1942
THE BATTLE OF BROADWAY
Or Johnny of the Subway Commandos speaks, saying: Bill Parmer, now a lieutenant bombardier, married Anna JaneBender of Lancaster, Pa., in Houston, Texas Ensign Allen Britton married Barbara Helen Griswold in Windsor, Conn., on June 19 Lt. Bud Dutton with the Airborne Engineers in Connecticut and ready to fight like the outfit his is. Ensign Bud McKinley still using the San Francisco Fleet Postmaster address. .... Lt. Pete Link of the Air Corps has written from Presque Isle, Me., where Dartmouth '42s have been frequent. Tells of seeing Glenn Green who, as an aviator, buzzed Hanover not so long ago, of Navigator Trum Huntington grounded at Presque Isle for more than sometime recently, of new Lt. Harry Bond in Boston's Statler on 27 April 1943 (Harry being out of Benning not so long ago), of Ferry Command Piloteer Bate Ewart on his way over, plus news from First Marine Lieutenant Wally Meckes with Lt. Paul Torian in the South Pacific.
And there was the long-expected and long-forthcoming criticism from Pvt. Lennie Woods who was about to set off for OCS of some variety. Ensign Stub Pearson through with a postcard and letter giving great details on the Dartmouth Squadron, most of which have been used by Arico. Stub last heard from out of Seattle. Says Will Gray is in a fighter-group with Dick Higgins, Bob Kirk,Pete Geisler, and Peter Bruch in Texas as instructors. Walt Elcock at Pensacola as is Gus Newell, possibly. Dete Lamade in San Diego as last heard of. Bob Gorman met in a library in Glenview on a rainy afternoon.
Off at City Hall Park, Broadway Johnny remembers more. Dutch Schaefer, learning to be a navigator at Ellington Field, Texas, yearned for Johnny's battleground Army Private Bob Burdett lounging in a Naval Air Station, San Diego, wondering how the Braves could stay in second place Ensign Jake Davis taking himself a bride, the former Miss Anne Hall of Grand Rapids, Mich., on May 18 Mel Figley, like Ensign Jake a former roommate of soldier Johnny, also coming through with news. Jim Robinson, Tom Moore, Bob Klein, and Bob McElin with Mel at Harvard Med School. ... .Duke Frieman going to town in Naval Aviation at Norman, Okla Art Huck, an ensign in the South Pacific, a proud papa of a three months' old daughter, Pamela Bill Russell taking the fatal step with Nan Woodcock of Morristown, N. J., on March 5. Bill, an ensign, c/o Fleet Post- master, New York. Says Bob Taylor is still around Norfolk, Lew Hopkins an amphibian navigator, Ken Jones at the Statler and Harvard, Johnny Henderson a 2nd It. at Greenville, S. C., Sgt. Al Hutchinson at Fort Belvoir
The fight went uptown and Broadway Johnny stayed with it. There were women at Wanamakers and a crowd at Union Square squawking that because it had gone once didn't mean it wouldn't come back and anyway Westbrook Pegler was a damned capitalist. Johnny had a real fight on his hands here. Gutz Curtis' handwriting is so terrible. While the talk went on in the background he figured that Gutz was getting excited about a girl somewhere. The little one did mention seeing a lot of Bob Strasenburgh who was still wowing the women, and Phil Moon off Rhode Island.
And while the boys kept talking an OWI dispatch from headquarters reached our Johnny entrenched in Orhbach's basement. Deciphered it told how A/C Jack Harriman married Barbara Brunmark of Beverley Hills, Cal., in New Haven on June 12, with brother Tom best man Ensign Bob Kirk married Mary Chamberlin of New York on May 27 in Kingsville, Tex of A/C DonMead's engagement to Jane Lightner of Wellesley and Ridgewood, N. J., in April. . . .Capt. RobinsonMinnick married Jane Simmons of Staunton, Va.,
on May 8. . . .of Gene Hocb's engagement to Margery Tunison, of Worcester, Mass of GeorgeClark's engagement to Louise Wild, of Winchester, Mass of Lt. Ed Laske/s engagement to LaVerne Petersen, of Rapid City, South Dakota. . . . how Navy Lt. Frank Garran married Sarah Delehanty, of Hanover, on May 2....0f A/C DaveBiggs' engagement to Louise Langdon, of Wellesley Hills, Mass how Lt. (jg) Paul Lanius in the Southwest Pacific felt about strikes on the home front. . . .and how Ensign Dick Nehring has completed a Fire Control School and is an instructor at Hollywood, Fla.
