Laureled Sons of Dartmouth
THE EDITOR WOULD BE GLAD to hear fromanyone concerning Dartmouth menwho have been decorated; pictures of suchmen in uniform are also desired.
LT. (J.G.) J. CLARK BARRETT '38 has been twice decorated. He won the Distinguished Flying Cross for action in the Battle of Midway where he served on the U.S.S.Hornet.
A second decoration, the Navy Air Medal, has recently been awarded. The citation by Admiral Halsey reads: "For distinguished service and meritorious achievement in the line of his profession as pilot of a scout bomber during the aerial action against Japanese naval forces on October 26, 1942, near Santa Cruz Islands. Lieutenant (j.g.) Barrett, in the face of heavy anti-aircraft fire, obtained a direct hit on an enemy heavy cruiser. His courageous and skillful action contributed in large measure for the severe damage inflicted upon the enemy."
In a recent letter from Tacoma, Washington, Clark wrote: "Dartmouth is well represented in this skirmish, and you should be proud of all of them. They have much to come back to, and whenever or wherever you say you are from Dartmouth, you always look good, and I know that you understand what I mean by that. Hanover was the greatest single thing that has happened to me."
MAJOR FRED C. EATON '40, has been often in the news. A member of the famous 19th Bomber Squadron recently disbanded Fred has long been considered one of the finest pilots in the Pacific area.
It was sometime ago that a thrilling story appeared of how Fred pancaked into a jungle, and after six terrific weeks, succeeded in getting his crew through the jungle, past the Japs, to safety. Later a news story appeared how Major Eaton, a veteran of nine previous combats with enemy fighters brought home his Flying Fortress home safely after a forty minute running fight with 11 Zeros. Eaton's crew shot down two of the enemy planes and believed they destroyed another. Although on several occasions the Zeros came within 150 feet of the Fortress, the plane landed without a single bullet hole, thanks to the superb flying of Major Eaton. One of the Zeros saluted Eaton before closing in for the attack. It was his last salute. "He was out in front and above us," Eaton said.
"While I was keeping my eye on him, he wiggled his wings. I wiggled mine back. Then he slid down on us, all guns firing." A burst from a .50 caliber gun manned by Sergt. M. M. Poirer, Waterville, Maine, sent a stream of bullets into the Jap's engine, bits of it flying off into the air. He went into a steep dive, leaving a trail of smoke. The battle lasted for 135 miles of the homeward journey before the Zeros gave up. Most of the battle took place at an altitude of 10,000 feet.
Major Eaton has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Silver Star, and the Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of an additional award of the Silver Star.
In a letter to Mrs. Eaton, Fred's mother, Commanding General George C. Kenney wrote: "Your son was decorated for gallantry in action over New Britain when he participated as pilot in one of the aircraft on a reconnaissance mission over enemy ship, ping in Rabaul Harbor.
"Five Zeros intercepted the formation over the harbor and four of them attacked your son's aeroplane. He acquitted himself with great skill and courage during the ensuing engagement and his ability to maneuver the airplane so expertly aided considerably in the shooting down of two enemy fighters."
Major Eaton is now back in this country stationed at a fighter pilot school in Kansas. His home is in Scarsdale, New York.
Malaria, Mosquitoes, Japs
IT'S no paradise, but it's certainly not dull. This information comes from Lt. Tom Dunlevy '4l, who is serving in action on Guadalcanal as Assistant Chief of Regimental Intelligence.
Tom is on patrol duty, scouting around swamps and fox holes, routing the Japs. Although this is a twenty-four hour a day job, life has its brighter moments when, according to Lt. Dunlevy, the men occasionally sneak a "bath" in some malaria water, with one soldier sitting on the bank firing at the crocodiles so that the others can swim and get "clean."
The editor is indebted to Tom's sister for the picture, taken in New Caledonia, and for the following letter sent to a friend in Boston: "We can say where we are now; Guadalcanal, and it's no paradise, but it's a real job to be done. We are fighting the Japs' way and it is rather difficult but our boys are getting so they can slip through the woods quite well themselves. This is a peculiar island, extremely dense jungles, then beautiful rolling ridges, then huge cocoanut plantations. The water is full of amoebic dysentery and we have malaria mosquitoes. But we're doing all right. Just returned from a quick patrol in the Jap territory and ran into a little trouble, but that was my job. Tomorrow the same thing. The sooner we scare them up, the sooner our infantry and artillery can move in. Saw a beautiful sight last week. They tried to land 5 transports. Some of the Japs got ashore but without food and ammunition. We bombed and shelled the ships until they sank. Have seen some wonderful aerial shows—all to our advantage. As soon as we clean up this Island, we all hope to be sent to civilization for a change. We're fighting 24 hours a day, but hope to reach our objective soon—we have to rout these Japs out of their fox holes and nests.
Always,
"FOR EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM IN ACTION AGAINST THE ENEMY"Lt. (jg) J. Clark Barrett '38, left, pilot of a Navy scout bomber, has won the D.F.C. andNavy Air Medal for distinguished service in the Pacific, and Major Fred C. Eaton Jr. '42of the 19th Bomber Sq'dn, who has been repeatedly decorated for gallantry in action.
