Letter From London

LONDON, April 5—We sang Men of Dartmouth in a London hotel banquet hall tonight and there were lumps in many of our throats.

The occasion was the first attempt to organize an alumni association in the European Theater of Operations. Notices in the Army newspaper Stars and Stripes drew a turn-out of 48 men ranging in rank from private first class to Lt. Col. Jim Seaver '38, an Bth Air Force weatherman, who says he got the rank by making pessimistic predictions.

Bill Durkee '4l, still limping from a wound received in action with the British in the Western Desert, was elected secretary. He now is a civilian attached to the United States Embassy in London. His address is 40 Berkeley Square. We hope to organize a repeat performance next month and at regular intervals thereafter, if too many of us aren't drawn off for the peerade to Berlin.

Sixteen classes were represented. Attendance honors went to 1941 with eight members present; 1943 was second with seven and 1938 and 1928 third with five each. Capt. John English '16 signed the roster for the oldest class represented and gnd Lt. Kevin Gough '44 for the youngest.

Captain English sat at the head of the table and led the singing, capping it with a Wah Hoo Wah for Dartmouth which rattled the dishes and amazed the waiters.

The affair was held in the Savoy Hotel. We drank 50 pounds ($200) worth of reasonably good whisky and martinis, talked mostly about who've-ya-seen and how-d'yalike-the-Army and then sat down to a reasonably good dinner. An engraved menu listed the main course as "le ramier des bois au porto at mousserons"—which turned out to be roast pigeon (or Trafalgar Square pheasant as we call it here in Spamland) with mushrooms.

Mr. Louis, the Savoy's roly-poly French banqueting manager, remarked afterward: "you had good crowd of boys; we be very glad have you come here again; eet must be you are all going to ze same school together, eesn't eet?"

A number of letters were received from Dartmouth alumni in the ETO who were unable to attend the function and we feel sure the total number over here must run into the hundreds.

A note from Lt. (jg) Lou Young Jr. '41, captain of the 1940 football team, concluded: "I will be with you in spirit and God bless and protect all of you." That kind of talk doesn't sound silly over here, not even to Dartmouth men. Lou isn't here for a football game. Neither are any of the rest of us.

The men present, by classes, were: 1916, Capt. John Patrick English; 1926, Maj. Ralph L. Thomas; 1928, Lt. Rowland M. Myers, Lt. Arthur F. Perkins, Tech/Sgt. J. F. Hardy, Maj. Walter McKee, Capt. Rocky Keith; 1929, 2nd Lt. Nat H. Barrows Jr., Maj. John S. Minary; 1930, J. B. Willis; 1931, Maj. Robert H. Alcorn, Capt. H. Wentworth Eldredge; 1934, Lt. William T. Mock, Lt. Edwin Mudge; 1936, 2nd Lt. Albert W. Momenee, Capt. Edgar Hyde; 1937, Ist Lt. David H. Samson; 1938, Lt. Col. James T. Seaver, Ist Lt. H. P. W. Christiansen, Capt. J. R. Yankauer, 2nd Lt. Lawrence C. Hull, PFC Robert S. Stearns; 1939, War Correspondent John M. Mecklin, 2nd Lt. Robert J. Wilheim, Lt. (jg) Everett M. Woodman; 1940, Maj. Sherwood G. Burnett, Cpl. John F. Imo, Cpl. John Manley, Capt. Bob Breech; 1941, Ist Lt. George S. Tamlyn Jr., Capt. Joseph A. Wilkes, Ist Lt. Spif Little, Capt. Ralph Johnson, W. P. Durkee, Ist Lt. Robert A. Fisher, Lt. Donald H. Stillman USNR, Lt. M. H. Riley; 1942, 2nd Lt. J. M. C. Olson Jr., Cpl. David P. List, Ist Lt. Phillip Gordon; 1943, Robert C. McQueen, Herbert J. Marx, Sgt. Lewis P. Johnson, Sgt. Robert S. Garvie, Capt. C. C. Brown Jr., Staff/Sgt. Robert M. Clark Jr., 2nd Lt. V. R. Mead; 1944, 2nd Lt. Kevin Gough.