Vol. I—No. 9
U. S. Navy Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, N. C.
Saturday, November 14, 1942
5c a Copy
To Perform This Afternoon at Duke-Carolina Football Game
I % ' -i-'r
Capacity Audiences Applaud
Kate Smith Broadcasts Here
the CRACK DRILL PLATOON which appeared in Washing-ton last week at the Cloudbuster-Georgetown
football game will perform between the halves of the D uke-Carolina game this afternoon in Kenan Stadium.
The Washington performance received high praise from Naval Officers, and was applauded warmly by the
15,000 spectators present for the contest. Shown above are the drill platoon and two close-up pictu^res of Lieut
Robert D. Robinson Pre-Flight drill master. Lieut Robinson’s record of military service dates back to 1918
when he served overseas at the youthful age of 18. He is proud of the fact that most of his years in service
have been spent in the Marine Corps, which celebrated its 167th anniversary last Tuesday. The inset pi^cture
on the left shows the drill master in Marine garb, while on the right is a photo of Lieut. Robinson which was
taken recently at this station.
Leaders Laud Cadet Bxhibition
The following letters were received by Comdr. O. O. Kessing,
Islanding officer of the station, during the past week commending t ®
formance given by Chapel Hill Pre-Flight cadets between halves of the Cloud-
bustei'-Georgetown football game played in Washington, D. C., last Satur
day evening:
The Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air
Washington
November 10, 1942
I^ear Commander Kessing:
The drills put on Saturday evening between the halves of the Chapel Hi
Pre-Flight School-Georgetown game were •w'ell done and very ,
cause of the favorable comments made to me about them I am sure otneis
I t^sh t^take^his opportunity to congratulate ^^e drills and on the
general good showing made by aviation cadets throughout the evening.
Sincerely yours,
Artemus L. Gates
Navy Department
Bureau of Aeronautics
Washington
November 9, 1942
rJEAR Commander Kessing:
It was mv good fortune to see the football game between Nort aro ina
Pi'e-Plicht School and Georgetown last Saturday night, and to witness
o^ellent deLnstration given by your drill team and athletic squad between
the halves, I was very proud of the team and the exhibitions given.
I couldn’t help butttink back to the time eight months ago when w^
‘••ying to put this program over, and to feel that with your ^P. by
the officers and men under you, it had been put over one hundred pei cent.
Please convey my congratulations to the officers, cadets, an m
Command. , ,
With kindest personal regards,
Sincerely,
A. W. Radford,
Captain, U. S. Navy
Ralph A. Bard
To Visit Here
Saturday, Nov. 21
Assistant Secretary of the Navy,
Ralph A. Bard, will speak from the
stage of Memorial Hall on Saturday
evening, Nov. 21, it was announced
this week by Dick Railey, chairman
of the Carolina Political Union, non
partisan university organization
which is bringing the noted person
ality to the campus.
It is expected that Mr. Bard will
visit the Pre-Flight School during
his brief stay here.
“Naval officers, cadets, enlisted men
and their friends are invited to hear
the Bard speech,” CPU Chairman
Railey stated,
Lieut. Comdr. Micou
Ordered to New
Post in Chicago
Lt. Comdr. Benjamin H. Micou,
supply officer of the station, has been
ordered detached from Chapel Hill
and is Expected to leave during the
latter part of next week for his new
assignment as supply officer on the
staff of the Air Technical Training
Command, Chicago, 111.
Lt. Comdr. Micou is being succeed
ed by Lt. (jg) Frederick D. Thomp
son, former assistant to the supply
officer at the Naval Air Station, Cor
pus Christi, Tex. Lt. (jg) Thompson
came aboard last Tuesday and is now
becoming acquainted with his new
duties here.
Kate and Jane
Take Time Out
For Interview
The Songbird of the South, Kate
Smith, and screen actress Jane Wyatt
had much to talk about last night but
little time to talk.
It was 15 minutes before their first
i broadcast, and we could have five of
them. In that time we had to get their
impressions of North Carolina, the
Pre-Flight School, and Chapel Hill.
We had an interview to do.
Now interviews don’t always turn
out so well. Those answering the ques
tions usually give
out the same old
answers to those
asking the same
old questions. This
would be different,
we said. No ques
tions from us! We
would just let both
of them talk for
five minutes, take
down as much as
we could, and pass
it on to you.
