U. S. Servicemen in Iceland Suffer From Indignities, Restrictions, Embarrassments Qwembare, Mar. 7, I960 -5-C and former ambassador to Mos- controversy," one highly placed cow. is one of the State Depart- and sympathetic government of-menfs top trouble shooters.
The Cciil, told this rcportcr State Department also is sending; other new foreign officers to Ice-i, with the express purpose of have found most Icelanders improving the situation. shy, but pleasant people. i Many Americans blame their Thpy nt 8 difficulties on the Icelandic Com- to be friendly, but they accept munists. Communist popularity in friendship warmly once they be- OlISS ISIAVD lv If f) l' 1 form to Icelandic menus. They eat lots of fish.
During the summer, the Icelandic government barred Americans from its only national park, Thingvellin, Timinn. the Progres Editor's Note James Elliott, feeling between U.S. mililary' military affairs writer for the forces and Iceland civilians was Norfolk Ledger-Star, recently at a two weeks in Iceland in- Bwv, vestigating complaints of AmerW can servicemen who man NATO Force now-Army men, defenses there. His articles on ta Iceland brave blizzard weath-1 how Americans live behind the er, standing their posts in knee-j glacier curtain were made avail- deep snowdrifts, below freezing' able to The Associated Press. The temperature and howling, relent- mt conJetf ti0" a inds.
They Oy though all' six articles he wrote from Iceland. types of miserable weather and! sive party newspaper, incensed, American feelings here, by writ-ing that if the Americans "want! to see tne country, wey must oe. "closely supervised by Icelandic Iceland has decreased. In last come acquainted. Servicemen ap year's election they drew only 15 pear unanimous in their feeling per cent of the vote, compared that the majority of Icelandic with 20 per cent in 19r6.
people do not hate Americans. The parties in power still fearj But as a nation, they will never Communist reaction, however. accept the idea of a foreign bas "Wholesale efforts to improve on Icelandic soil with any en-the situation for Americans would thusiasm. backfire on us politically. The Communists would stir all sorts of READ THE WANT AOS! officials.
I By JAMES ELLIOTT battle seas that would terrify Nep-jtune himself. They spend monot- 'The only manner in which the Norfolk ledger-Star Military Affairs Writer jonou nurs over radar-scopes that KEFLAVIK, Iceland (AP) scan rctic horizon toward American servicemen at this Russia for unfriendly aircraft bleak, frigid Atlantic outpost arc1 They are treited with suspicion, living behind a glacier curtain Thev ar siMivhprl when thv foreign garrison can be tol-j erated," the paper said, "is to! prevent all unnecessary associa-! tion between the garrison force; and the nation concerned." A small party of servicemen' Slim H(um left on the countryside without mm food or water in a survival exercise were condemned as "poach i1 Jm ZaAtesi ers" in the press. Rather than starve they had attempted to fish in a stream. This resulted in another American concession. There are no more survival tests.
Maintaining military security on this base seems about as easy as Look forward to lovelier legs, trimmer hips, a dainty derriere i. an invisible wall as high and as leave the base and restricted in' strong as the Iron Curtain. their movements around It is a barrier behind which The me.i are required to be in 1 Americans silently suffer from in- uniform st aU times. I dignities, restrictions and embar- Only loO a 'a are pemiiic rassments that few persons back passes. He liberty Dfnod is home ever hear about.
limited. The men hardly hive U.S. forces were invited to Ice- time to leave the base, drive over; land as protectors nearly 10 years the treacherous, winding 35 miles ago by a government afraid of of ice-covered road to Reykjavik! being invaded by Communists, and eat a meal before they must The IcelarJic government asked be off the streets, them to 'go home" in 1956, then The Icelanders have imposed a changed its mind suddenly during 10 p.m. curfew on American serv-Russia's suppression of the Hun- icemen. On Wednesdays they can garian revolt.
remain on the streets until mid- The Army contingent of 1.200 night, but on Wednesdays all bars men is now being pulled out It's and night clubs are closed. unlikely the GIs will shed any! The base, Icelanders insist, is' tears- not a base but an international The Army says the withdrawal airport 100 per cent a part of is part of a normal redistribution Iceland. i It ttv.l keeping water in a sieve. The Icelandic government not the military authorities issue the passes. Until iust recently an esti HOT CHOW IN A COLD CLIME AP Nowsfoaturts Phot during a training problem hi Iceland.
U. S. infantry units are part of NATO's Iceland Defense Force. mated 12.000 uncontrolled passes' A member of an Army combat were at large among the Icelandic team Sets a hot meal in a population. The Americans did not snowstorm as he stands guard AP Newsfeatures Photo ice in Iceland is made more difficult by the tight restrictions the Icelandic government places on U.
S. servicemen. DIPLOMA OF SORTS-Ameri- can servicemen returning to the United States after tours in chilly Iceland bring with them this certificate of service. Serv- 1 i know who had them. And the Ice with STAUFFER HOME PLAN If you're planning to wear that new Easter outfit (and.
