"Things Ain't Changed Any"

At Manila's north harbor, in a gloomy, drizzly dawn one day last week, 4,275 white and Negro service troops stepped ashore from LCMs. Helmeted and carrying their packs and carbines, they moved with the businesslike swing of seasoned veterans. They talked little, except to note that the mud on the beaches of this strange terrain looked just like the mud in Italy, only not so deep. Sloshing through it toward the gondola cars which were to carry them to the staging area, one G.I. cracked: "Things ain't changed any."

These men, veterans of Africa, Sicily and Italy, were the first redeployed troops to arrive in the Pacific from Europe. On hand to greet them were three brass bands and a galaxy of bestarred officers. The newcomers were quiet, almost glum. Some would soon have enough points to go home, yet after weeks on a transport, they knew only that they were farther away from home than ever. And they were willing to bet that they would stay there quite a while.

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