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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 22, 1943)
TUESDAY MORNING, JUNE 22, 1943- -THE BATTALION -Page 8 ACTD NEWS HART THROBS Squadron V Well, this has been a big week end, in one way or the other, I hope. Your reporter was on hand to meet the girls who came up from Houston for the dance. He went down there with high hopes, but, alas, alack, and Alaska, he came away empty-armed. Am I ever gonna get a girl in my arms? One Squadron Five lad elbowed his way through the crowd to the door of the train, politely assisted a beau tiful damsel down the steps, took her luggage, gallantly escorted her through the mob, and turned to in troduce himself to find his newly- found love in the arms of another Squadron Five boy who happened, by chance, to be married to her. The first lad has been sobbing his heart out ever since, and is near a nervous breakdown. Having looked at the gig and tour lists, and listening to reports, the “Ramp” must have looked like a special review. Almost every body, their brothers, and their dogs seemed to have fallen under the axe this past week. Our flight training is about fin ished, and I wish to say a few words about your check flights. There is absolutely no need to work yourselves into a lather about your check flights. Just, simply go out there and do your best. Don’t worry, and don’t get nervous. T- h-h-hat’s being s-s-s-imple, 1-1- look at m-m-me. The Wing Ball was a great suc cess even though the stag line looked like Sheppard Field at chow time. The highlight of the dance was the presentation of the colors by Mr. T. B. Bryan, one of Bryan’s most outstanding citizens. Let’s do those colors justice. In closing, I wish to express Squadron Five’s appreciation to the other squadrons for their part in our graduation exercises, and also to our flight instructors for their stirring part in the program. We have reached another rung in the ladder, and all of you fellows were right there with us. Thanks again. —DISTRACTIONS— (Continued from Page 2) OMAHA TRAIL, starring James Craig and Pamella Blake. The plot of the show is one of the old west when the Indians and pioneers were still shooting it out at least once a day. Craig is try ing to bring the first locomotive across the plains by means of an ox-train and his fellow drivers try to sabotage his attempt. They entice the local Indians into at tacking the expedition and pull a good deal of other dirty work themselves, but Craig wins through the battles and wins Miss Blake’s heart at the same time. The Lowdown: A Western you’ll enjoy. RUDDER DUST by A./S Jack E. Shaw It seems as though digging up colorful backgrounds of unsuspect ing souls in our detachment is becoming all the rage. So contin uing the mood and by way of ex plaining the reason why ? I humbly offer the following and hope it will be filed away in the annals of posterity. First in this series of interest ing stories describing the non commissioned officers stationed here at Texas A. & M., begins with the tale of Corporal Vernie L. Bower’s army life. The corporal was born in Georgia but before entering the army, spent most of his life in good ol’ North Carolina. Incident ally he would like to see that ‘Car olina Moon’ again too! I wonder if it’s any different than the one in Iowa? You know—hay-rides, cool breezes, your best girl, icy- drinks! After induction at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the genial corpor al was then expedited to the A. A. F. B. T. C. No. 7 at Atlantic City, New Jersey where he spent his basic training period and as much money as possible. By the way, before you miss an interesting high-light, it must be at least mentioned that Vernie spent about three years as a pro fessional boxer and was a “Gold en Gloves” champ. Strangely how ever, this manly art runs second to his first favorite sport—“post- office!” Boy, are my ears burn ing! Attacking the thought once again, we find this gentleman (and a scholar) stationed at San An tonio, Texas, aviation cadet cen ter, and one of the first five best drill instructors there. A sunny day came and the com manding officer recommended our hero and another (whose name you will soon read herein) for a transfer to the 308th college training detachment, which insist ed on having none but the best men. To bring our story up to date, Br. Bowers has practically grown up with the 308th and is doing a fine job in his work connected with Squadron Two. There’s no doubt about it — the “Wing Ball” was really put over with a bang and everybody enjoy ed the in-between ‘extras’ starr ing Manuel H. Alvarez and David C. Campbell along with the feud in’ of the Martins and the Coys, via the Bryan field swing band. Every man in the 308th was struck with a certain feeling