Letters from Dartmouth Men in the Armed Forces

LT. GEORGE HANNA 39, LT. GEORGE HANNA'39,who used to snag them so well in left field, wrote me from a camp in Texas and I'll pass some of his letter along.

It was especially gratifying to me, then, to return from my shopping spree to find the letter from President Hopkins. It recalled to me also his wonderful speech to the alumni at the Annual Boston Banquet. There he came out very strongly for the continuance of the liberal college. He impresses me more and more as a great man each time I see him or read his speeches. Dartmouth must be continued as a liberal college; even in wartime money must be spent on the things which the President of the College mentions in his letter, the cultural things. I intend to send in my supplementary contribution for the very reasons which Mr. Hopkins expressed in his speech at Boston and again in his recent letter.

But even as I tell myself that I have good reasons for sending a contribution, reasons which can be itemized as I have listed those above, I know that my basic reason is one which is founded, not on any political belief, but one which comes from very deep in my heart. I suppose there was much waste of time and effort while I was at Hanover—beer parties, mass snow ballings of the dorms, six-day week-ends and the likebut when one reads letters like those which have come from Chuck Grant. Bob MacLeod, Colby Howe, and Chuck Bolte, he can't help but think that what looked like terrific waste was just a vigorous expression of the freedom we talk so much about. Those boys and the hundreds of other Dartmouth men in the service have certainly flocked to the colors en masse and have had what it took when the chips were down. Our way of life couldn't have been too wrong to have developed that much strength in so short a time. There are all too many things that must be corrected, I know, but free thought and free expression as typified by the liberal college appear to me as a "must" in any future growth in this country and the world.

My own fortunes in the Army have been good. I have done a lot of varied things since my draft board dragged me out of the Burlington outfield in July of '41. I have thoroughly enjoyed the Army in nearly every spot where I've been. In turn it has been good to me. I know that I probably won't particularly like the combat phase when they see fit to send me, but I naturally don't want to miss being sent overseas sometime before it all ends. Stronger, though, than the spirit of adventure in me is the desire to return to New England to live—somewhere near Hanover, I hope.

This has been long in coming but meanwhile I have thought of you and of Hanover often. My very best regards. I hope that you are able to realize the good that you are doing by staying in Hanover and talking to the students of 1943 as you did us in 1939. (The last is not an implication that you have nothing new to say.)

LT. COL. HIBBARD RICHTER '2O,Judge Advocate Northwest Coastal AirForce, writes from Africa about a pointwhich is of importance.

Thank you for your letter of March 17th. Wish I had time to fully discuss your questions. However, I do have a couple of suggestions which are of and for what they are worth.

(1) After the war could not credit for a degree be given to men for war service, without a hard and fast rule?

(2) After the war allow returning students electives they desire—giving them credits for those they don't like. Why not, it's their life and their future and the happy days of a normal college life are not for them anyway.

LT. TOM CURTIS '32writes from aUnited States Naval Air Station in answerto certain questions I asked some time ago.

How did Dartmouth help me for the services I am now performing? Well, that gets back to the much debated question of what value is a "liberal" education. In spite of what many think I do not believe the question is a bit changed by the fact that our activities now are those of supreme competition, or war, if that is a preferable term. There is still the need for the correct proportion of men trained to think broadly amidst all the technically trained men. It is perfectly true that we have had to take stock of the men we are training to think broadly, and. in typical fashion, we have swung the pendulum to the opposite extreme. Formerly, our society took on anyone who desired this training, as if anyone who wished it could absorb it. Now it looks as if our society is saying, during wartime, we want none of these trained men.

I believe both of these attitudes are in error. But it is hard to reach a proper proportion. One can see tangible results from technical training. One can be proved right or wrong here. But every man can be a philosopher and no one prove him wrong. All shout; therefore, the proven technician regards with suspicion all who are not technicians. And yet there are very few organizations I have seen which were not glued together with the broad thinking of non-technicians.

