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THE NORTH CAROLINA SHIPBUILDER
June 1, 1944
Welding School Ends Quarter
Without Lost-Time Accident
Th Ikrth Carclhi Sbditr
Published by the North Caro
lina Shipbuilding Company, Wil
mington, North Carolina, in the
interest of the employees.
Editor
S. P. WARE
Assistant Editors
AL. G. DICKSON
C. T. LEWIS
MRS. C. K. MARSHALL
Vol. 2 JUNE, 1944 No. 10
ROLL OF HONOR
PFC. DOUGLAS FAIR
BANKS POTTER, formerly
of the Warehouse and Store
Room, killed in an airplane
accident near Pratt, Kansas,
on Oct. 4, 1943 while a mem
ber of the United States
Army Air Forces.
FRANK L. JOHNSON,
JR., formerly of the Employ
ment department, reported
missing and presumed to be
lost following the sinking of
the U. S. shin on which he
was serving as a member of
the Merchant Marine early
in the spring of 1943.
What Did You Do
Today?
Editor's Note: Lieut.
Dean Shatlain, tank com
mander, wrote this poem on
the battlefield of Africa.
Wounded severely, he ampu
tated his own foot with a
jackknife, and thought he
was dying when he wrote
this poem, but was rescued
by Americans after about
two hours of hiding from
the enemy and was taken
to a hospital in England,
where he recovered.
What did you do today, my
friend,
From morning until night?
How many times did you com
plain The rationing is top tight?
When are you going to start
to do
All of the things you say?
A soldier would like to know,
my friend,
WHAT DID YOU DO TODAY?
We met the enemy today
And took the town by storm.
Happy reading it will make
For you tomorrow morn.
Youll read with satisfaction
The brief communique
We fought, but are you fighting ?
WHAT DID YOU DO TODAY?
My gunner died in my arms to
day; I feel his warm blood yet;
Your neighbor's dying boy gave
out
A scream I can't forget.
On my right a tank was hit,
A flash and then a fire;
The stench of burning flesh
Still rises from the pyre.
WHAT DID YOU DO TODAY,
MY FRIEND,
To help us with the task?
Did you work harder and longer
for less,
Or is that too much to ask,
What right have I to ask you
this,
You probably will say;
Maybe now you'll understand
YOU SEE, I DIED TODAY.
SHIPS ALLOCATED
Allocation of two additional
Liberty ships to the Royal Greek
government has been announced
by the War Shipping adminis
tration. The vessels will be
manned by Greek seamen and
officers under charter agree
ments with the WSA but title
will remain vested in the United
States. In September, 1943, the!
WSA transferred two Libertys,
the S. S. Ameriki and the S. S.
Hellas to the Greek government.
Congratulations to Roger C.
Oxford, foreman, his staff of
instructors and the student
trainees of the Welding school
for the unusual feat of complet
ing the first quarter of 1944
without a single lost-time acci
dent. The supervisors in the Weld
ing school feel that the answer
is simple.
They say:
All our employees, or trainees,
reach us before they have had
time to form unsafe or hazard
ous practices or habits which
must later be broken. It is up
to the instructor to start them
off on the right foot, helping
them to form constructive work
habits which will be the basis
of their work when they grad
uate from the school and go out
into production.
From the start, the trainees
are impressed with their own
responsibility for the prevention
of accidents to both themselves
and their fellow workers. This
is accomplished by a program
of instruction whereby they are
told how to do the job properly
.and, therefore, safely. They are
shown how to do the job correct
ly, and during their entire pe
riod of training they are con
stantly beinsr" " observed and
checked until the proper and
safe working method is so in
grained that it is performed
automatically.
Among other things, the in
structors are responsible for the
trainees receiving prompt first
aid treatment for every injury,
no matter how slight. The stu
dents are made to realize that
every little cut or scratch is a
potential serious case of blood
poisoning or infection unless it
is promptly and properly treat
ed. The frequency of first aid
treatments among the welding
trainees is higher than for most
other departments but that this
pays dividends is evidenced by
the fact that no lost-time acci
dents of any nature have oc
curred in over three months. It
is far better to lose a few min
utes for first aid treatment than
to lose days, maybe weeks later
on, due to the lack of prompt
Automobile Tire
Rules Explained
Eligibility Is Subject To
Limited Quota
Given Panel
The recent announcement
that "B" gasoline ration book
holders are eligible for new tires
is somewhat misleading to many
employees, according to an ex
planation from officials of the
Rationing office.
All shipyard workers, it was
said, who use their cars going
to and from work have been
eligible for new tires for sev
eral months. However, this
eligibility is subject to a limited
quota given the yard's Ration
ing panel. This quota has been
so small that the panel has been
unable to issue any new tires
for cars traveling less thau 300
miles a month.
The June quota of new tires
at the present is less than the
number issued during May. The
Ration panel is seeking to get
this quota increased to at least
the number issued last month.
However, it is very doubtful that
holders of "B" rations will be
able to get other , than third
grade tires.
