Page 4
University Daily Kansan Wednesday. Oct. 14, 1959
12-Year-Old Ernie Dodged Bullets in Bloody Battle
LOS ANGELES —(UPI)— While other boys his age played at the game of war in their backyards, 12-year-old Ernie Wrentmore was dodging real bullets on the battlefields of France during World War I.
A barrage of burning metal slashed his head and hands at one point while he was darting from trench to trench carrying messages to platoon leaders and battalion commanders. Shrapnel ripped through his leg at another. But the medical corpsmen patched him up and he went back to duty.
At Meuse-Argonne, though, an enemy bullet chattered his gas mask and he fell to the ground when deadly vapors blanketed the field. The war had ended for the soldier who was still too young to shave.
Youngest in Army
It has been 42 years since Ernie Wrentmore ran away from his home in West Farmington, Ohio, changed his name, added six non-existent years to his age and in 1917 became the youngest member of the American army.
Today, Wrentmore is a prosperous Santa Barbara, Calif., businessman and author who hopes to become the oldest living veteran of the first World War.
Compared with most of the "doughboys," he is still a youngster at 54. The others generally range from 60 to 75 years of age. And they are dying off at the rate of 900 a month.
Asked Why He Left
Why he deserted a secure home and dashed off to the dangerous uncertainties of war is a question Wrentmore has been asked a thousand times.
He answers it in his recently published book, "In Spite of Hell," which has received praise from President Eisenhower and historian Bruce Catton.
"I come from an English heritage and had ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars," he said. "There was a great deal of discussion in my family about the Germans as the war progressed.
Obsessed With Idea
"I heard so much about the fighting that I became obsessed with the idea of going into the service. So I packed my things and tramped off to Altoona, Pa., where I enlisted."
Wrentwore said the army did not question his age because he was 5 feet 6 inches tall and so ruggedly constructed that he looked at least 18.
"But it was quite a gap to bridge
Satellite Target For Missile Shot
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—(UPI) The Air Force used an earth satellite for target practice yesterday. And, relatively speaking, it scored a bullseye.
An air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM) which streaked away from a B-47 bomber over the Atlantic 20 miles off the Florida coast flashed 150 miles high toward the orbiting "paddlewheel" satellite which the United States launched from Cape Canaveral Aug. 7.
There was no official estimate, but informed sources said the missile whizzed to within 10 to 20 miles of the satellite which is circling the earth at a speed of 18,000 miles per hour. This combination of speed, altitude and timing made the feat all the more impressive.
Air Force officials emphasized that there was no attempt to intercept or actually hit the "paddlewheel." The purpose of the firing was merely to "demonstrate the feasibility of firing ballistic missiles from aircraft," the Air Force said.
Former YWCA Aide Gets Scholarship
Sara L. Guy has been selected by the National Board of the YWCA to receive scholarships for advanced professional study during the 1959-60 academic year.
Miss Guy, who was program director of the YWCA at KU from 1956 to 1959, is using her scholarship to study at the Boston University of Theology.
from my 12 years to 18 for the other soldiers," he said. "I had to do a man's job and had to maintain even higher quality than the other fellows so no one would suspect me."
Developed From Hunting
Wrentmore said he was so well developed from hunting, hiking and field work that the physical strain of the war did not bother him as it would most 12-year-olds.
But he added, "I certainly wouldn't recommend it for other youngsters and I wouldn't go through it again though it was a great experience."
For more than a year, his family did not know where Ernie was. His father exhausted the family savings and ignored his successful practice as a physician to search the country for his boy.
Endless worry plagued his mother. She changed from an attractive middle-aged woman to a trembling semi-invalid. But she never gave up hope that her son would some day return.
Home in 1919
Ernie arrived home in 1919 as a bed patient after spending months in a French hospital. The family did not greet him with the reprimand usually reserved for boys who run away from home.
Instead he received a joyous reception. "I was placed on a pedestal by my parents, relatives and friends," he said.
Ten years passed before Wrentmore fully recovered from the effects of gas poisoning.
Today, he holds the rank of major in the Air Force reserve. For Ernie Wrentmore joined up again during World War II.
For prying into any human affairs, none are equal to those whom it does Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored—Abraham Lincoln.
DR. WM. H. BRAY AND DR. H. R. WILLIAMS Optometrists 919 Mass. VI 3-1401
PAT READ INDIAN TRADER
445 Tenn. St. Ph.VI 3-1306
Gifts That Are Different
- Indian Jewelry - Navajo Rugs
- Hand Loomed Ties
The Midwest's Largest Dealer In Indian Handicraft
Open
9:00 A.M. UNTIL 5:00 P.M.
Open Evenings By Appointment
Dear Dr. Frood:
LUCKY STRIKE presents
Dr. Frood, Ph.T.T.
Dear Dr. Frood: I am a 35-year-old freshman. Should I wear a beanie?
Worried
Dear Worried: If I were a 35-year-old freshman, I'd wear a mask.
Dear Hated: Don't ask me. I don't like you, either.
I. M. Odd
Dear Dr. Frood: Nobody likes me. Girls despise me. Men can't stand me. Profs detest me. Dogs snap at my cuffs. What should I do? Hated
Dear Dr. Frood: I'm a non-conformist.
But I smoke what everybody else smokes — Lucky Strike. How can I be different and still smoke Luckies?
Dear Mr. Odd: Light both ends of the Lucky and insert a straw into the middle. Sip the smoke through the straw and say "wildsville" after each puff.
DR. FROOD'S MORAL OF THE MONTH
Things worth having are worth working for. For example: If you want a football letter, find a football player and ask him to write you one.
Dear Dr. Frood: I'm flanking everything but math. I get D in that. Help me,
(Name withheld by request)
Deer Withheld: Spend less time on math.
Dear Dr. Frood: I have a ravishingly beautiful girl in my class, Sadly, she is witless, Should I flunk her?
Dear Bookish: Pass her. Other professors are waiting.
Dear Dr. Frood: I go steady with two girls—one in the dorm, one in the Theta house. Traveling between the two places is making a wreck of me. What to do?
Tired
Dear Tired: Get your girl to get your girl into her sorority.
DR. FROOD AND THE AMAZING NEW FILTER
I had occasion recently to study the remarkable "no smoke" filter made of solid lead. No matter how hard you puff, you get no smoke. Incidentally, a pack of these cigarettes weighs 2 pounds. Luckies weigh less . . . and you get smoke. The best.
COLLEGE STUDENTS SMOKE MORE LUCKIES THAN ANY OTHER REGULAR!
When it comes to choosing their regular smoke, college students head right for fine tobacco. Result: Lucky Strike tops every other regular sold. Lucky's taste beats all the rest because L.S./M.F.T. —Lucky Strike means fine tobacco:
S
TOBACCO AND TASTE TOO FINE TO FILTER!
A. T, CD.
Product of The American Tobacco Company—"Tobacco is our middle name"