presenting the doctor gets the answer on the cavalcade of America sponsored by EI Dupont de Nemours and Company of Wilmington Delaware there's a hint of fall in the air and before we begin our play tonight here's a hint for you it's Dupont speedy wall finish now is the time of year when the serious business of home decorating really begins from the long list of better things for better living Dupont brings you speed easy the finish that covers almost any wall surface it covers wallpaper in one easy coat and dries in an hour it'll make your redecorating this fall the pleasantest you've ever done speed easy is just what its name says it's speedy dries fast it's easy easy to apply remember speedy made by the Dupont company and now for our play I'm a major in the medical corps army air forces I'm here tonight to tell you a pretty important story pretty important because it concerns how we're treating soldiers who to give it the scientific name have suffered traumatic neurosis of war they used to call it shell shock today it's known as battle fatigue by any name it's a difficult problem tonight by detailing the case history of sergeant Doug Bennett waist gunner in a v-17 we're going to tell you part of the story of how we're handling it listen to the case history of sergeant Doug Bennett the Dupont company presents the doctor gets the answer an original radio play written by Peter Lyon and based on documentary army material featuring Donald Buecher as sergeant Doug Bennett and Edwin Jerome as the medical corps major on the cavalcade of America you are a privileged visitor to an army air forces hospital where the convalescent training program has been going on for some time a year and a half or so you are sitting in the shadows of a hospital amphitheater one of about four dozen people looking down from the circular rows of seats to the brightly lighted stage where sit an army air forces doctor a member of my staff and a patient a convalescent technical sergeant Doug Bennett everybody present but you is a doctor their interest is professional they listen carefully jot down notes and they're loosely books they are learning about psychiatric therapy from a case history that of the convalescent now about to be discharged you watch the doctor below my assistant as he gestures toward the patient gentlemen this is sergeant Bennett he has been told that he would answer questions before you this morning sergeant would you tell what medals have been awarded you I got a purple heart an air medal couple oak leaf clusters how many battle missions sergeant 46 sir I'd like you to tell us about the complaints you had when you came here as a patient I mean complaints yes were you upset nervous yes sir well can you describe it in what way were you upset or nervous well I I couldn't sleep did you have dreams yes sir nightmares yes sir can you describe what sort of dreams you had I dreamt about battle missions dreamt of flack dreamt about men fighting off the Nazi pursuit ships about men yelling and screaming I'm to some Germans were the dreams in color or black and white in color sir any other complaints sergeant you you said something about your speech yes sir I used to stammer instead of for quite some time the matter of fact I still do just once in a while were you nervous before all this happened to you did you consider yourself a nervous person no sir were you nervous the morning of your last battle mission the 46th yes the 46th suppose you tell us the story of what happened that day just tell it in your own words no I I wasn't nervous that morning no more nervous than usual that is the assignment was over Augsburg pretty clear sailing on the way in a lot of flack over the target we got our bombs off okay then just as we came off our run the Nazis hit us pretty bad the intercom went out on the third pass at us by that time shorty he was my buddy the guy at the other waist gun turret shorty came over and told me the navigator had ordered us to hit the chute abandoned plane no we did just the two of us jumped out and cleared and started right right right over here I'm here hang on baby I'm coming shorty hey it's up that crowd last he gotcha you're hurt kid where are we talking to you got any idea yeah Germany we're in Germany it's after one o'clock unless the time bell is different here my watch says 120 Jeremy look at the mountains it's lucky we land in these woods see any houses or any people no got my eyes on those mountains that's West shorty that's where we're going in a few hours when it gets dark what are you talking about I can't walk look at me we're going there kid wait and see well it gets dark we'll be on our way just hang on shorty keep your hands locked kid we'll be there you're cold you're cold shorty I don't answer me kid save your breath we can make it to the border in another four hours before dawn baby France you hey you yes get us quiet friend So, who are you? You're German, you say? I... a friend. American. American? You're an aviator? Yes, aviator, that's me, American. Can