Vol. 2—No. 13
U. S. Navy Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, N. C.
Saturday, December 11, 1943
Admiral Buckmaster And Captain Kiefer
the previous time Rear Ad
miral Elliott Buckmaster, USN,
(left, above) and Capt. Dixie
Kiefer, USN, parted company, it
'vas as the aircraft carrier “York-
town” was lost after knocking out
several Jap carriers at Midway.
At that time Admiral Buckmaster
Was Commanding Officer of the
“Yorktown” and ^ Capt. Kiefer
(then a Commander) was Execu
tive Officer.
Capt. Kiefer
Named Acting
Chief of NAPTC
Captain Dixie Kiefer, USN, was
born in Blackfoot, Idaho, April 4,
1896. He attended high school in
Lincoln, Neb. and entered the U. S.
Naval Academy from that State in
June 1915. He graduated from An-
^'apolis in June 1918 (Class of
1919) and served overseas during
^orld War I. Captain Kiefer
transferred to Naval Aviation in
See CAPT. KIEFER, pade i
m
m
Wednesday Entertainment
A tumbling exhibition will fea
ture next Wednesday evening’s en
tertainment program for cadets in
Memorial Hall. Popular music
will be furnished by the swing
section of the Pre-Flight band and
a selection of movie cartoons will
be shown. The program will start
at 1920.
Station Memorandum
Pearl Harbor Day War Bond Drive Goes
Over The Top
The $50,000 War Bond quota at this Activity was topped by more
than $37,000, and is a splendid commentary on the zeal with which the
Station accepted its obligation to help buy the munitions of war that
will spell the defeat of our enemies.
The Commanding Officer is proud of the response and congratulates
the officers, crew, cadets, and civil service personnel alike. 88.4%
of the personnel of the Station participated in the Pearl Harbor Day
War Bond Drive, and the amount subscribed was equal to more than
47% of the monthly payroll of the entire Station and. represents
$40.51 bond maturity value per person attached to this Command.
JOHN P. GRAFF
Commanding Officer
Lieut. A. J. “Tony” Feher, USN,
Visits Son Who Is Cadet Here
Last Saturday Lieut. A. J. “Tony” Feher, USN, visited this station
and called upon his son. Aviation Cadet Melvin A. Feher, and Com
mander John P. Graff.
Lieut. Feher enlisted as a “Landsman” in the United States Navy
in 1904 and is one of the oldest living naval aviators—not only in age,
but in length of service. During his first cruise he was rated First
Class Turret Captain, a remark-®"
able achievement in those days.
He became a Chief Turret Captain
in 1910, and in 1915 was one of the
first group of six Chief Petty Of
ficers who were authorized by
Congress to take Naval aviation
training ajid become Navy pilots.
He received his wings at Pensa
cola in 1916 and, since that time,
the history of naval aviation and
the duties of Lieut. Feher have
been almost synonymous. He made
the first cross country seaplane
flight, flying a 100 horsepower
Curtis-Wright “Pushei*” from Pen
sacola to New Orleans. On the
trip he made two landings, one at
Mobile Bay and the other on Lake
Pontchartrain.
Lieut. Feher, still a Chief Petty
Officer Aviation Pilot, served on
the Navy’s first Aircraft Carrier,
the collier USS Jupiter which was
converted and became the USS
Langley. He figured prominently
See LIEUT. FEHER, page U
Personnel Changes
Ten members of the crew were
promoted on Dec. 1 as follows:
John M. Ellis, USNR, from
CSM(AA) to CSM(PA); Philip
Hirsch, USNR, from SK3c to
SK2c; Joseph W. Kunkel, USN,
from SM2c to SMlc; John C. Len-
nan, USN, from SM3c to SM2c;
Clifton F. Looney, USNR, from
SM3c to SM2c; Lee R. Mears,
USN, from RM3c to RM2c; Ed
ward F. Morelli, USNR, from
Bug2c to Bugle; Lynn Overstreet,
USNR, from SK3c to SK2c; Earle
C. Parrish, Jr., USNR, from Y2c
to Ylc, and Randolph C. Roper,
USN, from SM3c to SM2c.
Two WAVES have been at
tached to the Hospital during the
past week as PhM3c: Dorothy S.
VanSciver and Dora J. Archer,
both from Naval Hospital, San
Diego, Cal,