Yes, Miss Smith (Let’s call her Kate
for that doesn’t sound so formal) was
happy to be back in Chapel Hill and
North Carolina. She reminded us that
she attended the Duke-Carolina foot
ball game five years ago, that the
weather was unusually hot, that she
didn’t remember who won, that her
home is in Virginia.
Everyone had been fine to her, Kate
said. She wanted to be especially re
membered to Lieut, Frank Gillespie,
assistant welfare officer, for the ex
cellent way he handled the million and
one details that go into making a coast
to coast radio broadcast.
As for the Pre-Flight program it
self, she ,<?aid she was amazed. “No
one could possibly watch these cadets
without praising the youth of America
for meeting the challenge,” said Kate,
“These boys will play a big part in
the final victory, and I am glad that
we were able to entertain them,”
This is Miss Wyatt’s first visit to
North Carolina. “Everywhere I’ve
been these past few weeks,” she said,
“naval men have spoken very highly
of the Pre-Flight School here. They
seemed to really love the place. Now I
can understand why.”
Looking very much the screen
actress, Jane told us what she had been
doing since the completion of her lat
est movie, “The Navy Comes Through.”
“I left the West Coast and stopped
first in Boston. From Boston I started
a personal tour of theatres in many
cities and finally ended up in New York
City. I came down on the train from
New York Wednesday night. It took
a long time to get to Chapel Hill, but
visiting the Pre-Flight School here and
appearing on the Kate Smith program
See INTERVIEW, page 6
Cadets to See Duke
Game as Guests of U.N.C.
The entire regiment of Pre-Flight
cadets will be admitted free as guests
of the University of North Carolina
to the Carolina-Duke football game
today in Kenan Stadium. Kickoff
will be at 1400,
Sections 13 and 14 of the stadium
have been set aside for the cadets,
who will be admitted through Gate 4.
Kate Smith and Ted Collins
George Murphy,
Jane Wyatt Appear
As Guest Stars
Capacity audiences greeted Kate
Smith, Ted Collins, guest stars Jane
Wyatt and George Murphy, the Pre-
Flight School glee club, and other en
tertainers at the two Kate Smith Hour
broadcasts from the stage of Memorial
Hall last night.
The first show starting at 2000 was
attended by the Pre-Flight cadets,
officers, crew, civilian personnel of the
Pre-Flight School, and their guests,
while the audience during the re
peat coast-to-coast
broadcast at mid
night was composed
largely of Univer
sity students, fac
ulty members and
townspeople. All
who viewed the pi'o-
grams were high
in enthusiastic re
sponse to the eve
ning’s top-flight en
tertainment.
Congratulating
Comdr. 0, 0. Kessing, commanding
officer of the station, and the ship’s
complement for the fine work being
done here. Miss Smith, throughout the
broadcasts sent interesting informa
tion to the nation about the Pre-Flight
conditioning program.
As for the show itself, nothing moi-e
could be asked. Miss Smith sang seven
songs, namely: I Came Here to Talk
for Joe, Be Careful, IVs My Heart, I
Get the Neck of the Chicken, God Bless
America, That Old Feeling, Moon-
gloxo, and I Got a Gal in Kalamazoo.
God Bless America was probably given
the greatest ovation due to its univei’-
sal appeal and also to Miss Smith’s
unique style of putting it across to
her listeners.
Guest stars Jane Wyatt and George
Mui-phy contributed an Original play,
“Voices,” to the entertainment. Their
latest movie, “The Navy Comes
Thiough, had its southern premiere
at the Carolina Theatre in Chapel Hill
yesterday. It is also showing there
today.
Flying High, an original naval avia
tion song written by Cadet Jimmy Ley-
don, of Chapel Hill’s First Battalion,
See BROADCAST, page 6
Coming Events
Nov. 14—Football game at Kenan
Stadium, University of North Carolina
vs. Duke University, Kickofif at 1400.
Nov. 14—Free movie at Village The
atre, “The Talk of the Town” with Cary
Grant and Jean Arthur. Feature be
gins at 1920 and 2128.
Nov. 15—Free movie at Village The
atre, “Big Street” with Henry Fonda
and Lucille Ball. Feature begins at
1300 and 1437.
Other Movies
Nov. 14—Movie at Carolina Theatre,
“The Navy Comes Through” with Pat
O’Brien, George Murphy, and Jane
Wyatt.
Nov. 15—Movie at Pick Theatre,
“Night Monster” with Bela Lugosi and
Lionel Atwell.
Nov. 15—Movie at Carolina Theatre,
“Thunderbirds” with Gene Tierney and
Preston Foster.