 Proudly, we hail. From New York City where the American stage begins, here is another program with a cast of outstanding players. Public Service Time has been made available by this station to bring you this story. As proudly we hail, the United States Army. The story today is entitled AMO. There are times in this age of modern warfare when the mechanical products of our scientific genius break down in the face of weather, terrain, and plain old wear and tear. When they break down, the Army's mobility goes on, relying on the muscle of men and... Well, that's our story. Our first act curtain will rise in just a moment, but first... Today, you young men of America have an excellent opportunity to learn a trade that will assure your future. The many fine technical schools of the United States Army are training men in such interesting fields as radio, radar, meteorology, mechanics, electronics, and many, many others. You can become a qualified technician trained to do an important job and do it right. For full details about an exciting career, visit your nearest United States Army recruiting station. There's no obligation, so plan ahead. Face your tomorrow today. And now your United States Army presents the proudly we hail production, AMO. It's a funny thing about the ideas most recruits bring into the Army with them these days. Oh, wait a minute, don't get me wrong. I think the young guys we're getting in now are every bit as good as the fellows who ever joined up before. And in some respects, maybe a whole lot better. But as I said, the ideas some of them have, they seem to think that we're living in an age of scientific miracles. Well, I guess that's true. But as far as the infantry is concerned, there's still a lot of walking and digging and carrying. And while science helps a lot, it doesn't answer all the questions. Now, I'm platoon sergeant of a heavy weapons platoon in training. I have four squads of heavy machine guns. And when I say heavy, I mean you need a muscle or two in your back. The gun is in two parts. You've got the gun itself, which weighs, say, 45 pounds. And the tripod, the thing it rests on, give that about the same weight. Well, one man carries the gun, another carries the tripod, and the rest of the squad carries ammunition. All this in addition to your personal equipment. So you can see you're lugging some weight around. But sometimes you don't have to actually carry it because each squad has a jeep and a trailer. So at first my boys thought it was a snap and pity the poor rifleman who had to walk. Well, one day I had them out on a problem and they learned differently in a hurry. As you can plainly see on our left is a steep hill. Our main line of resistance is under reverse slope. Right now we are in a defilade. Smith, what do we mean by defilade? This side of the hill away from the enemy. Yes, indeed. Now the rifle company we ought to support is dug in on the reverse slope. Positions for our four guns are already marked out. We're going to carry all our guns and equipment up the hill and then down the other side. Any questions? Look at the sergeant. What is it? This road we're on now. It leads around the other side of the hill. Why don't we just follow it around? That way we don't have to drag all our stuff up the top of this. That's a great idea. And if we did that we would find ourselves between our own line and the enemy. I tell you what, Smithy. I'll send you as a messenger to the enemy commander. You can explain to him that it's too much trouble for us to climb up the hill. So would he please call off his fire until we walked around? Okay, okay, okay. Any more questions? All right, squad leader, see that your men are ready to move up. Well, I looked up the hill. Actually, it was a junior-sized mountain. It was steep, rocky, and there were places where you had to hold on to tree trunks to pull yourself up. But it was pretty characteristic of hills I had seen in Africa, France, Austria, Germany, and Korea. It was enough of a job just to climb the thing yourself. But we had to move up the guns, our equipment, heavy loads of ammo, and trenching tools, which is another way of saying picks and shovels. An hour later we were still working our way up the slope. Take a break, relax, and light up for ten minutes. Wow, man. Hey, Sarge, where's this push-button warfare we've been reading about? I'll tell you what happens every time. The trouble is a war just won't be fought where you'd like to fight. Yeah, yeah. You always find yourself in a desert or a mountain range or a country that's full of holes and rocks. Yeah, but, Sarge... You're always having trouble with engines because it's too hot or too cold. You're always in terrain where you can't use wheels or even tank treads. Yeah, but... But so far, the best machine is the human body. But, Sarge... The human body goes anywhere and never runs out of gases. It's never grounded by fog. Yeah, Sarge, but there must be a way to lick this. Well, we found a way once back in France. We had a hill like this. Only it wasn't just one hill. It was a whole gang of hills. It was the most aggravating thing in the world. You'd climb one and then staring in a face was another. You may have heard of those hills. They're called the Vosges Mountains. We were moving ahead