Chapter One 



Man's Mortal Enemies 



Man Conquers The Louse 



1 HE AMERICAN ARMY was in action. 

 It had recently established its beachhead at Salerno and was 

 now fighting its way up the Italian peninsula. Then signs 

 of disaster appeared! It was not a reinforced German Army 

 or an Italian Army suddenly inspired to put up a fight. No, 

 it was the lowly louse or, more specifically, millions or bil- 

 lions of lowly lice. 



In all the previous wars of history, the louse had killed 

 more men that had ever died from bullets, swords, or other 

 weapons. Would this war be a repetition of the history of 

 the past? Would lice stop the advancing American Army 

 and kill thousands of our fighting men? Things looked 

 black! Over a million poverty-stricken people were crowded 

 into the city of Naples — a population without fuel, water, 

 or light; a terror-stricken population crowded together in air- 

 raid shelters; a population covered with lice. And lice carry 

 that dreaded disease — typhus. 



It was the month of October in the year 1943; and that 

 month the hospitals of Naples received 25 typhus cases. To 

 all who know that dreaded disease, this was an ominous sign, 

 for throughout all the years of history whenever typhus had 

 broken out at the beginning of winter, it had never been 