of pride and honor when Mr. Travis B. Bryan presented us with the colors for our detachment. Our deepest gratitude is expressed to Mr. Bryan for this proud banner and the symbol of the thoughtful ness shown by those of Bryan, and the Young Women’s Service Club of Bryan. Hottest news around the campus seems to come from the sports and Saturday review department. The youngster Squadron Three was paddled to the tune of 4 to 0 by Squadron Two in the season’s open ing softball tilt. And onto the glory train stepped Squadron One as they marched off with the rib bons at Saturday’s review. Nice goin’ gents, you looked plenty good! DRIFTING By A/S Fred J. Rosenthal A Poem from Home There’s a bright star in my window Oi». a field of bluest blue, And it shines there, paying hom age As a service star should do. It’s a silver star in heaven, I can see it night on night. And it’s God’s own starbright promise That he’ll see us thru all right. O, you valiants with your soldiers And your boys now off so far. Look to heaven in the evening And you’ll see God’s service star. Jest in Passing Suggested motto for soldiers and sailors in Los Angeles zoot area: “Don’t shoot until you see the cut of their suits.” The Right Proportion? From the Wheaton, HI., Journal: “Uncle Sam wants 250 women to enlist in the Waves and release a (See DRIFTING, Page 4) ACTD STAFF Alvin B. Cooter Editor-and-Chief Jack E. Shaw Managing Editor Fred J. Rosenthal .... Associate Editor Alan E. Goldsmith Associate Editor Max E. Stump Associate Editor Max S. Zimmerman Ediotr Sqd. One Joseph E. Platt Squd. Two Editor George A. Martin Squd. Three Editor Bill Peters Squd. Four Editor Colonel Nowotney Is Campus Visitor Sat. Lt. Colonel Bert Nowotny, an A. & M. graduate, returned to the campus for an inspection of the Air Corps detachment Sat urday, June 18. Accompanied by his charming wife, he attended the Wing Ball held Friday eve ning and was received as guest of honor. The Colonel commented very favorably on the cordial relations between the men of the detach ment and the college. He also noticed a tremendous improvement in the detached, which is consid ered to be the finest in the Gulf Coast Training Command. When questioned as to the ben efits of the course of training given by the Air Corps at A. & M. College, he said that the results of tests given to all men at the various classification centers stood as positive proof of the ad vantage that the College Training program has given to potential aviation cadets. This course of training makes it possible for men, who could not ordinarly cope with the intricacies of some of the sub jects given at Pre-Flight, to get the full benefit of their instruc tion and thereby lower the num ber of eliminations. Our pro gram also enables the trainees to make the necessary adjustment from the enlisted man’s ideas to those of a potential officer by a thorough system of indoctrination. Colonel Nowotny was very pleased to see his former school carrying on under wartime con ditions with so much vigor. He hopes to return in the near fu ture. By Alan E. Goldsmith—ACTD. Service Record By Martin E. Ismert, Jr. A/S Harold H. Guckeen is a twenty-three-year-old Irish lad who was born in Fargo, North Dakota. Mr. Guckeen moved to Billings, Montana, with his fam ily in time for him to enter the Billings High School there. Harold worked in a drug store after graduating. Later he work ed on several nearby Montana ranches as a cowhand entertaining guests. Guckeen entered the U. S. Army March 3, 1942, at Ft. Lewis, Wash ington, and was sent to Sheppard Field, Texas, for his basic train ing and then to Lowery Field for five months. Harold then went to Hunter Field, Georgia, as an Arm orer Student for one month. From Hunter Field, he was transferred to Tyndall Field, Florida, where he took a five week course of instruc tion in Aerial Gunnery. At Tyndall Field, Guckeen received his Gun ner’s wings and the rating of Staff Sergeant. After graduating from Gunnery School, Harold went back to Hun ter Field where he received furth er training. There he flew in A-24’s and A-31’s perfecting his ability of effectively strafing ground and water targets as well as fill plane- towed targets full of holes. Guckeen is five feet, ten inches tall, and blue eyes, brown hair, weighs 155 pounds, possesses a fair complexion and a handsome profile. His favorite sports are bowling, tennis, hockey and football. His hobby is collecting old coins. He likes good foods, especially second helpings of the Air Corps chow served here at A. & M. Guckeen was nicknamed “Bob” by his family while a youngster in grade school. He gives the im pression of being quiet, calm and humorous; always punning with his roommates, tablemates and associates. A/S John C. Hempbell was a roommate of