The Cavalcade of America, sponsored by the DuPont Company. Tonight, Burgess Meredith stars in a story of men and women ships of the amphibious command. Sign here please, with Bob Bailey on the Cavalcade of America, sponsored by the DuPont Company. Maker of better things for better living through chemistry. Better things that include DuPont nylon, DuPont cellophane, DuPont plastic. Right after Pearl Harbor, our Navy was asked to pull up to the island of the Pacific and to the fortress of Europe to deliver full-scale invasions on shores bristling with guns pointed right down their throats. The Navy's amphibious training command invented the way to do it. Created strange ships, never before seen on water. Ships that deliberately headed for the shore, rammed themselves onto the beaches. Ships that opened up their faces and out of which marched and rolled all the men and equipment of war. LSTs, Landing Ship Tanks. LSMs, Landing Ship Medium. LCIs, Landing Craft Infantry, loaded with troops. LCTs, Landing Craft Tank. And in the first wave, LCMs, Landing Craft Material. LCVPs, Landing Craft Vehicles Personnel. Everything you need for an invasion. This evening, on the third anniversary of the amphibious training command, the DuPont Cavalcade presents Burgess Meredith as Jiminy Peters in Sign Here, Please with Bob Bailey as Hal McGeehee. Here's one of our men now. We pick him up in a rather unexpected place, Butternut, Nebraska. His name is Hal McGeehee. He got home two hours ago. He's seen the family, fed his dog, and now he's going to see his girl. Hey, Hal! But it's not so easy for a fellow like Hal to walk across his hometown without somebody trying to stop him. Hal! Hal McGeehee! Oh, hello, Mr. Bayes. Glad to see you, Hal. Saw you passing the office. Glad I caught you. Tomorrow morning's Thursday. Got to print the paper. Now, how about a quick little interview? Well, look, Mr. Bayes, I was just going over... Oh, won't take a minute. Won't take a minute. Just up in the office. Got to print the news, you know. Hey, you're looking fine. Had any bad experiences? There we are. Now sit down. Now tell me, what's the worst thing that happened to you? Is that what you want? The worst? Sure. Jiminy Peters. Huh? That's the worst. Jiminy Peters. Hey, look, I got to go, Mr. Bayes. Now wait a minute, wait a minute. Now, who is this Jiminy Peters? Well, he's nobody. Just a guy. Well, I can't write about him. You tell me about you, Hal. Oh, but gosh, Mr. Bayes, I... Come on, come on now. Begin at the beginning. Well, that's not a very good place to begin, I can tell you that. It was so disappointing. That's when we first saw our ship. That's when we first met him, Jiminy Peters. We just got to the Philadelphia Navy Yard. In those days, in 42, they didn't have much time. You got out of boot camp and then you swam through the mud at that training camp in Virginia. And then they sent you right to your ship. Well, I never saw many ships sailing around Nebraska, but I'd seen pictures. And I thought I knew what a ship ought to look like. For crying out loud. Hey, Hal, what is it? Well, it ain't no ship I ever saw. Hey, what are we, a comedy act? Why didn't somebody tell us? Hey, that thing will sink as soon as we cast off. It's nothing but an iron box. An iron dome close, brother. Hey, Stinky, look. What? The whole front end of it's openin' up. With doors. Yeah. Hey, suppose them doors bust open up to sea. Hey, Harvett, you want a ship on that? Not if I can avoid it. I went to Europe once when I was young and I know that thing couldn't stand it. It's probably only some foolish experiment. Hey, here comes a guy. Maybe he knows. Hey, Max, hey. Good morning, gentlemen. I see you're admiring our ship. Admiring it? I don't blame you. It's a noble craft, latest model, all improvements, including an anchor. We call this model an LST. That stands for Let's Stay in Texas. It carries tanks and jeeps, plus a couple hundred marines and an army. They're for ballast. It's not so large, I'll grant you that, but it has its advantages, gentlemen. It means a small crew, and a small crew means a chance for advancement. It means if we keep our shoes shined every day, they'll let us take turns being captain. And consider this, my friends. Now, this isn't official. Now, come closer. This isn't official. But I heard that in case of good behavior, they're gonna give each man one of these things after the war. All you'll have to do is to run it up on land, put a couple of gasoline pumps on the front, and you got a garage. Might be glad to have you with us, gentlemen. Step aboard, leave in any minute, under orders, you know. They want us to go out and find a place called Australia. Huh? Australia? Yeah, somebody's sorting a map. They're not sure it's there, but you know, the Navy, always curious. Hey, look, wise guy, I don't like to be hoarse. It's me that's gonna be stuck on that thing. If that's going to Australia, something bigger will have to carry it. And I