Newspapers / Cloudbuster (Chapel Hill, N.C.) / May 22, 1943, edition 1 / Page 4
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Page Four CLOUDBUSTER Saturday, May 22, 1943 ANNIVERSARY (Continued from page one) advocate the establishment of a physical training program—de signed to make men out of boys, to build fliers who would be in superb physical condition—but more than that, to develop in the embryo pilots that all important spirit— the will to win. Without this characteristic a flier can be of lit tle value when the going gets rough. He may be the best pilot jn the world, and he may be flying the finest plane, but if he veers away from the fight, instead of into it, he will be of little value to the cause. It was natural that Capt. Rad ford should turn to his fellow of- cers when formulating his plans, and upon the wisdom of his choice of an executive might depend the success or failure of the entire program. On all sides there was one man recommended above all others. He was the man whom Capt. Radford himself wanted. He was Comdr. Thomas J. Ham ilton, USN. At the time Comdr. Hamilton was Operations Officer at the Naval Air Station at Anacostia. Prior to that he had established a record which indicated beyond any shadow of a doubt that he was the man for the task at hand. At the Naval Academy he had been a three sports star—football, base ball, and basketball. He was an excellent student, a splendid leader, and the permanent Presi dent of his class. It was Comdr. Hamilton who kicked the ball through the up rights in the closing minutes of play in that epic struggle in Chicago in 1926 to give his Navy team a 21-21 tie with the Army. More than 106,000 fans saw the game that day (the larg est crowd that has ever witnessed a football game in America) and all of them came away talking about the exploits of young Tom Hamilton. Yet, it was not a fan but one of the officials. Sports Writer Walter Eckersall, who pre dicted that if we were ever in an other war Tom Hamilton would be heard from, for, the late Mr. Eckersall wrote, “I do not know how far off another war may be, or if there will be one, but should it come to pass that we must fight again for our rights, I nominate Tom Hamilton, whatever his stat us may be in the Navy when war darkens our scene, to hold an im portant post. He will be sure to come through when the blue chips are piled high.” Now, that prophecy, made 17 years ago, has come to pass. Comdr. Hamilton was assign ed one of the most important posi tions in the war effort, and there has been nothing but commenda tion for his work. Comdr. Hamilton tackled his new job with the same determi nation for which he had long been known. Along with Comdr. 0. 0. Kessing, USN, (the first Com manding Officer at the U. S. Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill who is now a Captain and serving at sea) and sev eral other Naval officers he visited dozens of colleges and uni versities in order to select four schools where Pre-Flight train ing would be conducted. The schools selected were located at Chapel Hill, N. C., Athens, Ga., Iowa City, la., and St. Mary’s, Cal. A fifth at Del Monte, Cal., was added last January. Now, a year later, Comdr. Ham ilton’s work has had an oppor tunity to prove its worth. What are the comments? A Memphis, Tenn., scribe com mented “these Pre-Flight School alumni have been lauded to the sky for their physical condition— and they should be. Yet, if those whom we saw yesterday at the Memphis Reserve Air Base may be taken as any criterion, they are also ready mentally for the fight. They really have the right atti tude—and they want to get into the thick of things right away.” James S. Kearns of the Chicago Sun wrote, “This is the Navy’s Anniversary Greeting 20 May 1943 On the occasion of the First Anniversary of the Commission ing of the U. S. Navy Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, the Commanding Officer extends his thanks to the officers, enlisted personnel and civilian employees for their parts in a splendid job well done. By their unselfish and united efforts they have performed a very vital duty in the over-all war effort. The ever-changing Regiment of Cadets is a distinct credit • to the Naval Service. JOHN P. GRAFF Pre-Flight Views Showing m PICTURED ABOVE ARE SOME of the highlights of the past year’s acti\ the three phases of Pre-Flight training: Military, Athletic, and Academic- I is shown in the lower left hand corner as he spoke at the formal commis^'o ris, representing the First Battalion, receives his diploma from Comdr. Kessing is shown again in the lower right making his farewell address la®*'*’ are present leaders of the School: Comdr. John P. Graff, USN (Ret.), Comdr. Harvey J. Harman, USNR, Director of Athletics; Lt. Comdr. ' Lloyd R. Sauer, USNR, Regimental Commander. Pre-Flight School, its activity beggaring detailed description, but leaving the unmistakable im pressions of efficiency and strength and determination on anyone who comes to see the work. That man there, that quiet, deadly serious, intense man is Comdr. Tom Ham ilton. He had the vision of this training program that will feed the finest conditioned young men, I think, America has ever seen, in to the fighters and bombers and the patrol planes of the Navy across all the months to come.” The fijst Commanding OflScer at the Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill was Comdr. 0. 0. Kessing, USN, who served from the time the school was commissioned on May 23, 1942 until he was ordered afloat on November 26. No one could possibly have been better fitted for the position. He had a service record of 32 years in the Navy, including 22 years of sea duty. He had also received medals for the Mexican campaign in 1914, the World War, and the Haitian campaign, and for China service. In 1926 when Annapolis inaug urated the system of having a Graduate Manager of Athletics, it was Lt. Comdr. 0. O. Kessing who first held that position, and it was through his efforts that the Army-Navy game was brought to Soldiers Field in Chicago. The present Commanding Of ficer is' Comdr. John P. Graff,
Cloudbuster (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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May 22, 1943, edition 1
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