you hide me? Come with me, quick! German patrol, the Bosch. They will come here soon. Follow me, quick! Here, food. And here, money. The money is not so valuable as the food. When you get to the next town, go to this address. They will be good to you. How far away is that? 32 kilometers. Keep off the roads. Travel only at night. I go only this far. From here, you will have to go by yourself. I understand. You, uh... you have hunger? I have no hunger. I understand. You, uh... you have hunger? Well, that's one way to say it. Under the blanket, here comes a motorcycle. Who goes there? I'm American. My friend, hold your fire. Come towards me with your hands folded on your head. Quick! Don't worry, buddy. I'll be as quick as I can. What the flies are you doing? Coming from that direction. Lost, are you, Yank? Not me, Tommy. I'm found. DFC Warren Monroe? Check. Concussion? Shock? Severe shrapnel wounds? Right. Lieutenant James Condon? Check. Multiple facial wounds? Shock? Blindness? Right. Sergeant Douglas Bennett? He looks okay. Severe shock? Fatigue? Due to lack of sleep and continuing physical exertion? Mild malnutrition? Traumatic neurosis? I take it all back. He needs to trip back to the States, all right. Twenty-eight. Still comes out. Twenty-eight. One, two, three, four. What's the game, soldier? Proving you know how to count? No, nurse. You see, it's my first day here. I wanted to get used to how many nails I'm going to be looking at in the ceiling. I make it twenty-eight, I think. You think? The trouble is when I get tired, I get this dizzy double vision. You see, nurse, I'm not sure. Maybe less than twenty-eight. They're twenty-eight, all right. I know. Only they're hooks, not nails. What you got there? Plane models. Twenty-eight of them. We're going to hang them up on those hooks and let you do a little home course in plane identification. Okay? Sure, nurse. Better than just plain nails, I guess. Okay, fellas, the next exercise. Beat apart like this. On one, left fingers touch right toe. On two, back up again. On three, right fingers touch left toe. On four, as you were. Ready? Okay. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, and hold. All you men with red cards, that's enough for you. Back to bed with him. You others, the same exercise. One, two, three, four. Hey, what's this red card stuff? You two? That means we quit. Back in bed and watch the other guys. I don't get it. Those guys with red cards, they figure they'll be pretty sick. They only get five minutes of calisthenics. With the yellow cards, you get five minutes more. With green, they figure you're pretty strong. Again, you can take a full 20 minutes. You and me, we're sick. Yeah. And after they finish these exercises? Training film. Pretty good sometimes. Lectures. Wednesdays, a guy comes in here and lectures on American history. No kid. Where'd you get yours? Me? I was in a plane. What do you mean you were in a plane? I don't know, soldier. Skip it. Okay, okay. Right in there, soldier. Go right in, the doctor's waiting. Okay. Sergeant Bennett, sir, the nurse told me to come in. All right, sure. Sit down, Sergeant. How are you? Pretty good, sir. You can skip the sir while you're here with me, Sergeant. Relax, you look a little tense. Nice tells me you've been crying at night. I don't know why, sir. Oh, it's nothing to be ashamed of, son. You'd be a freak if you didn't cry. Remember when you were a kid and you'd fall down and hit a chair or something? Start bowling? Your mother would come up and comfort you? Yeah. Well, you weren't right then either, at least not badly. But the fall scared you, so you cried. Did you go at letting off steam, eh? I guess so. Sure. You dream much? Yes, sir. Bad. You look a lot better than when you got here. They kept me busy here. All the lectures and learning a lot of new stuff. Can you remember what your dreams were about? Any of them repeat themselves? There's one, sir. Tell me about it. It's not even when I'm asleep, sir. At least I don't think it is. You see, that's what makes it worse. Just before you fall asleep. That's right. You see, it's just about when I'm asleep and it's like when you're sitting in an automobile and you're looking in one direction. And behind you, someone steps on the running board, you know? Just that little motion, it makes you turn your head around and look. And? Well, I turn around. And there behind me, there's two Germans. Nazis with swastikas and all. They got knives in their belts and each holding an open knife in their hands. Just looking at me. And? And? Nothing. I can't remember anymore. I'm awake, but I can't move. They're standing right there by the bed. I figure if I can just jump out of bed without them realizing I'm not asleep. And so all the time I'm breathing regular. I pretend that I am asleep. I figure I'll be able to get up and get out of the door and lock it behind me before they come and get me. Same two Nazis every time? Yes, sir. Then what happens? That's all. The rest? No more you can remember. No, sir. Well