two D-Day banners (including a tie dyed batik completed in 1981). Bobby Stambaugh, AFS New Canaan, Vermont Chapter representative; collection of the AFS countries flags. Doris Wilkins, Manager of AFS Volunteer Services; collection of AFS Programs artifacts dating from 1970's to 1980's. Pedro Velez, US Communications; his photos of the inauguration of the U. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington in April 1993 and slides of Enos Curtin (SSU 2) and Jara Moserova's "Empathy" sculpture. Kristine Anderson, Communications Manager; 5 color photographs of "Empathy" . Exhibitions AFS DENMARK, AFS BOLIVIA, AFS NORWAY, AFS GERMANY, AFS AUSTRALIA, AFS ARGENTINA, INTERCULTURA Italy, and AFS THAILAND produced exhibits and publications based on archival materials from the collection of AFS Archives and Museum. AFS Denmark presented photographs of AFS history in its exhibit "The 50th Anniversary of United Nations and AFS" and in a publication by Ina Groth, NC AFS Denmark. The photos reflected AFS ambulance service in WWI, WWII, and the AFS returnees with US Presidents . AFS Bolivia used selections of photographs from the Archives in its Annual Report 1994, while personnel data and photographs of AFS WWII drivers, Jon Thoresen (FR 40) and Frederick Balderston (ME 37,IB 59-T) were provided for the AFS Norway member magazine AFS-Bindersen. AFS Germany featured the Archives
Bergen-Belsen photo on the cover of Horizonte issue commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II and the liberation of Bergen-Belsen. AFS Australia National Forum display included Archives Bergen Belsen Memorial Album, publications, photographs of the AFS drivers in the Western Desert and a lithograph of General William J. Slim, Commander of the Fourteenth Army in Burma. In addition to Archives materials exhibited at the National Forum, AFS Australia featured photographs of Stephen Galatti and President John F. Kennedy with AFS students in its publication Connections. In celebration of its 40th anniversary, AFS Argentina mounted an exhibition of photographs illustrating the AFS history and development as volunteer organization. A report "In Italia i fondatori dell' AFS: 25 settembre - 7 ottobre 1994" featuring photographs of the 1994 Drivers Trip was published by Intercultura in its edition n. 39 (1994). A photograph of Bill Congdon at Belsen in 1945 will illustrate a soon to be published book by Stefano Galli. AFS Thailand requested photographs of Far East Conference in Bangkok 1969 to be used in an upcoming publication. At AFS New York headquarters, our permanent exhibit was augmented last July by selections from the recent "AFS and Princeton" exhibit including Waldo Peirce's memorial "Aux Morts". Artifacts and artwork from World War I and World War II were higWighted.
We have several back issues of The JANUS available. Here are some articles which may be of interest to you: *Dec 1995 (special edition) -- 50th Anniversary Reunion Report *Dec. 1994 -- Return to ItalylAFS Evening At Sardi' s *Dec. 1993 -- AFS Archives & Museum at 1993 World Congress *Jan. 1993 -- 10 Days in England Trip *Aug. 1992 -- AFS Shares Memorial Day wlFrench Veterans *Nov. 1991 -- AFS at BlerancourtlAFS at Imperial War Museum Let us know if you'd like a back issue of The JANUS today!