and getting the stuff up the hill was just as much a problem as it is here. With this difference, we will be in shock. So what'd you do, Sarge? I found a friend. A friend named Emma. Emma? Who's Emma? Well, I was in a weapons company like this one. I was a squad leader then, and we were moving through the mountains. To make matters worse from our point of view, the old man had scrounged a few fifty calibers to beef up our firepower, and you know how much that ammo weighs. Well, one night, two other squad leaders and myself are called back to the CP. We had no idea what it was all about. As you men know, we've been expecting the order to advance at any time. We know the enemy has got to pull back. We're gonna chase them. We have to be able to move fast. The jeeps won't be much help in this terrain. When we get some roads cleared, they can follow us. Meanwhile, guess what? I guess we'll have to hand carry the equipment, sir. That's right, Connie. I know your problems. It's rough going. All the squads are shorthanded. And there's a lot of equipment and ammo. I'm assigning every man I can spare from company headquarters to help carry. But even so, it's gonna be tough. The battalion has found a way to give us a hand. What, are they gonna assign us some riflemen or some ammo bearers, sir? They can't spare any. We have a good way to move our stuff. I got five good ammo bearers outside. Come on and take a look. Holy mackerel, what are these? What do they look like? They look like mules. That's right. I know none of us were trained to handle these, fellas. But it's the best we can do. Good evening, Mon Capitaine. Oh, hello, Jacques. A man, this is Jacques. He's a good man, member of the resistance. He's not all week scrounging these mules for us. Do you think it was simple, Mon Capitaine? The Bosch, they have taken off every four-footed animal in the country. They are smart. They use these mules themselves. Well, since none of us have any experience, Jacques here will teach you how to take care of these mules, how to load them and how to lead them. I know man, this is all strange and new to you. But it's better and faster than carrying the guns and ammo ourselves. Take over, Jacques. Oui, Mon Capitaine. You there, sergeant. Me? The same. You appear to be one with intelligence. I want you to meet your mule. To work with a mule, one must establish, how you say, rapport. You approach the mule. At first, you, Christenine, give him a name. What would you like to call this mule? What's his name? His name. I am unacquainted. We have not been introduced. It is not as though I purchase this mule. Give him a name. Is it all right if I call him, Emma? Emma? I can't help it. He looks just like my Aunt Emma. Oh, let it be so. Now, Emma must learn that you are the master here. Approach, Emma. Do not be afraid. Let him on the back. Now, for the pack, saddle. Oh, it's still your boat. Never! Oh, brother. Well, I lived all my life in a city. I saw a horse once on the street. And when I was a kid, I think I went to the zoo a couple of times. It's not that I didn't like animals or that I was afraid of them. It's just, well, if you never rode in a ship, you stand to get seasick. Jock showed me how to pack the guns and the ammo boxes on Emma. And Emma would stand there looking at me. And just as I was about to tighten the straps, wham! Patience, my friend. Now, we try again. Yeah, let's try again. All right, hold still. Jock, I'm going to take a rifle butt to this beast. Oh, no. Kindness, patience, understanding. Remember, Sergeant, this mule is smarter than you are. I was ready to throw the whole thing over. I didn't care anymore. I was willing to carry the guns and the ammo myself. I was willing to carry the whole squad, the whole U.S. Army on my back if I had to. But orders were to use mules. And so, somehow I got Emma back to my squad. Oh, hold there, Emma. Hey, what's that? That's a mule and no cracks. What are we going to do with it? This is our newest replacement. Meet Emma. I guess we could call Emma the number four man in the squad. A mule. Hey, what is this, the cavalry? Okay, okay. Get Holder Wilson and let's start getting the equipment together. A mule. What'll they think of next? Hey, besides, this ain't bad. If the gun gets rough and Chawa's scarce, nah, we got fresh meat. Charlie, if the gun really gets rough, Emma's going to wind up eating us. Conny, get loaded up. We're moving out. Let's go, Emma. Come on. Stand still. Hey, Satch, the Jerry's are throwing motors in here. We've got to take cover. What about Emma? Emma, come back here. Don't stand there, Charlie. Help me catch Emma. You are listening to the proudly we hail production, Emma. We'll return in just a moment for the second act. Here's a message for young men. If you want to learn a trade which requires mechanical know-how, the United States Army's specific schooling program offers more than 100 different courses, covering, among other fields, radio, aviation, photography, radar and meteorology. High school graduates may choose two courses before they enlist, one of them as an alternative if the other is not available. For complete information on the Army's specific schooling program, get in touch with the nearest United States Army Recruiting Station. You are listening to