Dartmouth Keeps 'Em Flying

Keen Interest In Army Air Corps Expressed By Many Alumni Replies To Letter of Information

THE AUTHOR of the accompanying article describing possibilities for alumni in the Army AirCorps is chairman of the New England Flying Cadet Committee, WillisS. Fitch '17. In the task of procuringpilots and personnel to man thegigantic aviation program announcedby President Roosevelt Major Fitchwrites that he wishes "to make clearthat the sole purpose of this article isto stimulate greater interest amongDartmouth men everywhere in building up our Air Force. I appeal to thewhole Dartmouth group menthroughout the country who havesons and grandsons as well as thosewho are themselves eligible ratherthan just to New England people."Major Fitch served in the U. S. AirService, A. E. F., 1917-18.

IN A RECENT SURVEY of the last four classes to graduate from Dartmouth, which was conducted by the New England Flying Cadet Committee, a large percentage expressed keen interest in the United States Army Air Corps, and requested information on how to become an Aviation Cadet. Of the many responses received, only two of approximately 2000 stated no interest at all. Some were already in the armed services, some were engaged in important defense industries, still others asked only for help in getting into some branch of the Air Corps.

The interesting and encouraging fact was the large number who took the trouble to write a personal letter in reply. The survey letter to young alumni which was written in October, two months before the declaration of war, was the most direct and forceful appeal yet made to such a group for enlistment. The merit of the appeal for action now in view of the length of time it takes to train a pilot is apparent to all.

The substance of the letter was: A substantial number of the 30,000 officer pilots needed for our Air Corps must be men capable of attaining higher rank and of accepting greater responsibility than their fellows.

As a Dartmouth man you are not only qualified without educational examination to enter the Air Corps as a Flying Cadet; but you have the training and background as well as the intellectual standards essential to qualify you as a good officer.

If you already have a career of service planned out and under way, I do not ask you to deviate from your course. But if your plans are indefinite and if you are unmarried, please send the enclosed postcard, and, if you can, decide to join the Air Corps without delay.

It takes seven to nine months to make a competent flying officer. A decision cannot safely be left until war is declared.

I do not appeal to you on the ground of escaping the draft, or the comparative safety of the training, or the fun of flying, or the certainty of a commission, or the high pay, or even the value of the aeronautical education and the opportunities it assures in the future expansion of civilian aviation. I appeal to you on the ground that there is a big job to be done, and that you are one of those best able to do it and do it well. I appeal to you to sacrifice your personal purposes to a greater common purpose, while there is yet time, and to give your thought, your skill, and if necessary your life, for a cause which I believe to be worth whatever it may take.

If I can help you in any way please let me know. I hope that you will understand the need for immediate action, and the need for action by you.

Sincerely yours,

Willis S. Fitch

General Chairman

Replies came from all sections of the country, and in most cases reflected enthusiasm. None were written in protest. This response is noteworthy because the country in October was far from unified on the question of war preparation.

Typical of the replies were letters like these:

"I'd give my right arm to enter the Air Corps as a Flying Cadet. I love flying and all that is connected with it.

Interested—you bet, but unfortunately I have a severe case of near-sightedness that barred me from the Navy, and I guess even from Selective Service so I am told. If you can circumvent that you got an awful willing candidate.

I was very interested in your letter written to Dartmouth men considering service in the Air Corps. I took the Flying Cadet physical examination last July and failed it because of a color defect in my eyes.

I am still interested in the Air Corps and feel that you would know about any other possible channels to follow in order to get a commission. If so, I will appreciate hearing from you in the immediate future.

Was very pleased to get your letter. Believe very strongly, as you do that personal problems should now become subservient to this greater problem that is at hand. You can definitely count me in, but there is one hitch I don't believe the eyes will pass the necessary exams Damn shame too, as I've done a little flying and am crazy about it.

I'm willing to give up a good job and co-operate. I believe in this country of ours, and as soon as you give the word, I'm ready.

I think you're doing a swell job, and have a very worthy cause. I think most people are sadly in need of being awakened to the seriousness of the situation and the big job that must be done. And for a young fellow the Air Corps is certainly the branch to be in.

I was very much interested to receive your letter. I have been desirous of securing some information but was not sure where to apply for it. Maybe you could help me out. I would like very much to get into some branch of government service and receive officer training. However, I do not believe that I can pass the normal physical requirements. I have a weak right eye.

I am not worried about escaping the draft my number is 3372 in my local "board and the last man inducted was around 1400 but would just like to volunteer my services if I could find the right spot for them.