One important change in the
regulations is of interest to "A"
book holders they are now
eligible for third grade tires,
the same as the "B" book hold
ers under the present auota sys
tem. It is no longer necessary
treatment of a minor cut or
scratch.
More than 50 per cent of the
accidents reported by the stu
dents are eye injuries. There
fore the need for protective
equipment for the eyes is of
paramount importance. The
yard furnished every student
with a welding helmet designed
to keep out the harmful intra
red and ultra-violet rays emit
ted by the welding arc. These
helmets are checked constantly
by the instructors for possible
light leaks and the students are
shown how to make this check
and are instructed not to use
helmets which allows the light
to leak in. It is also in the
welding school that the use of
protective goggles under the
helmets are most widely need
ed, for the students ara shown
the hazards of stray light rays
from other nearby welding arcs
striking their eyes when their
own helmets are necessarily
raised. It is also at this time
that chips of metal and slag
create a serious eye hazard.
With the protective goggles un
der the helmets both of these
hazards are reduced.
Although the yard does not
furnish work clothes for the
welders, certain items of per
sonal protective equipment are
required such as chrome leather
sleevelets, non-flammable trous
ers, clothing fastened at the
neck, etc. The reason for this
equipment is shown to all em
ployees and the instructors do
not permit trainees to work un
less they conform to these stand
ards. As the majority of the stu
dents are women, the need for
hair protection is stressed. The
hair must be covered and pre
vented from -hanging loose
where it could be caught in re
volving equipment or be burned
from falling sparks.
The Welding school is at
tempting to produce a steady
flow of skilled workmen. It
realizes that injured workers are
not productive workers and
therefore stresses the need for
combining safety with produc
tion to produce the most effi
cient workers.
Eyes Too Precious To
Risk Without Goggles
Men, you cannot buy one good
eye with all the money in the
world.
Tou should care enough for
your eyesight to wear goggles
when necessary. Not just any
old goggles, but the ones best
suited to your work. You never
can tell when your goggles will
save your sight, when the sturdy
lens will stop a flying particle
that might otherwise rob you of
nature's most precious gift. If
but once in a lifetime you were
exposed to the loss of any eye,
that time would be of vital im
portance and when the best is
not too good. Remember that
a blind man wants nothing but
his eyes.
Marriages
Robert C. Deal, Electrical de
partment, and Miss Dorothv
Lowarance, of Conover, at
York, S. C, on April 3.
William A. Romedy, Electri
cal department, and Miss Beu-
lah Tompkins, of Mullins, S. C,
at Conway, S. U., on May 14.
to have a "B" book to cret third
grade tires.
The. Ration panel is not ap
proving any gasoline for cars
that have not been brincincr
workers to the yard previously,
except in extreme emergencies.
This action is necessary because
ox the continual gasoline short
age and the low quota on tires
"These Bonds your husband is sending to you have
maturity value, Mrs. Swanson. Not maternity!"
British Officer
Speaks At Yard
Lieut. Commander Scott
Tells Of Importance
Of Ships In War
Lieut. Commander John
Scott, of the Royal Navy
Volunteer Reserve and who has
been on anti-submarine duty in
British, Mediterranean and At
lantic waters since the begin
ning of the war, visited the yard
on May 29 and spoke at the
11 a. m. and 7:30 p. m. lunch
periods.
He told of some of his ex
periences, including the torpedo
ing of his ship by a German U-
boat while on shuttle service be
tween Alexandria and Tobruk.
He also discussed the great im
portance of t shipbuilding in the
uuibcu iiauuua givuai war.
While in Wilmington, he ap
peared at the Rotary and Ki
wanis club meetings.
Commander. Scott is now m
command of an American-built
frigate, a war vessel slightly
larger than a destroyer escort.
' ""''"l I IWffc, ww.! "OTM" ""U" """"i"" ; 11 " "' '
CARICATURE Who is he? Maybe he's you. If you recog
nize the man in the sketch as yourself, call at the Editor's office
in the Administration building and if you are the subject you can
have the original drawing.
When war broke out, he was
made navigating officer of a
converted luxury yacht on anti
submarine patrol off the Eng
lish coast. Later he served
aboard a ship assigned to the
Mediterranean and a member of
an escort group along the coasts
of Palestine, Crete and North
Africa. He was given command
of H. M. S. Cocker, a whaler
converted to anti-submarine
duty in May, 1941, and took
part in the evacuation of Crete.
Three ships of his group were
lost in that action and his own
craft later went down at the
hands of the enemy between
Alexandria and Tobruk.
Returning to England in Sep
tember, 1942, Commander Scott
put in a brief period of shore
duty before he joined the Atlan
tic Escort Force on a corvette.
He has been awarded the Distin
guished Service Cross.
The Market- Placo
FOR SALE Electric hand
sander, belt type. Also Briggs
and Stratton motor, one-half
horsepower, gasoline. Call
2-3608 during morning.