Salute

The hairy ears of the cannoneers of the Panama Coast Artillery Command are due to burn this week. Into them will be poured (Thursday, 8:30 to 9 p.m. E.D.S.T.) a booming salute from NBC. From Manhattan they will be greeted by their old commander, Major General Sanderford Jarman, by NBC President Niles Trammell, by Gertrude Lawrence, many another. Then from their own tiny stations, PCAN and PCAC, in the Canal Zone, their new topkick, Major General William E. Shedd, and Brigadier General Glen E. Edgerton, Governor of the Zone, will make reply.

First time in history such aerial whoop-de-do has been made over a branch of the U.S. Army, the program came into being as a consequence of the activities of ebullient Master Sergeant Clay Doster, editor of the slaphappy Panama Coast Artillery News (TIME, June 9). Few months ago Sergeant Doster was given the tough job of getting some good radio shows for minuscule PCAN and PCAC, which provide four hours of entertainment a day for the 30,000 artillerymen scattered through the lonely Panama jungles.

Lacking funds, Entrepreneur Doster appealed to NBC for help. Forthwith C. Lloyd Egner, head of NBC's radio-recording division, got together a ton of top-flight recordings, dispatched them to the Zone. Among them went a series of recordings made especially for the Jungleers by Actress Lawrence, now an honorary Jungle-Mudder, 1st Class.

Meantime NBC's Press Chief Bill Kostka decided that the next logical move was to tell the world about NBC and the Panama Coast Artillery. So this week NBC will tie the facilities of its Blue network via telephone line to a tiny 50-watt transmitter in the post gymnasium at Fort Amador, C.Z., advertise the fact that PCAN and PCAC are now its proteges.

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