Guckeen at Tyndall Field and strangely enough the two again sharing the same room here at A. & M. Hempell, describ ing Guckeen says of him, “he is a fine, upstanding young gentle man, who dislikes gambling and drinking.” After the war Harold intends to take up commercial flying for an air transport company. His brother is a Corporal in the Infantry of the Regular Army in the Aleutian Islands. Another school which Guckeen received training in was the Air craft Mechanic School at Sheppard Field. After completing five months of that course, he decided to answ- PROPWASH Squadron II Joseph E. Platt Squadron II won the first soft- ball game of the season Saturday afternoon as they trounced Squad ron III 4 to 0. Hank Davies was the winning hurler and he had a not-hit and no-run game within one out of competition. The opening game was a five-inning affair and it was not until two were out in the final stanza that Squadron III was able to get a safe hit. No II broke the scoring column in the first inning with a three run burst. The counters were manu factured with three singles and the same number of walks. Jack Wright was the big gun in the winner’s attack, by collecting three hits in the same number of trips to the plate and driving across two runs. Joseph Platt drove across the other two markers with a sin gle in the initial frame with the bases loaded. Max Stump collected a pair of blows to complete the hitting. The team is not as yet fully organized, having practiced but one time before deflating some of the ego from Squadron III. Ed ward O. Martin was elected mana ger for the team at the first practice session. Manager Martin says the positions for the team are far from settled and anyone wishing to try for the team report for the daily practices at 6:30 p.m. Two men of our Squadron put a memorable day in their lives Sat urday with wedding bells playing the melody. Willard H. Sellers and Lucille Hughes came down the aisle in the afternoon with Miss Jean Wood as bridesmaid and George Wallingford the best man. The second ceremony of the day found Lester A. Moeller and Helen E. Maillee taking their vows. Mrs. John Thurman was the bridesmaid on this occasion and Jack Young the best man. Best wishes from the whole Squadron. And thanks for the cigars. The Squadron has been missing the presence of their Squadron Commander, Gerald O. Anderson. If you have not heard the reason it is because he was called to his home in Kansas due to the serious illness of his father. Congratulations to Edward O. Martin on being elected the man ager of Squadron softball team. Ed is only 23 years old but has enough baseball experience under his belt to easily be referred to as a veteran. His home is in Kansas City, Kansas and he attended Rockhurst College in that city. His athletic ability is not limited to baseball however, as he played foot ball at Creighton U. at China, Neb. The Kansas lad dropped his col lege education early to go into professional basebal. He spent two seasons in pro ball and put in his best licks for Joplin of the West ern Association. Martin had to make a choice between pro baseball and getting married so he dropped baseball. He has now been married ■ three years and his wife is on the campus with him at the present time. Since he retired from base ball he has been working for or ganized labor. When he entered the service he was president of a mid- western labor union. John Thurman is back from his internment at the hospital and looking fine, “but,” says John, “stay well!” er the urgent call for Cadet ap plicants, was accepted and is now well underway with his training here. Guckeen’s life ambition, besides making a success of his present training, is to live to see the year 2020 come rolling around. He ex pressed that A. & M. is the best College he has ever seen and says that the Army student life can not be compared with the regular Army life. We wish Harold all the success in the world and from his previous records in two other Army schools, know he will make a fine pilot and officer. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WING BALL By Alan E. Goldsmith We caught Dr. Walton, Presi dent of A. & M., in the midst of a bright smile as he observed the antics of the “beavers” at play. He commented that he enjoyed the dance very much and he wants the Air Corps to feel that they are an integral part of this insti tution, and that they will be availed of anything that A. & M. has to offer them, both culturally and for recreational purposes. Lt. Troy N. Pickens celebrated (See HIGHLIGHTS, Page 4) Circling the Field Squadron III Another deadline is swiftly ap proaching and your reporter has been caught empty-handed. What with starting of school, P. E. for the first time, and the Wing Ball, I am running around in