News

Excerpts From The

Sampson News

7 January, 1944

Prisoner Of Japs For Two Years, Recruit Hopes For Pacific Duty

A 17 year old youngster who arrived in this country from China aboard the exchange ship Gripsholm early last month is now in recruit training with Co. 271 here, after joining the Navy, he said, to get back to the Far East as fast as possible. He figures the Navy will get there as fast as anybody.

The youth, Victor M. Haimovitch, Jr., arrived in the United States on 2 December, debarked the day after, and three days later applied to the State Department for permission to enlist in the Navy. Haimovitch, who thereby set some sort of record in projected retribution for this war, has a special reason for wanting to get back to the Orient in a hurry. His mother and father are still held by the Japanese.

A quiet-spoken, unassuming youngster, except when talking of his desire to get into action, Haimovitch was living with his parents near Shanghai when the japs struck at Pearl Harbor. He said the Japanese permitted their civilian prisoners many liberties for the first two years of the war, but since last february he has been interred in an old , shell-scarred school-house in Chapei, on the outskirts of Shanghai. The Japs did nothing to close the vents caused by the shell, he said, and the winter winds would whistle unchecked through the building.

Ther he was fed a daily diet of rice and fish and lost 15 pounds in the seven months before he boarded ship in the exchange of American and Japanese nationals. On the Teia Maru, Nipponese counterpart of the Gripsholm, he was assigned to sleep with 126 men in a hold about half the size of the dormitories at Sampson, which accomodate 110 men. In good weather, he said, the Americns would sleep on the deck to get out of the stifling heat of the hold.

Haimovitch's choice of the Navy was not wholly objective. His uncle is Commander W. G. Chapple, USN, who was won wide recog nition for his exploits as captain of a submarine in Pacific waters. Commander Chapple was a recent visitor to Sampson, where he spoke to men attending the service schools. Haimovitch, however, would prefer service aboard a destroyer and if immediate sea duty isn't to be hadhe would like to go to Signalman's school.

The young bluejacket has spent all but two of his 17 years in the Far East where his father represented International Harvester Co.

Born in Shanghai

Born in Shanghai, Haimovitch was eight years old before he saw America, At 10 he returned to the Orient where he has remained with his parents for the last seven years.

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Lieut. Wheaton Gets Promotion

Lieut. John K. Wheaton, (ChC) USNR, Senior Catholic Chaplin, has been promted to lieutenant commander, it was announced this week. The promotion was effective as of 20 December, 1943.

A survivor of the sinking of the USS Helena durning the Battle of Kula Gulf, Lieut. Comdr. Wheaton was formerly assistant pastor of St. Patrick's Church, Rochester. He entered the Navy two years ago.

Injured when the Helena went down, he was forced to cling to a life raft for three days before reaching land, and was recently was awarded the Order of the Purple Heart.

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New Service Schools Officer Takes Over

Lieut. Comdr. Donald G. Albertson, USNR, assumed his duties as Service Schools Officer this week, relieving Lieut. Comdr. Karl H. Nonweiler, USNR, who had served in that capacity since the opening of the station in October, 1942.

Lieut. Comdr. Albertson, a resident of Bronxville, was graduated from the Naval Academy in 1926 and has served at sea aboard cruisers and destroyers.

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Company 345 Duo Dedicates New Song

"Hats off to the Navy" is the title of a new song written by Vincent Perfumi of New York City, with words by James LaDue of Brooklyn, both of Co. 345, and sung by the entire company as a special feature of the Third Regiment Happy Hour last night in E drill hall. The program was arranged by CSp Sherman, Welfare and Recreation.

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Thousands Of Bluejackets Learn Art Of Swimming During Training

The Navy's learn to swim program has reaped big harvests for thousands of Samson recruits---- bluejacckets who could not swim before they entered the service.

Statistics made available this week indicate that 105 men leartn to swim here daily, and well enough to pass the Navy's swim test. These figures, prepared by the physical training department of recruit training, show that the percentage of swimmers, from the time they enter until they finish training, has climbed from 71.4 to 91.2 based on a six month survey.

Approximately one of every fove recruits is classified as a non-swimmer. When he leaves the station for assignment with the fleet he has learned to swim and to apply life-saving principles throught the use of his clothing. He has been taught to stay afloat with a mattress cover, which is capable of keeping four men afloat; a pair of white or dungaree pants, or a white hat, both of which can serve indivual needs.

Every Sampson recruit also learns how to abandon ship from towers erected at each drill hall pool---just in case this knowledge may someday help to save his life at sea.

