Family Reunion

"They've thrown us a bone every few weeks," said a dejected Air Force sergeant in England last month, "but I can see the writing on the wall. They ain't comin' through." Like thousands of others, the sergeant had ceased to believe in the recurring rumor that the Defense Department would soon lift its ban on Government-paid travel for dependents of servicemen stationed in Europe (TIME, April 13). But last week--after months of angry complaints by separated service families and some sticky questions at presidential press conferences--the Pentagon finally came through.

Originated in 1960, dropped in February 1961, and reinstituted during the Berlin buildup last fall, the travel cutoff was touted as a way to reduce the U.S. gold drain. It succeeded more notably in reducing G.I. morale. Servicemen in Europe were delighted by the announcement--and by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara's estimate that 6,000 wives and children would be traveling to Europe monthly by the end of May.

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