didn't join the Navy to ride on something that rides on something else. Me either. I don't like people to talk that way about my ship. You want that thing to snap its big mouth and bite you? It goes to Australia all by itself. Don't worry. Now, we know you joined the Navy to see the war, so we designed a ship just to carry you right into the battle. Who wants to look at the war through field glasses? We take you right up to where you can see the whites of their eyes and the bucks of their teeth. Now, don't crow, gentlemen. Single file, hoop! Hup yourself, sailor. Hey, what's your name? James D. Peters, the D's for damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead. Don't give up the ship, you'll get your feet wet. How long you been with that ship? What ship? That ship? Yeah. Never thought before I just got here. Well, that'll give you a sample of what we was up against. And that was just the beginning. We couldn't get away from that guy. But we cast off, left Philadelphia, went around Florida, through the canal, stopped just long enough to say goodbye to San Diego. And believe me, it wasn't any excursion. I remember about a month later in the middle of the Pacific, it was fighting a terrific storm. Stinky, what you doing? I'm making my will. Time, innit? Except I can't think of nothing I got to will. Well, I don't know if I'm scared myself, except I know you fellas will all start lying and say you wasn't. Well, I'm scared. Don't be a drip, Harvard. Well, you can pretend, but I was raised to be honest. Well, if the Navy isn't gonna get us there, why don't we go back? Close that hatch! Oh, for Pete's sake, it's Mr. Peters. I thought maybe you washed over for him. It ain't a fit night out for man or beast. That's why they sent us. Hey, look, I'm not in the mood. If you want to be funny around me, where do we get on land? We'll be on land just as soon as we get over the next wave right in the bottom of the ocean. Then you gotta let me tell you the story of my life. It's very interesting. It began the minute I started breathing. I looked up and there was a doctor beating me just below the, just below the middle of my back. And I hadn't done anything. So I said, look, Doc... Cut it out, will you? I mean it. Oh, you have no sense, Peters. It's kind of a ship. It's a new experiment. No one ever saw one before this war. How do we know we're gonna get there? Ah, you fellas are not observant. Didn't you notice how the deck sort of doubles up every time we hit something? How a wave seems to run right through the plate? So what? Ingenious, isn't it? Rubber, steel. Besides, when you're back home, didn't you ever wonder what it would be like inside a washing machine? Well, now you know. Now come a little closer. Tell you something. Suppose they don't think we'll get there. Think of the scandal if we do. See? Think of all those admirals who get busted because they guess wrong. Think of them melting down all that gold braid. Well, I can hardly wait. You want some coffee? Uh, you ain't got the brains to be scared. That's the only thing I got that ain't scared. Besides, we'll get there. I know we will. How do you know? Because I told my dentist to forward the bill. You don't think he's gonna let me get out of that, do you? Well, we'll get there. Well, we got there. Our ears were a little sore from listening to Jiminy Peters, but we made it. And that's how we found out those ships were built to go 6,000 miles and feed themselves and a crew of over 100 men for over seven months without stopping. That's a fact. Well, we got there, and then what happened? We sat in a harbor waiting for the rest of the ships for days and days. We just about went nuts. And believe me, that guy didn't help any, neither. One day we was sitting on our bunks in a space so small, we was just about breathing in each other's faces. Hell. Okay, Stinky, what do you want? I don't want nothing. I was just gonna ask you, what you thinking? If I thought I'd jump over, then somebody'd probably pull me out. Consequently, I ain't thinking. Well, what I just asked. I just told you. Well, you think you're worse off than everybody else? I didn't say I was worse off. Hey. Hey. How do you spell appendicitis? Two P's or three? I'm telling the folks who got it. Yeah. Mr. Peters wants to know how to spell appendicitis. Why? Well, my folks are very smart. If I tell them I'm all right, they'll think something's wrong. I don't want them to worry. Well, just tell them you got locked your. Like in dream, can't I? I tell you folks, we all got overgrown blisters waiting for something to happen. Yeah. Tell them we're in the last and final stages of mildew. Well, gentlemen, if you're bored, I'll just write to headquarters and get some action. Now, who do we know that's high up in the Navy? President Roosevelt. It pays to go to the top, you know. Take a letter. Dear Mr. President, did you ever hear of us? Well, it's true. Sincerely yours, James D. Peters. The D, Mr. President, is