Freshman, Once Paris Raid Warden, Criticizes Lack of ARP Coordination

"There is in this country, and especially here at Harvard, what seems to me to be a general lack of coordination between the various officers of the ARP system," said Sedgwick Minot, Jr. '45, an American citizen who has served as an air raid warden and liaison driver in Paris during the three months proceeding the final German drive on Paris in June, 1940.

While admitting that the skeleton organization is basically good because it is built on English experience, Minot criticized the lack of liaison between the various departments, and the lack of equipment. "Perhaps this is not wholly the University's fault," he said "but there should be more pressure exerted to get the necessary equipment.

First Aid Kits Needed

One of the most serious deficiencies, according to Minot, is the lack of First Aid kits at the Wardens' posts, second only to the elementary necessity for sandbags, which he feels should be provided.

Minot stresses the likelihood of an air raid, which would probably consist of a fair amount of incendiary bombing. "The houses in this part of the country are so appallingly vulnerable to incendiaries that there is no comparison with France, he said.

Just a few days before Paris fell, Minot went through a raid, stationed only a few hundred yards from one of the main forts defending the city. He fled Paris on a half-hour's notice, and drove continuously for 48 hours, covering only 300 miles. The ARP priority insignia on his car enabled him to get through military lines. Later he cycled 300 miles back to Paris, and months afterward finally received his papers to come to America via Lisbon.