Night in Virginia

Outside historic Petersburg some 800 hog-dirty, dog-tired soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 8th Quartermaster Training Regiment were sleeping soundly. A soft north-northeast breeze fanned the damp air; the lonely flashlight of a patrolling officer threaded the dark Virginia night; somewhere a mongrel pup howled plaintively. Suddenly came the long, heart-chilling shriek of dive-bombers, the rattle of machine guns, the dull, stomach-curdling thud of high explosives. Over the camp rolled clouds of black, evil-smelling smoke. Up went a cry: "Gas! Gas! Gaaaasss!" Out of their tiny olive-green tents tumbled soldiers, stuffing heads into gas masks, grabbing at pants.

In a few minutes it was over. In this spectacular way the Quartermaster Corps tested rookie reaction to unexpected night attacks. The gas was simulated by smudge-pot smoke. The horrific noises were recordings taken during the bombing of London, amplified to life size. All this was explained to the somewhat shaken rookies, who were then given a round of back-pats for good work. The camp went back to bed. Half an hour later hell broke loose again. This time the gas was real tear gas. Again the boys behaved well, though some ended up with smarting eyes, patches of irritated skin, and rumpled tempers.

This is not the kind of treatment the men of the Quartermaster Corps are traditionally accustomed to. Throughout their 167-year history (last week was the birthday), QMCers have not been expected to fight. But no more. In this war QMCers will be trained as fighting men. Although quartermaster positions are five to 250 miles behind the battlefronts, the fluidity of modern battle tactics may expose them at any time to aircraft, paratroops, fast motorized units.

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