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However, it was announced area. They seem extremely zeal-last year at a time when bad ous in arresting servicemen leav- Recently, however, the Ameri- steal tires from a vehicle. 50 and 60 kroner were ing the clubs at night on charges, the time, and two months after cans on the Defense Council won Yet, none of these erupted into1 Under the devaluation a univer-j of drunken driving. 'the incident she suffered a mis- a long-standing battle to have page one headlines. sal exchange rate of 38 kroner to Iceland has very strict drunken carriage.
those old passes invalidated and Thp government's bold move the dollar is in effect. driving laws and mandatory blood American dependents living off new passes lssucd' late in February to devalue the Americans are hopeful that this tests where a person is suspected' it The Defense Council, composed aoaer vviU hclp considerably. In new spirit might start a thaw that of being under the influence of" of four representatives of the Ice- tilc government has had could improve relations. I alcohol. The test criterion is ta tne base exchange landic government and four rep- a mutipe value on tne kroner In ved state Department and1 low.
ior commissary. Icelandic police resentatives of the military forces Defense fm.e dealings with the niUitury authori(y relationships "You can have a drink the night! search American cars leaving the here, administers the 19j1 agi-ee-government wpre ma(k at a rate aready have bpgun lo ghape up. before and have one of their blood ment under which American lg kn)ner per American dollar re since the arrival of the new' tests the next day and be declared A bottle of hair tome. rolls '01'xs are in I(-'eIa- Servicemen and tourists were able ambassador to Iceland, Lewellyn i Tnvalinntine the nln na vat 'Kleirary' Best of all, Stauffet is the feminine way to 2 wduce in the privacy of your own homcl For Further Information, Coll Long Dittonco MADISONVILLE WX-1000 (No Chargo for Colling! 1704 TRIPLETT OPEN 7 DAYS arunK, saia one oincer. iof Iifesavers and a candy bar.
r. to traae tneir aoiiars otuciaiiy at inompson Jr. Thompson, a the rate of 25 kroner. At some veteran foreign service officer1 fr 1 1 1 oj-ceni iMoys ia offlcw commander who now lives in or-! chocolates. packages of cig- fs commander of the Icelandic do- Buy of a ter back to his barracks when her.8"""" Md good Amert fense force, feels is pointing to car stalled.
An Icelandic police-jean picnic improvements in American-Ice-, man smelled alcohol and threat-j These items are contraband. Ac-. lan(hc coexistence. ened to force the woman to take cording to records in the provost1 The local Icelandic judge, Bjorn a blood test. She said she had a' marshal's office here, they are Ingvarsson, the Americans feel.
bad case of laryngitis and ad-'among items confiscated from, has been more lenient in recent) mitted having one drink at a1 Americans by the Icelandic police, months particularly with "hold, party she had attended with herj The Icelanders call it smug- orders." husband. 1 gling. They fear the doors wiil be In the past some accused Amen-. She was taken by Americans to opened to black marketing, cans were forced to remain in the base hospital where she 'Americans often have to face Iceland as long as five months; passed a sobriety test with ease. 'criminal charges in Icelandic beyond their normal tour of duty: But the Icelandic court fined her court because they had these in- because the judge had issued an, J48 and $4 costs and deprived her consequential articles in their order holding them for court of her driver's license.
The Ice- cars. action. landic press played up the inci-l The wife of a Navy chief petty More important, in the eyes of, dent and referred to her as a officer went to the base hospital the Americans, has been the ap- "drunken female criminal." have a baby and brought her.Pomtment to two new Icelandic: She was 3i months pregnant at layette with her. She had come representatives on the Defense: ft U1 Just Arrived from the Fashion Show Rooms of NEW YORK to the hospital prematurely. The -ouncu.
iney are uiawig uizu-; next day when she left for her arson and Tomas Tomasson, both apartment in Keflavik, Ice- young, dedicated men who have landic policeman spotted the educated in the United ette. He refused to listen to ex-j States. planations and confiscated the: With last summer's elections; layette, leaving the emotionally over, the newspapers have toned upset mother-to-be in tears, down their anti-American cam-' American authorities complained paigns. in this instance to the highest Ice-; January air policemen halted landic government officials. The two Icelanders approaching a se-layette was returned.
purity area in a situation that Hardest hit by these restrictions could have exploded into some-are the dependents who are here thing tantamount to the "mud at their own expense because puadie incident. 1 hat was the case their husbands chose to serve where an air policeman was re-only one-year tours in Iceland. Ap- ported to have forced two Ice-proximately 200 families live off landic officials to lie face down the base in apartments or houses in a mud puddle when they ap-rented from Icelanders. preached a restricted area. The Air Force Staff Sgt.
James G. incident resulted in the recall of Warner of Buckhannon, W. the Air Force general then com- with- a wife and two children, mancung here. 0k V'TM Iff yjkfm f.J l'l II 1 iV'l i 'l -1 vW 1 rents an unfurnished three-bed-1 In the January case the two room apartment in Keflavik for Icelanders were not forced to $64 a month. Utilities cost an ad-spread-eagle on the ground, but ditional $16 a month.
Food, how- they were made to lean against ever, soars to approximately $123 their vehicles, a month, which is not hay on a In another episode four Ameri- sergeant's pay. can soldiers robbed an Icelander The Warners have found that at knifepoint. They said he had their dietary habits have to con- spat at them. American guards FORMERLY 5500 to 599S Big 800 Bakery Cokes and Pastries For All Occasions Wedding Anniversary Party Cakes It's a gala spring show of SUIT finery, styled for one of your most fashionable most exciting seasons of the year. A giant wardrobe of Boxie, Fitted and Walking Suits to charm ond inspire the feminine delight.
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