Berkshire Community College - Falconer Yearbook (Pittsfield, MA)

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WE an life different Eamonn ammmyfmaiimng, uve Baird eweir Esmwwvm MANY of us had been befuddled before, but our first three days in the Academy were spent in indescribable confusion. First we had to H11 out a few volumes of questionnaires. Then the masterminds of the pay office extracted the initial fee, and in return we received our traditional hundred dollar haircut. Before we had time to weep over our lost locks we were whisked down to the Midshipmen's Store. After we had been given a check-oil' list that was long enough to paper the Chapel, we started to gather our outfits, as gear of every description was stacked in our already weary arms. We were yet to become midshipmen. Late in the morning, however, a throat-swelling swearing-in ceremony marked the beginning of our naval careers. Next came the How of stencil ink, and after three days we were ready for a try at the business of being a midshipman. We held the bag while Coach loaded us clown with gear. tm?ffw-t' 'HQ. N W- : ig - I ' Q.. I yi dh ,. ,- A ll:'?'lf:S5.i5w9f ' H u lil .1 I , ' , f '--Zi ' -wr .gf amffn .ew agar wi violet' 415'-H NGA ff J jr A ri'-Y if fl - Ll J Simi. '...v'-rf, 7'3QTf'4'f- fx - L,--9 1- Q .gf ' g1f 5,-Q ,Tx L+-. .3'. , '.-i'-eq ' wr.. -g 1 A '-22:-f 7 v -1 M 1 X - f--sr . -. ,- wig -51 . - of . ' 'V fox Fad , ,f a A . .- i - 4 M. .i . 'l ..f-- . i lf ' 1 N .. ' LQ. I .. .v HJ ' if f af' 'z - f-I ' ' .- eff , H' 'f. ---1 '. Yip 'gl A. 5 if 1 A My if R 3 1 V. --I ',,- 'E Jlriwn ,Q A ,, , ni 1. M y ' ,,, x'-'A g if.,-3 ,a-- . X QL... i. H . ' - ,ug w as ii i . .i th- -1 ' -ff' 'V 'l . is A T?, Li, M I ., . 3- kzyu. JL.:-,Tp fi!! in A , 5 9.14, tu LEW. ,--.155 X, ,,f A if-in . I p ,fun ,is .A,f,..g,31 ..ri,,W, -faedanwnqmiaytfrvfr 01 I J UNE, 1941 i l T1-IE GERMANS INVADE RUSSIA Our official careers began as wejillecl out a shcaf rjforms. Yu We stencillecl until our rooms were pungent with the smell of stencil ink and our hands black with its stain.

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The doctors ervamined 'us with extremely critical eyes. We waited outside the entrance to Sick Bay for news Qf the results. The 'ivy-covered Administration Building Qfered its ourfirst real view of the Naval Academy. t N 1 , A 4 -..s. '-,su 1. -, . ' ' --A Lg! 1. THE BEGINNING was M. a summer morning in .Humane 1941 FROM Efteen Naval Districts poured in the material that was destined to become the Class of 1945. Gur first con- tact with the Academy was at the Administration Building where we reported in groups of fifty or more, and where we met those whom fate had chosen to be classmates. From there we were led to the sick bay where we wandered from room to room, clutching our record, wondering which doctor would be the last. The eye doctors were most reckless with that red ink, and more than one luckless candidate walked away with a red check on his card. Dark glasses and a wide grin marked those who had crossed their first river. 368

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Sailing was one of the few drills we enjoyed plebe summer PLEBE emma- was as indeneztnfimmtinn Kew QE uns will event forges OUR Hrst, and perhaps greatest, shock came every morning at 0615 when reveille rudely interrupted our slumbers. Then began the inexorable routine which kept us on the run until 1630. Infantry drill was usually first on the program. Our first few days on Farragut Field put blisters on our feet while for variety we rowed cutters and returned with blisters on our hands. Our trips across the river to the rifle range were marked by similar agonies, as under the gruelling instruction of unsympathetic marines we learned how to shoot from every position of discomfort imaginable. But we did have our diversions, among which were the sailing drills which we all enjoyed. In the evenings lecturers told us how to become naval officers in a hundred easy lessons. We learned to put a dazzling shine on our formation shoes, to keep our rooms imma- culate, and, above all, we learned to take it. The butts details were the sweat shops of the Rifle Range.