AFS historical posters (set of 6) are available from AFS International Communications Manager, Kristine Anderson. One set of posters are available per request. Portrait Drawings of AFS Volunteers by William Congdon (ME 20, CM 90) for a catalog raisonne' In July - August of 1942, aboard the Pasteur Troop Ship, Bill Congdon did a number of drawings of fellow AFS volunteers. I would very much like to include these drawings in my catalog. If you have one, or know of someone who does, please contact: Michael R. Pastizzo, s.j., Collegio S. Roberto Bellannino, dell'Universita' Gregoriana, via del seminario, 120, 00186 ROMA, Italy, tel.: (6) 67016585/fax: (6) 6701-6562
The six posters contain collages of photographs, documents, and memorabilia culled from our rich historical collection. The posters were made from panels exhibited at the 1993 World Congress. They are entitled as follows: 1. ROOTS: The Violent Birth of Modern Nations; International Samaritans 2. BEGINNINGS: The First AFS Experience 3. INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSIllPS:The Widening of Horizons 4. VOCATION:Bringing the World Home 5. THE GOOD OLD DAYS: The American AFS 6. GROWTH AMIDST CHANGE: Internationalizing AFS
The following article by Cliff Bissler (IB 31) was originally published Journal of the Burma Star Association, Winter 1994, Issue 117. MANDA lAY
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CLIFF
BISSLERpf Florida who was a member of the American Civilian Volunteer Ambulance drivers¡ American Field Service att. 19th Indian Division sent in a report of their participation in the battle for Mandalay. (2166)
Although Mandalay had been entered on the 9th, it was not announced clear of the enemy until 21 March. The city area had been cleared by the 14th, and on the same day 19th Division troops had invested Fort Dufferin, dominating the southwest sector of the city and held by a large force of Japanese. Planes dropped bombs on it for several days and finally breached the wall. But the first infantry attempt to cross the moat and scale the breach was driven back by furious enemy fire. And the second, on the 19th, was unsuccessful because of the tangle of weeds in the moat. On the 20th the Fort was taken. Then the enemy was discovered to have fled, except for a few stragglers who were rounded up in the next few days. Captain Gilbert reported that "Gerald Murphy and Jack Ries completed a great piece of work in evacuating the lepers from the Fort in Mandalay. Strange as it may seem, the Japs permitted the ambulances to pass but opened up on the very next vehicle that passed. The incident was mentioned over a BBC broadcast." During the last stage of this attack, C.J. Bissler and R. L. Yancey were wounded, Bissler so seriously as to lose most of one leg. On 19 March they were working north of the Fort for the RAP of the Royal Berkshire Regiment (98 Brigade, 19th Division). That afternoon, Yancey wrote, " a call came through that D Company, which at that time was under fire from the enemy, had many casualties which had to be evacuated. A jeep ambulance was needed at once. Bissler and I, however, had a Chev. The doctor didn't want to send the Indian driver who had the jeep ambulance, because he didn't know the way to D Company. However, we knew the way and so volunteered for the assignment. 'We reached the Berks and loaded the jeep with casualties. I remained there with D Company - to make room for one more patient - and Clifford took the load back. While he was returning to the RAP, the Japs began to shell us. Two Tommies, a lieutenant, and I jumped into a bunker close by. The Japs had tossed about 4 shells over our heads when Clifford returned from the first load. The jeep had broken down along the road, and Clifford ran the rest of the way on foot, carrying a stretcher. We yelled for him to climb in with us, but just then the Japs put one almost on top of us. That first one killed one of the soldiers, wounded the other, and almost tore Clifford's left leg off. We jumped out to help him, the lieutenant and