For example, I have been put in charge of ordnance and gunnery. I know nothing about guns, bombs, explosives, etc., and, in fact, find them quite distasteful. However, I have a great many men in my department who know quite well certain plots of this field and who collectively know the entire field thoroughly. If I have the wisdom to judge the knowers from the bluffers and the wisdom to see knowledge and ability through personal idiosyncrasies which may be most distasteful to me If I have the ability to make good technicians who are personally distasteful to each other work together If I have the courage to lend my authority, which means my reputation and career, to the men who have the technical ability to reach a correct decision. .... If I have the foresight to see what my men as a group are apt to be called upon to do in the future If I have these characteristics which can only be developed and improved by a liberal education, then I believe that I will have performed my job as an officer fully and well, regardless of the rank I hold. There must be the proportion, however. I and my kind are lost without the technicians; but so are the technicians without us. We are few and. "the word of mouth being easily spoken," easily mistaken for the general crowd with which we mingle. Indeed any one of "us" may really be one of the general crowd and only mistaken in our self analysis.

Does this answer the question of whether I think Dartmouth helped me for my present job? The answer I intended to give was "yes." Could Dartmouth have helped more? Yes, by being a better liberal arts college than it was, than it now is, which in my opinion means setting new records for the rest of the field which has not even matched the present. I could write volumes on this subject, which, if I did would leave you wondering how I can say Dartmouth is wonderful.

I am quite opposed to accelerated courses. I believe that vacations should be restored. I believe that the war has probably helped the curriculum by making it concern itself with the world of reality instead of the academic world built up through several generations of professorial inbreeding. These are "fixes" which must be modified by the variables. The variables in this instance being the mood of the public, the mood of the government, the mood of the students and prospective students and the mood of those who make up the College mind.

Post war world? I have seen few middle ground positions. Either it is sentimental crap of the loose sort or angry constipated grun tings. Both produce pain and misery and are the seeds of future greater ills. The post war world can be mapped by simply following but the truths we have long held self evident. There is no panacea nor will there ever be. We just have to hew along these lines and never let their familiarity breed contempt.

A platitude has almost become to mean an untruth in our present thinking, instead of an axiom. But the broadness which any base must necessarily have must not be left undeveloped. The base is broad, so that we can build to the stars, not so that we can roam around on its smoothness and expansiveness. By leaving our broad bases undeveloped, we allowed institutions built on narrow lines to topple over us. I am not alarmed at the immensity of the task before us to reconstruct. I am alarmed at those who would go into naval contemplations to bring forth panaceas. Likewise I am alarmed at those who would take it upon themselves to deliver what they deem to be the Lord's vengeance, giving these emotionalists the most favorable interpretation of their desires.

No, I look back through history and see that our race has come a great way, particularly in the last hundred years of the ten thousand years about which we know something. What our Jeremiahs point out as our great wickedness was the accepted thing until just a few years ago. What Germany did in 1939 was partly done by England in 1900. In 1900, such things were accepted by society. In 1939, they were not. Nor are the cynics right in saying it's just a question of who did it. It's a question of time and progress. I fear only the judgments of the present moments. And the egoists who think that all things must be solved in THEIR lifetime. Personally, I have more faith in my children's and their children's judgment than I do in my own, provided they have preserved for them free liberalart schools. The broad viewpoint is necessary \and I have faith in mankind as long as that is preserved.

The following story was writtenby SERGEANT MILBURN McCARTY JR. '55

who is a Marine Corps Combat Correspondent.

SOMEWHERE IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC (DELAYED)—The War has scattered Dartmouth men . 'round the girdled earth," no doubt about it. One can hardly land on a new island out this way without running into at least one or two ex-Hanoverians.

Yesterday, for instance, I was coming ashore on a flat barge with a batch of Marines, and among them noticed a lieutenant who looked familiar. I introduced myself and found it to be Paul M. Winship '39, who was teaching English at the Westminister School (Simsbury, Connecticut) before he joined the Leathernecks.