for don't mention it. Oh, go away and let me sleep. I got to write to my folks. I think I'll tell them I got leprosy. That I can spell. You see what I mean? You see how a guy like that can get on your nerves? Not just when we were sitting around because pretty soon we was wishing we could sit. They had us practicing beachings from morning to night. Stinky and Jimmy Peters and I had charge of the bow gun. Stinky loaded, Jimmy trained it, and I was the guy that fired it. But just because Jiminy Peters aimed that gun, he thought he was running the whole ship. One day he even started briefing the whole crew. Now gentlemen, gentlemen, listen to me. It's all very simple. Okay, Captain. Very good. Now on the first trip, if any man makes a mistake, I don't want him to feel bad. See, no, don't take it too serious. It's just a war. If anybody has any trouble, we'll just turn around, start over till we get it right. I don't believe in asking my men to do anything I wouldn't do myself. And if I could swim from here to California, I wouldn't do this myself. Now please bear in mind, gentlemen, now when making a landing, the most important thing is not to bump when you hit the beach. Hey, Jimmy, take it very easy. Otherwise you're going to spill somebody's coffee right in his saucer. Hey, Jimmy, the captain. And I don't want any coffee wasted on this ship, you understand? That's why I'm the captain. No, sir, just sail round, round, round, till you find some nice soft sand. What's going on here, Peters? How do you do, Captain? Thank you, pardon, sir, I was talking, sir, a little, sir. It almost sounded like beaching instructions. Crew seems quite interested, too. Nice to know you remember all those lectures, Peters. Carry on. Me, sir? Carry on. Well, yes, sir. Me, sir? We'll assemble before dawn, gentlemen, outside the enemy harbor. In the dark, each ship will assume its position. At H hour, the first wave will go in. Each ship must follow, must follow its prescribed lane, must hit the beach at the exact spot designated, must arrive in a minute, not one minute before, one minute after. One must unload instantly and at the signal must retract, pull away from the beach, return onto its own lanes so as not to interfere with the incoming traffic. All right, we'll try that, Peters. What, sir? Just as you have under, Peters. All hands, man your beaching stations. Oh, Jimmy, somebody ought to beat your head in. Can I help it if the captain wants to learn? We all wanted to learn. We knew darn well we'd need all the learning we could get when the big day came. Then after weeks of practicing, we was all set for the real thing, a landing on a champ-held island. Our LSD was supposed to take in both men and equipment, so the first step was to get the boat loaded. Stinky and Jimmy and me and some of the others stood up near the bow gun, or we could watch the tanks roll on deck. Well, that's number seven and they're still coming. Hey, shine up that gun, big boy. Jimmy, what you doing at that site? I'm practicing with my left eye. That's the one I use to shoot jabs. What's the matter with your right eye? The one I have to keep on you and Stinky so you won't make any mistakes. Now, please remember, gentlemen, just do everything the way I tell you. Oh, brother. Hey, Hal, how we should have taken this guy along? Hey, look, look, that's the last tank. How many we got aboard? Ten. Then we got jeeps and 150 troops. And don't they got all their mortars and stuff, too? Oh, this is it, brother, this is it. Personally, I don't find it very exciting. What's the matter with you? Oh, it's too much like the movies that I've seen. I don't like these war stories. I prefer the kind of scene where the big financier finds out he's down to his last $20 million. You know, he reaches in the drawer, he pulls out a gun, puts it up to his head, and you know, the kind of situation where you feel somebody's going to get hurt. Feelin' the way I do about you, sweetheart, that's just the kind of situation this is, right this minute. Hey, wait a minute, look, guys. They're closing her up. Well, here we go, brother. They're securing the bow doors now. To the end of the line. You are listening to Burgess Meredith as Jiminy Peters in Sign Here, Please, with Bob Bailey as Hal McGeehy on the cavalcade of America, sponsored by the DuPont Company, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. As we continue with our story, there is tense excitement among the crew of an LST on duty somewhere in the Pacific. On D-Day, we stood around the dock before dawn outside the enemy harbor. The barrage was kind of noisy. Then it stopped. We started moving. There were ships as far as you could see, LSTs, LCIs, LCTs, LCMs, landing ships full of everything there is in a war, Bob. But even so, while we stood there beside the bow gun, it all seemed kind of quiet. Like everything was keeping its voice down. Hey, Hal, do you think there's any Japs left over there? We ain't got long to find