 Proudly, We Hail. 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 middle of our story is the beautiful Blue Danube. To Sergeant Henry Bowers of the United States Army, the Blue Danube has a special meaning. It isn't a waltz and it has nothing at all to do with a river. Our opening curtain rises in just a moment. But first, high school graduates, if you're of service age, we feel sure you will be interested in the Reserves for You training program of your United States Army. This program is filled with opportunities for the young men of today who want to equip themselves with a top-notch skill and serve their country at the same time. Here's how it works. You make application at your nearest United States Army recruiting station, at which time you state your preference of training course. There are more than 150 courses to choose from. Now this application does not place you under any obligation to enlist. If you qualify and a vacancy exists, you'll receive a letter of acceptance that is your guarantee of a reserved seat in the course of your choice. Then you can enlist and begin your career as a skilled specialist in the United States Army. So if you expect to serve a tour of duty in the near future, make sure you make the most of your opportunities. Visit your nearest United States Army recruiting station and talk it over with the friendly people there. And now your United States Army presents the proudly we hail production, The Beautiful Blue Danube. I guess songs make different people think of different things. Like this waltz, the Blue Danube, for instance. I guess it calls to mind for most people a ballroom with people in formal clothes waltzing to a string orchestra. You know, gay Vienna and all that. Well, every time I hear the beautiful Blue Danube, I don't think of Vienna at all. I picture a desolate little town in northern France called Landry. You won't find it on the map because there isn't much doing in Landry. It was a coal mining town, but even before the war, most of the pits had been worked out and the town was pretty much deserted. It never could have been much romance or gay music in Landry. But believe it or not, that was where I really heard the Blue Danube played for the first time. Not that I hadn't heard it before, but I should say I never enjoyed it as much. It had to do with a patrol into Landry. During the war, I must have gone out on at least 50 patrols, but the one into Landry was the weirdest I ever made. Looking back at it, it started out as just a routine mission. At night there was a driving rainstorm, which was nothing too unusual. It seemed to me that it was always raining or snowing or something. It was the kind of night to spend in front of a good fire with or without the lady of your choice, sip a delicious beverage, and contentedly listen to the patter of the rain on the roof. Well, my squad and I were doing second best. We were in the cellar of an abandoned bombed-out house. We had a blaze going in an old stove. We were drinking coffee. My buddy Pete Jergens was fooling around on the concertina he always managed to carry with him, so we even had music. The enemy was no more than 800 or a thousand yards up ahead, but somehow the war seemed a million miles away. I was curled up in my blanket having a wonderful time doing nothing. All around me was the small chatter, the idle time passing talk you hear from soldiers who have already learned the hardest lesson of war. How to wait? You know, after the war there ain't gonna be nothing driving the car. They're gonna make them all without gear shifts. You hear about that, Pete? Huh? How can you drive a car without a gear shift? They're gonna build a special shift into the transmission. Motor's gonna shift by itself. I heard of them that. They won't work. How can you drive a car without a clutch? Hey, Pete. Hey, Pete, don't you know anything else? Hey, Pete, why don't you learn a new tune, huh? It's gonna be so easy to drive a car. The roads are gonna be full of women drivers. Look, if you ask me, the women are gonna take over the whole country. You got a point. We may live to see the day when we have a female president. Well, that's the day I leave the good old USA. And what's wrong with woman president? How would you like to see a woman run the country? The women are running it now, ain't they? And so into this peaceful scene comes the interruption that usually comes just when everything is starting to get warm and comfortable. It comes in the person of the platoon leader, Lieutenant Qualls. And once again, everybody's mind is snapped back to what the business at hand really is. The captain wants our platoon to make a patrol. It's your squad's turn, Boris. Yes, sir. You got a good night for two. Visibility is just about zero outside. How many men, sir? What do we have to do? Not an awful lot. We have an idea that Jerry's have moved a tank outfit into Landry. We'd like to be sure. Say, about three men ought to be able to sneak into town and