The Sidewalks of North Africa

Out of North Africa came a sardonic, familiar voice, welcoming passers-by to the microphone: "Anybody here from out of town? Step on board, sailor. What's your name? . . . Boys, break it up and let this lovely vision come through. That's it, dear. What's your name?" New Yorkers who recalled his famed sidewalk interviews from Times Square ("Step up, brother, stop your mad rush to the grave") recognized the voice of brassy George Braidwood ("The Real") McCoy, radio buttonholer extraordinary (TIME, Oct. 21, 1940). They found out last week that Private McCoy was now playing the six-station American Expeditionary radio circuit in North Africa.

The G.I. circuit, operated by the War Department's Special Services Division, began last December with a handmade, low-powered transmitter put together out of old French parts and baling wire. Now the armed forces get 13 hours a day of special recordings from home, news, health tips, and plenty of local talent. WOR-Mutual put the local-talent end of the circuit on the U.S. air by transcription last week, gave the nation its first hearing of G.I. radio at the front.

What's Cooking at Oudjda? It was as American as corn. Captain Andre Baruch, announcer (once of NBC and CBS), opened with: "Well, let's see what's cooking at Oudjda." Oudjda (pronounced ooj-dah'), which is in Morocco, came in: "Greetings, gang! This is Sergeant Dick Weston, the old Musical Message Sender in Oudjda, getting ready to read those requests and deliver with the music." A pair of privates wanted a Bea Wain recording of God Bless the Child for some of their buddies "now in parts unknown." They got it. A sergeant requested Tommy Dorsey's Blue Blazes for another sergeant "who is homesick for his wife." He got it.

A quiz program came on -- from the garden of the Allied Club in Casablanca: four Army nurses v. four Army Air Forces sergeants. Having a choice of subjects, the first nurse chose "Great Wolves." She got all four of them. The program had to be cut off before the winning team was announced.

Yank About Town. Dick Bruno (ser geant reporter for Stars and Stripes) came up with Winchelln-from an unidentified North African city. Samples:

> "Promenading along the main stem was enhanced this week by the amusing sight of two French gals fighting over a doughboy. . . . They pulled hair, punched each other . . . used their pocketbooks as blackjacks. . . . The doughboy grabbed a spectator and gleefully said: 'Gee! Those girls are fighting over me!' "

> "If you miss the boardwalk at Jones each . . . Atlantic City . . . why not ankle out to 'Catabonie Beach'? They call it the Coney Island of North Africa."

So it went -- casual, saucy, amateurish, wonderful. For U.S. listeners, there was sadness in almost every line of the broad cast. The doughboys and doughgirls wanted above all to get home, The home front has heard little of this sort of program because of stanch adherence by NBC and CBS to their long standing ban on recorded programs, and an apparent reluctance by the military to promote direct civilian radio contact with troops abroad. In England BBC has long run recordings from far fields, found they have a big and attentive audience.

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