out. Where's Jimmy? He's got his left eye on the site. And men, the target will lead you in. Hey, listen, that Army Captain is talking to those troops again. Remember if this ship gets stuck on a sandbar or hits a mine, we're way too short. You got that? Yes, sir. If they don't get our equipment in, we'll fight anyhow. We know there are pillboxes on this beach. If the barrage hasn't got them, those Japs will be raiding the ship and trying to knock off the crew so we don't get the doors open. Now, if they don't get the doors open, here's what you've got. What's he mean, if we don't get the doors open? Does he think we forgot the combination? Worse comes to worse, I'll tear them open with my bare hands. Are you still talking? I'm full of resentment. And that ain't all, you big bag of wind. Hmm. You know, you remind me of my old man. You know, the day before I left, my old man said to me, he says, James D., he says, that D. stands for don't come back unless you're a hero. Now, he says to me, your great grandfather was in the Civil War and he died of dysentery. Your grandfather was in the Spanish-American War. He died in a barber chair in Cincinnati. So it's up to you, son. It's paid. What's the matter? Right over there between those two stumps, you see that white rock? You see that? Right beside that, there's something moving. Isn't there? Yeah, you're right. Sure. Gun 41 to Bridge. Bridge. Aye. Suspicious movement on beach, bearing zero, zero, five, near white rock. Permission to open fire. Gun 41. Commence firing. Well, whatever it was, when we got through, it wasn't. And even though this was our first trip, we rammed that ship in right to the inch where she was supposed to be. She was unloaded in 30 minutes. Nobody got nervous. Well, not too nervous. We made four trips that day. When it was over, we felt, well, naturally satisfied. But after that, we got used to it. The same thing over and over. Vince Charbon, Cape Gloucester, Sidor, Hollandia, Saipan, Wadkey. There was no story, especially. Of course, by this time, we had some new faces to take the place of Harvard and some of the others. But Jiminy Peters kept right on talking, even when we got stuck. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. That's when we got the load of natives. And that's when that guy Jimmy really did something. What kind of a thing is this anyhow? The Tide Place trick then is we get stuck. We sit here for 24 hours, get pasted by the jet plane, and now they load us up with natives. Yeah, planes came over yesterday, and Drop Leaf was telling those people to get up in the hills. But they were so anxious to see us, they just hid in the bushes. Now we got to get them out of the way. Hey, where are we going to take them to, Hoboken? Hey, look at that old guy. I bet he's 150 if he's a girl. Who did that? That woman over there, that girl. Jimmy's talking to us. Come on, let's go over, stinky. That guy makes even the foreigners scream. Hey, look, wait a minute. He's picking her up on his own. Hey, Jimmy, leave her alone. No trouble, boys, no trouble. Hey, put her down, you dope. Here comes the captain. What's going on, Peters? A woman, sir. There's an interesting condition, sir. I think pretty soon it's going to get even more interesting. What do you mean? The nearer I can make out, sir, she's going to have a baby. Is that all? Yes, sir. Well, come on, let's take her into the wardrobes, try to make her comfortable. Captain. Yes, what is it? Message coming in, sir. Officer the deck wants you on the bridge. Carry on, Peters, I'll be right back. Yes, sir. Hey, Hal, open the door, will you? Remember, I'm carrying two these days. Well, what are we going to do? Put her on the table. Oh, no. Mother, mother, the new... Get the pharmacist, mate, will you? Jimmy told me one of the other one is... Uh-oh. All right, lady, what can I do for you? What can I? Oh, we can't just stand here, Jimmy. Okay, let's do something. You know what to do? Well, I lived on a farm once, but all we had was tractors. Let's go from that medicine cabinet, will you? Hurry up. What are you going to do? Well, I don't know, but I feel better if that medicine cabinet is open. Okay. Oh, mother. Yeah, lady, I know, I know. At least I can imagine. Don't you worry, lady, we're here. I got the lock off. Oh, lady, now, lady, don't be nervous. No, no. No, we all have to go through this. I know you don't understand, but you try to, will you? Look, we're your friends, see, friends. Ah, that's right. Take it easy, lady. You take it easy. That's a good girl. Sure, sure. Here, take this. That's right. Just take a whiff of this nice, clean ether. That's right. Might even have to take a swig myself. That's right. This ether lady came all the way from the United States just in case we had a baby. That's right. That's nice, girl. Sure, you understand. Here's a captain. I've been waiting, Peters. Is everything all right? Yes, sir. I'm a father, sir. What is it? A boy? In my family, sir, we