Proudly We Hail. And now we present the second act of Emma. There will always be places in combat where wheels can't ride and wings can't land. And Sergeant Carney, who is recounting a World War II experience in the difficult Vogue mountains of France, found himself and his machine gun squad in just such a situation. Well, there are mighty few places where feet can't go, and Carney has been given four additional legs in the person of Emma, a mule with a mind of its own. Pull that strap tighter, Charlie. Don't worry, Emma won't kick you. That's what you say. Just hold steady, huh? Yes, sir, Sergeant, the mule is coming back. I think he's going to replace the automobile. Okay, Emma, let's go. Look at that, Charlie, the gun, the tripod, all the ammo. Come on, Emma. Well, come on. Hey, come on. What do we do now, Sergeant? How do you make this thing move? Emma, come on, get... Why are you being too nice to him? Oh, shut up. Emma, don't, Charlie, don't hit him. Hey, Carney, we're moving up. What's holding you? It's this mule, sir. What's the matter with him? He won't move. Well, swat him. You hate the man, Sarge. Jock said not to hit him. Well, orders are orders. Get up. Come on. Hey, I give up. I really give up. Yeah, yeah, but we just, we just can't stay here. Unpack the stuff we'll have to carry it ourselves. All right, Emma, you win. Stand still while I unload you. Hey, Sarge! He's, he's getting up. He's starting to walk. How do you like that? All he wanted to do was show us who was the boss. Hey, hey, Emma, slow down. Whoa, there, Emma. Keep up with him, Charlie. So there was Emma hopping up the side of the hill like a kid playing tag. Charlie and I had to scramble after. Meanwhile, the enemy was lobbing mortars all over the hill at us. And would you believe it? Emma would listen to every shell coming over and estimate where it would land by jumping off in another direction. We were supposed to be second squad in line, but Emma raced past the first squad and the platoon. Hey, Connie, what do you think is going on? I can't help it, sir. The mule is running away. Well, control it, will you? Sir, we're doing the best we can. Sarge! Sarge, I can't hold out no more. I just got to sit down. Just rest. That's all I want to do, too. But we got to grab a hold, Emma. Emma, stand still. You're supposed to be behind us for support. You're no good up here. Sir, if we can't hold on to this mule, we won't be good anywhere. Man, you must have had experience with mules before. Sir, can we please carry the equipment ourselves? You're first squad up. The others can't even get their mules to budge. Go on back and show those men how. Better still bring this mule back for another mule load. Whoa, Emma, whoa! He's running away! There was Emma running down the side of the hill. We were exposed to enemy fire, but we had to grab Emma. Emma was enjoying every minute of it. He would bray or laugh. Whatever it is a mule does, every time there was a burst of machine gun fire, and each time a mortar traveled overhead, Emma would point his nose up in the air and try to follow it. You'd think this whole thing was a show, stage for Emma's benefit. A couple of us managed to drag Emma back over the other side of the hill and get him loaded for another trip. Would you believe it? Emma was a fool for combat. Emma couldn't wait to come back each time to watch the muzzle flashes of the guns and hear the shells flying overhead. And then it happened. A mortar hit close by, and one of the fragments hit Emma on the rump. Emma had been hit. Luckily not severely or seriously, just painfully. And I never saw a living creature that was so angry and outraged in all my life. Emma looked off into the direction of the German lines as though he was getting ready to gallop off there and take on their whole army with his bare hoofs. It took Charlie and me and three riflemen to hold him back. We couldn't push Emma back to get more Emma. We tried everything. And then I found myself talking to Emma as though Emma were a human being. Emma, listen, pal. I know how you feel. You're mad. You're insulted. You're hurt. Don't be a chump, Emma. The way to get back at him is to carry up some more guns and ammo and equipment and water. That's the smart way, Emma. You'll see. We'll make him sorry they hurt you. Give us a hand, Emma. Emma, baby, we'll wipe up the ground with him. Come on, Emma, let's get some more ammo for the 50s. Be smart, baby. Let's go, Emma. Now, this is the truth. So help me. He looked at me and there was a mean glint in his eye. And just then another mortar landed close by and without a word, I mean a sound, Emma just quietly followed me back over the other side of the hill where we had more equipment waiting to be moved. We got all our stuff up and the riflemen under the cover we gave him moved out and cleared the enemy off the next hill. And then we started all over. You know, to this day, I believe that Emma understood what I was talking about. But now it occurs to me how Emma was a French mule. He couldn't possibly know a word of English. But maybe I've been low-rating animal to all my life. In a little while, there got to be times when Emma didn't have to be spoken to. Emma would kind of sense what you had in mind and then do it. I mean he would do it if he was