now then, Sergeant, I'm going to ask you to slip into this bed over here, if you will. Into bed? Yep. Just slip off your bathrobe and pajamas. Hang them on that hook there, that'll do. And then pop into bed. Yes, sir. I always hate to have anybody do something to me when I don't know what it is he's doing. So I'll tell you what I'm up to now with you. I'm going to take this hypodermic needle and shoot a little of this liquid into your arm. Not much. I can promise you it won't hurt much. Matter of fact, all it'll do is put you to sleep for a bit. I don't mind that, sir. I haven't been sleeping very good lately. That's a fact. Well, this stuff will do the trick. We call it pentothal. Now hold your arm up like that. There. Steady now. And we just shoot a bit of it into you. Now in a minute or two you'll be sleepy and you'll drop right off. You comfortable? Yes, sir. Fine. I'll leave you for a moment now if you don't mind. I'll be back directly, but I don't think you'll even realize it. You'll be asleep. Can you hear me, Sergeant? Can you hear me, Sergeant? Yes, sir. Count after me, Sergeant. Count. One. One. Two. Two. Three. Three. Four. Four. Five. Five. Six. Six. Seven. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. You are listening to The Doctor Gets the Answer, featuring Donald Buker as Sergeant Doug Bennett and Edwin Jerome as the Medical Corps Major on the Cavalcade of America, sponsored by E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company of Wilmington, Delaware, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. Our cavalcade play tonight is the story of Sergeant Doug Bennett, waist gunner in a flying fortress who has suffered traumatic neurosis, battle fatigue, and is now in a hospital under treatment for his shock. At the moment, Doug Bennett lies unconscious in a twilight sleep induced by a new drug called pentothal. He is unaware of his surroundings but able to talk clearly, able to answer any questions put to him, and yet when he awakes, he will remember none of what has happened. Later because of what the Major is about to learn of Doug Bennett's mental troubles, he will be able to treat him, cure him. Right now, the Major is ready to question his patient. Sergeant, you can hear me? Sure, sir. Skip this, Sergeant. I want you to tell me about your last flight mission. That was my 46th. Yes. What was your objective? The Messerschmitt assembly plants at Augsburg. There was a lot of flak but we got our bombs off okay. Right on the target. Shorty saw him. Shorty? Who's Shorty? Shorty was my buddy. The other waste gunner. And what happened after your bombs were dropped? That's when the Nazis came at us. They killed the pilot and the copilot. The navigator ordered us to jump. Ordered who? Just Shorty and me. We were the only ones that got out. How was that, Sergeant? Plane exploded right after we jumped clear. We were the only ones that got away. And then? What happened then? The Nazi Laus machine gunned us on the way down. Shorty didn't see him until too late. He was shot up pretty bad. I found him on the ground. Was he dead? Shorty? No, he wasn't dead. But we were way inside Germany and I had to get him out. And me. What did you do, Sergeant? I couldn't get him out with me. I couldn't carry him. I carried him for a couple of days. Then he died. I carried his body for a couple of days more. What happened to Shorty, Sergeant? There were the mountains and the snow on him. It was cold. I was carrying him over my shoulder but I couldn't keep going. I had to leave him. I had to do it. I hated to. I had to. I buried him in the snow. Shorty. And then you were alone. I marked the place where I buried him. I know where it is. I stuck a little cross up. I tried to remember a prayer. I couldn't remember any prayers. Sergeant, listen to me. What happened after you buried him? After. After I went on down the mountain. That was when I got to the border. And you crossed the border? Yeah. I crossed the border all right. Did something happen at the border, Sergeant? There was two Nazis there with knives. Nazis with swastikas on their sleeves. What happened, Sergeant? I murdered them. I took my own knife and I crept up behind them and I murdered them. But that wasn't... I know what was wrong. I was hungry. It was cold. I had to get back and... I know I shouldn't have murdered them. I pray to God to forgive me. It wasn't murder, Sergeant. A guy like me doesn't stab guys in the back. A guy like you kills your country's enemies, Sergeant. You killed two of them. It was your job. You did it well. It wasn't wrong. I dream about those two guys with their knives and their swastikas. You did right to kill them, Sergeant. You did perfectly right. Now, you go to sleep, Sergeant. You need it. And now you sit, a privileged visitor, watching the face of young technical Sergeant Doug Bennett as he sits in a hospital amphitheater in his maroon GI bathroom, talking to a medical officer before a still audience of some four dozen doctors, all taking notes in their