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Cooks And Bakers, Electrical Schools Graduate Classes

Members of graduaring classes of the Electrical School and Cooks and Bakers School received their diplomas Monday at exercises held in in the Services Schools Auditorium.

Lieut. Comdr. Gerald W. Hurst, (MC) USN, Assistant Medical Officer, delivered the principle address.

Lieut. Comdr. Karl H. Noneiler, USNR Service Schools Officer, presented diplomas to Nicholas F. Simic, Jr., EM3c, and Walter Lassiter, SC3c, honor students.

Lieut. A. K. Sackett, USNR, Electrical School Officer, presented diplomas to the remaining graduates. Other graduates of Cooks and bakers School recieved their diplomas from Lieut. Joseph G. Richmond, USNR, Officer-in-Charge, Group II Schools.

The invocation and benediction were pronounced by Lieut.(jg) John F. Regan, (ChC) USNR.

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Detroit Hurler With Co. 287

Harold George (Hal) White, 24, of Utica, N.Y., Detroit Tiger pitcher, reported Tuesday for recruit training and was assigned to Co. 287.

White, a right-hander, has been with the Tigers two seasons. He wo 12 and lost 12 in 1942 and won 7 and lost 12 last season, when he was handicapped by a sore arm.

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Lots Of Dough

Did you know that every time pie is on the Sampson menu it means that the station's bakery will have to turn out 6,500 pies? And that each of these pies is of the ten-inch variety as compared with the six and eight- inch pies made in civilian bakeries?

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Rooster Companies

First regiment, Co. 177, Cp(A)2c

Galgano, and Co. 179, CSp Bucher;

Second Regiment, Co. 265, CSp Smaylo; Third Regiment, Co.328, CSp Glatsky; Fourth Regiment, Co. 437, CSp Trager and Co. 433, CSp Slater; Fifth Regiment, Co. 575, CSp Rose and Co. 567, CSp Laraway.

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First Regiment----- Fear of the water kept Arthur C. Scharf, 18, Co. 182 of Bradford, Pa., from learning t swim until he came to Sampson..... Coaxed into Unit C pool, he learned to swim and, after one lesson, passed the Navy's 50 yard test..... John F. Burke, Co. 168, of Philadelphia, collected eight points to lead "C" varsity cagers in a 31-28 triumph over Unit D Sunday..... A new inter-company court loop starts tonight ...... Form a team and enter.

Second Regiment----- Under the professional name of Cliff Conrad, Daniel Comeroda, Co. 275, new York City, was a comedy singer before entering the Navy..... John M. Burke, Dickson City, Pa., was high scorer with nine points in Sunday's varsity tilt between D and C Unit quints..... hand a harmonica to John Libera, Co. 26, South Bridge, Mass., and he's right at home..... He's played them for many years and appeared in Tuesday's Happy Hour.

Third Regiment----- Tin whistles and dime store horns are made to sound like the "real McCoy" when tooted by Irving Samuels of Co. 340, former Bronx and metropolitan area entertainer..... And when it comes to music from a real horn, Tino Isgro of Co. 345, new York City, can almost make one talk..... Isgro formerly played the saxophone with Johnny Long and Abe Lyman and numerous other "name" bands along the Great White Way.

Fourth Regiment----- A former U. of Pitt player, S. Z. Levin, Co. 438, Pittsburgh, tossed in 25 points to equal his oponents' score when F Unit cagers defeated "G" basketeers, 45-25, Tuesday in the inter-regimental loop..... Levin also played varsity ball with Glenville State Teachers, W. Va., which was undefeated in 1943..... Marvin Arenson, HA2c, Co. 442, Brooklyn, was an artist before he entered the service.

Fifth Regiment----- C. G. Baroody, Co. 504, of newark, N.Y. was formerly softball commissioner for Northwest New York State..... Technical knockouts in last Thursday's smoker were awarded Francis Kitson, Co. 573, New York City, over Daniel Piccone, Co. 578, of Vineland, N.J., and Anthony Muscati, Co. 568, McKees Rocks, Pa., over Paul Moore, Co. 575, of South Royalton, Vt...... Co. 566 has won the 100 per cent swim banner.

Philip E. Emerson, S2c, of Keene, N.H., of the nwe Storekeeper class, was studying for his Ph.D at Clark University when he entered the Navy.

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Jerome S. Ross, S2c, new York City, of Radio School, was a promising baseball player and had a contract with the New Yoek Yankees.

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Bernard J. berman, George F, Corrigan and james R. Higgans, all S2c in the new Radio class, once formed one half of a Providence, R.I., hockey team.

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