Radio and television mirror (July-Dec 1950)

I spoke to three thousand U. S. Airmen waiting to fly the South Atlantic. Every day of this year was packed with such terrific stories of individual heroism on all fronts that they made everything else pale by comparison. I got out a book about some of them, These Men Shall Never Die, but there was such a dazzlement of adventure and bravery that I dedicated it "to those American fighting men whose stories are not included in this volume." 1944— D Day — the most difficult, exciting news day I can remember. Reports flooded in, but they were all of isolated incidents — paratroops here, air-flights there, reports from the various beaches. It was impossible to get an over-all picture or a time sequence, or anything except that the battle was raging and that our troops had cracked the Atlantic Wall. In 1945, broadcasts from London, Paris, Rome and in a fighter plane over Berlin during the final battle, then a flight around the world and a look at the Pacific war. On the personal side I remember a meeting packed with drama — reunion with Count Luckner whose biography, The Sea Devil, I had written after World War One. He was a gallant foe in that war. He despised the Nazis and spent much of his time in America. As a result, he was out of favor with the Nazis and had to hide out in his home town of Halle. I was with Terry Allen and his Timber Wolves when I found the old Sea Devil, and he threw his arms around me — a dramatic moment. In 1946 my son went to Bikini as an observer for me and turned in vivid material — a proud milestone for me. In 1947 — off again, back and forth across America, broadcasting as I went. After the crowded war years the news seemed slow. I found myself longing for far places. In 1948, election night stands out in my mind most vividly. I was running a special series of broadcasts for CBS. Like everyone else, I had collected all background on Governor Dewey, waiting only for the first returns to announce his election. Early in the evening, however, I found myself returning again and again to one big figure on the board — Iowa was going for Truman — it just wasn't in the cards that this stronghold of the traditionally Republican farm vote was going to Truman. I began to concentrate on that angle and was the first, I believe, to broadcast any indication of the surprise that was coming, although I was pulling for my neighbor, Tom Dewey, one of the ablest executives in this nation's history. In 1949 wanderlust returned full force. It became irresistible when my son and I were invited to visit the forbidden city of Lhassa in Tibet. My impressions of that fabulous adventure and our interview with the Dalai Lama were recorded and went out by courier, yak-back, caravan. I, myself, came out more slowly — twenty painful days in a lurching litter carried on the shoulders of relays of Tibetan monks and ipeasants, after breaking my thigh in eight places — though my broadcasts continued. 1950 — the turn of the century — a completely new face on the world I started to cover on the air twenty years ago. I have just thrown away the crutches I needed after that accident in far Tibet, and am ready to take off again — after all, the first twenty million words are the hardest. ACHIEVE THE NEW EXOTIC EYE MAKE-UP PREFERRED BY REALLY SMART WOMEN THE WORLD OVER EYE SHADOW • EYEBROW PENCIL • MASCARA RELIEVES • HEADACHE NEURALGIA • NEURITIS . PAIN Here's Why... Anacin® is like a doctor's prescription. That is, it contains not one but a combination of medically proved ingredients that are specially compounded to give FAST, LONG LASTING relief. Don't wait. Buy Anacin today. IS THIS YOUR WALLFLOWER WEEK? Why "sit it out alone" while your friends go bowling or dancing? Unless there are underlying organic conditions, Chi-Ches-Ters Pills offer blessed relief from "monthly blues". They tend to relax muscular contractions that often induce pain and nervousness. For best results take them as directed two or three days before your time. Ask your druggist for Chi-Ches-Ters Pills For relief from "periodic functional diatrexf' FREE— New illustrated booklet of intimate facts every woman should know. Mailed in plain wrapper. Write today! Chichester Chemical Company, Dept. 23-S, Philadelphia 46, Pennsylvania. BLUE JAY SAY: AMERICA'S No.1 CORN PLASTER 95