Remembered Hero
Sir:
In TIME, June 25, you say that Pfc. Willie Thompson was the first Negro since the Spanish-American War to win the Congressional Medal of Honor . . .
I have the very distinct impression that the first man in World War II to win the Congressional Medal was a Negro aboard one of the ships at Pearl Harbor when the Japs attacked. Did I dream it, or did a Negro perform one of the outstanding feats of heroism at Pearl Harbor? If I didn't dream it, who was the man, and where can I find the details of what happened and what honors the man received ?
JOHN L. ANDERSON
Glen Gardner, N.J.
P:Long-memoried Reader Anderson is thinking of Doris ("Dorie") Miller, messman aboard the battleship Arizona, who on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941 dashed to the bridge, helped carry his mortally wounded captain to a place of greater safety, then manned a machine gun and blasted away at Jap planes until his ammunition ran out. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz pinned a Navy Cross on Miller in 1942 for ''distinguished devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and disregard of his own personal safety." Two years later, heroic Doric Miller was lost at sea.--ED.
One Cause Only
Sir:
In an article on Albania [TIME, May 14] the statement is made that the "Free Albania Committee whose headquarters is in New York City . . . wants to bring back King Zog, now in exile in Egypt." This statement is not correct. It ignores the fundamental conception of the National Committee for a Free Albania [which] is dedicated to the struggle for the liberation of Albania from Communist tyranny. As such, it is outside and above party politics . . .
HASAN DOSTI
President
Executive Committee of the National Committee for a Free Albania New York City
Pictures in Color
Sir:
Congratulations on your recent use of color printing for news and art pictures . . . This is to let you know that one subscriber appreciates [it].
MARGARET MERTON St. Marys, Ohio
Sir:
. . . The six pages devoted to scenes in Britain in the July 2 issue might well have been reproductions of Turners and Constables.
I hope the practice of including the color pages will be continued as a regular part of the magazine format.
MORTIMER H. SLOTNICK
New York City
Beefs, Hopes & Nominations
Sir:
Wouldn't it be grand for the Grand Old Party and the nation if we presented a national and congressional slate in 1952 that provided at the very least constructive conservatism and a feasible alternative to the present idea-starved Administration?
I would suggest that in order to provide this we kick the Dixiecrats in the Republican Party like Mundt, Bricker, McCarthy, Reece, et al out of the party and nominate a liberal for President ... I think that either Earl Warren or Wayne Morse would fit the bill. DAVID CARGO Ann Arbor, Mich.
Sir:
... If only the Republicans would nominate a progressive such as Duff or Stassen . . .
ELEANOR LANG
Phoenix, Ariz.
Sir:
In "Letters to the Editor," the constant smearing of Republicans, such as Taft, Martin, Bricker, Wherry, Cain, Hickenlooper, by so-called "modern" Republicans is sickening! They decry the mess into which the socialistic-minded "New" and "Fair" Dealers have gotten our country, but resent the very men who aggressively fight "Socialism" and "Collectivism" . . . How can we ever change the mess without changing the ideas that created the mess?
I am a 32-year-old veteran and not a wealthy old mossback, as "they" try to paint all Taft supporters.
RICHARD E. LAWRENCE Canton, Ohio
Sir:
All is not lost for the Republicans. There are good men in the party, regardless of the pessimism expressed in "Letters to the Editor" . . .
I have in mind ... our own good New
Hampshire Senator--Styles Bridges. His running mate: Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. of Massachusetts . . .
MRS. ELEANOR G. PRICE Dover, N.H.
Criminal Heads
Sir:
. . . When you state that one of Ecuador's most noteworthy products is "shrunken heads" [June 25], you not only misinform your readers, but you border on the sensational type of journalism which is not in keeping with the fine traditions of TIME.
Ecuadorian shrunken heads are to be found in museums side by side with scalps of white men murdered by North American Indians in days gone by. Shrunken heads are the product of crime, and crime is punishable by law in Ecuador . . .
Ecuador's most noteworthy product is and has always been cacao, which heads the list of exports.
C. DURAN-BALLEN Consul General New York City
Anyway, It Was the U.S.
Sir:
TIME, June 25, says: "Ecuador's President Galo Plaza Lasso. Born: Feb. 17, 1906, in Brooklyn."
A staunch upholder of Greenwich Village hopes TIME will get President Galo Plaza started in life where he actually started.
MORGAN T. RILEY
New York City
Sir:
PLEASE--Ireland's Prime Minister Eamon de Valera was not "Manhattan-born" [TIME, June 25]. He was born in Brooklyn . . . birthplace of Ecuador's President Galo Plaza Lasso.
E. J. KELTY Chicago
P:Now, all together: Galo Plaza Lasso was born in the Hotel Marlton in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. Eamon de Valera was born on the site of what is now the Chrysler Building in Manhattan.--ED.
Not a Little Dismay
Sir:
The "Fighting Chance" article in the June 18 issue of your fine magazine was received here with great interest and not a little dismay.
Looking through the records of company grade combat officers who were recalled to active duty from the inactive reserve, one finds thousands sent to Korea, to fight and perhaps to die, within four weeks after leaving civilian life. Many of these junior officers saw no action in World War II. None received the "six months' advanced U.S. combat training" proposed for the 1951 West Point graduate, and none partook of even one hour's drill in the five years between wars . . . And how about giving a little consideration to the 40 men who must serve under these officers? . . .
[SERVICEMAN'S NAME WITHHELD] Camp Stoneman, Calif.
Sir:
... Why doesn't the Army try robot soldiers, with the officers completely stationed in the Pentagon?
Did Arnold Galiffa quarterback the football team from the sidelines ? . . .
ROBERT HEINEN Cawker City, Kans.
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