Vol. 3—No. 16
U. S. NAVY PRE-FLIGHT SCHOOL, CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
Friday, January 5, 1945
War Ace Is Named New Pre-Flight Head
Navy Hall Gets ‘Soundie’ Unit, Now
Showing Carrier’s ‘Shakedown Cruise’
I
^5th Batt Takes
Regimental Title
With 338 Points
Winning first place in Class
^thletics, Academics, and Mili-
pi’y, the 65th Batt compiled a
'^tal of 338 points in regimental
^9^npetition during the past fort
night to edge out the senior 63rd
^9tt by a 37-point margin,
j Its three firsts gave the 65th
1*5 points going into the Sports
r^ogram finals where another
were picked up for the win-
margin.
The 63rd finished a close sec-
with 301 points by coming
rirough strong with 201 in the
^Ports Program alone. Placing
.®9°nd in Class Athletics, and
,^ird in both Military and Aca-
^®rnics, gave the 63rd only an
Aggregate of 100 points.
The 64th finished v/ith 262
rt'^ints, making 125 in Military,
^cademics, and Class Athletics
^mbined, and 137 in the Sports
'^^petition.
At the end of last August there
were 47,276 pilots in the Navy
Marine Corps, or more than
times the number at the
of Pearl Harbor.
r Newest and among the most
popular features at Navy Hall
are the sound motion pictures
contained in a “Soundie” pro
jection unit.
Placed at the disposal of ca
dets by the department for
Special Devices, the new ma
chine is completely automatic,
requiring no operator or special
skill. Merely pressing a button
will start the 10-minute pro
gram. A rewinding feature per
mits the film to be shown over
and over without interruption.
Currently showing is the film
entitled, “This Is America.” Pro
duced by RKO especially for the
Navy, the picture was made
aboard an aircraft carrier during
a shakedown cruise.
It has been announced that
the subjects will be changed
periodically. Entertainment films
as well as general interest pic
tures will be shown.
Comdr, W. R. Kane
65th Batt 100% for War Bonds
Cadets of the 65th Battalion
have subscribed to the War Bond
allotment plan 100%, Lt. Comdr.
William C. Clark, War Bond of
ficer, reports.
Comdr. Wickhorst, Pre-Flight
Pioneer, Goes Aboard Flattop
The detachment of Comdr.
Frank H. Wickhorst as head of
Naval Aviation Physical and
Military Training for sea duty
aboard one of the big carriers
marks the end, temporarily at
least, of a partnership that was
responsible for
the Pre-Flight
program, pos
sibly the most
widely publi
cized organiza
tion of its kind
of the war.
The big, capa
ble All-Amer
ica tackle of
1926 was a part
of the program
from the begin
ning, when he served as right-
hand man for Comdr. Tom Ham
ilton, organizer of the training
division.
The team of Hamilton and
Wickhorst began to function
years ago, when they were
teammates at Annapolis. With
Wickhorst in the line and Ham
ilton in the backfield and kick
ing the three extra points.
Navy played Army to that leg
endary 21-21 tie in Chicago in
1926. The friendship was con
tinued thru the years and when
the Pre-Flight program was set
up in 1942 the duo again was
working as a team.
Took Charge In 1943
Its revolutionary use of sports
as training devices (even as
navigation and gunnery), rather
than for sports sake, its hearty
accent on competitive athletics,
its hand-picked personnel to ad
minister the activities (approxi
mately 2,000 of the nation’s top
coaches), its insistence that every
cadet participate in every sport,
its highly successful varsity ath
letic teams, represented the work
and mutual ideas of Comdr.
Hamilton and his first assistant.
When Comdr. Hamilton went
to sea, Comdr. Wickhorst took
over the head job in June of
(Continued on Page 3)
Comdr. W. R. Kane,
Pacific Air Hero,
Led ‘Grim Reapers’
The Naval Aviation Physical
and Military Training Program
has a new commanding officer
today and, for the third con
secutive time, will be headed by
one of the Naval Academy’s all-
time crack athletes.
He is Comdr. William R.
(Killer) Kane, USN, one of the
outstanding flying aces of the
Pacific war theater, whose ap
pointment was announced in
Washington this week. Comdr.
Kane succeeds Comdr. Frank H.
Wickhorst, USNR, who has been
detached for duty at sea after
serving for 18 months as head
of the program.
Comdr. Wickhorst, Navy grid
captain and All-America lineman
in 1926, served as chief assistant
to Comdr. Tom Hamilton, Navy
backfield star, former teammate
and originator of the program.
Won Academy Award
Comdr. Kane, a native of San
Rafael, Calif., headed the famed
“Grim Reapers” squadron in the
Pacific, where he earned the
Navy Cross, two Distinguished
Flying Crosses and a Presi
dential Unit Citation, among
other honors. An all-around ath
lete at the Naval Academy, his
interest in sports never has
waned since he was graduated
in 1933.
During his last year at An
napolis Comdr. Kane was award
ed the Naval Academy Associa
tion Award, presented annually
to the member of the graduating
class voted the outstanding ath
lete. He had been prominent in
football, wrestling and track,
winning two varsity letters on
the gridiron and mat, and three
in track. He was a heavyweight
wrestler and threw the javelin
and discus for the track team.
Flying from the Enterprise,
(Continued on Page 3)
Dacey Tops 62nd Academics
E. W. Dacey was top man in
the 62nd Batt academically with
an average of 3.74. Others in
the first five were H. C. Meal
with 3.734, P. M. Gish with 3.68,
A. E. Kuehl, Jr., with 3.675,
and E. Dionne with 3.64.