Vol. 1—No. 44
U. S. Navy Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, N. C.
Saturday, July 24, 1943
Captain 0. 0. Kessing Awarded
Navy and Marine Corps Medal
Former “Skipper” at This Station Gets Citation
Captain 0. 0. Kessing, USN, first commanding officer at this Pre-
Flight School, was recently awarded the Navy and Marine Corps
Medal “for heroism following an attack by Japanese bombing planes
on Halavo, Solomon Islands, February 20, 1943.”
Captain Kessing was detached from this station last November,
and ordered to duty in the South Pacific Area.
Rear Admiral T. S. Wilkinson,
deputy commander of the South
Pacific Area, read the following
citation at the ceremony of pre
sentation:
“For heroism following an at
tack by Japanese bombing planes
on Halavo, Solomon Islands. On
February 20, 1943, a Japanese
bomb set afire a supply and am
munition dump at Halavo, four
miles distant from Tulagi. Cap
tain Kessing, then on duty at Tu
lagi, observing the fire, volun
tarily organized a fire-fighting
party, which proceeded by boat
to Halavo. Immediately and with
out regard for his personal safe
ty, he directed the fighting of the
fire amid exploding ammunition
and pyrotechnics. Due to the
voluntary leadership of Captain
Kessing and another Naval of
ficer, the fire was finally extin
guished, thereby preventing fur
ther loss of vital supplies, pos-
See KESSING, page U
High Scoring Games
Mark Softball Play
The second half of the Pre-
Flight softball season opened last
Wednesday with a flurry of 78
runs being scored.
Most runs of the day were scored
by the Lexington officers’ team,
champion of the first half of the
split season, which overwhelmed
the Saratoga, 22-5.
The Essex chalked up. the next
highest score in defeating the
Hospital Corps, 20-3.
In other games played, the En
terprise turned back Cowpens,
12-1, and the Ranger pushed over
eight runs in the final frame to
beat the Satellites, 12-3.
Games scheduled for next Wed
nesday are: Lexington vs. Essex;
Ranger vs. Enterprise; Saratoga
vs. Satellites, and Cowpens vs.
Hospital Corps.
Clottdbusters to Play in Yankee Stadium
Selected on the basis of their season record of 21 victories
in 25 starts, the U. S. Navy Pre-Flight Cloudbusters will par
ticipate in a novel double-header at Yankee Stadium on Wed
nesday afternoon.
The New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians will play the
first game, then the two American League clubs will combine
their baseball talent to play the Cloudbusters.
Last year the Yankees raised $70,000 at a similar benefit
when 75,568 saw Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson and Umpire Billy
Evans give an exhibition of their skill.
Present plans call for the Cloudbusters to leave here Tues
day night and arrive in New York on Wednesday morning, the
day of the game. They will return on Thursday.
All proceeds from the game, which is expected to draw another
banner crowd, will be turned over to the Red Cross, War Relief,
and Service Fund.
Lt. Comdr. Carruthers Detached
DOUBLE CONGRATULATIONS were in order in the above picture
which shows Lt. Comdr. T. M. Carruthers, USNR, left, shaking
hands with Lt. (jg) P. H. Hooser, USNR. Lt. Comdr. Carruthers,
w’ho was First Lieutenant here, was detached from this station on
Monday and ordered to report to ComTwelve, San Francisco, Cali
fornia. Lt. Hooser, who was assistant coach here in Military and
Varsity Track, has been named to succeed Mr. Carruthers as First
Lieutenant.
Lt. Comdr. Carruthers was stationed in Chapel Hill over a year.
Before being made First Lieutenant early this year, he served as
Business Manager of Athletics. Lt. Hooser, who was assistant foot
ball coach and varsity track coach at the University of Tennessee-,
before being commissioned in the Navy, has been stationed here since
last December.
New Cadet Regimental
Officers Named
New cadet regimental officers
selected from members of the
senior 25th Battalion are Charles
L. Curry, Shellman, Ga., regi
mental commander; Lucius M.
Willis, Jr., Columbia, S. C., regi
mental sub-commander; William
A. Turner, Brooklyn, N. Y., regi
mental adjutant; and Mack P. Ef-
land, Jr., Efland, N. C., regimental
petty officer.
Movie Schedule
July 24—Free movie at the Vil
lage Theatre, “The Desperadoes”
(technicolor) with Randolph Scott
and Glenn Ford. Show starts at
1545, 1930, and 2105. Complete
show, 1 hour and 35 minutes.
July 25—Free movie at the Vil
lage Theatre, “The More the Mer
rier” with Jean Arthur and Joel
McCrea. Show starts at 1310 and
1502. Complete show, 1 hour and
52 minutes.
Next Station Smoker to Be Minstrel Show
The next station Smoker, scheduled for Friday, July 30, on Emerson
Field, will be a minstrel show featuring the cadet glee club.