Second Lieutenant Winship has a wife and six months' old daughter who live at 841 Old Port Road, Fairfield, Connecticut. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Gould Winship, live at 65 N. Main, Rutland, Vermont.

At a camp back in the hills later that same day I heard considerable discussion about a Navy Seabee Chief who had just received an unusual promotion by being jumped to a full Navy lieutenant. It turned out to be another Dartmouth man Geoffrey Canty '22. Lieutenant Canty, formerly a Chicago engineer, was being given a big party by his Seabee mates.

Though I didn't get to see them, I understand understand that Major Grant Crane, and First Lieutenants Patrick O'Sheel and Jack Foley, all '37, were that same day on a ship out in a nearby harbor bound for the Solomons.

Ten of us Dartmouths out here got off from our military duties recently and gathered to swap a few nostalgic tales about far-away Hanover.

You might say we spearheaded a Dartmouth in "X Island" Club. We poured a beverage into a freshly opened coconut, baptized the concoction a "Joe Pilver Jungle Special" and passed it around—just like the good old days.

We also posed for the local Marine photographer, and are sending back the picture in lieu of those items which some of us found it difficult to forward to our class secretaries.

Most of these Dartmouth men have been training here under simulated jungle battle conditions, climbing coconut trees to get food and water, camouflaging themselves for night problems, and the like.

The following men showed up:

Second Lieutenant Lowell H. Smith '37, who comes from Philadelphia. Smith did publicity work for General Motors in Philadelphia before he enlisted as a private one week after Pearl Harbor. He's now a platoon leader.

Captain Rushton M. Williamson '40, from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Captain Williamson went to Hard Business after finishing Hanover. He's a battery commander.

Captain Don L. Tenney '40, Norfolk, Virginia. Now an operations officer, he has been in the Marines five years. He has a six months' old son at home he's never seen.

First Lieutenant Waldemar Meckes '42 is a former Athletic Council member and Dartmouth track manager. His family and wife live in Lakewood, Ohio, outside Cleveland. He's a platoon leader.

Sergeant Milburn McCarty Jr. '35, from Eastland, Texas, formerly of the HeraldTribune, The New Yorker, Steve Hannagan's, and Press Chief of the Treasury's War Savings Staff, is now a Marine Corps Combat Correspondent.

First Lieutenant John W. O'Neill '40, of Lakeville, Connecticut, did publicity for the Grocery Manufacturers of America before he enlisted a year ago. A platoon leader, his wife lives in New York City.

Captain Melvyn A. Estey '37, from Medford, Massachusetts, formerly an instructor in social sciences at the New Hampton School in New Hampshire, is an operations officer. His wife and young son live at Kingston, Pennsylvania.

First Lieutenant Paul T. Torian '42, from Evansville, Indiana, was Green Key and Palaeopitus at Dartmouth. Out here he commands a rifle company.

Captain John R. Mayer 'gB, from West Point, New York, did advertising for Kenyon & Eckhardt in New York before enlisting. He is now executive officer of a unit.

First Lieutenant Robert L. Burr '36, whose mother and father and wife live at Yonkers, New York, did graduate study at Harvard Business and worked as a public accountant in New York. He is now an

operations officer. There are at least five other Dartmouth

graduates here. One is Lt. Col. George A. Sarles '30, originally from Mt. Kisco, New York. He has been a Navy and Marine aviator since 1931 and saw action on Guadalcanal. Since then Lieutenant Colonel Sarles has commanded an important and dangerous flight mission in another part of the Pacific. His wife lives in Beverly Hills, California.

The others are: Captain Hunter C. Phelan '40, of Norfolk, Virginia; Major Grant Crane '37, Columbus, Ohio, a Phi Beta Kappa and formerly a chemical researcher for the Pittsburgh Glass Company; and First Lieutenant John W. Foley Jr. '37, originally from Englewood, New Jersey, whose wife lives at Milton, Massachusetts.

