1952

Finally the yard period. For the next three months we have that rare privilege of some real time in port and a chance to get caught up on a backlog of paper work without the all too regular interruptions of underway watches. It also gives me a chance to get caught up on some of the details of this task of keeping the records straight. On that subject more of you will be hearing from me in the near future. Kind of interested to know how those of you who are due to get out this spring and summer are planning to spend your time jobwise, locationwise, and otherwise. But for the moment the interest hinges on the status quo, unstable as it may be, so here goes with what's new as I have it.

'52s Invade Bayonne

In the last edition of this column I mentioned a brief word about the Bayonne contingent. That group, for the information of those of you who are not familiar with the USN, is a group of officers who aren't in the service for the experience, and who want to do the Navy for the most. Theirs, for the most part, is not a future filled with the excitement of mid-watch after mid-watch, of spraydrenched decks on an icy February morn, of drill after drill of every description. Rather, theirs is a life of accounting for every last penny spent at the command to which they are attached, of grappling with the problems of supply, and most important of all, dispersing the all important dollar according to rate or rank every two weeks or so. Actually, the supply boys of the Navy have a darn good billet. No watches, for the most part, and a job which concerns itself more with the type of thing they will be doing later if and when they are released. They are, of course, not the old "seadogs" that we line officers are with years of experience, - well, months of same - with our teeth in a teeming gale etc., but despite that they are pay-day personified and consequently they are accepted.

If I have the records right, the picture accompanying this column was taken last fall and gives you a fair idea of who's there at the supply school. Hib and Marc Durot inform me that the '52s number nineteen as of a period just before Christmas. To those in the picture add the names Mendy Balkin,Moose Palitz, Stan Smiley, and Chuck Clough, and you have the reason why Canoe U is worried about Dartmouth as a possible competitor in this business of ships and planes and stuff. By the way, that guy Scully holds a mean flag - did you notice? But there is more than Bayonne to talk about.

Notes and Notices

Danny Hall and Bob Ringstad are aboard the USS Cabot if she hasn't been decommissioned yet and Johnny Brower is, I believe, living on the West Coast, whence he sallies forth on a transport plying between the States and the Far East. Bill Huey returned recently from a year's cruise in the Pacific, aboard the destroyer USS Colahan. He is the communications officer and the note I received reads that he was "celebrating his first leave by relaxing in the desert at Palm Springs." Ens. Pete McSpadden has assumed duties as assistant intelligence officer on the staff of Commander Carrier Division Three. Karl Thielscher now has a couple of gold bars on his shoulders indicative of the fact that he recently graduated from OCS at Fort Belvoir, Va. Word comes from the Jersey area that Walt Grevatt, now at the Oberlin College Graduate School of Theology, plans to enter the field of missionary-education upon graduation.

Got a frohe Weihnacht und ein gutes NeuesJahr from one Dick Spurgin who, having completed a Course in guess what, finds himself stationed in Regensburg, Germany. Along with the card was a most interesting letter covering a multitude of subjects. As usual those in the Army of these United States find for the most part that they are given at least as much opportunity to see faraway places with strange sounding names as those in the other branches of the Armed Forces, - and stay there longer which, incidentally, has been a pet peeve of mine and one of the shortcomings of the so-called "Navy way of handling their personnel. At any rate, Dick is seeing much of Europe during occasional leaves and apparently is getting a first-hand look at Germany. He, among several others who were IR majors, has passed the exams for the Foreign Service and is thinking about an appointment when he gets out.

The Matrimonial Picture

And so to the regular feature of this monthly report: Pete Guenther and Elizabeth A. Pratt have announced their engagement. Pete's fiancee is a Skidmore graduate, class of '53, and he is attending Cornell Law School. They plan a late summer wedding.

As for weddings there's only one which I can report on accurately as of this writing. Roy Megargel and Kate Gray were married December 5 at Greenwich, Conn., and among those serving as ushers was Fred Stahl. JimFraser assumed the pleasant duties of best man. Kate is also a '53 graduate of Skidmore. They are living at Camp Lejuene while Roy completes his tour as a lieutenant in the Marine Corps. I take it back; there's one more, Al Cohen and Joan Fields were married on November 26 in New York. Al left the Class before graduation to attend Columbia and is now at the Law School there. There are several other weddings which took place this past December, but will save those for the next issue, when I hope I will have more complete details.

That about winds it up for another month. Who's for the slopes in February?

DARTMOUTH '52s form a large group at the U.S. Navy Supply Corps School, Bayonne, N. J. Front row (l to r): George Hibben (who sent in the picture), Fred Neuman, Bob Jahrling, Vic Trautwein, Marc Durot, Don MacLeod, Jon Walton, George Scully. Back row: Gil Ellenberger, Ben Hadley, Sam Daniell, Dick Dalbeck, Frank Heineman, Terry Malone.

Secretary,USS Nantaliala (AO-60) c/o FPO, New York, N. Y.

Treasurer, 151 Sip Ave., Jersey City, N. J.