1911
An item of interest to all is the marriage of Carl A. Waterbury, known to us as Dutch, to Miss Helen Catherine Owen on Wednesday, February 14, in the Presbyterian Church in Rye, New York. Carl and his bride will reside at 57 Calumet St., Rochester, N. Y., after a honeymoon at Chateau Frontenac in Quebec. In November Dutch became special sales representative with Babson's Reports, Inc., of Wellesley Hills, Mass. His son Palmer is now a major in S. C. U. of the Air Force and attached to staff headquarters in England. Dutch states that since they have moved to Rochester they see much of Ruth and Sid Backus.
Stanley G. Eaton was appointed Post executive officer of Camp McCoy, Wis., last fall, and recently was promoted to lieutenant colonel. His oldest son, Capt. Edward W. Eaton '37, is still stationed at an Air Depot in England; his second son, Fred L. '41, has finished his boot training at Great Lakes, and is now S 2/c studying in Recognition School. "Slim's" third son, Stanley Jr. is a second lieutenant in a field artillery battalion with a division in the South Pacific.
Aubrey Butler, known in the florist world as Butler and Ullman, Inc.. continues winning prizes for his gardenias and camellias, recently receiving a gold medal certificate and special prize for his display of camellias in the ca- mellia show in Horticultural Hall in Boston.
With an expression of appreciation to Chet Butts, here is his report on Boston doings:
Our class was mighty well represented at the Boston Alumni Association dinner. The following were present: Wheatley, Paul, Jordan, Whitman, Alt Jackson, Crooks, Stucklen, Mayo, Wilder, Butts, Schell, Clute, J. B. Clark, Robinson, Farrell, Briggs, L. H. Gibson, Bond, Bean, Chamberlin, Sprague, McLaughlin.
It seemed good to see Red McLaughlin again after some thirty-five years, at least, had elapsed since he rubbed elbows with the Boston crowd. He certainly retained interest in his classmates and seemed to keep very well posted as to what everybody was doing.
Young Dick has completed his missions in the European theatre and is now an instructor, I believe, at Ellington Field, Texas.
Dutch Whitman's son Jack has received his commission as ensign in the Navy. He has been through Minesweeper School and is now stationed in San Francisco, engaged in minesweeping. .... Shorty Mayo's boy Herbert is in the Navy out somewhere in the Pacific Brownie Wilder has three sons in the Navy or Maritime Service, and I think they have seen some little action and excitement Paul Briggs' son is in the Navy somewhere in the Pacific.
The following address changes have recently been received:
Art Bush, 92 Marshall St., Watertown, Mass., George Leach, 105 West Monroe St., Chicago 3, Ill., and Harold Pease, U. S. Bureau of Reclamation, Boise, Idaho.
We are happy still to have some hitherto imprinted extracts from young Jim Mathes' letters:—
In our rugged little boats we've missed little so far. We escorted the minesweeper in—and that was before the major offensive got under way.
We've been patroling close enough in shore to, with the help of a stiff sea wind, spit on the beach.
This odd, dream-like world in which we here now live began to become real our first day. That morning, glider-towing transports, on their way back, clumsily fell out of formation, squatted on the sea. Fortunately those which we saw go down floated like huge bugs on a pond for some time before raising their tails, disappearing from the surface. This gave the crews time to get into their rubber boats. Several such were picked up in our area, and we pulled one group aboard only slightly injured.
A few hours later, a nearby sweep hit a mine. We took off forty-two men, some very badly wounded. She sank ten minutes after we left her. No men alive were left on board. With two of this crew I boarded that sweep. It was not a pretty sight, but it all now seems so unreal that it's hard to remember. We carried a good many of those men off and among them the ship's cat. She was wet and dazed, but only slightly cut.
The first-aid material happened to be tossed my way. Funny, I put sulfa and bandages on to wounds I would have once thought it unbear- able even to look upon. One acts so objectively. It's as if it's not really you that's doing these things, but some dream-like imposter, and you're only standing by and watching this odd fellow who reminds you of yourself.
As I write this letter here in our stateroom, the table shakes occasionally. The beach, about two miles from us, is being shelled—by our own naval fire support.
There is a striking paradox here—one which perhaps is characteristic of all wars—and seems surprising only at first to those uninitiated in the ways of war. I refer to the violence and serenity which reign by sudden turns. I had thought war would be all war, full of violence and quite constantly so. But of course men can't be so completely destructive.
The bay is calm and quiet. Little ships scurry and big ships glide over its surface. But this peaceful scene is shockingly changed. Wham—a huge geyser of water, tinged with the brown of blasted oil, hides that girding ship. When the geyser settles, a twisted mass of broken wreckage slumps on the water, settles slowly—lower and lower into the water.
We in these little boats are—and I write honestly—comparatively fortunate. We are fast, small, difficult targets. The enemy would be wastefully unwise to bomb us, to set their mines for us, to shell us. They are after bigger game. So we sit here, with ringside seats. We're watching men make history, but what a damn-fool method they use.
We are all very fine. We get enough to eat, enough sleep. We are very lucky fellows, compared to our friends on shore. They are really fighting this war.
The New York annual Alumni Dinner will be held at the Hotel Pennsylvania, at sixthirty P.M., April 26. Our class representative is Richard Whelden. Henry Shepherd is chairman of the Hotel and Arrangements Committee.
Secretary, Harvard Hall, Apt. 705 1650 Harvard St., N. W„ Washington, D. C.
Treasurer, 631 Walden Road, Winnetka, Ill.
ANNUAL NEW YORK DINNER, APRIL 26 HOTEL PENNSYLVANIA AT 6:30 P.M.
