ARMY & NAVY: The Great Ordeal

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Colorado's Senator Ed Johnson, convinced that the Army's system would only result in snafu, thought he had a better one cooked up. His was a simple-sounding formula with an even simpler-sounding name: FIFO (first-in-first-out—"the only fair and equitable method"). Johnson would like to make FIFO a law, which would upset the Army's applecart. (Actually FIFO is neither fair nor equitable, since it takes into consideration neither service overseas nor combat service.)

The Army stuck to its guns. It indicated that more than half the men who will be shifted to the Pacific will be staged through the U.S. Most of the combat troops will be moved that way, and they will get brief furloughs at home. For them there will be temporary reunions before the new (and last) period of anxiety and sacrifice.