Vol. I—No. 4
U. S. Navy Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, N. C.
Saturday, October 10, 1942
5c a Copy
a Villager
Sees the Cadets
(The writer of the following article
was invited to contribute an editorial
for the Cloudbuster presenting the
viewpoint of a native Carolinian to
ward the Pre-Flight School. Mr.
Graves was formerly on the staff of
the New York Times, and has written
articles published in a number of
wagazines including the Saturday
Evening Post and the Atlantic Month
ly. He was professor of journalism at
the University of North Carolina from
1921 to 19^3 when he resigned to estab
lish the Chapel Hill Weekly.—The
Editor.)
By Louis Graves,
Editor of The Chapel Hill Weekly
I viras born in Chapel Hill 59 years
ago, and I have seen many changes in
the village.
But of all the transformations I
have seen in Chapel Hill no other has
been so striking as that which has been
brought about by the establishment of
the Navy Pre-Flight School. One rea
son for this is the suddenness with
which the whole atmosphere of the
place changed. It seemed that all
these hundreds of young men in uni
form appeared among us almost over
night. There was something magical
about it, almost as though they had
parachuted out of the sky.
I was not surprised to read the other
day a dispatch from a Navy flight
training base saying that the cadets
who had come from Chapel Hill, after
completing the 12-week preliminary
course, were making a remarkably fine
impression upon their instructors. It
was what I expected after becoming
acquainted with some of the cadets—a
fair “sampling” of them—and after
observing the determination and spirit
with which they go through their tough
routine. And of course I am not failing
to bear in mind that reports on their
good performance are a tribute no
more to them than to the Navy officers
who planned and are carrying out the
Pre-Flight program.
Some of you who read this may be
asking the question, “What do the
people of Chapel Hill think of hav
ing the Pre-Flight School here?” I
can give you the answer: We like it.
We like it not just a little, but a lot.
If you have run into occasional dis
agreeable situations, in which persons
in Chapel Hill have not treated you in
the best manner, do not take that as
evidence of community feeling. It is
just a bubble on the surface. Where
you will find a true reflection of Chapel
Hill sentiment is in the activity of the
women—several hundred of them, in
rotating groups—who welcome the
cadets at the Service Center downtown
over the week-ends.
There have been 10,000 visits by
cadets to the Center since it opened
June 19. Seven churches and the Gar
den Club are the organizations whose
^embers take charge of the Center in
rotation, and I learned yesterday that
other organizations were asking to join
the circle. A committee of women write
the parents of every cadet who
I'egisters, telling them about his visit,
^any hundreds of replies to these mes
sages have been received, and some of
parents have sent gifts to the
Center.
Chapel Hill families have had the
pleasure of having cadets as guests
their homes, though, unfortunately,
ne large number of cadets has made
See VILLAGER, page 2
Cadets Send ‘Vocal Letters’ Back Home
‘DEAR BETTY’ began this vocal letter as 7th Battalion’s Cadet E. J.
Sanjaume, of New York, N. Y., took advantage of the opportunity to use
the recording device set up in the boxing pavilion last Sunday to send
his “love and kisses” via the phonograph to Miss Betty Sherwood of
Woodhaven, N. Y.
By Cadet C. W. Nordstrom, Jr.
Parents, sweethearts, and friends of
many Pre-Flight cadets received a
novel treat during the past week in
the form of “vocal letters” recorded by
some 200 cadets last Sunday
The recording equipment was set up
in the boxing pavilion at Emerson
Field by a national beverage company
which has been rendering this service
without charge at camps around the
country and mailing the discs back
home to the folks.
Each cadet lucky enough to be up
front on the long waiting line, and
thus gain a turn at the “mike,” was al
lowed to transmit from 200 to 300
words which would make a record of
approximately one and one-half min
utes playing time.
When finished each vocal letter was
played back over a loud-speaker so
that the cadet might hear his recorded
voice.
The same equipment will be avail
able again at the boxing pavilion to
morrow afternoon until 1700 for more
free recordings.
Cruising With Covey
AlNav 209 Brings Higher
Rank to Station Officers
By David Y. Coverston, Y2c
Blue Monday! CY Bill Melvin had
just returned from an abbreviated
jaunt to the land of Peaches and “Sky-
crackers,” and was attempting to clear
away the stack of correspondence that
had accumulated during his absence
when the deluge broke.
Did I make it? What’s this rumor
about promotions? Who? Why? When?
Where? These were a few of the $64
teasers popping in the air as officers
filled the office trying to get some
straight information on AlNav209.
Boiled down, AlNav 209 is a Navy
Department Dispatch giving tem
porary promotions to lieutenants of
the Line and Staff whose active duty
period preceded May 1, 1941. It ele
vated (jg)s who had been in service
with other than probationary rank
prior to April 16, 1942, and gave en
signs the coveted silver bar if they
had served continuously since Dec. 19,
1941.
Dr. Edward Hynes gave himself a
thorough physical examination, penned
the usual, “physically qualified for pro
motion,” and assumed the rank of lieu
tenant commander. Another medico.
Dr. William Steger, moved up a notch
also and is now to be addressed as
lieutenant.
Other (jg)s advancing to full lieu-
<s>-
tenant are: Ted Tieken, John Reid,
John Ambrose, Roger Walsh, John
Abrams, Ellis Goodmp^n, Ed Greene,
See CRUISING, page U
Lieut. Borries Tells
Cadets of Experiences
Lieut. Fred “Buzz” Borries, Jr.,
USN, graduate of the U. S. Naval
Academy in 1935 and now an outstand
ing Naval aviator, addressed the regi
ment of cadets Oct. 7, telling them
about his experiences with the Fleet.
