MEN AT WAR: Sergeant Brown Goes to Town

For Technical Sergeant William L. Brown of De Witt, Ark., it all began in New Guinea, where the 32nd Division commander badly needed a Jap prisoner to question, and promised a furlough as payment. Brown scurried off into the bush, brought back a live Jap, spent his leave in Australia and got married there.

When the division moved to Luzon, there were new terms: for every live Jap, one case of beer and a three-day pass to Manila. Sergeant Brown took a prisoner in a cave by persuading him to discard his hara-kiri grenade and come out. Then Brown picked up his beer and went to Manila.

Twenty-four hours after his return, Brown ran into a Jap officer who went after him with his saber. The Sergeant wrestled him down, took the saber as a souvenir, again collected his beer and went to Manila.

Two days after this return he copped one live prisoner with a flying tackle, turned him over to a second soldier to hold, then chased a second Jap, who promptly sat down and pulled out a hara-kiri grenade. Thoughtfully Sergeant Brown stopped, took out a cigaret and lit it. The Jap’s face brightened. Brown replaced his .45 in its holster, walked up to the Jap and offered him a cigaret. The Jap put down his grenade for a moment to accept the gift . . . Brown went to Manila again.