Fred Hallett (H/274) writes:
It was a day of "Honor and Glory" for me, and will
be remembered for as long as I live. Before you read the article
below, be advised that I didn't know that this Stars and Stripes
newspaper article had been picked up by the Associated Press and
printed back home until after my discharge from the army. We found
the local clipping in my Mother's Bible after her death. My part was
just as a member of the "Company "H"- 880 yard relay team.
The entire track meet was covered by "The Stars
and Stripes" which was the Armed Forces Newspaper during WW. II, a
very popular and well read overseas publication. Their published
articles and reports were picked up by the Associated Press wire
service, and distributed to the newspapers back in the States.
GERMAN WATCH GIVES GI's RECORD
Sports Followers in the 274th Infantry Regiment
read the results in disbelief. An "H" Company 880 yard relay team,
in Battalion competition, wearing combat boots, bettered the world's
record by 11 seconds.
Members of the team were; Sgt. Fred Hallett, Walla
Walla, Wa., Cpl. Mike Linkovich, Monaca. Pa., S/Sgt. Clyde W. Clark,
Turner's Fall, Mass., and S/Sgt. Moncer L. Young, Mishawaka, Ind.
Official track and field records indicate that the
present record for the 880 relay is one minute, 25 seconds, set by a
Stanford University team in 1937. The "H" Company team's time was
checked at one minute 14 seconds.
The officer in charge of the meet said that
distance and the time were correct. He added that he timed the event
with a German stop-watch. That may have been a clue.
Several days later, the team ran again and placed
second behind a crew which won in one minute, 46 seconds, American
watch time. It is hard to stay on top for very long! Running in
combat boots makes a guy tired. At any rate, we had fun at the
sports meet, it was a blast for everyone. Also we were heroes for
several days!
