1933
Lt. Comdr. Winston J. Rowe (MC) USN was recently awarded the Navy Commendation Ribbon for outstanding services as flight surgeon attached to a carrier-based squadron in action against the Japs. The official citation, signed by Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kincaid, Commander of the Seventh Fleet, read in part as follows: "Lt. Comdr. Rowe, with great zeal and professional skill, continuously maintained the physical efficiency of the pilots and flying personnel of his unit. At a time when all hands were subject to extreme fatigue, as a result of continuous combat flying, he thoroughly and efficiently handled the situation so that the over-all physical well-being of the officers and men was far above that to be expected; thereby contributing to the success of the squadron's air operations." Win, after serving with his squadron in the Marianas and Philippine liberation campaigns is now on duty in the San Diego area and is living at Coronado.
Another report on a '33 medic comes via a letter to Sam Black from Major J. H. "Swede"Branson MC AUS in the Philippines. He wrote:
We had a hectic eight months in the Netherlands East Indies where overtime work was the rule for the entire stretch. I was given charge "of the General Medical Service and have been doing that for the past fourteen months. We did take an hour off each day down there to go swimming in our coral ringed lagoon where the water was so crystal clear that on a moonlit night you could see all the coral formations and colored fish under twelve feet of water. We had a lot of fun diving for sponges and riding in native outrigger canoes. There were enough Japs when we first landed there to keep us on the jump but after a'couple of months we had little or no trouble, other than a single air raid which raised a bit of havoc. Game up here on Detached Service with the University of Wisconsin gang and they are perfectly swell. I have never seen a more cordial or friendly group of men. They came in here about D plus 2 and set up their General Hospital way out on the perimeter and then proceeded to get surrounded by Jap paratroops, so realty caught a lot of hell. By the time I got up here things had quieted down and several of us ventured a number of times up into the mountain passes with armed escort but didn't flush any Japs although they were all around. .The mountains look very much like our Franconia chain and still have a fascination for yours truly. The natives are dirty, the country is dirty, the swamps stink like New Guinea, and everything that is not mineral, vegetable, or human crawls, creeps, and plagues the devil out of you. Have spent a number of hours watching the natives plow their terraced rice paddies behind the big lumbering carabaos and sail out in their latefen rigged outrigger boats for the fish which they dry and offer up to the ravages of the flies before they eat them. There is one exception to my previous statement about the dirt and that is that the women wear clean, neat dresses which are well-cut and well made. The markets are littered with trash, sickly-looking bananas, rice cakes, tuba, Bruru hats and sandals and mats and Abaaca and banana fibre cloth.
Other reports on '33s in the Pacific: Lt.Francis A. Harrington USNR, is on a D.E. in Philippine waters; ditto Lt. Don Wheelock, on a PC. Lt. Frank A. Hardy, in the Philippines. First Lieutenant Jim MacFarland was recently reported as a new member of the Dartmouth Ciub of Tinimanhat (Tinian), joining Cpl.Don Seizas to swell '33's representation. A let- ter last month brought us up to date on the Sneads: Lt. Comdr. Walter Snead USNR, is now stationed in San Diego, and has been joined there by his wife, Betty, and three- months-old son, Blair Hartley. Walter entered the service in February of '42, and received his training at Quonset Point with Lyme Wakefield and Pete Grace. He was overseas for twenty-two months after that and came back to California last year. He expects to go out again in the near future. Lt.(jg) Thornton Snead USNR, who has been in the service since February 1944, enjoyed a visit with Walter and Betty recently when he came back to the West Coast for a short time before returning to his duties as skipper of an armed guard crew in the Pacific.
We met Pete Grace's mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. Leo M. Grace, a few days ago at the Hanover Inn, where they are vacationing, and got the latest word on Pete's activities. He is a lieutenant commander now, currently stationed at Lambert Field in Robertson, Mo., serving as administrative assistant to the Commanding Officer. Pete joined the "royal order of diaper changers" last September when, on September 26, Pierre Jr. arrived.
Recently received word that Lt. PageWorthington USMCR, last reported as in training in California with a Marine Carrier Group, is on his way west, destination undisclosed but your guess is very likely right. Betty Conger wrote to Sam Black recently that Fred Lt. (jg) has been stationed on Okinawa for the past three months. A good letter from Lt.Bob Cox to Ripley, written from a Pacific hospital. He says:
I'm starting on my second month as a surgeon's playground in this god-forsaken spot in the Pacific, and as a result I am somewhat browned off. My claim to the Purple Heart comes from having fallen down a ladder aboard ship (of which Bob is the Exec) and hanging my thigh very neatly on a metal hook—all this preparatory to going to the Officer's Club. The climate—rain, rain, raindoesn't make for a fast convalescence, so I suppose I'll be rotting on the beach here in this base dispensary for another month or so. To go way back for news: After leaving Hanover in '33 I went to N.Y.U. for my architectural degree, 1935, spent a year sketching in Europe with my wife—we bicycled 1000 miles, believe it or not—and in '36 to California'where I've been practising modern architecture ever since; until Pearl Harbor when I went into defense work as an industrial engineer. After I had taken all I could take of the aircraft industry I got my commission, indoctrinated at Tucson, then at N.T.C., Miami, and from there here in a series of easy jumps. As I have salt water in my veins anyway I love life aboard ship and am particularly fortunate in having a grand bunch aboard. We make inter-island runs, and as a result run into Officer's Clubs every so often. Best.
The '33 population in Hanover has increased by two since our last class notes. Born, to Dr. and Mrs. William C. MacCarthy Jr. a son, William Carpenter MacCarthy III, on June 7; to Mr. and Mrs. John C. Manchester, on July 2, a daughter, Ellen.
Recent service promotions: Major WilliamR. Jones, Major William F. Dowling Jr., Major D. Robert Swinehart, Major John B. Hunley, Captain Alston Beekman Jr., Lt. Frank A.Hardy.
THE NAVY COMMENDATION RIBBON is received by Lt. Comdr. Winston J. Rowe '33, MC, (right) from Capt. William V. Saunders, USN, (left) for outstanding service as flight surgeon attached to a carrierbased squadron in the Pacific. He is now on duty in the San Diego area and living at Coronado.
Secretary,20 Valley Rd., Hanover, N. H. Treasurer, 2812 Grant Bldg., Pittsburgh 19, Pa.