see what's going on. Quick deal. Go in. Look around. Come home. I haven't been out in two weeks. I'll take the patrol myself, sir. Are there any other instructions, sir? Familiarize yourself with this map. Now, here's what we know about Landry. It's a mining town, mostly broken down old houses, a couple of stores located along this street. Now, all around here are what appear to be hills, but they're not. They're just big mounds excavated from the mines full of dirt and rock. Now, the general direction of Landry is downhill from here. Remember that if you get lost. You can be sure you're traveling toward your own lines if you're coming upward along the slope. Listen if you can for the sound of tank motors and try to get a good idea of where the tank park is. Well, I'd say that's about all battalion wants. When should we move out, sir? I suggest as soon as possible to take advantage of the weather. The line and the outpost have been alerted. Then we'll go now, sir. Remember, don't take any chances. Good luck, fellas. Thank you, sir. All right, guys, anytime you're ready. I don't know why I let them take the concertina, but I don't know if certain guys get attached to things. Well, I took a long, last drag of my cigarette and we were off. As I said, it was a blinding rainstorm. We couldn't see 10 feet ahead. But of course that had its advantages, too. We moved into the darkness. We crossed in front of our own lines, up past the outpost, and then we were on our own. I tried counting steps to get an idea of how far we had gone. When I estimated 500 yards, I signal for us to get on the ground. I should say the mud. We were right on top of the enemy lines now and we would have to inch forward on our bellies to avoid falling into a Jerry foxhole. The only thing to do in a case like that is wait, try to get your bearings. See anything, Bowers? No. You, Pete? Another thing. Let's wait a minute or two. Don't move. Somebody must have thought he saw something. Let's stay where we are. Man alive. There's a Jerry foxhole right next to us. You dig that, Bowers? Yeah. The machine gun is a little trigger-happy. Wait another minute and we'll try to move. It seemed like an hour, but it couldn't have been more than a minute or two. We started inching forward slowly again. We knew we were inside now. So far, so good. It was a kind of wooded area, scrubby little undernourished trees, they appeared to be. It was a kind of roadway between them, but we kept off that and tried to move along parallel to it. We had already moved quite a distance inside without seeing anybody or being seen ourselves. Then off just a little way in the distance, we heard something. Hey, listen to that. Yeah. Somebody's playing the concertinas. Not bad either, you know what? I'd say he's almost as good as you are, Pete. Hey, where's it coming from? Looks like a little house up ahead. Must be some jerry's in there. Let's move up quietly, see what goes on. Bowers, you figure they got a guy on guard outside? Could be, but on a night like this, he'd be standing in the doorway trying to keep out of the wet. Who could blame him? I can't see anybody. Neither do I. That's the front of the house up ahead. That's cut left to go around the back. Music seems to be coming from the cellar. It's good music, too. Listen, whatever you do, don't make a sound. Look, that little gleam of light. They didn't cover up the window enough. Let's see if we can take a peek inside. Both you guys keep alert for somebody coming. I'll take a look. I know the harmony for that. A buddy of mine used to play duets with me back home. You should hear that old boy play. Can you see anything, Bowers? Yeah. There's some 10, maybe 12 guys down there. Take a look, Holloway. Yeah. Notice the uniforms? Of those Germans tankers covered off. That's how it looks to me. Well, we found out one thing. The juries do have a tank outfit in here. Now if we could learn where the tanks are parked, this will really have been a night's work. It's a jury. Army! Don't let them fire. They're in back of us. Where to? Straight ahead. I know, I know. Listen to them all back there. We could never get through. Come on, we gotta keep moving. We were going deeper into the German lines, but we couldn't help it. In back of us, the jury line was alive. They knew a patrol was loose inside, and now they were on the alert. This was for the most part barren country with no decent hiding places. And just to add cream to the coffee, the rain, for no good reason decided to stop. The clouds were starting to break apart, and wouldn't you know that a bright moon was beginning to peek out? I didn't see how we were gonna make it. When suddenly, up ahead, I noticed a kind of opening in the ground. I noticed it, but Pete didn't. The next thing we knew, he had disappeared. Pete? Pete! I'm down here, guys. What's down there? Looks like a shaft of an old coal mine. I've seen them back home in Kentucky. It looks like some wooden steps. I can come up. What does it look