44Friday, December 15, 1944
CLOUDBUSTER
Page Three
^ebber, Y2c, Spent 10 Hours
drift When Ship Was Sunk
I wouldn’t have sold my in
surance policy for a dollar less
face value,” replied Cecil
ng^^bber, Y2c, of the Athletic of-
flee, when, asked how he felt
, about his chances of survival
•^gj^hen the USS_Laffey was sunk.
Webber, who participated in
battle of Cape Esperance,
battle for Guadalcanal, the Solo-
^^ons campaign, and occupation
icl+u Ellice Islands, remembers
the Laffey incident vividly,
j The date was Friday the 13th,
J942, and the battle was one of
^ the first successful surface en-
Sagements against the Japanese
II. fleet. A total of 28 Jap ships
e Were officially sunk, while nine
“^^^rican ships were lost—one
'0 of which was the Lajfey.
IV M Laffey, one of the
IJ Davy’s newest destroyers at that
ts time, was a crew of close to 200
When the ship was sunk,
ig o5 of that number lost their lives,
e,
1- Forced To Abandon
ly . Time magazine devoted con-
te siderable space to the heroic bat-
g ^ of the Laffey, and Yeoman
3' Webber’s account is much the
Same, except for a few minute
details.
“We were firing on a Jap
. pruiser,” commented Webber,
when out of the darkness came
the bulk of a Japanese battle-
f’ ship.
^ “Our speed indicator swung
10 ‘emergency full,’ and then
®ur torpedoes slid toward the on-
'' L'^shing Goliath. Two connected.
y Xnen our five-inch guns let fly
0 at the enemy’s bridge. We were
, ?? the Japs could not bring
3 their heavy guns to bear on our
e ship.
“We were what you might call
a friendless ship in a sea of ene-
2 ^les. Astern was the battle-
pip, and two large destroyers
' to port. The destroyers
S opened fire simultaneously, and
Our guns almost immediately re-
1 ^uced one to flames. The other,
J ftowever, put a torpedo into our
bridgeless battleship
' ^^so found the range, and we
) were forced to abandon ship.”
’ Webber, along with other sur-
vivors, was in the water for 10
^ours before being picked up by
^^nding craft and taken to Hen
derson Field. “The first night
there,” says Webber, “the Japs
^^Used us plenty of concern as
shelled the beach con-
^^^Uously.”
Evacuated By Solace
1 On Thanksgiving Day Webber
g Henderson Field for Esperitu
2^ntos where he stayed until the
^th of December. Then he was
^acuated by the USS Solace to
y^ckland, New Zealand. Early
January, 1943, found him at the
iare Island Hospital in San
^ncisco, a victim of malaria
p^ich he contracted while on
'^'gdalcanal.
j-^.ronounced well enough for
.Lilted service he reported to
ne NACSB in Seattle and ended
in Chapel Hill. On Oct. 6 he
CECIL WEBBER
Lt. Curry To Wed
Washington Girl
Wedding bells will ring to
morrow, Dec. 16, for Lieut. Rus
sell Curry, AV(N), Naval flier
attached to the Personnel Of
fice, when he marches down the
aisle with Miss Jane Booher of
Washington, D. C.
It will be an informal cere
mony at the bride’s home. Best
man will be Lieut. Robert Ru-
gen, AV (N), attached to the Op
erational Command at Cecil
Field, Florida. A reception will
follow the ceremony.
After a 10-day honeymoon the
couple will reside at 520 E.
Franklin Street, Chapel Hill.
was married to the former Miss
Jean Blanks of Hudson, Mich.
Webber now wears the ribbons
of the American Theatre and the
Asiatic Pacific with two battle
stars. He also holds a Presiden
tial Unit Citation for the Battle
of Cape Esperance.
While on the Laffey, he was a
Sic Fire Controlman. His bat
tle station in the Solomons was
beside the gunnery officer in the
fire control tower.
Lt. Stone Of 18th
Batt Visits Station
Eighteenth battalion alumnus
visiting the station last week was
Lt. Vernon E. Stone, Marine
pilot now stationed at El Toro,
Cal.
Lt. Stone completed Pre-Flight
training in May,
1943, and won
his wings at
Pensacola, Fla.,
Dec. 7, 1943.
second anniver
sary of Pearl
Harbor Day.