in the mood. That mule was the most rugged individualist you ever saw. Well, we got to be great pals, Emma and me. And in the week that followed while we were consolidating our positions, they kept finding all kinds of new uses forever. In a general sort of way, the guys all appreciated Emma because he took a load off our back. But one night, Emma became the coast of the whole company. We were still in the hills and we were still under fire. And in a general confusion that has to go on, I guess you could say that communications with the kitchen were not of the best. Emma solved that. This way, Emma. Add a boy. Hold it, Emma. Give us a password. Hot chow from the kitchen. Give us a password. Don't you recognize Cardi's voice? I don't recognize nothing. I want a password. He says he's got a hot chow. Yeah, what is it? Thanksgiving? What's the password? Swordfish. You got chow? Hey, Cardi, how'd you bring it up, huh? Emma brought it up. Emma. Oh, Emma, if you was a girl, I'd kiss you. I want to kiss you. Emma, anyhow. Hey, you mule. Hey, what's to eat, Cardi? Everything's hot, the coffee, fresh eggs. We got bacon. We even got hot cereal. Oh, no, no, Mickey. I'm having a dream. Oh, what a dream. Don't wake me. I'm dreaming, Sergeant Cardi's here with fresh eggs and bacon and hot cereal. Oh, let me eat some. Don't wake me. Get a move on. I got another platoon to feed you. This stuff won't stay hot forever. You see, Mickey, it's true. A mule, that's all. It takes a mule. Keep your command in the air to see. Keep your tanks in your artillery. Brother, give me a mule to bring up some hot chow, and I will personally win this war. Or any war you have got. It was before my time, but I figure the cavalry must have really been a great service. You get a certain relationship between a man and an animal that takes a lot of the loneliness out of being in a war. Well, but that's progress. So what did Emma do for us? He kept us supplied with ammo and chow. He gave our aching backs a rest. That'd be enough. But no, Emma went all the way. Emma saved my life. I guess I'm here today because of what Emma did. We were moving forward. Emma had our equipment on his back. I was walking along just behind him, and Charlie was right in back of me. Hey, tell Emma to get a move on her, Connie. The sooner we get out of here, the better I'll like it. You ought to know better than to try to rush Emma. Hey, hey, hey, watch your step. You say the Germans has got mines planted all around here. Just be careful. Just be careful. Hey, Connie, bring up that 30. That's your machine gunner, a man. Let's go, Emma. Come on, Emma, get a move on. They need this gun. Emma, hey, look out, Connie! Emma, don't! I had yelled, don't, but Emma did. That snapping sound was the trip wire of a mine, the kind of mine that you release by tripping over the wire, and then the mine jumps up a few feet and goes off. Maybe Emma knew it was a mine. All right, argue that no mule could be so intelligent. Say the snap scared Emma, and he lashed out with his back legs and kicked me flying backwards to the ground, figured any way you want. The fact is, Emma knocked me down and saved my life. Of course, Emma was killed instantly. I don't think we could have felt worse if Emma had been one of our own guys. We buried Emma right there. And don't laugh. We put up a little marker over Emma's grave. All right, you guys, the break is over. Pick up your equipment and let's go. Oh, believe me, we could use Emma here today. I got a surprise for you, fellas. The Army's been going ahead these past 10 years. Today we have helicopters that can just drop us the equipment. Yeah, so why do we bother breaking our backs like this? I'll tell you, Smitty, no matter how many helicopters you got, no matter how many wings and wheels they perfected to help out the poor foot soldier, there's always the time when the best you'll ever have is your back and your hands and your own two legs. And maybe, if you're lucky, an assistant like Emma. Today, more than ever, your United States Army needs qualified specialists to fill many important and good-paying technical jobs. And to develop these specialists, the Army has created a new technical training program open to all high school graduates, a program that actually reserves a classroom seat in the course of your choice before you enlist. Yes, before you ever sign anything, you may rest assured that you can take your pick from any one of 87 Army technical career courses, all taught at the finest military schools. As a qualifying high school graduate, you will be expertly trained in such career fields as radio, photography, guided missiles, automotive maintenance, and many, many others. Name your interest. The Army has the course. You'll find that enlisting really adds up to the best possible deal. Drop in at your local United States Army Recruiting Station. They'll give you all the facts on a great future for you. This has been another program on Proudly We Hail, presented transcribed in cooperation with this station. Proudly We Hail is produced by the Recruiting Publicity Center in New York for the United States Army Recruiting Service. This is Dick Hartley speaking, and inviting you to tune in this same station next week for another interesting story on Proudly We Hail.