like down there, Pete? It seems to be a tunnel going off somewhere. We know good up here. Let's try it down there. Let's go. Here's the opening for a tunnel. I wonder where she leads. You may have to find out. Get inside there fast. Juries are upstairs. You think maybe they'll pass us by? Maybe. But they'd have to figure we'd jump down here. It's only common sense in that part. Yo! America! Uh-oh. We know you are down there. Come out with your hands up. Where's this thing laid, anyhow? Who knows? I order you to surrender. What is your answer? Only one of them could come through at a time. We could hold these guys off forever until our outfit took this place, anyhow. Sergeant, your section will lead the way down. Wait. First, let's drop a few grenades. These Americana plan to fight those, eh? Now get back. Flatten against the wall. Let's make sure we keep that entrance covered. Your last chance. Share you, come up. Stay well then. Drop those grenades. You okay, Faith? Yeah. All the way. Okay, so far. Okay. Be ready for them. What's that? The roof. It seems to be shaking. Where's my flashlight? They charge at those grenades. The timber showing up at entrance. It's rotten. The grenades must loosen up the supports. Get back. Everybody, get back. There it goes. We're going to be trapped in here. You are listening to the proudly we hail production, The Beautiful Blue Danube. We'll return in just a moment for the second act. Today, your United States Army needs intelligent young men with ability and ambition. Men intelligent enough to recognize the vital need for a strong armed force. Men with ability enough to be trained in a necessary job. Men with ambition enough to secure the future for themselves and their loved ones. Does this description fit you? Can you qualify? For full information on how you can fit in with the finest, check with your nearest United States Army recruiting station. Remember, the United States Army needs young men with ambition and ability like you. You are listening to proudly we hail, and now we present the second act of The Beautiful Blue Danube. Maybe in one sense we're no worse off than we were before. When the jerry's outside, we couldn't go up. Now, with a couple of hundred tons of dirt and rock blocking the entrance, at least the jerry's can't come down. That's a consolation. Got any other consolation, Sarge? No, that's about all I can give out for the time being. Well, I've certainly breathed better air in my day. What's behind us? Man, it's dark in here. Maybe this tunnel leads somewhere. I'm gonna have to save this flashlight, though. I'm just gonna flick it on everybody. Look hard, get an idea of what it's like, and I'll turn it off. Ready? Yeah. Here she goes. Hey, hey, hey, turn it on again. Will you bow us? Buddy, this battery is worth all our lives put together. We can't waste a second of it. To me, it looked like the tunnel goes back for a while. Anybody see anything else? Nope. Okay. Feel your way along the wall. We'll just keep walking. Hey. There's water down here. Seem to be getting any deeper? Yeah. It's up to my knees now. Whoa! Boy. I stepped off with my left foot, couldn't touch bottom. Okay. Turn around and go back. I'm gonna ask what might seem to be a stupid question. All right. What do we do now? Yeah. Looks like, looks like we've got no place to go. Could we maybe try to dig our way out? I mean, well, the juries might be waiting for us, but after all... With our bare hands, we might be able to dig our way out of that entrance in a month. Oh. If we had a month. And one thing's for sure, the juries aren't gonna start digging from the other side. I imagine they're satisfied with the way it turned out. Anybody mind if I play a little bit on the concertina? You still got that thing. I sure have. Under my blouse all the time. Well, yeah, down here isn't good. It isn't too bad either. It's gotta be coming from somewhere. I'm gonna flash my light again. Everybody look carefully. Here goes. Hey, Bowis, look. Turn that light on again. Is he just off to the left there? Yeah, it's kind of a ledge. What's that on top of it? Looks like an opening of some kind. Maybe another tunnel. Yeah, it is. Where does this one lead? What's the difference? Let's climb up and start walking. Come on. All right, everybody up. Yeah. We're running off the light. Now, step carefully. Seems to be dry enough through here, Sarge. Yeah. Wish I had a cigarette. Yeah, but all of us gave our cigarettes the guys back the outlet. Who smokes on patrol. Mr. Cigarettes and the carerations. What happened to your chewed tobacco? I think I must have swallowed it when that Jerry jumped us back there at the hood. Pete? Pete? Hey, where's Pete? Hey, hey, Pete. He was just in back of me. Pete! Hey, Pete! Bowis! Can you hear me, Pete? Where did you guys go? Where did you go? Can you find your way back? Listen, Pete. You got a K ration. Open it up. Put the stuff in your pocket. You're listening? If you don't have any matches in your