1930

In normal times this edition of the class notes would contain our swan song, and as you read it preparations would be almost completed for our Fifteenth Reunion. Looking back, it does not seem possible that five full years have elapsed sitace our memorable, record-breaking Tenth. Few, if any, of us in Hanover that June thought we would not be there again in June 1945. The fall of France was imminent, but who then thought the war would still be going on five long years later? Now, as this is written, Germany is a beaten nation and V-E Day is anticipated almost any hour. Classmates are scattered "Round the Girdled Earth" and the pressure is increasing on the last of the Axis powers, Japan. Those of us at home are thinking of our brethren in the service, and hoping, with them, that the day of final victory is not far off, and that they will be home again soon, with our Reunion not postponed beyond the summer of 1946.

The annual Alumni Dinner in New York last April brought out well over 700 men to hear President Hopkins, but the 'Thirty representation was only about one per cent of the total, a shockingly small turn-out. Bob Chittim, Dud Day and Bud French made up the New Jersey contingent; Charlie Mcdonough and A 1 McGrath represented New York, and Pfc. Glenn Bartram and Lt. Bill Jessup stood up for the Army and Navy. It was our first glimpse of Blackie Bartram since graduation, but he had changed less than any °£ us. He would not say that the army life agreed with him, for he was a bit fed up with 18 months of desk duty right here in the New York harbor.

We regret to announce the death of Benjamin Finch Jr., at the New York Hospital, April 21, 1945, after a long illness. A Memorial service was held for Ben at St. John's Church in the Village, three days later, at which your secretary represented the class. Further details will appear in the In Memoriam section.

Commander Jack Smith of the "Fighting Lady" sent' the copy of the Tokyo Rose leaflet which Charlie Widmayer said he would try to publish in this issue. It accompanied an interesting letter from him we are sure you will' enjoy:—

Thanks for your good letter. We all know that those back home, who cannot get out here, think about us, but, like all the others, I delight in individual letters. It pleases my ego that you remembered I am on the "Fighting Lady."

You did not make any errors in not seeing me in the film. I did not manage to break in on any of the shots taken on board. We had the "Fleet Premiere" of the film on board several weeks ago and this critical audience gave it a four point. The affair was quite novel for the film arrived during one of our lulls when most of the fleet was at anchor. We had a buffet supper in the ward room and more admirals gathered than I have seen in my Navy career. Then we had flood lights, band and speakers on the hangar deck before the showing.

During the same lull I managed to get over to the U.S.S. > a smaller carrier, to have dinner with Don Hight. He is as modest as ever, but it did not take long for me to find out that he carries the reputation of (and is) ,an excellent surgeon. He should be home on leave now.

I wish I could tell you all the thrilling things that you would like to hear but we cannot put out anything recent. I can, however, admit that we have been pounding at Tokyo's front door. We get lots of thrills out here, but when the general alarm sounded during that trip I must admit that I felt a little abdominal spasm. We were by that time so sick of having Tokyo Rose, the Jap commentator, sink us about once each week that we printed up a few hundred leaflets for her. Our planes scattered them over Tokyo along with the other things which spoke louder than words. I think those Japs that had teeth left to pick did so rather nervously that day. I am enclosing one of the leaflets and doubt if even Esquire would dare to.publish it.

Jack was right about Don Hight, who, now that his leave is over, is stationed at the U. S. Naval Hospital, Chelsea, Mass. Lt. Don spent almost two years on the U.S.S. , a light carrier which participated in nearly every engagement from Wake Island up to the present.

A 1 Fink has changed his name to Fisk. Al is a civilian again and back in New York, having received a medical discharge from the Navy.

On the way back to New York from Washington late in April, we ran into Pete Callaway on the train. Pete has taken over where Pete Hamm left off, in the Magazine section of the Printing and Publishing Division of the WPB, a dollar-a-year man on leave from Time. The irony of it is that Pete had been offered a navy billet in Washington, with two and one-half stripes, before he received his honorable discharge from the Navy. Until he finds a place for his family to live down there, Pete commutes to his Connecticut home every weekend to be with them.

Our time was so limited while in the Capital city that there was not sufficient time to get in touch with the many Thirtymen there. Joe Placak, who was recently promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, was away on leave from the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, and Lt. Col. Fran Horn was out of town. We had .a good telephone chat with Lt. Earl Seldon who is with the Airborne Coordinating Group of the Naval Research Laboratory, and with Vic Borella, executive director of the Office of Inter-American Affairs. Vic related, with considerable amusement, how Nelson Rockefeller had been called a "new deal bureaucrat" the day before at a congressional hearing on the bill to extend the reciprocal trade treaties. Nelson was leaving that night for the San Francisco conference. Earl mentioned how difficult it is for Washington Thirtymen to see each other very often, which seems to be true in almost any city in these times. It was good to learn from Earl of Jack Hodges' promotion to the rank of major, and that Jack is now stationed in Detroit.

Wally Blakey wrote a newsy letter about various members of the class, enclosing some clippings and pictures with it, and a modest reference to the fact that he had resigned from Haskins and Sells at the end of January to accept a position with one of its clients, American Cystoscope Makers, Inc., of which company Wally is now the treasurer. In his letter he referred to having bumped into George Lord in Grand Central station that _ day just as the doctor was about to buy a ticket to Hanover, and to a letter from Ed Warren, dated February 11 from somewhere in Wales, where Ed was presumably still fumigating and bathing prisoners of war. The newspaper clippings which Wally enclosed included a picture of Representative J. Walker Wiggin, republican wheelhorse of New Hampshire's house of representatives, conferring on some pending legislation with the democratic minority chieftain, and another picture of Nelson Rockefeller talking with Secretary of State Stettinius at the Mexico City conference.

Wally's eagle eye also picked out, among a long list of Army-Navy production award winners, the name of Albert Trostel & Sons Company of Milwaukee, and an announcement of the formation of Julien Collins and Cos., 105 South LaSalle St., Chicago, engaged in a general investment banking business to underwrite and distribute corporation, municipal and government securities. The directors of the new company include Milton S. Emrich, its vice president and secretary. For his devotion to the duties of a loyal member of the class, in keeping with the highest traditions of a secretary's hopes and expectations, we hereby award Wally a cluster of grapes from next season's crop.

Bill Bragner and Dick Zeigler have been promoted to the rank of captain, and Herb Parry to lieutenant (jg). And an Oak Leaf Cluster to the Distinguished Flying Cross has been awarded to Capt. Bill Lucas. Bill has chalked up more than 300 combat hours during his two years of service in the India-Burma theatre, including night landings during the 1944 invasion of Burma.

Since we cannot hold our Fifteenth Reunion this June, it has been suggested that all Thirtymen might consider sending the equivalent of what they would have spent on a reunion trip from their home towns, to the Alumni Fund. If you have not yet made your contribution, do so now and give that some consideration. Those who are already in Alex McFarland's good graces are still eligible to increase their gifts if the above suggestion should strike a responsive part of their pocketbooks.

Secretary, 99 Hudson St., New York, N. Y. Treasurer, 443 Nyatt Rd., Barrington, R. I.

TOKYO ROSE THE FIGHTING LADY-WILL BE IN TO CHANGE YOUR TUNE FOR YOU THE FIGHTING LADY SENDS HER COMPLIMENTS TO TOKYO ROSE VIA AIR MAIL in a shower of bombs. The above leaflet, sent in by Comdr. Jack Smith '30, shows the message dropped in a bombing raid over Tokyo.