Vol. 1—No. 34
U. S. Navy Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, N. C.
Saturday, May 15, 1943
Rear Admiral Buckmaster
To Visit Here Next Week
'The 8 Counts
Of Rhythm'.
Calling themselves the “Eight
i Counts of Rhythm,” six Pre-
Flight Cadets and two enlisted
I men compose the latest in station
I entertainment—a swing band.
I Organized by B. J. Travaglia,
Bugler Ic, the band is composed
of two cornets, a trumpet, clarinet,
tenor saxaphone, bass, piano, and
drums. After four weeks of re
hearsal it made its first public ap
pearance at the last station
I Smoker. Last Saturday night the
I boys played for a Catholic Church
! Choir party at the Country Club,
and tonight they’re scheduled to
do a repeat performance, this time
for the Cadet Glee Club.
“I just happened to talk to some
cadets who liked to play,” says
Travaglia in describing how the
band got started. “We got to-
See EIGHT COUNTS, page i
Ceremony to Mark
First Anniversary
Sunday, May 23
The first anniversary of the
commissioning of the U. S. Navy
Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill,
N. C., will be observed with ap
propriate ceremony, Sunday, May
23, in Kenan Stadium, it was an
nounced during the past week by
Comdr. John P. Graff, USN
(Ret.), Commanding Officer.
A Regimental Review will be
included in the program which
will start at 1400.
In the event of inclement
weather, the ceremony will be
moved indoors to Memorial Hall,
and the Regimental Review will
be omitted.
The anniversary program will
be open to the public.
Movie Schedule
May 15—Free movie at Village
Theatre, “Journey for Margaret”
Boxing Scheduled for Smoker
Program Next Wednesday
Boxing will be featured on the
next station Smoker program
scheduled for Wednesday, May 19,
at Emerson Field. Cadet Robert
G. Tucker, who is ranked as the
fifth light heavyweight boxer in
the country by present frozen rat
ings, is expected to give an exhibi
tion of his skill, and there will be
several other bouts to entertain
the fans. The Smoker will start
at 1915.
with Robert Young and Laraine
Day. Feature starts at 1613, 1930
and 2117.
May 16—Free movie at Village
Theatre, “Pittsburgh” with Mar
lene Dietrich and John Wayne.
Feature starts at 1320 and 1517.
Rear Admiral Elliott P. Buck-
master, USN, is scheduled to ar
rive here with members of his
staff late next week to inspect this
Pre-Flight activity.
Admiral Buckmaster, who was
Commanding Officer of the York-
town at the Battle of Midway l^st
year, is now Chief of Naval Air
Primary Training with head
quarters at Kansas City, Kan.
This will be his thii’d visit to
this Pre-Flight School.
Capt. Foss, Marine
Ace, Due Wednesday
America’s leading ace of the
air, Capt. Joseph J. Foss of the
U. S. Marine Corps, is due to visit
the U. S. Navy Pre-Flight School
here next Wednesday, as part of
his current tour of various Naval
training activities.
Capt. Foss shot his way to the
top as America’s “Ace of Aces”
of the present war by blasting 26
enemy aircraft from the skies over
Guadalcanal. His record for de
stroying enemy aircraft ties the
long-standing mark established
during the first World War by
Capt. E. V. Rickenbacker, whose
total of 26, however, included four
balloons.
The unparalleled success of the
27-year-old Marine ace in aerial
combat with the Japs is generally
attributed to a rich combination of
factors—rare marksmanship, good
teamwork, a flare for combat and
action, and ability to improvise to
meet swiftly changing conditions.
Capt. Foss first learned to fly at
Sioux Falls, S. D., in 1938, and
he completed the 72-hour Civilian
Pilot Training course befoi'e join
ing the Marines in 1940. He won
his wings at Pensacola.
SCHEDULED TO PLAY for the Cadet Glee Club party tonight at the Country Club are the “Eight
Counts of Rhythm,” pictured above. Organized about two months ago by B. J. Travaglia Bug er Ic,
they are first row, left to right, Cadet J. F. Christi, piano; Gene Logan, Pharmacist Mate 3c, bass and
guitar; Cadet 0. R. Sankin, clarinet; Cadet G. Limbach, tenor saxophone; Cadet P^ H. 0 Bnen,
drummer. The back row shows Cadet L. C. Graves, left, second comet; Cadet T. W. Foster, center,
first comet, and leader Travaglia, first trumpet.