Only other Dartmouth news gleaned from these jungle hills concerned Don Cobleigh. A Marine recently arrived here reports that he was in the same platoon with Don when the two were going through "boot-camp" at Parris Island, South Carolina.

LT. JAMES G. FOWLER '42,Ist RangerBattalion, writes from North Africa:

I have just received the April ALUMNI MAGAZINE, the first since I've been overseas. Believe me, I ate up every word. I notice the absence of news from North Africa. I know there are many Dartmouth men here. I've run across a couple: Harper '41 and Stockdale '42, both lieutenants in the Armored Force, and by now both have seen a good deal of fighting.

North Africa is not half bad as far as scenic beauty goes. The mountains are beautifully green, and drop sharply into the deep blue Mediterranean. Most of the valleys are covered with grape vines. Trees are scarce and all vegetation grows close to the ground. I've never seen wild flowers so plentiful. The beauty of the place never occurred to me at first—l guess we were too busy. Suddenly I realized one day it was the most beautiful country I'd ever seen (but the Arabs can have it—l want out!). The cities are flooded with "vino" and French gals. Night life is quite gay up until 8:30 P.M. "The Florida Club," "The Continental Hotel," "The American Bar" are some of the hot spots in Oran. By the way—l could not locate a "Rick's" anywhere in Casablanca (the bar Hollywood has featured in their picture "Casablanca"). "Vino" has become a most popular word with American soldiers. It's the native wine—a poor substitute for Scotch or beer, but it helps to escape reality-at times.

We get a chance to swim sometimes, but we've had to learn how to take a bath out of a helmet (incidentally, a helmet is also great for digging slit trenches). Our food consists of "C" rations—period. It's good but monotonous. Food is one of our biggest gripes. Another is that "there'll be no promotions on this side of the ocean." And too, it's hard for us to understand how people at home can dare to go on strike and bitch about wages when we see people here without sufficient clothes; people who think our "C" rations are fit for kings; British soldiers who have lost their families and not been home lor three years.

All is not black though—in the rear areas we have our picture shows, Red Cross entertainment centers, lots of athletic equipment, and some Red Cross entertainers that are really "on the ball." I can't praise the Red Cross enough. Here's an instance why: Not long ago, we had a long trip through the mountains by train. We stopped at a little old Arab town at two in the morning, and I'll be damned if two good looking Red Cross gals didn't step out of the station and start serving coffee and doughnuts. Lordy— they were good. By the way, every little jerk-water town over here has a beautiful railroad station.

The people in North Africa are mostly Arabs, French, and Spanish. Generally, they are mixture of all three. You can go no place, rural or urban, without having dozens of Arab children running after you squealing the universal phrases: "Hey Joe!" (or Johnny) "Gimme gum! Gimme chocolates! Gimme cigarettes!" "O.K. You no goddam good!" We try to disperse them with the customary, "Allez! Allez!", but it's not effective. The children learn American phrases very fast, especially the more vulgar ones. At the front, strong arm methods have had to be employed to stop the Arabs from walking up to gun positions, etc., trying to sell eggs or bum cigarettes (and, incidentally, giving away the position to the enemy). Their life has so stagnated and is so routined that not even a war can change them. It's not uncommon to see these people working in the fields with small arms, mortar, and "88" fire going right over their heads.

I am ashamed when I recall some remarks people at home used to pass about the British. We have had our opinions altered very quickly. They are real soldiers. We have learned a hell of a lot from them, and we can learn still more. God! They can take it. The "Rangers," by the way, have been trained with British methods. They have had the words "kill! kill! kill!" driven into them; they have had live ammunition fired at them in all their combat problems; they can march 7 miles in an hour and still have enough stuff left to assault. These are some of the reasons the "Rangers" have been so useful in this theatre, and why their casualty rate has been so remarkably low. We have a battalion commander and executive officer who are tactical wizards, and that helps too. Every man is a volunteer and extremely proud of the battalion. It's a small unit, but it has a big record.

