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Vol. 2 No. 26 ……. Cover: The radio operator has one of the most vital jobs on a B-29. Loaded with responsibilities, and often called upon to make decisions usually faced only by the gentlemen with brass on their collars, still the brass pounders are frozen at a Staff Sergeant’s rating. Typical of the old-timers in Superfort crews is S/Sgt Homer C. Braziel, who once flew in B-17’s and Liberators. Men like Sgt Braziel are largely credited with working out the radio operating procedure that has helped make the big bomber strikes against Japan so successful. See story on Page 7. Photo by Brief Staff Photographer Cpl Harold Klee. ……. Articles Inside: … The Rover Boys on Kerama Retto – Nine AAF weathermen, primed for a tough landing, went into a little island off Okinawa and found instead a beautiful idyl, complete with rum, beer and chicken dinners. The grim battle 25 miles away seemed remote as the moon. By S/Sgt. Robert Price ….. Okinawa Tel & Tel Photos by Cpl. Bernard J. Gallagher ….. First Ace – Maj. J. B. Tapp had to sweat out three years in POA before he found good hunting grounds. By S/Sgt. Paul Slocumb with photos by Pfc Diego deArteaga ….. Voices From the Target – Radio operators on the B-29’s are the big planes’ only link with the outside world. The lives of many men may depend on a steady hand at the key. By Pfc. Alan Hartman and photo by Cpl Harold Klee ….. Forward Echelon. Photos by Cpl Bernard Gallagher, Cpl Harold Klee, S/Sgt Walter Seefeldt, Cpl Nolan Patterson and Capt Richard Reed ….. Don’t Point-It Ain’t Polite – The demobilization point System is driving people daffy. If you can count up to 85, you’re out-maybe. It’s a long, hard war for the rest of us. ….. Editorial – General Breene Photo by Lt Stewart Fern ….. the damn thing is here to stay – Helicopters are in the Pacific, serving as ‘Delivery Wagons’ in B-29 maintenance program. Cpl. Richard L. Dugan with photos by Cpl Harold Klee ….. Birth of a Mission Photos by Pfc Diego deArteaga and Sgt Fred Shelton ….. One damned island after another. By Cpl. Richard L. Dugan ….. Servicemen in Sports ….. Sports Edited by Zander Hollander ….. Big League Corporal ( Mike McCormick ) Photo by Pfc John Modzelewski ….. File 13 By Sgt. Roger Angell ….. Male Call “Permanent Party with Temporary Advantage” by Milton Caniff ….. U of Iwo ( Iwo Jima University ) Photos by Cpl Nolan Patterson ….. Brief pinup – In the old days, wives of whaling captains used to have balconies on the roofs of their houses from which they could look out to sea and watch for the arrival of their men. Safely dressed in crinolines, parasols and dozens of Petticoats, they spent weeks on their “widow’s walks.” The average length of a whaling trip used to be two years. Nowadays our women wait on wharves, pointing their toes prettily and wearing neat two-piece bathing suits, like Ava Gardner. But rotation takes more than two years and discharges are damned near impossible. Fashions have improved but the men are still out of luck. Progress: None.