The Decoy Doughboy

Souvenir Edition -- Printed in Czechoslovakia

May 23, 1945. -- Publishes by and for the men of the 18th Combat Team. -- First Infantry Division, U. S. Army.

Small World

This is a story that goes to show you how small this world of ours really is:

The other day when remnants of the German 7th Army poured through the Czechoslovakian town of Lauterbach, Pfc. Allen Goodeker of Arlington, Nebraska, along with two of his 'B' Co. buddies were standing guard at an intersection. Their job was to keep the columns moving in the direction of the division concentration area, preventing traffic congestion.

Around noontime, three Germans stopped to ask directions to the PW cage. One Nazi spoke perfect Englith, and before moving on, paused to ask, "By chance, do any of you come from Arlingtbn, Nebraska?" Goodeker, being more than a 'little shocked, replied in the affirmative, and asked the Nazi how he knew of such a small town.

The German soldier gave 'Goodeker an even greater shock when he explained that his first cousin, a George Wolfe, lived in that town, because George Wolfe is Goodeker's first cousin also and that made the ex-Wermachter his second cousin. This strange coincidence coupled with the momentous events of the preceding days thoroughly convinced Pfc. Goodeker that we're living in a small, small, world indeed.