I'll end this letter with hopes that I'll run into some more Dartmouth men.

LT. R. H. ARESON '57 USNRLT.R.H.ARESON'37 USNR writes fromsomewhere in the Pacific.

I expect that by the time you receive this little gem most of the response and enthusiasm to your recent (?) questionnaire (apologies for using that word) will have gone the way of all flesh. Nevertheless, the thoughts that you have raised are not epidemic and I consider them important enough to deserve a reply, even if a trifle belated. First of all, though, let me excuse myself from the class of "men in older classes." Not that I'm abnormally sensitive to the idea but it was really only the other day that I introduced you to the assembled brethren of Phi Psi—just prior to a little talking and more beer.

The first comment which I should like to make is in regard to whether I feel that Dartmouth helped in any way preparing me for the services. The only answer, obviously, is yes. Of course, I happen to belong to a corps which, in addition to its regular duties, often finds itself counting pennies for the Ship's Service audit and trying to find out who put arsenic in some of the officers' mess. But as for the medical end of things I must shyly—and silently—admit that I'm well grounded. All of which is not what you'ie interested in, because the biggest contribution which Dartmouth has made to me in these times is not in how well I'm doing a particular job but in just plain how I'm gettin' along. And I think I'm domg all right, thank you. In places such as this the ability to read something decent, to talk about something other than biological phenomena and to enjoy music can easily be the difference between living and merely doing a half-way job—not to mention going nuts.

Secondly, what about the future policy of the College after the war? Dartmouth has shouted round the world as a "liberalarts" college, and such it. should continue to be. By that often nebulous phrase I mean it should be a place where one is exposed to any and all ideas and where these ideas can be intelligently comprehended and critically evaluated. In short, if I may steal from President Hopkins' Herald Tribune Forum address, it should NOT be a place where broad learning is sacrificed for highly specialized knowledge nor where the subject is held of more importance than the student. And, of course, for this academic freedom it must continue to be privately endowed. (Don't look at me, though. I'm not ready yet.) I've met lots of professional men who are undoubtedly hot in their particular and often esoteric fields. Of these, there is a surprisingly good number that just ain't had no educatin'. They don't know first base from home plate—and it isn't confined to professional men. We're not machines and the best proctologist in the world isn't worth his pay unless he's got some idea who won the last race at Jamaica (who did, by the way?)

Lastly, I do not feel that the present accelerated schedule , of the College should be maintained after the war. In the first place, there's no hurry about life (or at least there shouldn't be) and there certainly should be no great rush to "get educated" and all polished up. In the second place, and probably more important, education to be of any value must be tempered and integrated with the times. Time is needed for the student to "mix it" with the world at large. And, of course, with all my 27 years I don't consider a youth of 17 able to get as much from a liberal-arts college as one of more chronologic—at leastmaturity.

So there you have it. I really didn't intend to be so wordy, but you know how it goes. The less you know, the more you write. And knocking that down to its final conclusion in reverse I think you get the reason why some of the boys who really do know something are never able to "give." Of course, there has to be someone to understand them, doesn't there. Anyway, enough of this. I've already gotten out far beyond my accustomed depth and must hastily thrash for shore. Hope you'll be able to wade through this and that the startling ideas contained therein will not necessitate a special meeting of the Board of whatever it is to make me president and guider of the educational policies of the institution. President Hopkins is doing too good a job. Besides I'm supposed to be needed on the fighting front. Has anyone seen a bullet?

DARTMOUTH MARINES in the South Pacific include, front row, left to right, Lt. Lowell H. Smith '37, Capt. Rushton M. Williamson '40, Major Don L. Tenney '40, Lt. Waldemar Meckes '42, Sgt. Milburn McCarty '35; back row, Capt. Melvyn A. Estey '37, Lt. Paul T. Torian '42, Capt. John R. Mayer '38, and Lt. Robert L. Burr '36. All met for a reunion recently.