1921
On Pearl Harbor Day, 1944 (December 7 to you), at 1400 o'clock, Lt. Jim Wicker of the Navy sat down at a place he designates as "X" in the Pacific and dispatched a comprehensive summary of the outlook from that point of vantage, including a look forward to our 25th Reunion, now only a year and a half away. After seventeen months at San Francisco, Jim was ordered to overseas duty and was flown out to Pearl Harbor. But let him tell the story:
I arrived there early in November and, after a one-week stopover, flew on and on—well into the Pacific—to this point X. I am assigned to the staff of Commander Service Squadron 10. My particular assignment is provisions—that is, food for our fleet and its auxiliaries. I am stationed aboard an auxiliary vessel. Our supply office, attached to the Flag, is concerned with the logistics of supply—that is, having the food and implements of war at the proper place in the proper quantities when needed. Obviously, at this distance from the source of supply, it is not possible to do a 100% job. Therefore, we are also called upon to prorate equitably the supplies on hand when necessary. The work also entails an analysis of the needs of the fleet, as they arise, with reports to the Command back further in the line, so that errors may be corrected. This is a fascinating assignment and I wouldn't trade places with any of the boys based ashore. I have one month of sea duty under my belt. We all look forward, of course, to the eighteen months rotation plan's being effective later on. I figure my tour of duty should be rounded out in time for me to get back to Hanover for our 25th Reunion in June 1946. At least I'm counting on being there. All the officers with whom I've been associated have been graduates of various colleges from 1932 through 1941. I don't advertise my age but I suppose I'm referred to as "the old man." It would please me greatly to meet someone around my class, if not 1921. I can always be located through the Flag secretary of this Command. (AnyNaval personnel needing further details than heregiven for reaching Jim are invited to write theclass secretary').
Along with the accession of Jim Wicker, the Pacific area has lost the services of one 'si Naval officer. It is reported that Lt. Comdr. DeWalt (Pick) Ankeny has been detailed to the Nation's Capital on an undisclosed mission. The report is being checked for further details as this issue goes to press And Capt. Rog Wilde of the AAF turns up in Chicago again, after an assignment at Wright Field, Dayton. Sez Rog: "My job is still in ' Contract Termination for the Air Forces, but I am now assigned to the Hqs. of the Midcentral District, Chicago, and am living at my home in Winnetka with my family. Roger Jr. is finishing his senior year at New Trier before going into service or Dartmouth this fall Say hello to my friends in Washington."
This corner is in receipt of a report, considered reliable, that Harvey Burton has been promoted to the rank of lieutenant, commander Ralph Baker checks in from 533 West Webster St., Springfield, Mo., but thus far has not revealed what he's doing out there. If forced to guess, however, this observer would say it's variety-store merchandising of some sort Previously unrecorded in this column, Theater Arts for last April carried an article by Ort Hicks called "The Overseas Motion Picture Service." Art Anderson responds from Broadway and 42nd St., Manhattan, to a request for news, in the following vein: "Certainly I do not feel that, in the face of the grand job that many of our classmates are doing in the war effort, there is any justification for a personal blurb about my comparative insignificance on the whole scene. And knowing as you do how shy X am, never doing more than shouting my virtues from the housetops, I still feel that there isn't enough I could tell you that would be sufficiently interesting to take space in the swell job you are doing of reporting class activities." .... It is with regret that we are forced to record the death on December 27 of the Rev. Charles F. Atkins of Fairlee, Vt.
In this issue, if no hitches occur, you will find a grand picture of Hal Braman, the squire of Middlebury, Conn. Always active in class and regional Alumni affairs, the squire is currently a member of the '21 Executive Committee and first vice president of the Connecticut Alumni Association. Anent the latter post, Hal confides that because of the war all officers are frozen and, therefore, he stands to be the "longest" v.p. ever in office. But to get to the point of the picture, its publication is occasioned by Hal's being named Personnel Manager of The American Brass Co., Waterbury. He has been with the company for many years and this nice promotion is richly deserved Ingham (Ike) Baker, responding to an inquiry about his boy at Dartmouth with a disclaimer of news about young Walton, has this to say on the subject of residing in Suffield, Conn.: "We moved to Suffield two years ago. Suffield is about ten miles below Springfield on the west side of the Connecticut River. The only industry is tobacco farming. It is a beautiful town and we believe an ideal place to live. We have an excellent academy where any boy can get adequate preparation for Dartmouth or other colleges. If any of the boys have sons who may be interested in attending a small (approx 100 students) private prep school located in a rural community about halfway between Hartford and Springfield, if they will drop me a line I shall be glad to see that they get full particulars. For some unknown reason, I was put on the Board, last year, and the operating committee, this." In writing to Ike, address him C/o G. & C. Merriam Co., Springfield 2, Mass.
PERSONNEL MANAGER of the American Brass Co., Waterbury, Ct., Harold F. Braman '21 is first vice president of the Connecticut Alumni Association.
Secretary, 201 W. Montgomery Ave., Rockville, Md.
Treasurer, 545 Hinman Ave., Evanston, Ill.