prefer it that way. Yes, sir. It's in the log. A baby boy. A boy. A boy. A boy. A boy. A boy. A boy. A boy. A boy. A boy. A boy. A boy. A boy. A boy. A boy. A boy. A boy. A boy. A baby born on a landing ship. Well, naturally, after that you couldn't shut up Jiminy Peters. You couldn't expect to. He talked right up to the end. Yeah, we had an end, all right. Had some bad luck, put us out of business. We was coming in on another beach. It wasn't really light yet. We had a load of tanks and the decks was full of gasoline drums. We hit a mine. The next thing I knew, we all seemed to be in the water. Hey, Legos. Hello? Hey, Legos. Legos, my hair. Your head up, you big dumb, Nebraska cuck. You can't live underwater. You still here? I might have known with all that hot air, you'd never sick. Thank you. You're so good to me since the baby came. Hey, let's get out of here. There's a fire in the water. Hey, Jimmy. Jimmy, where are you? Here. Well, get moving. Go ahead. What you staying there for, you fool? Waiting for a streetcar. Are you hurt? I want you to say so. Grab my shoulder. Come on, grab this barrel. Oh, the barrel won't hold us both, will it? Oh, pipe down, pipe down. Ah, if you don't mind. Don't use that word down. Right now, it's in very bad taste. Well, sir, the last time I saw Jimmy was in the hospital. Yes, all of us here in the hospital know James D. Peters. The D I'm told stands for don't give me digitalis, nurse. Chisses are cheaper. Here he is. Okay, thank you, Lieutenant. Hiya, Jimmy. Hey, what you got on all that cement for? You hurt bad? This is an interesting experiment, my friend. Come close. They wrap me up like this, and when the spring comes, I crawl out and I'm a butterfly. How are you, my boy? Oh, fine, fine. Hey, you'll get the Purple Heart for this, you know that? Ah, I'm not the only one. Don't kid me. Hey, we lost the ship, huh? Yeah. Oh, that's a funny old tub. I never told anyone, but I was in love with it. Always did pick funny things to fall in love with. I was planning to take it home and introduce it to the family. Well, we'll get another, don't worry. Wasn't our fault, was it? No, of course not. I mean, we did our job, didn't we? Hey, stop worrying. Of course we did. Hey, for Pete's sake. Hey, hey! How's your work? Look who's coming, Jimmy, the Admiral and some army guy. Three-star. Here's another one of those men, General. Hi, son. Okay, sir. Well, I understand you were on that LST that hit the mine. Yes, sir, gave us quite a lift, General. Yes, they can be quite stimulating. How many invasions were you in? Seven, seven, sir. Well, speaking for the Army, son, I think you've done a fine job. Did we deliver your stuff, sir? We certainly did. In good condition, sir? That's right. On time, sir? Always. Sign here, please. Why? Well, I mean, sir, that's what they say, isn't it? When they deliver stuff in good condition on the date specified, they give you a slip and they say, sign here, please. You want me to sign right here in my plaster cast? Well, I certainly will. With pleasure. Well, Mr. Bayes, that's all that happened, I guess. But how? What am I going to say in the paper about you? Well, that's what I tried to tell you, Mr. Bayes. I guess you want some kind of a hero story, but that's all there was to it. We just did our job, that's all. That's what war is really like. Your job and fellows like Jiminy Peters and... Well, that's all. Yeah. Yeah, I see what you mean. But I think I can get an article out of it, Hal. Yes, sir, I think so. Uh-huh. Well, nice to see you, Mr. Bayes. Where are you going? Why, uh, I heard Carol Sand was still living here. So I heard. Yeah, she is. Heard she was still pretty. Yes, indeed. Uh-huh. Well, this is one invasion where I'm plenty nervous. Good night, Mr. Bayes. Good night, Hal, good night. Our thanks to you, Burgess Meredith and Bob Bailey, and to all the other members of tonight's DuPont Cavalcade Chariot. Next week on the DuPont Cavalcade, we're going to bring you a warm and human play about a girl, the most famous and best-beloved girl in America. Even if this year she's celebrating her 59th birthday. She's the first girl our GIs strain their eyes to see when they come back to America from overseas. She's the Statue of Liberty, and our play is about how this stately bronze lady entered the lives of a little boy and his crusty grandfather in Brooklyn, New York. Our play is called Grandpa and the Statue. And for our star, we will welcome back to DuPont Cavalcade that fine actor, Charles Lawton. Music for tonight's DuPont Cavalcade is composed and conducted by Robert Armbruster. Our play was written by Philip Lewis based upon materials supplied by the United States Navy Amphibious Training Command. This is Gain Whitman inviting you to listen next week to Grandpa and the Statue, starring Charles Lawton on the Cavalcade of America, brought to you by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. This is the National Broadcasting Company.