Well, the BMT was running well, so Johnny and his outfit left the Pegler front and started north again. There was a crowd at sgrd Street. Johnny took a look. Like the rest of the Broadway Commandos he saw his first tank. He pulled a notebook to jot the fact down and in doing so noticed notes of letters from Ensign BobStrasenburgh, long-referred to as "Lady- Killer" by young Curtis Bob is now in Submarine Maintenance far inland . . ..
and from Coast Guard Ensign Em Rice who told of Cape Cod and his engagment to Doris Chapman, of Chevy Chase, Md. No immediate wedding plans .... and an announcement from Bob Pitman, now an Air Corps lieutenant, of his marriage to Mary Goodrich, of Laramie, Wyo., on June 28, with Lt. John DelaMontagne as best man And the announcement of Warren (Buck) Jones' marriage to Mary Parsons in Duncan, Okla., on June 12. .... And there was a letter and picture from Phil Lee's sister—the letter telling of the birth of Phil's daughter, Caroline, in February, and the picture showing Phil and his wife with the late arrival.... and a letter from a boy who is getting 'em there, A. B. Dick Smith fresh in from a tanker to see a bit of New Rochelle. Tells of seeing Bobby Giles and wife in Boston, of Alex Fanelli on a Caribbean Isle, of Jack Garretson at Hingham, Mass., and of hearing of Dick Silver, Dick Cardozo, CarlHolekamp, and Bill Oppenheimer sticking together in a TO, and Jerry Tallmer, now a flight sergeant in South America.
Things got hotter and bigger at 34th Street and Herald Square. The good old BMT was still running and so the battle went north. Meanwhile our Johnny fished out a beautiful letter from Ferry Pilot Bate Ewart who asked a couple of nosey questions about our Johnny and then told of running into Jake Davis, Dick Riggs, Gerry Garduno, MiltWilliams, Pete Link, and Trum Huntington in his travels hither and yon. Bob Froude is the only other '42 Bate knows of in the outfit. Bate added that Dick Bolten is a Public Relations man at Mitchel Field.
And Ensign Dunbar Schuetz writes from the Pacific that he likes his work and has run into Jack (PT) Tobin, Cardozo and Silver, and George McClintock. Other news from Dunbar had Bob P.Wilson an A/C, Dan Hagge in the Army, FrankCushman in defense work at Worcester, Dick Max-well at Cornell Med, Chuck Drennen in Seattle, Swifty Barnes back in the Pacific, and Ronny IVeslgate in North Africa.... and finally a note from Joe Wilder who is now studying medicine at the pleasure of the United States Navy at Columbia.
Those last eight blocks up the stem to Times Square were tough and Johnny was just about ready to call it quits when OWI appeared again with some more of the stuff that is winning the war. But the news was good. Bill Gray was on his way to the West Coast after a visit home Coast Guard Ensign Bob Shoup married Elizabeth Price, of New York, on May 23, with Lt. Gove Wilkins as best man Dick Fairman became engaged to Anne Burford, of Scarsdale, N. Y Gene Hoch had taken another step since we left Union Square and married Margery Tunison on June 19. .... Bob Campbell married Wayne Clark, of Alexandria, Va., on June 12 ... . and Lt. Jack Craig has been assigned to a Marine Base on the West Coast.
At which point Johnny said to hell with it all and took in the afternoon show at the Paramount.
LIEUT. SWIFT BARNES '42, shown here with his bride, the former Virginia Voss, has been detached from the "Salt Lake City" and is reported "way up North."
Secretary, 100 DeForest Rd., Burlington, Vt.
