On Nov. 28, three weeks after Election Day, Sergeant William C. O’Neill, of Marietta, Ohio, was somewhere in France with Lieut. General Patton’s Third Army. He picked up a copy of Stars & Stripes, read that he had been reelected to the Ohio Legislature. Forthwith, O’Neill was sworn in by his commanding officer, though he had to wait until Jan. 26 for orders to come home. By that time he was in Belgium. He raced to Paris in a jeep to catch a plane bound back to the east coast of the U.S.
Last week, dark-haired, amiable T/4 O’Neill (28) appeared at the State Capitol in Columbus. On furlough for the duration of the Legislature, he was still in uniform, still wearing his Good Conduct Medal, two bronze battle stars. Starting his fourth term (he was first elected at 22, was Republican whip last session), he went to the Speaker’s rostrum, made a speech about what a great job U.S. soldiers were doing overseas. His colleagues rose and cheered.
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