1942

At long last, a letter from the strong but much too silent Dartmouth Unit, coming in the form of another query about the Class Baby. Jim Idema, who trained with the Injuns at Squantum and Jacksonville, wants to know if James Jr., born last December 1, can qualify for his Class numerals, junior size. Sorry, Jim—the Marines already have the situation well in hand. Backing up the prior claim established by Momma Jeanne White, noted in the last issue, Poppa Bob V-mails from the South Pacific to record the fact that young Jefferson is not only as handsome as his dad, but was born with a D on his chest. Besides that, he was promised free beer if he turned out to be It—so, after all, who is it that would have the temerity to deprive a Dartmouth man of his beer? The class numerals have already been tentatively embroidered on the upper right hand corner of Jeff's threecornered pants—so future challengers will, for the sake of peace in the family, please accompany their claims with a bottle of Ballantine Bob, incidentally, notes that he was an "interested participant" in the battle of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshalls. It would seem that the Marines are well qualified to handle more than one situation at once, and equally thoroughly.

Back to Ens. Idema and the Dartmouth Unit: Jim characterizes as unprintable his feelings about Pensacola, where he is now stationed as an instructor, and writes that Ted Locke, Bob Hill, Sliver Elcock and Gus Newell are about all the '42s left around there. Bob Kirk and Dick Higgins, he says, are still instructing at Corpus Christi, and the rest are beating it up and down the proverbial four corners. Other sources have it that Bob Kirk is at Kingsville, Tex., so, for lack of evidence, take your choice. The main point being that he's teaching fledglings how to use Navy wings, and can be presumed to be chafing for action with the rest.

Proc Page is still coming through as our number one correspondent—he writes that Bill Simpson, a lieutenant in anti-aircraft artillery, is presently stationed at Fort Bliss, Tex., happy at being in the Army at last after serving as an enlisted in the Air Corps for a year. Jack Stinson' is getting another 17 weeks of basic with the Medical Corps at Fort Knox, and is also happy over the whole thing Ens. Jim Ingersoll writes from the Mediterranean Theater that Jim Erwin, Frank Bartlett and Jim Rendall, the Terrible Trio, are now in Naples, having themselves a time of it Also that Rum Ewing is hospitalized in Australia, complete with a brand new Silver Star. It's rumored that Rum did a good job down there, which, by virtue of the Silver Star, could pass for an understatement.

A good letter in the box this month from Milt Williams, who got a pair of bars at Air Forces OCS in Miami Beach and has been trying to keep his heels cool at Victorville Army Air Field in California, which is 100 miles out in the desert from Los Angeles. Class representation in that neck of the woods is sparse, but for a time at Miami OCS, he says, there were four '42s in the same hotel, which should set some sort of record. With Milt were Ernie Kierstead, Ken Barclay and Guy Swensonthe reunion lasted about two weeks. Ernie and Milt were in the same class and squadron there, graduating together last November 13. Dick Lippman, says Milt, is now a first looie, presently ducking Jap bombs somewhere in the south Pacific, and Bob Encherman is a corporal with the AAF in Alaska.

Ralph Falk, now wearing a stripe and a half, writes from the Little Creek, Va., Naval Base, where he is instructing in chemical warfare. It looked like action for a while, he says, when he was assigned as assistant commander of a combat group after a trip to Africa and Sicily, but he is now, with Navy logic, assigned to duty that he remembers having once read about He met Dave Allen on his recent trip overseas—Dave is a second lieutenant in a Coast Artillery outfit, at last reports coping with a siege of jaundice somewhere in the Mediterranean. Ralph mentions, as I think 1 did once before, that Bud Pogue is operations officer at Little Creek. And he wants to know what-the-hell has become of the Mcßeans, Pete Arnott and Merrill McLane.

For the social calendar: Post Eddy, recently reported here and, incidentally, in Yank, for his escapades in Greenland, married Jean Quast of Brookline on December 7 in Brookline Bill Hart, who turns up after a long silence at Fort Sam Houston, Tex., after getting his bars at Fort Benning OCS, married Nancy Catherine Schultz of Bradford Jr. on February 18 in Cleveland Heights, Ohio Pete Koelsch, back from two years of lend-lease construction work in Iran and about to join the Navy, married Doris Smith of Los Angeles on February 6 in Los Angeles Pfc. Hugh Halsey, at Cornell Med, and Emily Van Heusen of St. Petersburg, Fla., have announced their intentionsas have Roy Eldredge of Tufts Med School and Elizabeth Suzanne Belding of Boston; John Worcester and Dorothea Ellen Georgi de'Mallerais, co-medical students at N.Y.U.; and Ens. Jim Oppenheimer, now at Fire Control Gunnery School in Washington, and Mary Dunning of St. Paul, Minn. Mary's father is Arthur Dunning 'll.

Here and there: Jim Doerr, recently promoted to Capt., USMC, home after 18 months in the south Pacific. Now waiting for re-assignment at Camp Elliott, San Diego Sam Adkins has drawn an APO address Promotions, recent and previously overlooked: Trum Huntington, Roland Hummel and Larry Hennessy, all captains; Jim Wilbee, Ist Lt.; Harry Bartlett, 2d Lt. Any more? Let's have 'em.

Acting Secretary, City Room, New York Suti 280 Broadway, New York City