In reply to your recent letter I am quite interested in becoming a Flying Cadet. Several months ago I filed application for such an appointment, but was rejected because of color-blindness. However, I am definitely not color-blind to any practical extent, no matter what the so-called foolproof Sh'bara test may show.

I seem to be definitely barred from the Air Corps unless a more practical color-test is substituted. If there is any way that you could aid me in this matter, I should be sincerely grateful.

Since graduation last June, I have been trying to get into some specialized branch of military service. My first choice is the Air Corps, but because of a deficiency in one eye, I am unqualified for pilot's training. However, a new branch in Aerial Navigation has recently been opened, in which eye standards have been lowered. I am fairly certain that I will be eligible for that training at the first of the year, after I complete two mathematics courses in preparation for it, I am taking this fall at Ohio State University.

I received your letter concerning the Army Air Corps. Indeed, I am interested, but there is one drawback and a very serious drawback it is. My Local Board has classified me as 1-B due to nearsightedness; consequently, I do not think that I coulpass the Army Air Corps physical examination. However, I would appreciate your sending me information if you know of any other branch of the Army wherein my mathematical training might be of assistance and the Army might desire me.

REVISED REQUIREMENTS

IT WILL BE WELCOME NEWS to the writers of some of these letters and to many other college men between the ages of 30 and 27, that married men who can make satisfactory arrangements for the financial care of their dependents are now accepted in all branches of the Aviation Cadet Training program and that the physical requirements have been substantially lowered since our entry into the war. Now with two exceptions, the regular Reserve Officers physical examination known as 6-3 is sufficient. These two exceptions are the 20-20 vision for the eyes and no more than 25% failure in the test for color-blindness.

The elaborate equipment for testing depth perception and other similar eye defects is no longer used. It is still essential and logically so, that prospective pilots and Navigator Bombardiers have nearly perfect eyesight, but there are other classifications that now require only 20-40, or even 20-100 vision, correctible to 20-40 by glasses. These include Communications, Armament, Photography, Engineering, and Meteorology. The rank and pay are essentially the same in these non-pilot groups as they are for pilots and bombardiers. The educational requirements, however, are more severe. The qualifications in order of their importance for entry into communications are (1) A college graduate with an electrical engineering degree. (2) A college graduate with any engineering degree. (3) The equivalent of two years of college engineering. (4) College graduates who hold amateur or professional radio operators licenses.

For engineering specialists of the Air Corps, it is necessary to be a graduate of an accredited school of engineering. For Meteorology, a candidate must have had both differential and integral calculus, and at least one year of college physics. For all these non-pilot divisions of Air Corps training, one must apply direct to the Chief of Air Corps, in Washington, for appointment. Proper application forms can be secured from any Recruiting Office. Regulations of a rapidly expanding branch of service, whose ultimate goal is one hundred thousand men with wings, are of necessity subject to frequent change. It is possible in the future that a college education may not be necessary if a candidate can pass a short test in the fundamentals of mathematics and physics.

The college authorities have done their utmost to cooperate with representatives of the Army and Navy Air Corps, and the New England Flying Cadet Committee. The facilities of the Dartmouth Eye Clinic have been placed at the disposal of the committee in its work of aiding candidates who have correctible physical defects. Dean Neidlinger and Professor Neef, are acting as liaison between the Army and Navy officers, and those undergraduates, who express a desire to meet them. One group of students has already started training together as an Indian Unit in Naval Aviation. Dean' Garran of the Thayer School is in charge of the popular C.P.T. (Civilian Pilot Training) program at Dartmouth.

As this issue goes to press, the Traveling Flight Examining Board of the Army Air Corps is expected for a three day visit in Hanover to qualify those who want to enlist at the end of the current term, permitting seniors to secure their degree by passing a special comprehensive examination. Plans are being made for a Unit of twenty to train together and eventually fly together as a Dartmouth Squadron. From this beginning, it is possible to visualize some day a flight of Curtis P-40 Tomahawks, with an Indian head symbol on each wing as a tangible contribution of Dartmouth to "Keep 'em Flying."

[As this issue of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE wentto press Mr. Fitch phoned from Boston to callour attention to the lowered requirementsnow prevailing for admission to the Army AirCorps. Academic requirements have beendrastically lowered according to the vast AirCorps recruiting program announced by Secretary of War Stimson, and non-pilot classifications are now broadened to include moreenlisted men. Information regarding changingpolicies should be secured locally by interested men. ED.]

MAJOR WILLIS S. FITCH '17 Chairman of the New England FlyingCadet Committee, who is directing his section's share in the national effort for procurement of 30,000 flying cadets.

AVIATION CADET GRADUATE Von D. Oehmig '36 has completed twentyweeks of aerial schooling at RandolphField, Texas.