Vol. 3—No. 35
U. S. NAVY PRE-FLIGHT SCHOOL, CHAPEL HILL, N. C.
Friday, May 18, 1945
Admiral Hardison
And Staff Inspect
Pre-Flight School
Rear Admiral O. B. Hardison,
IISN, Chief of Naval Air Pri
mary Training, came aboard last
Tuesday afternoon with mem
bers of his staff for an inspection
of this unit of his command.
The inspection party departed
by plane Wednesday morning.
Admiral Hardison, who was
Commanding officer of the Enter-
PHse from 8 October 1942 until
^ April 1943, was awarded the
Navy Cross “for extraordinary
heroism and conspicuous cour
age . . . during action against
6nemy Japanese forces north of
Santa Cruz Islands, October 26,
1942.”
After detachment from that
Carrier, he served as Comman
der, Fleet Air, South Pacific,
and for this duty was awarded
^he Legion of Merit by Admiral
William F. Halsey, USN. He has
been Chief of Naval Air Pri-
*^ary Training since January,
1944.
Cadets’ Regimental Hop
A Cadet Regimental Dance will
be held tomorrow evening in
Woollen Gymnasium from 2100
to 2400. Music for the evening’s
dancing will be furnished by the
ploudbuster Band. For the girls,
is optional whether they dress
formally or informally.
^eep ‘t.
Rear Admiral O. B. Hardison
Four New Carriers
To Be Named For
Naval Battles
Four battles or operations now
famous in American history will
be commemorated by aircraft
carriers bearing their names.
Largest of the new warships is
the 45,000-ton carrier, the USS
Coral Sea, named for the sea-air
action of that name. The battle
of Coral Sea was the first major
engagement in naval history in
which surface ships did not ex
change a single shot, the battle
being conducted solely by oppos
ing aircraft.
The new Coral Sea is the sec
ond new carrier slated to bear
that name. The first, recently
floated at the Brooklyn Navy
Yard, New York, had its name
changed to the USS Franhlin D.
Roosevelt in honor of the late
President.
The Iwo Jima operation will
be commemorated by an Essex-
type carrier bearing the name
USS Iwo Jima.
Another Essex-type carrier
the USS Leyte, is being named
for the battle of Leyte Gulf.
It was originally designated the
USS Crown Point. A repair ship,
previously named the
Leyte, has been renamed the
USS Mauri for the Hawaiian Is
land of that name.
The fourth new carrier is the
USS Lingayen, an escort carrier
type, which received its name
from the landings in the Lin
gayen Gulf.
Lt. Comdr. Loader Becomes
New Executive Officer Here
Navy Sets Up
Plan For Release
Or Discharge
Over the period of the next six
months the Navy plans to dis
charge or release to inactive
duty:
a) Certain enlisted personnel
42 years old and over who volun
tarily apply, and
b) Certain enlisted personnel
who are physically fit only for
limited duty by reason of a med
ical survey. This does not in
clude men who meet physical
standards for induction as spe
cial assignment personnel.
The purpose, according to
Navy Department announcement,
is to increase the overall effi
ciency of the fighting forces by
releasing older men and men not
fully qualified for general duty
and increasing the number of
younger fully qualified person
nel to meet the future needs of
the fleet. This action, therefore,
is not a demobilization, but a
measure to increase the fighting
efficiency of the Navy. Such per
sonnel as are released under
this policy will be replaced by
the intake of younger men who
will be trained and qualified for
general duty afloat.
This action is unrelated to the
end of war in Europe, since the
defeat of Germany will mean a
redistribution, but no reduction,
of Naval personnel strength.
Discharge or release to inac
tive duty will be effected by
Commanding Officers without
prior reference to the Navy De-
(Continued on Page 3)
Debut Of Swing Band
Those attending the “Happy
Hour” this evening will be in for
a double treat. By arrangement
with the University of North
Carolina, the Girls’ Glee Club
will be present at Memorial Hall
to entertain the group.
In addition, the new Cadet
Swing Band will make its debut
t the “Happy Hour.” Some mem
bers of this band have played in
other station organizations, but
this is their first appearance as a
complete swing band.
The “Happy Hour” will begin
at its customary time, 1900.
Lt. Comdr. Howard L. Hamil
ton, USNR, Executive Officer at
the Navy Pre-Flight School here
for the past year and a member
of the administrative staff since
1942, has been detached for duty
outside the country, it is an
nounced by Comdr. James P.
Raugh, USNR, Commanding Of
ficer.
He is succeeded by Lt. Comdr.
Norman Loader, USNR, of West
field, N. J., for the past 15
months Assistant Ground Train
ing Officer on the staff of Rear
Admiral O. B. Hardison, USN,
Chief of Naval Air Primary
Training with headquarters at
the Naval Air Station, Glenview,
Both officers were in the Navy
Pre-Flight program during or
ganizational days early in 1942.
Lt. Comdr. Hamilton entered
the Navy in January, 1942, on
leave of absence from Ohio State
University where for two dec
ades previously he was linked
with the Buckeye school, first as
a student and later as an execu
tive and educator.
Upon reporting to the Navy
Department in Washington, he
was designated to perform liai
son duties between the Pre-
Flight organization and the uni-
(Continued on Page 3)
Survey Of Japanese
Military Resources
The Japanese military
forces presently consist of
about 4,000,000 men. The fig
ure includes a ground force of
over 100 infantry divisions,
several armored divisions,
many independent supporting
units, some 300,000 army air
ground troops and about 200,-
000 naval ground forces. In
addition there are over 1,000,-
000 Manchurian and Chinese
Puppets organized as auxil
iary military units. These
military forces are supple
mented by large numbers of
labor troops, mostly Koreans
and Formosans. Present in
formation indicates that about
1,000,000 new men are now
in the process of being mobil
ized and trained. The total
forces by the end of the pres
ent year, therefore, should be
well over 6,000,000 men, less
the attrition which will occur
in the meantime.