pocket, there's some in the K ration. Got them. Now listen. Take your bayonet. Stick it through the empty carton. Now light the carton. Some of these old mines are filled with gases. We'll have to take the chance. Well, it may not be enough air down here to burn. I'll find out about that, too. Pete! That carton will burn for a couple of minutes. Give you a torch. You'll be able to see. Okay. Look, I can see his torch. That's where he turned off. Pete! Straight ahead! Bowis, there must be a thousand and one tunnels down here. We can spend our whole lives wandering around in the dark. I know that. We're going to take a chance on hitting a tunnel at Leeds somewhere. There's no use in kidding ourselves. With what we've got to eat and drink, we couldn't keep up our strength for more than three or four days. We've got to make a move now. What? What are we going to do? Yeah. I'll make a torch out of my K-Ration carton. That means we can move faster. When that burns out, we'll use yours. And the flashlight for as long as the batteries hold out. All right? Let's get with it. Hmm. It sounded like such a simple patrol. Just go in and come out. Well, we've batted 500 so far. We've got in, didn't we? There must have been a weird procession in those damp, twisting tunnels deep in that abandoned French coal mine. A burning K-Ration carton stuck on a bayonet served as a torch. When mine was finished, we lit up Holloway's. And when that burned out, we kept flashing my weakening light on and off. We left our watches behind so we had no way of telling the time. But all three of the K-Rations had disappeared. And all we had left was about half a canteen of peace and three cigarettes. We were no nearer out of the place than we had been when we started. As I say, we had lost all track of time. We know we had stopped occasionally to rest. There were times when we had fallen asleep. But for how long, who could tell? We knew we were hungry and feeling a little lightheaded. It was pitch black, and I had no current left at all on my flashlight. We had been stumbling along for hours, it seemed. It was becoming harder and harder to keep going. We finally fell down to rest, and there were vague thoughts beginning to trouble each of us, thoughts we wouldn't dare speak to one another, or even admit privately. But each of us was beginning to get that feeling. Once the use, we'll never get out of this place. I had our last cigarette in my pocket. I took it out. I might as well enjoy this one, fellas. Is it the last one? It ought to be. I've been keeping track. Okay, Sarge, and I are up. Sarge? When the match lit up, I could see the tunnel takes a sharp turn to the left. You know what? Give us a drag, Bowers. Funny how good this tastes. You say the tunnel takes a turn to the left? Yeah. Kill the butt. Kill the butt. Hey, what was that we heard? That was somebody, wasn't it? Bet your life just to the left. This must lead someplace. I don't hear! That's a Jerry. What's he saying? You're breaking that, Dutch Bowers. What is he? He's quiet. Something to do with smoking. Hey, what's this? What's this? You know what this? We have ammunition stored here. No one is permitted to smoke. There are signs for all to read. No one is smoking. What of your men is smoking? I can smell smoke. Here are my three men. Look. Not one has a cigarette. What of them has disobeyed orders? My tank is outside. I load ammunition, gasoline, and join my platoon. Where's the gasoline? Follow me. Suddenly we were alive again and in business. We weren't hungry, we weren't tired. Cautiously we parked our heads around the corner of the tunnel. It was a wide space filled with crates of tank ammunition. Just ahead was an opening that led outside. We heard the steps of the German soldiers going off. We hurried to the entrance. Outside it was night. What a night I couldn't say. Right near the entrance was a German tank with a motor running. Suddenly one of the soldiers approached the tank. And as near as I could understand, he bellowed out an order. Max! Everyone must help me to gasoline. You tankers. You think you are the aristocrats? I would like to catch one of you smoking again. Ah, keep quiet. You dare to speak to me in that manner? I shall report you. Report me till you're blue in the face. Just show us where we've become the gasoline. Come, come, Vigo. We saw one man get out of the tank. And they all went off with a guy who must have been the supply sergeant down into another underground entrance. This place must have been a supply depot and they were using some of these shafts for gasoline and ammo. We must have been further into the German lines than I thought. We looked at the tank. And I guess all three of us got the idea at the same time. Well, who knows how to drive one? Look, if it's got a motor, Halloway can make her go. Well, what do you think, Halloway? Well, once when we were back for a rest, all of them that was captured, she's easy to drive. Yeah, but won't they miss it and have the whole