I, but just then we were hit by the second shell. We hit the ground, but almost not in time. The officer was knocked unconscious, while I suffered a slight shrapnel wound in the right leg and a burn on the right wrist. Clifford was hit by the second shell in the chest. "The Japs stopped shelling, and we radioed back for someone to bring our big Chev. down. It was, however, about two hours before it arrived, for the road back to the RAP was cut by the Japs. We loaded the wounded in, and then they gave me 3 tanks for support and we started back for the RAP via the closed road. The tanks frightened the Japs, and we got through okay. My wound was not serious, so I took two loads from the RAP back to the MDS on the edge of the city. "Bissler, who had joked about 1I0t forgetting to take his neatly severed leg with him to hospital as he wanted it for a souvenir, lost the leg when gangrene was discovered to have set in. He cheerfully endured a long spell in hospital in India and was repatriated to finish his slow recovery in the States. Throughout the operations immediately concerned with the capture and mopping-up of Mandalay proper, "the AFS drivers, particularly the jeep drivers, did extremely well, "Lt. Gilliam reported. "Medical, infantry and staff officers have all made comments on the sensible and dependable work our fellows did under the most adverse conditions. Albert, Mathewson, McColiester, Morill, Murphy, J. Parkhurst, Peterson and Ries have all been particulary commended to me by various officers. As a whole, the Platoon did very well." In the middle of March, Albert and Morrill had been formally presented with Japanese swords by the Baluch battalion in recognition of their service to them. The members of the Jeep Section and 3 MAS who served with 19th Indian Division in its drive on Mandalay were made honorary members of the Division and entitled, when on duty with it, to wear the Divisional flash. This distinction was conferred on them by order of the Division Commander, Major-General T.W. Rees, who wrote: "On the conclusion of the Mandalay campaign, may I send you my own personal thanks and those of the whole of the 19th Indian Division for the magnificent work you have put in for us. All of us, of all races and creeds, are more than appreciative of your courage, your patience, and the great care you take of our wounded and sick no matter what the physical difficulties or how heavy the enemy fire."
Jane and Cliff Bissler (IB 37) and Robert Yancey (IB 40) at 50th Anniversary Drivers Reunion, Williamsburg, Va.
Following publication of Cliff Bissler's (IB 31) article in Dekho, he received this letter from Desmond K. Payne, the English Captain that evacuated him in the battle of Mandalay on 10 March 1945.
128 Plantation
Road,
Amersham', Bucks
As a great
admirer
of the A.F.S.
the last issue of DEKHO there was mention
! with
I read
HP6 6JG.
your con~ribut ,ion to
interest
and my interest
of some of your people
being wounded
grew--'waen seriously
in Mandalay. Before
we took the fort an A.F.S.
very close to me. universally someone
I have no idea what
known as 'Red'.
of rum so he was well
Thrresoldiers
his name was but he was
I gave him a shot of morphia
said tha~ he bad already
a bottle
jeep driver was badly wounded
had a substantial
and truly
(two of then Indians)
,
and
slug out of
anaesthe~ised
!
and I put him on a stretcher
and ran him across a dicey bit of road which was periodically pasted other
by a Jap machinegun.
We arrived
side and found that the A.F.S.
up a Chev ambulance He was lifted
had succeeded
in view of the seriousness
into this,
gave us a cheery
end of my part of the story. since and would be delighted I subsequently
if I could make
Is he, despite
cover the
in bringing
of the wounds.
wave and that was the
I have often
heard that he had been
lost a leg - true? if 50 years older
safely under
thought
about him
touch with him again.
flown out, but that he had
this,
still alive
and well even
!?
After 51 years, Cliff Bissler will be getting together with Capt. Payne in Miami in May 1996.
