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Reynolds was born in New York in 1902 and he became one of the most famous
World War II correspondents which he reported from beginning to end as an
associate editor at Collier’s magazine. In his 1963 autobiography, he
described the war as “short on glamour and long on tragedy.” He covered
Hitler’s rise to power and reported from Europe, the Pacific, Russia,
North Africa, and the Middle East. When
Reynolds arrived in Germany in 1933, few Americans viewed Hitler as
a threat. Reynolds, however, quickly
recognized Hitler’s power when he heard him speak to German farmers: “They
didn’t laugh; they all wept and kneeled,” the correspondent said after the
war. “And then they applauded him for a good fifteen minutes. He had that
certain animal magnetism—like an evangelist.” During the German blitz on
London, Reynolds and Edward R. Murrow
were the only American correspondents in the city.
Reynolds was also in France just before
it fell to the Germans. At the time, American correspondents were being
kept away from the front lines, but the resourceful
Reynolds figured out a way to get in. He
presented a French official with a telegram he threatened to send: "dear
uncle franklin, am having difficulty getting accredited to french army.
time is important... please give my love to aunt eleanor". The French,
believing that Reynolds was President
Roosevelt’s nephew, soon allowed him to reach the front. He was one of the
last correspondents to leave France after the German occupation. |
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Quentin James Reynolds
(1902-1965) |
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Venal Vera
They call me Venal Vera, I'm a lovely
from Gezira,
The Führer pays me well for what I do.
The order of the battle, I obtained from last night's
rattle
On the golf course with a Brigadier from 'Q'.
I often have to tarry on the back seat
of a gharry,
It's part of my profession as a spy,
While his mind's on copulation I'm exacting information
From a senior GSO or GSI.
When I yield to the caresses of the
DDWS's
I get from them the low-down on the works,
And when sleeping in the raw with a major from G4
I learn of Britain's bargain with the Turks.
On the point of the emission, in the 23rd
position,
While I quavered with exotic ecstasy,
I heard of the location of a very secret station
From an over-sexed SO from OS3.
So the Colonels and the Majors,
And the
whisky-soaked old
stagers
Enjoy themselves away from England's shore,
Why bring victory nearer when the lovelies of Gezira
Provide them with a lovely fucking war?
Quentin James Reynolds
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a lovely: a very pretty girl who works as a photographer's model
Gezira: Gezira is in Sudan, but the Gezira Golf Club in in Cairo
(a favoured stop for British soldiers in World War II) may be intended.
gharry: box-like horse-drawn vehicle typical of the Near East.
GSO: General Staff Officer.
GSI: General Staff Intelligence.
DDWS: Perhaps "Department of Drinking Water Supply" staff.
SO: Senior Officer.
OS3: perhaps "Operations Specialist 3".
stagers: veterans. |
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contents is for educational and informational use only. All poems
and recording excerpts remain the right of the original copyright holder, and no infringment is
here intended / Todo
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