Newspapers / Cloudbuster (Chapel Hill, N.C.) / Jan. 12, 1945, edition 1 / Page 1
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Vol. 3—No. 17 U. S. NAVY PRE-FLIGHT SCHOOL, CHAPEL HILL, N. C. Friday, January 12, 1945 Carolina Coeds Entertain Cadets . . . girls . . . girls . . . eight of them in the cast of the Univer sity’s Sound and Fury organization which entertained the cadets ^ith a musical comedy in Memorial Hall last Wednesday evening shown in the huddle above. Starting at the top and going ^lockwise, the Carolina coeds are: Peggy Stanton, Jane Auten, ^eggy Teague, Barbara Pennington, Barbara Boyd, Patty Harry, Betty Folsom, and Fran Cheshire. The phone numbers are the _ photographer’s secret. Increase Of Naval I^ilots Will Speed l^aeific Rotation The upward revision of sched- ^*ed output of Navy pilots an nounced early in December was caused by an unexpected in- i^ease in the attrition rate, but a number of other personnel Actors, it was disclosed in a l^avy Department release last 'Veek. I An important factor leading the change is the Navy’s plan g speed up the rotation of its j3^ers, thereby giving aviators acre frequent periods in the .^ted States for rehabilitation I'efresher training in new jjMUipment. Also, the war in the is now ahead of schedlue, as the drive against Japan |i^oper is pressed home, the w ^vy has to be prepared for the ore difficult job of fighting at p^^lerated tempo to keep the ^ttiy constantly off balance. ^Reassignment of former cadets, were separated from the (Continued on Page 3) 61st Batt Cadet Sees Dad In Soundie Film Cadet Henry T. Stanley, Jr., of the 61st Batt, was view ing the “Cavalcade of Avia tion” soundie in Navy Hall with little more than academic interest last Monday, until scenes of the first Navy flight to Alaska flashed on the screen. The cadet’s interest in the film then picked up briskly for in the PM-1 Martin patrol bomber was an unmistakably familiar figure. Piloting the twin-engine flying boat and serving as squadron com mander of the Alaskan-bound flight was Lt. Comdr. Henry T. Stanley, Sr. Van Wie Tops 63rd Academics J. A. Van Wie, Jr., led the 63rd Batt academically with an aver age of 3.752, being followed closely by H. L. Schwartz with 3.692, P. W. Kolchin with 3.682, D. E. Oberg with 3.655, and J. H. Paradis with 3.63. Ensign Critcher Of 18th Batt Decorated For Smashing Japs Four Jap planes definitely shot from the sky, four other prob ables, and five destroyed on the ground represent the up-to-date battle score which has won the Distinguished Flying Cross and two Air Medals for Ens. Burras A. Critcher, 18th Battalion Cloudbuster who visited the sta tion last week. In compiling one of the most impressive combat records thus far reported for an alumnus of this station, Ens. Critcher piloted a Hellcat with the Fighting 19 group based aboard an Essex class carrier in Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher’s vaunted fast carrier task force. Victim No. 1 was shot from the sky on Aug. 4 of last year when the former Pre-Flighter went to the aid of an American sub un der attack off an island of the Kazan group. It was Ens. Critch- er’s first tiff with a Zero, and he scored 4.0 by sending it spin ning into the sea. For this feat he was awarded his first Air Medal. Five Destroyed On Ground Just five weeks later on Sept. 12, Ens. Critcher shot down his second Jap plane in the Philip pine area and so badly damaged another that it is believed to have crashed into the sea. This brought him his second Air Medal. Then came the big sea, air, and land battle for Leyte. With Admiral Mitscher’s forces mov ing against a wing of the Jap fieet, Ens. Critcher went into ac tion on Oct. 24 and rid the sky of two more Jap planes to raise his sure total to four. Three probables were added on subse quent days to bring his air com bat record to its present total. He also gained credit for five destroyed on the ground during action in the Philippine fighting. Ens. Critcher’s heroics in the figh\t for Leyte won him the Dis tinguished Flying Cross with the following citation: “For distinguishing himself by heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight as a pilot of a carrier-based fighter aircraft assigned to intercept a large formation of enemy planes at tacking our surface units on 24 October 1944. Following his di vision leader in the original con tact he personally shot down two enemy dive bombers despite at- Ensign Critcher tacking enemy fighters. Disre garding unfavorable weather and poor visibility, he pressed home attacks on remaining enemy planes until all were dis persed and retiring. On 24 Oc tober 1944 he was assigned as a fighter cover of a strike against a carrier of the enemy fleet. His determined low level strafing at tacks in the face of intensive anti-aircraft fire contributed greatly to the damage inflicted by our bomber and torpedo groups. His courage and skill were at all times inspiring and in keeping with the highest tra ditions of the United States Naval Service.” Tagged By Ack-Ack Ens. Critcher, who won his wings at Pensacola in November 1943, has logged 180 combat hours on 48 sorties during duty in the Pacific. Fortune, he ad mits, has flown with him, for he has yet to be at the receiving end of fire from enemy planes. Only once has his plane been tagged by ack-ack, and that was a 40 mm. shell which did little damage. 12 Million In Armed Forces Washington (CNS) —There are 109,000 women in the Navy- nurses. Waves, Spars and Ma rines—and 80,000 Wacs, it has been reported by Maj. Gen Lewis B. Hershey, Selective Service Director, to the Senate Military Affairs Committee Net strength of the U. S Armed Forces was 11,859,000 on Oct 1
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