David Joyce, University Librarian, and Ben Primer, University Archivist, (Princeton University Libraries) and Richard Spencer, President, AFS Intercultural Programs
AFS World War II Volunteer Ambulance Drivers John Smith (CM 89,IB 59-T) and John Hendrickson (CM 75)
Mail Returns Below is the list of AFS Volunteer Drivers whose mail has been returned for lack of good address, etc. If you know the whereabouts of any of these drivers, please let us know. World War I Harold Davis, SSU 30 Perry Merrill, SSU 630 Churchill Peters, SSU 67 Lars Potter, SSU 2 Theodore Stewart, SSU 18 French Fellows Lancelot Gowen, FF World War II Robert Adamson, ME 26 Theodore Alt, IB 57 Jacob Ament, Jr. M 92, IB 59-T Rufus Anderson, CM 45 Earl Banford, IB 31 Dallas Lane Bates, CM 93, IB 59-T Nathaniel Beeber, IB 4 William Bennett, ME 32, CM 94, IB-T Francis Bloodgood, ME 26 Henry Bonner, ME 16, FFC Lambert Boyce, IB 1 Edgar Bowles, CM 53 Gordon Brady, ME 4 Leslie Brown, CM 80 John Campagnoli, CM 86 Frank Darte II, IB 55 Robert Clauser, CM 94, IB 59-T Dwight Mills Cooper, CM 97, IB 59-T Richard Dorn, CM 86 Ernest Downing, Jr. IB 9 Robert McC. Gilky, Jr. CM 47 William Hart, ME 26 Harold Hennesey, ME 4, FFC Walter Huston, IB 58 Edwin Kennedy, Jr. IB 1 Jack Leimbach, IB 38 Roscoe Lewis, ME 1 Donald Lutman, IB 1, IB 55 Leo Marx, ME 1, CM 41 Duncan McCollester, IB Phillips McGraw, CM 92 John Miller, CM 75, IB 55-T Henry Noel, Jr. IB 1
Alfred Ogle, ME 1, FFC, IB 24 Henry Peltz, IB 58 John Riege, CM56 Charles Satterthwait, ME 13, CM 90 Kenneth Schuben, IB 14 Robert Skillings, CM 41 Lloyd Winters. ME 4 Ronald Wishart, Jr. IB 43 David Yarnall, Jr. CM 68 Edwin Zittell, ME 4 Last Post Below are the names of drivers notice of whose death has reached us, some only recently. World War I Harold Alling, SSU 29 John Briggs, SSU 68 Enos Curtin, SSU 2 Edward S. Ingham, TMU 397-526 Hugh MacNair, SSU 65 Alben Nalle, SSU 3 Jerome Preston, SSU 15 Edgar Scott Jr., Headquarters George Spaulding, SSU 1 James Taylor, SSU 3 World War II Stephen Anthony, IB 55 Mortimer Belshaw, ME 1 John Brock, CM 99, IB 59-T Eugene Cole, Jr., CM 92, IB 60-T James Crudgington, ME 1 James Doughty, ME 16 C. William Edwards, ME 24 John Fearnley, IB 1 Edward Fenton, ME 11 & ME 16 Harry Fiedler, Jr., CM 90 Frederick Finkenstaedt, CM 52, FR 8 Paul Gildehaus, IB 60 Robert Gilkey, Jr., CM 47 Leonard Guttman, IB 57 Maurice Knee, ME 37 Malcolm Long, ME 36 Charles Lefferts, CM 41,IB 59-T Joseph Manley, CM 53 Frederick Milan, IB 43 Charles C. Neal, IB 42 Duncan Noble, CM 86 John Patrick, ME 19, IB-T
Richard Paulson, ME 4, IB 7 R. Stuyvesant Pierrepont, Jr., CM 86 H. Oliver Rea, Jr., CM 49 William Rich, ME 28,CM 94, IE 60-T Henry Selz, ME 37,FR 3 Lex Sewall, IB 58 Friench Simpson, Jr., CM 86, IE 59-T Raymond Tatro, ME 24 William Tilghman, CM 49,FR 6
For John Patrick's AFS friends we quote from a piece from the Miami Herald of November 10, 1995. "With his own eccentric elan, Pulitzer prize-winning playwright John Patrick decided to leave life as he always said he would -- on his own terms. He wasn't terminally ill, he wasn't disabled or in physical pain, but he was losing the ability to do the one thing in life that friends said mattered more to him than anything -- to write. He was 90, and simply got tired of being old. But before the man who wrote the scriptsfor movie hits High Society and Love Is a Many Splendored Thing drank some liquor at his Delray Beach home and then put a plastic bag over his head, he left behind a poetic explanation for his suicide. That has helped his friends and loved ones deal with the loss. Patrick, they say, did it his way, with no apologies, and only a request for understanding.... "
Director AFS Archives & Museum William Orrick Archivist Eleanora Golobic Archives Assistant Donna Thompson
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