notebooks. Now he has finished the story of his rehabilitation. The officer puts in one more question. By and large, you feel better now, do you, Sergeant? Me? Oh, I feel fine, sir. Fine. Dreams about gone, are they? I haven't had a bad dream in two weeks, sir. But there's just only one thing. Yes, what's that? Well, sir, I feel like I'm wasting my time here. My wound is okay. My nerves are okay. The major explained to me all about what happened and why. And I feel like it's all over with. We're glad you feel that way. Yes, sir. But now, well, I... Thinking about getting yourself a job, Sergeant? In a way, yes, sir. What I mean is I'd like to put in for active duty again. You see, sir, I feel like I'm missing the best part of the fight. Thank you, Donald Buecher, Edwin Jerome, and members of the Cavalcade cast. Now here is Ted Pearson speaking for the DuPont Company to tell you of an interesting way chemistry is helping to preserve and increase the nation's fruit crop. Around this time of year in many parts of the country, you see apple and pear trees colorful with fruit. And you may have noticed some on the ground. This fruit on the ground, pre-harvest drop as it's called, represents a loss of several million dollars a year to fruit growers. Fruit that stays on the tree until the proper stage of maturity is larger, tastier, and generally a better color. The problem is how to keep the fruit on the tree until just the right time to harvest, how to keep it from falling. This problem has now been solved by chemistry. Several years ago, scientists of the United States Department of Agriculture found that holly treated with naphthalene acetic acid did not shed as readily as untreated holly. This led them to try it for preventing the dropping of apples. Only a few apples dropped from the sprayed trees. Under the trees they didn't spray, the ground was covered with fallen fruit. So, the DuPont Company and several other chemical manufacturers went to work to make commercial sprays. Again, this year, many thousands of acres of apples and pears will be sprayed or dusted with DuPont Parmone. One experiment station horticulturists report that apples treated with DuPont Parmone and harvested eight days later are heavier, have better color, taste better, and keep longer. Apples and pears fall because of a chemical change resulting in the breakdown of a layer of cells in the stem. Parmone acts chemically to retard these changes. This action is so potent that four grams of it make a hundred gallons of spray. Because of Parmone, growers will be able to use their labor more effectively this fall, an important gain at a time when labor is so scarce. Much more fruit and of a better quality is added to our national fruit supply. Parmone synthetic hormone spray and Parmone dust are products of the DuPont Company, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. This is your cavalcade announcer, Roland Winters. For many weeks past, this part in our program has been used to tell you of the following week's play. This evening, I wish to tell you not only of A play and its stars, but of entire series of great stars and great radio plays. Beginning next Monday evening at this time and over this station, cavalcade will inaugurate for the fall and winter season a series of outstanding radio plays performed by the foremost stars of stage and screen. The plays in this series have been written by outstanding authors in the literary and entertainment world. And the performers starred in these plays include Clark Gable, Walter Pigeon, Rosalind Russell, Paul Muni, Edward G. Robinson, Bob Hope, Francis Langford, Tallulah Bankhead, and Robert Walker. As a special feature of this series, the eminent actor of stage and screen, Walter Houston, will serve as your host each week. To Rosalind Russell has fallen the honor of raising the curtain on this series next Monday evening in a fascinating and unusual role, Him from the Night. In the weeks to follow, Bob Hope, Francis Langford, and Jerry Colonna will give their first complete report to America on their recent Pacific Battlefront tour. Walter Pigeon, Edward G. Robinson, Clark Gable, Tallulah Bankhead, among many others, will appear in stories of high adventure, of romance, of science fighting to save lives, a series of quick glimpses of America's heroic past to reassure us for our future and to help us set our sights for the world to come. Next Monday evening's cavalcade starring Rosalind Russell in Him from the Night will be an exciting evening in radio, the first of many such evenings in store for you during the coming fall and winter season, a season of great entertainment brought to you by great stars in great radio plays on the cavalcade of America. The orchestra and musical score this evening were under the direction of Donald Voorhees. This is Roland Winters sending best wishes from cavalcade sponsor E.I. DuPont de la Morse and Company of Wilmington, Delaware. The cavalcade of America came to you from New York. The National Broadcasting Company.