German army looking for us? Give me that Grenade, you guy. We'll take the mines off us, the tank and everything else. Right now, well, they're still out of sight. Get in the tank fast. What are you gonna do? I'm gonna love this Grenade right into the middle of all those ammo boxes. Something ought to happen. Get moving. I'm right behind you. So far, so good. Let's keep buttoned up. How you doing, Halloway? I'll be okay as long as the gas holds out. Yeah, yeah, I think so. It's a big baby all right, isn't it? Where are we? I don't know. It should be headed toward our lines. It must be the radio. That must be the code name for this baby, Blue Daniel. That's a pretty tune. It goes like this. Let me listen. Blue Daniel, Blue Daniel. What is wrong? Why are you dancing? Come in, Blue Daniel. Answer me. Answer or be fired at. You are disobeying orders. Answer at once. Let me see how good my German is. This is Blue Daniel. Do not understand. I'm obeying orders. I'm advancing. Return at once. Do not understand. Repeat. Return at once. Who is in that tank? Identify. Demand immediate code identification. Or we'll order fire. What's all the conversation about? Get off the road with some zigzagging. We're gonna get shot at. For the last time, identify. Dispecting front line positions. Who's the idiot back there keeps annoying me? I'm willing to take some long hours. That guy's gonna stew over that for at least 30 seconds. I did it. Yeah. He sounded like a good hundred yards off, though. Don't worry. The next ones will be closer. He landed in front of us. Look, tanks coming toward us. Shermans are shooting at us, too. No point getting it both ways. Turn around. Pete, open up with the Joey lines with the machine gun. Put that concertina down. This baby with just one hand. Let me see if our tanks can hear this frequency. Hey, up ahead there. Don't fire. This is a captured tank. Yeah. No kidding. Just stay where you are, Buster. We'll do that. We'll do even better. If I can figure out how to work this 88, I'll give you a supporting fire. No kidding. You guys really American soldiers? What else? We'll turn around and get out of there. We'll cover you. Out of gas. I'm out of gas. Sit tight. We're coming after you. I'll hand up the shield. That's it. Anybody know how the second part of Blue Danube goes? No? What's the difference? I'll just play the first part again. All right. Pull that cord. That worked. Let's keep it up. Shermans came up in advance past us. It turned out we had been gone two full days. And I wonder we were hungry. We had gone out on a routine patrol and wound up capturing a tiger tank. Also blowing up some gerry ammo. We got back to the outfit a few hours ago. Lieutenant Qualls and the captain were waiting for us. We got plenty of congratulations. But best of all, some hot chow. The next morning the outfit advanced and captured Landry. It was all routine. But from that day on, Pete kept playing the Blue Danube. Oh, for crying out loud. Now that you got a new song, do you have to kill that one too? It's a pretty song at that. Ain't it, Bowers? It sure is. It might make some people think about waltzes and stuff. You know what it pictures for me? I don't know. You know what it pictures for me? A big, mean, ugly-looking German tank. That's what it makes me see. Funny you should have mentioned that, Holloway. It makes me see the same thing. In America, today's United States Army is made up of skilled technicians and specialists who have learned their jobs in the world's finest military technical schools. And now, the Army is offering you even greater opportunities to join this elite group of young men and serve your country and yourself at the same time. Your Army now has in operation a training program that permits you to choose your own branch and train in the particular job of your own choice. It's called the Reserved for You training program. And it works this way. If you're a high school graduate of service age, visit your nearest United States Army recruiting station and make application for the Reserved for You training program, stating your preference of branch and training course. If you qualify and a vacancy exists, you're awarded a letter that guarantees you a reserved seat in a technical program and guarantees you a reserved seat in the technical training course of your choice. Now, all this takes place before you enlist and it places you under no obligation whatsoever. Then, after you enlist and have your basic training, you're enrolled in your school and begin your career as a highly skilled Army technician. We suggest you find out about it right away by visiting your nearest United States Army recruiting station. This has been another program on proudly we hail and it transcribed in cooperation with the station. Proudly we hail is produced by the Recruiting Publicity Center for the United States Army. This is Ralph Roland inviting you to tune in this same station next week for another interesting story on proudly we hail.