Vol. 2—No. 4
U. S. Navy Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, N. C.
Saturday, October 9, 1943
First Skipper Returns for Visit
IT WAS A HAPPY reunion with family and old friends for Capt. 0. 0.
Kessing, USN, when he returned to Chapel Hill during the past week.
Capt. Kessing, shown above with son, Jonas, was the first Commanding
Officer of this Station, leaving here in November, 1942. He has been
serving under Admiral Halsey in the southwest Pacific since last
December.
/^assm Offensive
By Ens. W. 0. Shanahan, USNR
Academic Department
As the tide of war ebbed along
the vast eastern front, all the bel
ligerents pondered the significance
of Russia’s greatest offensive. For
the Germans it meant the loss of
the initiative and all their rich
booty in the Caucasus, the Donbas,
and the Ukraine. To the Anglo-
American forces Russia’s victories
offered proof that their blows had
sapped the enemy’s strength. For
the Russians the offensive heralded
the liberation of White Russia, and
the prospect of a new campaign
in Poland.
That the great drive should have
stopped along the Dnieper River
was generally expected. Great
bluffs line the west bank of this
stream, standing in some places
from four to six hundred feet
higher than the east bank. This
circumstance, plus the great width
of the river, almost a half mile in
some places, has given the Ger
man armies a natural defense line.
And now that the autumn rains
have begun the dirt roads of cen
tral Russia are impassable for
mechanized units.
While the terrain affords the
Germans many tactical advan
tages, central Russia is an excel
lent springboard for a new Rus
sian offensive. The Red Army now
holds firmly in hand the principal
belt of north-south railroad lines.
These connect the cities recap
tured during the summer, Orel,
Smolensk, Bryansk, Kharkov,
Belgorod, and Stalino. Although
the freight yards, stations, and
bridges in these places undoubted
ly have been destroyed by the re
treating Germans, their High
Command cannot change the pat
tern of Russian railways.
The Red Army now has excel
lent lateral lines of communica
tion. It can reenforce either wing,
or shift the weight of its divisions
for attack with greater facility
See RUSSIA, page h
Movie Schedule
Oct. 9—Free movie at Village
Theatre, “Star Spangled Rhythm”
with Betty Hutton and Eddie
Bracken. Feature starts at 1930
and 2120. Complete show one hour,
48 minutes.
Oct. 10—Free movie at Village
Theatre, “Bataan” with Robert
Taylor and Thomas Mitchell. Fea
ture starts at 1310 and 1516. Com
plete show two hours, six minutes.
Cadets May Attend
Cadets may attend the Fall
Festival, sponsored by the local
post of the American Legion, this
afternoon and night, it was an
nounced yesterday by Lieut.
Comdr. James P. Raugh, USNR,
Executive Office.
Located on the Airport Road,
there are several rides and other
concessions for the entertainment
of cadets and others.
Five Promoted
By AlNav 166
Five Pre-Flight officers were
promoted by AlNav 166 issued
during the past week, three of
them to the rank of senior lieu
tenant and two to the rank of
lieutenant (junior grade).
The new senior lieutenants are
Lt. A. K, Marckwald, records of
ficer, Lt. George Parke, Jr.,
medical officer, and Lt. Robert R.
Hoffman, assistant dental officer.
The two officers promoted to
lieutenants (jg) are William H.
Rodiek, military arts instructor,
and John Kuzman, platoon officer.
100% Bond Buyers
Strictly “one hundred percent
ers” when it comes to buying War
Bonds are members of the Navy
Pre-Flight band.
Lt. Wm. C. Clark, USNR, of
ficer in charge of the War Bond
Program at this station, reports
that each of the 44 bandsmen
has registered for a regular war
bond allotment to be deducted
from his pay.
Officers Invited to Monday
Evening Football Clinics
A weekly “football clinic” for
Pre-Flight officers is being con
ducted each Monday evening in
Room 304, Woollen gymnasium,
starting promptly at 1900 and
ending at 2000.
Included in each of the sessions
will be football movies and discus
sions on various technical phases
of the grid sport. The technical
talk for next Monday will be “Cen
ter Play” by Lt. (jg) Thomas A.
Gorman, USNR, formerly coach at
Washington University, St. Louis,
Mo.
A committee consisting of Lieut.
H. R. Sanders, USNR, Lt. (jg)
John D. Baker, USNR, and Lt.
(jg) Gorman has been appointed
by Lt. Comdr. Burton Ingwersen,
USNR, athletic director, to plan
the clinic sessions.