A-fter operation
al training at
Jacksonville, he
was assigned to
the New York
Ferrying Command,
Cors&irs
While at Chapel Hill, Lt. Stone
was a member of the varsity
wrestling team at 1^8-lbs., and
was undefeated in varsity com
petition. Before entering the V-5
program, he was rated as avia
tion radioman and gunner.
piloting
COMING EVENTS
SATURDAY
DANCES
58th battalion dance in Pine Room, Lenoir
Hall, from 2100 to 2400. Refreshments,
swing band. Station crew dance at Coun
try Club from 2100 to 2400, Refresh
ments, swing band.
FREE MOVIES
Village: "Hail the Conquering Hero,” with
Eddie Bracken and Ella Raines. Features at
1910 and 2058.
SUNDAY
DIVINE SERVICES
Protestant: Memorial Hall at 1000.
Catholic: Gerrard Hall at 0615, Hill Mu
sic Hall at 1000.
Jewish: Hillel House at 1000.
FREE MOVIES
Village: "Sensations of 1945," with Eleanor
Powell and Dennis O’Keefe. Features at
1318 and 1453.
OPEN HOUSE
Kenan Dormitory: Tea dance for 63 rd
battalion, from 1530 to 1730.
MONDAY, DEC. 18
BASKETBALL
Woollen Gym: Cloudbusters vs. Lauren-
berg-Maxton Field, 1930.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 20
BASKETBALL
Woollen Gym: Cloudbusters vs. Fort Bragg,
1930.
New Cadet Regimental Staff
Members of the cadet regimental staff from the 62nd are pictured
above. Left to right: Joseph Craigmile, Lafayette, Indiana, regi
mental commander; John Pearce, West Orange, N. J., regimental
sub commander; Richard Lyon, Elmira Heights, N. Y., regimental
adjutant, and Howard Comstock, Monroe, Michigan, regimental
commissary officer.
i. Bowes Terms
All Hands Eligible
ForAuditionSliows
Cadets, officers, enlisted per
sonnel including members of the
band and civilian employees will
be eligible to compete in the
Maj. Bowes’ audition shows
starting on this station on Dec.
27.
The winners of the finals, to
be held here on Jan. 9, will win
a trip to New York from Jan. 30
to Feb. 2 and will represent Pre-
Flight at Chapel Hill on Colum
bia’s coast-to-coast network pro
gram on Thursday, Feb. 1. Each
of those selected for the trip to
New York will receive a cash
bonus of $50.00.
In addition to those selected
for the New York trip, Maj.
Bowes’ talent scouts will select
from the final audition show 7
to 10 other acts to whom cash
prizes totaling $100.00 will be
awarded.
Ex-Professionals Eligible
The eminent talent-seeker is
hopeful of uncovering 6 or 7 acts
from the Pre-Flight School for
his Feb. 1 broadcast from New
York.
Preliminary auditions will be
gin on Dec. 27 and run thru Jan.
6 inclusive, except on Dec. 30
and 31, and Jan. 1 and 2. Semi
final auditions will be held on
Monday, Jan. 8.
It is stressed that whether or
not you were a professional en
tertainer in civilian life the au
ditions are open. The Bowes’
program insists there are no pro
fessionals in uniform.
Whistlers, imitator^, singers,
musicians yodelers, etc., are
among those high on the pre
ferred list and even if a routine
is not radio material—^for in
stance, if a juggler, ventriloquist,
acrobatic dancer, fire eater or
magician—entertainers are urged
to check in as acts such as these
have equal chances of winning
the several cash prizes.
OPERATIONAL REPORT
COMING:
Boyd, J. T. Yl/c (T) from NAS, Glen
view, 111.; Jackson. R. D, PhoMlc from
NAS, Glenview,- 111.; and Macy, W. F.
PhMlc from RS, PSNY, Bremerton, Wash,
GOING:
Lt. H. P. Keebler to Comdr. Air Force,
Atlantic Fleet, Norfolk, Va.; Lt. (jg) H.
J. Grogan to Naval Air Station, Pasco,
Wash.; Lt. F. D. Thompson to University
of Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind.; Lt. J. O.
Reynolds to Naval Air Station, Ottumwa,
Iowa; and Lee Lennan, J. C. SM2c to
Comdr. Fleet Air. Naval Air Station, Ala
meda, Calif., for further transfer to CASU.
CHANGE IN RATE:
Dewar, R. A. from SKlc (T) to SKDlc
(T).
PROMOTIONS:
To Lieutenant, junior grade:
Robert B. McLeary, Jr., and William W
Burchfel.
To Lieutenant:
Leroy M. Willson, and L. T. Blackburn.
New Discharge Emblem
Washington (CNS). — The
Army, Navy, Marine Corps and
Coast Guard have authorized a
new honorable discharge em
blem which may be sewed on a
serviceman’s uniform as long as
he is allowed to wear it.