"There Are Values . .."

In Washington, President John Kennedy and Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko discussed East-West tensions for two hours. They settled nothing, but top-level talks between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. would continue, and the Berlin crisis seemed to be easing slightly.

In confronting the crisis, it is vital that the U.S. convince the Communist leaders that the nation is willing to fight and its citizens are ready to sacrifice. Last week, across the U.S., 82,000 reservists and National Guardsmen prepared to answer a call to active duty. Among them were 10,000 officers and enlisted men from 72 Wisconsin communities. They were members of the National Guard's famed 32nd Division--and there could be no doubting their spirit.

Red Arrow Tattoo. The 32nd is a crack outfit. It earned its shoulder patch, a red arrow piercing a battle line, in the Meuse-Argonne during World War I. Its first casualties were suffered when the troopship Tuscania was sunk by a German submarine. In World War II the Red Arrow Division fought its way from Buna to Saidor to Hollandia to Aitape to Luzon in 654 combat days--more than any other army unit in the nation's history. Along the way its men won n Congressional Medals of Honor, 49 Legions of Merit, 153 Distinguished Service Crosses. In these two wars, the 32nd suffered 20,500 casualties.

When the 32nd returned to Wisconsin after four years of World War II, the town of Marshfield (pop. 14,153) had suffered so many casualties (20 dead out of an infantry company of 122 men) that it refused to have another National Guard unit located there. Recalls Mrs. Clare Ecke, whose husband fought with the Red Arrow Division: "I remember one blue Monday when the Marshfield News Herald had nine killed-in-action pictures spread across the front page. That's a lot for a town like this to take." But Marshfield changed its mind, and now its men are returning to duty. One is Harry Donald Steinmetz, 43, who retired as a master sergeant in 1959 after 20 years with the 32nd. Says Steinmetz, who has rejoined the 32nd: "I feel like I have the Red Arrow tattooed on my shoulder. I'd hate to see the boys leave without me."

The impact of the 32nd's return to duty will be felt in every Wisconsin city and town. The far north town of Superior (pop. 33,563) is losing a high school principal, superintendent of student teaching, basketball coach and 55 students at Wisconsin State College. Medford (pop. 1,622) is sending its mayor, its city attorney and three teachers. Rib Lake (pop. 794) is losing its only physician, Dr. Robert Pettera. Says Pet-tera: "I knew when I signed up that I had to be ready for something like this."

"Kids Get Hungry." Inevitably, the call-up worked personal hardships. In the town of Stettin (pop. 4,141), Captain Raymond Ott cancelled plans for expanding his milk franchise: "I'll just have to teach my wife Rosemary how to keep the business going until we get back. But this is what we signed up for--to take care of emergencies. It looks like we got an emergency."

Said Wausau Salesman Robert Melang: "The main thing my wife fears is loneliness, especially at night after she's put the children to bed. Except for her and the kids, I don't mind going. We've had good training--we've got a real good outfit." Says Antigo's Captain Norman Martell, the father of eight: "Sure, it's rough on all of us, but that's what we're here for. I've been building myself up a little insurance business for the last six years. Now I'm having to make arrangements to have part of my accrued savings paid out to me while I'm in service. Eight kids can get kind of hungry."

In Tomahawk, Lieut. Michael Red mond got his orders just three days after he was married. Says he: "That's just the way it is. It looks as if we're going to have to teach the Russians a lesson.' Four of the five men at Dar's service station are leaving, including Owner Darwin Hilgendorf. Just last month, Norman Osero had opened Norm's Stereo and TV Shop. Last week he had a new sign

OUt: CLEARANCE SALE.

Values More Important. Thus, despite the hardships it worked on them, the men of the Red Arrow Division return to duty with resolution and high spirit. That resolution and spirit were expressed by a division's chaplain, Rev. William B. Downey, as he put on his major's uniform: "There are values more important than peace. Freedom and justice, for example. I'm prepared to sacrifice peace for them." Those were words that free men everywhere could stand by.

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