1933

Our, plaintive cry for help in solving the Doscher case was answered, but completely, by Hank Smith ten days ago with a detailed history up to March u. In this morning's mail came word from Jim Woods that he had just had a visit with. Dosch at the hospital at Fort Devens, Mass., and had the latest instalment. The details would fill a book and I hope that Rip will see his way clear to give over at least a good chunk of his next newsletter to this story. Hank sent on a long letter written by Dosch early last winter shortly after he and xo other crewmen of "The Chamber Maid," all n wounded, survive a terrific beating by Jap flak and Zeros over jwo Jima and a subsequent crash landing at their base that left nothing of the "Maid"' but a pile of junk. Wish we could reproduce the pictures of the wreck that were published in Brief, official Air Force publication. How ii men walked or were carried out of that junk pile alive is more than we can understand. Dosch was wounded in the thigh by fragments of a shell that exploded on the flight deck.

Apparently Dosch's recovery was rapid because \in January some Navy guy, "way out of his element," as Hank says, drove his jeep head on into Dosch's. The consequences were far worse than those acquired on that bomber ride over Iwo. He is still in the hospital, the tally sheet this time showing 25 stitches in the head, a broken shoulder, injured nerve in his arm, and several jammed vertebrae. Who was the guy who went over Niagara and lived, only to die after slipping on a banana peel? He had nothing on Dosch. It's one for the book and Rip will tell you all about it soon, and will probably also let you know that Dosch came out of all that with strength enough left in his injured arm to make out a nice check to the Alumni Fund, which is more Uh, uh, there we go again! Always thinking of something to eat.

Thanks, Hank, and thanks, Jim, and thank God Dosch is back stateside and, we hope, mending fast. Hank, by the way, reports the arrival March 10, of a second daughter, Lucinda. His first, Susan, is now five and a half.

Another report this month on '33s in the Pacific comes from Lt. (jg) Pete Mankowski, who left Harvard not so long ago for the comparatively salubrious climate of the Marianas. He writes: "Time for just a few lines from what looks like fairly permanent duty out here in the Marianas. It took a couple of months of wandering to alight here, and it feels good to stay put for a bit. My last month at Harvard Forrie Branch showed up with that big smile of his and went to work for the Navy. I lost track of him after I left. I also had a visit with Danny Degasis and his family in Nashua. You probably know that he is working in New Jersey supervising some Metal Distintegration outfit. In Hawaii, Whit Kimball rose out of the Seas as skipper of a mine sweeper. We had a fine visit and he took me aboard for the evening movie. He shoved off before we could meet again. My family are in Minneapolis, wife, Marcia Ann, almost 11, and David Peter, six I think the appeal for an early gift to the Fund was well put. There should be many of us who need only that reminder to get us going. Best to all."

Julien D. Goell has been reported missing in action in France. We have very little information on Julien's service history beyond the fact that in 1943 he was attached to a glider infantry group.

J O J. A note from Lt. Mannie Sprague late in March let us know that he is still training night fighters for the Navy at Charlestown, R- I. Manny put in a couple of months last winter on Cape Cod, which he found "definitely not a garden spot in that season." He is hankering for a hitch out West but sees little prospect of that for several months at least.

A long, newsy letter from Wood Foster, who is again pitching in on the Fund this year. Hope Wood has been as lucky getting the dough as he has getting the dope from you guys. He is practising law, has two sons, Dutton, five (named after his grandfather, H. D. Thrall 'O5), and Wood Jr. Betty and Wood, though city dwellers at the moment, still hope to move out to the country after the war. In the meantime Wood mixes in with his practise the usual run of war-bond and community chest drives, organization and committee work, and yearns for the time when he can again do some flying, which he took up before the war. He reports that BobMcDonald lives sixty odd miles southwest of Minneapolis, doing advertising work for Minnesota Valley Canning Cos. Wood last saw Lt. Spike Geddes just before he went into the service in 1943, at which time they worked in a real reunion, thanks to Spike's schedule that arranged for four days to do four hours' work. Neither of the patients recovered from that one in a hurry. Spike is a radar officer on an escort carrier. In a recent letter to Wood he said in part "I can now reveal that we were in the Palau operation last September and I can also tell you of any place that I've been over a month ago. These include Saipan, Guam, Manus, Morotai, Guadalcanal, Tulagi, Esperitu Santo plus a trip to the Marshalls last summer where I went ashore at Eniwetok, and got a good look at Kwajalein, Roi, and Majura." Quite a saga, that. Wood also says that Lt. Cotndr. John Faegre has been personnel officer at the N.A.S. at Minneapolis since January, '44, when he returned from twentytwo months' service on Antigua. Bill Fobes, having left his fuel business, is also in Minneapolis as traffic representative for N. W. Airlines.

Sorry that in our colyum a couple of months ago we erroneously reported that Major Nat Root had practised medicine in N. Y., N. J., and Utica, N. Y. before he went into the service. We should have said that he was stationed in each of these places after he went in, and before he went overseas.

K. H. Thomas '2l reported to Sam Black that Capt. Thomas W. Eastman has been in the Marianas since last fall doing transportation work for the Air Corps. He has been in the service for over three years.

If any of you guys would like to help Dosch while away the time waiting for his back to mend here is his address: Lt. Robert Doscher, Lovell General Hospital, Southward 16, Fort Devens, Mass.

Secretary, 20 Valley Rd., Hanover, N. H. Treasurer, 2812 Grant Bldg., Pittsburgh 19, Pa