October Index AND The Argus Observes: Military perils on first Veterans Day

Oct. 29: The Argus Observes: Military perils on first Veteran’s Day.

Oct. 25: In 1952 Medford pheasant hunter collapses and dies.

Oct. 22: The Argus Observes: Don Lynch writes about hunting with his two sons.

Oct. 18: 1952 story that Ontario is told to quit dumping raw sewage in Snake River.

Oct. 15: 1952 story that prominent wrestler Don Sugai was killed in car accident.
The Argus Observes --- Learning is a matter of simplification.
Oct. 11: 1952 story that Malheur Home Telephone Company wants to raise four-party rate to $3.50 a month.

Oct. 8: 1952 story that deer hunters quickly bring in 350 kills.
2007 story that federal government is declaring a disaster for county rangeland.
The Argus Observes --- Local schools avoid softness of California-New York style education.

Oct. 4: 1952 story that Ontario plant processes 15 percent of nation’s frozen corn.
State suggests county form a mosquito abatement district.

Oct. 1: 1952 story that city jail gets a cleaning and new blankets.
2007 brief links to a story about Ontario woman waiting on news of son in Afghanistan.
The Argus-Observes --- U.S. would have trouble ruling the world.

THE ARGUS OBSERVES --- MILITARY PERILS ON FIRST VETERANS DAY

From the Nov. 15, 1954 issue of the Argus-Observer

By Don Lynch

Ontario conducted an outstanding observance of its first Veterans Day.
Thursday’s parade and ceremony at the school field made the best recognition of a patriotic holiday that has been held here in many years….

The occasion justified a larger public attendance than it received even though there were some 500 persons at the ceremonies and a larger number watching the parade…

Col. D.P. Wood from Mountain Home AFB, who made the address at the school field, gave his listeners a strong reminder of the military perils of today’s world.

He told the standard public relations story of the Strategic Air Command --- that a Russian A-bomb attack could paralyze this nation in a matter of hours but that retaliation by the SAC would be swift and sure and even more devastating.

“If Russia struck now,” he said, “Thursday morning our bombers from Mountain Home would be out, deliver their bombs over critical Russian targets and be home before you get up tomorrow morning.”

In other attention to Veterans Day, Maj. Gen. John Walsh, adjutant general for Idaho, talked to the Ontario Kiwanis club.

He urged consideration be given to the idea of large scale military training for civilians.
“I know it sounds like militarism,” he said, “but we face either that alternative or the expense of supporting a large armed force which might be such a load that it could destroy our traditional way of life.”

Gen. Walsh explained that men can be given military training while they live at home and continue on their jobs and in school. By this method virtually all of the nation’s young men aged 19 to 26 (the prime military age) could be kept trained all of the time. As it is now, the nation’s reserve men are mostly over age and out of contact with their training.

All of these contacts with the new Veterans Day spoke well for Ontario. It is a good thing for a community to make some real observance of a patriotic holiday at least once a year and Ontario could be proud of its activity last week….(But) there may be a hue and cry against closing stores and schools for Veterans Day another year because some towns in the area (notably Boise) remained open this year….