As a midshipman at the Academy,
Lieut. Borries was an All-American
basketball player for two years, and
an All-American football player on the
1934 team. He won nine Navy letters,
five “N” stars, and the Athletic Sword
for being the most outstanding athlete
in his class.
Shortly after going out to the Fleet,
he transferred to aviation and com
pleted the prescribed course at Pensa
cola.
Most recently he was attached to a
fighting squadron aboard the USS Lex
ington and participated in the battle
of the Coral Sea. He is now in charge
of a training group at Jacksonville,
Fla.
Physical Fitness of Cadets
Improves 22% During Course
Good Results Are Shown in Reports
Compiled on First Four Battalions
B%j B. G. Leonard, Jr., Sv-Bc
“Before” and “After” comparisons are as American and as
undying as the hot dog.
We spent many wistful hours of our youth staring at those
pictures in the backs of pulpwood magazines. On the left was
always pictured a wretched weakling who was held together only
by the necessity of appearing monthly on page 78 of all the
cheaper magazines. He was “Before.” “After” appeared on the
right, the most magnificent mass of muscles in the pre-Superman
era, with ballooning biceps, gorilla-chest, and tree-trunk legs. And
above them, Charles Goliath, the Muscle Merchant, fixed us with
an arresting eye and accusing finger, proclaiming, “I can give
YOU muscles like these in 60 days.”
We clipped the coupon. We received the 23 letters that finally
broke down our resistance. But our bacon-strip muscles did not
become cables of steel. Our sunken chest remained as perma
nently sunken as the Maine. Charles Goliath admitted defeat.
The experience left us a cynic; an<®'
pull-ups from 6.54 to 8.00, a percent
age gain of 22.3.
Every cadet of the first four battal
ions passed the required “B” test in
swimming events. The Fourth Bat
talion proved itself strikingly superior
in this sport. Of its 157 members, only
8 failed to pass the “A” test, which is
not required, and 37 met the require
ments of the “A-plus” test.
In Speed Agility, the average cadet
gained 2.5 points, or 7.4%. The Third
Battalion demonstrated the most
marked improvement in this depart
ment with a boost of 13.1%.
Most of the cadets yielded civilian
rights and “Zoot Suits” simultaneously
to the guardianship of moth-balls. The
cadets’ figures have changed measur
ably.
The average cadet entered the Pre-
Flight program 69.525 inches tall. At
the end of his training period he
measured 69.9 inches, a growth of .375
of an inch. Correct posture, drilling,
and exercise is credited with this
stretching.
During the three-month period, the
average cadet gained 1.27 pounds. He
reported weighing 155,70, and departed
at a figure of 156,97. These are the
“average” figures; behind them the
imagination is wont to play upon the
plight of the “pleasantly-plumps” who
woefully sacrificed, steaming pounds
off themselves on obstacle courses and
long hikes, and upon that of the “bean-
pole-boys,” on whose frames solid
pounds of flesh were padded. The
First Battalion, whose program was
carried out in the hottest months,
showed a loss of .11; the Fourth was
the heaviest gainer with an average
of 2.23.
The chest measurement of the cadet
increased from 35.71 to 36.34, a gain
of .63 of an inch. “Chestiest” of the
See FITNESS, page 4-
under-muscled cynic. We never again
believed in those “before” and “after”
comparisons—until after studying the
statistics handed us by Lt. Comdr.
Harvey Harman on the first four bat
talions to complete the Pre-Flight
training here.
Most important of the many care
fully-compiled records of the athletic
department is the Physical Fitness
Index. This index is the criterion of
the cadet’s physical aptitude for alti
tude flying, dive bombing, and of his
ability to resist the “blackouts” caused
by extreme air and water pressure.
The index is calculated by the rate at
which the heart returns to normal ac
tion following a period of stress.
For the First Battalion the lowest
initial Physical Fitness score was 18
points, the highest 102, and the aver
age 64.47. The lowest final score, af
ter three months of intensified train
ing, was 56, the highest 104, the aver
age 80.39. Improvement for the First
Battalion was 15,92 points, or 25%.
The Second Battalion’s initial low
was 24, high 101, average 64,75. Final
scores were: low 57, high 105, average
79.35, for a 14.60 gain in points and a
percentage gain of 22.6.
Initial scores of the Third Battalion
were: low 27, high 104, and an aver
age of 68.21, as compared with final
tests which showed a low of 62, high
114, average 84.40 for a numerical
gain of 16.17 points, or 23.8%.
The Fourth Battalion scored on ini
tial tests a low of 28, high of 94, an
average of 69.39. Final scores for this
battalion were: low 60, high 99, aver
age 82.15; the gain was 12.76 points,
a percentage boost of 18.4.
In cold figures, the average cadet
from the first four battalions is 22.7%
more physically fit than he was at the
time of entrance to the Pre-Flight
School!
This increase in physical fitness is
evidenced by the pronounced improve
ment of the cadets in athletic events.
Considering the efforts of the cadets
of all four battalions, it is discovered
that the weakest cadet huffed7and-
puffed his way through 3.75 push-ups
on the first test; the strongest regis
tered 44.5, with the average reach
ing 20,04, Lowest average on the final
tests was 13.75, the highest 53,75; and
the average was 25,64, a gain of 28%.
In chinning himself, the average ca
det boosted his maximum number of
Coming Events
Oct, 10—Free movie at Pick Thea
tre, “Sherlock Holmes and the Voice
of Terror” with Basil Rathbone and
Nigel Bruce. Feature begins at 1330,
1450, 1900 and 2020,
Oct. 11—Free movie at Pick Thea
tre, “Lady in a Jam” with Irene
Dunne and Patrick Knowles. Feature
begins at 1300 and 1438,
Oct. 14—Smoker at Woollen Gym,
starting at 1900,