circles. Perhaps I could make a story out of the softball game Satur day between Squadrons Two and Three. On second thought, may be it would be better if I didn’t say anything about it. Even the fact that your reporter was the umpire wasn’t enough to prevent Squadron Two from defeating us 4 to 2. Oh well, maybe next time. A/S Joseph C. Martin received one of the finest presents pos sible this Father’s Day. His wife presented him with an eight pound two ounce baby boy. We extend our congratulations. All the limping that is so prev alent in Squadron Three at the present time is due to the fact that we have started our daily road runs. Does anyone know where we can obtain some bicycles or roller skates ? In our usual ramblings about Bizzell Hall we encountered the following poem dedicated to pay day. Little Bank Roll, here we part Let me press you to my heart. All this month I’ve waited for you I’ve been faithful and you’ve been true. Little Bank Roll, in a day You and I will go away To find some gay and festive spot I’ll return but you will not. It is very self evident that everyone had a wonderful time at the dance Friday night. The prog ress of Squadron IH was quite noticeable in itself. Keep up the good work boys. If it is at all permissable, your reporter would like to mention how much he en joyed it personally. Not being an expert in the art of dancing, I was fortunate enough to meet a fellow journalist from Houston. I would like to take this opportu nity to thank Miss Jennie Marie Little for the most enjoyable dis cussion on the works of Shakes peare. And so we wind up another column, as we have to be initiated to the mysteries of homework once again. If we manage to survive we shall be back with you again, two days nearer victory. luiK'ini TURRET TIPS Squadron I Some people do the “Jersey Bounce,” but in Flight A, they do the “Haley Bounce.” Outstanding exponent of the new bounce is Dan Haley. Haley comes from a line of California bouncers, and like all well brought-up lads, he holds to the family tradition. He is not alone, however, in his method of marching. Other men in the flight who have developed the off-cadence swagger are Ed Wagner, the Port land Kid; Conoly Brooks, the base ment lad; and Stanley Bergeron. Flight Lt. Persons is a proponent of the “Beasely Glide” which was introduced by Bill Beasely of Beau mont. If the group would catch onto this glide, it would be the smooth outfit it claims to be. Although the Squadron has marching individualists, they all forgot their own styles on the re view of a week ago, for as you know the guidon streamers are now with Squadron One. The Squadron has an optimistic feeling that they will remain there when this week’s parade is held, but we make no bold and unfounded predictions. A fine gesture it was to present Squadron Commander Talnuadge Quick with the much appreciated gift of about fifty dollars to help welcome that new lad who recently came into the Quick family. Again, congratulations, Mr. Quick. And thanks for the cigar. Of late Sgt. “Joisey” Paris has come under the grammer tutoring of Bill Close, who attended Har vard. Mr. Close says the Sergeant is having his English recondition ed. Sgt. Paris claims, however, that the whole procedure is re versed, and that he is doing the teaching; he further states that ‘you’se guys” is not only permis sible, but strictly correct. < Notes on nothing... Latest reports show that Charles Donnelly made the top score in the physical fitness tests massing a total score of 253, which gave him a rating of about 91... Noth- to report as yet on the Coca-Cola Spotlight Bands program ... Ev eryone is still awaiting the re turn of dinner music to the mess hall, even if it be Bach or Beeth oven ... “Bread”, cried the moron. And the curtain came down with a roll With the softball leagues, Bom ber Pursuit, being organized re cently, and with the opening games being played last evening, Squadron One went into action with its group of potentialities un der the direction of Sgt. Hutche son. Since this goes to press be fore the results could be tabulated we’ll have to give you the welcome later. MAKE CLOTHES LAST LONGER WITH PROPER CARE IN CLEANING 0 Proper cleaning and removing all the dirt and grit from clothing will make them last much longer and look nicer. Have your clothes clean ed at the Campus Cleaners where you have the assurance that the best materials and the greatest of skill and care will be exercised. CAMPUS CLEANERS USE THE CO-OP EVERY DAV There’s not a day goes by that you’ll find something you need— just drop in at the Student Co-op and get it. We handle everything that goes to make your college work successful—you supply the studying and we’ll do the rest. BICYCLE AND RADIO REPAIRS PHONE 4-4114 The Student Co-op “YOUR OWN STORE” SN