Newspapers / Cloudbuster (Chapel Hill, N.C.) / Sept. 2, 1944, edition 1 / Page 2
Part of Cloudbuster (Chapel Hill, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Page Two CLOUDBUSTER Saturday, September 2, 1944 CT.OUDBUSTER Vol. 2—No. 61 Sat., September 2,1944 Published weekly under the supervision of the Public Relations Office at the U. S. Navy Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, N. C., a unit of the Naval Air Primary Training Command. Contributions of news, features, and cartoons are welcome from all hands and should be turned in to the Public Relations Office, Navy Hall CLOUDBUSTER receives Camp Newspaper Service material. Republication of credited matter prohibited without permission of CNS, War Department, 205 E. 42nd St., N.Y.C. Lieut. Comdb. Jam^ P. Raugh, USNR Commanding Officer Lieut. Comdr. Howard L. Hamilton, USNR Executive Officer Lieut. P. 0. Brewer, USNR Public Relations Officer Editor: Lieut. Leonard Eiserer, USNR Associate Editor: Orvilm: Campbell, Y2c On The Lighter Side... Blonde: The sergeant isn’t exactly polish ed when you go walking with him in the park, is he? Brunette: No, you’re liable to find him a little rough around the hedges. Our idea of an understanding wife is one who has pork chops ready when you come home from fishing. Yegg; Be careful of those advertising slo gans. I took the advice of one of them and got five years for doing so. Pal: Which one was that? Yegg: The one that says ‘Make money at home.’ “I’m cutting quite a figure,” said the chorus girl, as she sat down on some broken glass. A certain Frenchman voluntarily appeared at a Nazi labor recruiting office. “I’d rather work 12 hours for the Germans than two hours for the French,” he told one of Hitler’s dumbfounded functionaries. The delighted Nazi official clicked his heels and ask ed, “And what do you do?” “I’m a grave-digger,” was the reply. Sweater girls make excellent school teach ers. They outline things so clearly. :|c * * * * The seaman stood rather timidly before his commanding officer. “You see, sir,” he said, “my wife thinks I Ca^et '"'Lonnie'' Whtthck One of Two Men StiH Living from Bomber Squadron 5 Bombing Squadron 5 aboard the USS York- town in the Gilbert-Marshall Raids, Wake and Guam, the Coral Sea, and at the Battle of Midway was a tough outfit. They took the war to the enemy when the fighting was the toughest, when the opposition had the advan tage. From that group of 36 heroic men only two came back alive. One of them—Eldred Whit lock from Kansas City—is stationed here as a cadet in 57-E-l. Just 23 years old, he has a story to tell. For Whitlock’s benefit, the fellows out in the Pacific didn’t call him Eldred and the Cadets here don’t either. The name is Lonnie, and he’s been through ‘Hell’ in the war sense of the word. But let him tell you about it! “On December 7, when the Japs hit Pearl Harbor, we were in Norfolk, but every man aboard the Yorktown wished we were at Pearl Harbor. A lot of their buddies—especially those of the old fleet men—had been killed, and they wanted revenge. “It wasn’t until a week later that we started to the West Coast, and after a single day at San Diego we headed for Pearl Harbor. “Our first contact with the enemy came in the Gilbert and Marshall Raids, and the re sults were pretty bad. We lost seven planes the first time out.” Wake, Guam and the Battle of Coral Sea followed. At the latter the Yorktown was pretty well shot up, and the end for that great ship came soon after at the Battle of Mid way. It happened when a bomb hit the flight deck, set fire to the hydraulic system, and pro ceeded toward the aviation gasoline. Whit lock’s plane was in the air fighting at the time. He was an Aviation Radioman Ic on an SBD, and the orders he received told him to make land if possible. If not, the orders came through, land at sea, and every effort will be made to pick you and your pilot up. His plane made Midway, landed okay, and was immediately burned. He was picked up, along with the pilot, taken to Tulagi, then to Pearl Harbor, then back to the states. After a short leave, he was ordered to the South Atlantic and patrol duty in Anti-Sub marine Warfare. This was at the time there were so many subs off the coast of Florida, and the men on patrols would always fly two and often three four-hour patrols a day. That kind of flying time mounts up, and Cadet Whit lock has over 3,000 hours of air time to his credit. Whitlock’s experiences continue. Before the United States entered the war, Whitlock was a member of the first official convoy to Eng land. The convoy consisted of six British ain’t being advanced fast enough. She told me to ask you to recommend me for a rate.” “I understand,” smiled the CO, “and I’ll tell you what I’ll do; I’ll ask my wife if I can.” Cadet Eldred “Lonnie” Whitlock merchantmen, and they were escorted by nine destroyers, two heavy cruisers, and a battle ship. On the sixth day out, some two or three hun dred miles off the coast of England, the con voy ran into a score of German subs. Rear Admiral Buckmaster, USN, who was then Cap tain in command of the Yorktown, asked his crew what they wanted to do, “go through the submarines or around them.” To a man they expressed the desire to go through. That same day the Yorktown was in back of the convoy with four destroyers. A Ger man sub broke through, launched two tor pedoes at the Yorktown, missing the stem about five feet. Whitlock’s plane was in the air at the time. They spotted the submarine, scored a direct hit, but before it went down, Whitlock’s plane was hit. Both Whitlock and the pilot were shot up a bit, but shortly after the plane hit the water, they were picked up and returned to the Yorktown. Whitlock holds the American Defense Rib bon with Bronze A, the American Theater of War with four Bronze Stars, the African- European Campaign with a Bronze Star, the Four Year Good Conduct Ribbon, the Expert Gunner Ribbon, Wings with three Stars, the Pacific Theater and the Purple Heart. “How does it feel to be in actual combat?” Whitlock was asked. “You’re scared as hell at first,” he replied. “Then you know what you’ve got to do. When it comes, you’re too busy to be scared. Planes are coming at you in all directions. Then it’s over, and you’re scared as hell all over again. Only the last time you’re scared is much worse than the first.** ^
Cloudbuster (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 2, 1944, edition 1
2
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75