Brooklyn Technical High School - Blueprint Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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2513? - 5 vane! L. .Meyer ss'2-22217123 9 By RICHARD THORPE, '86 Twenty-one years ago, 1921 to be exact, a naval disarmament conference was held in Washington, D. C., at which were present representatives of the United States, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan. At that same time there lived in the town of Rochester, New York, a Jewish family, Levin by name, in which there was one five- year-old son, Meyer. There, then, were the barest rudiments of a coming national destiny, in that embryonic state utterly unrelated and thoroughly unconcerned with each other. ' That destiny grew, and continued to grow, each element in its own separate mode. In 1929, the United States, together with fourteen other countries, including Japan, signed an anti-war treaty, Meyer Levin, then a lad of thirteen, had just recently moved with his family to a new residence in the borough of Brooklyn, New York City. Five years later, in 1933, Japan withdrew from the dying League of Nations. Less than a year after that, January 1934, Meyer Levin was 'graduated from the Brooklyn Technical High School, having creditably completed four years of high school scholarship. The subsequent history of Japan is well known. Not so well known is that of this child of destiny. Briefly then, in order, came a clerkship in a novelty concern, which financed a phenomenally successful course of study at a Brooklyn Y.M.C.A. This study was in the realm of aeronautics, and was the enlargement of an aeronautical interest fostered in the Brooklyn Technical High School. Next came enlistment in the United States Army Air Corps, training as bombardier in Hawaii, and, in September 1941, a heroic flight from Hawaii to the Philippine Isl-ands. But these mere encyclopedic facts do not make this story of Meyer Levin. They only preface it. Similarly is a recount of his nature and disposition but a necessary preface. In that nature, surely, is intense patriotism, evinced by his enlistment in the 6 we , 1 Y H use? 'E-Mrk: ' 9 1,

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To THE SENIORS2 In recent years, graduates of this school have been offered a bewildering multiplicity of opportunities for employment. At times we have had to design methods to prevent employers from competing for the services of these young men. The members of the present class, however, are likely to meet a decidedly changed condition. The passage of legislation authorizing the induction of young men of eighteen into the military services has altered the picture completely. While a few will find employment in industry. and while some will continue their training in higher technical schools, most of you will be in military service shortly after graduation. There is evident, a growing feeling of personal interest in and responsibility for the winning of this war. I know that most of you have considered how your recently acquired knowledge and skills, can be utilized to render the most valuable service to your country. The training that you have received, has been proved a splendid preparation for peaceful pursuits in the modern technical world. You will find that it is equally valuable as a preparation for citizenship in a democracy at war. The confidence in the value of your training will give you an opportunity to con- sider other items of equal importance. First-Learn the true meaning of service. The character and nature of your train- ing present unlimited opportunities for unselfish service. Here lies the greatest satisfaction in life. Second-Strive to build your ideals on a foundation of truth and logic, not on hearsay and prejudice. In this terrible conflict in which we are engaged, it is vitally important that you hold fast to properly established ideals. Third-Develop the power to think straight and to make sound judgments. Beware of sweeping generalizations. You have been taught to analyze your problems and to arrive at conclusions that are consistent with the facts. Apply these procedures not only to material things but to human relations. Fourth-Keep yourself physically fit. You will need a well disciplined mind and a well disciplined body. With your training and with an earnest attempt to attain these objectives, you will be equipped for leadership in the new world for which we are fighting. To each of you I say that both in the fight for victory and in the peace that will follow, we expect your part to be an honorable one. With best wishes and Godspeed, Sincerely.

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Army luelore even the haze ol' mar rlimmed these shores. ln that nature too. is the seareh lor a universal justiee. that shall atone lor the wrongs eonnnittefl upon man in past aml present ages. -Xml with these is an inclomitahle eourage. existent only in real manhootl. vshieh urges him on to lintl that justiee. even though the seareh lead through the lulootly paths ol war, Ul' his mlisposition. there is even less to say, llis is a moclesty so retieent as I0 exelurle all tletails ol' his liraxery in letters home. llis. too. is an expansive interest in events arountl him. hut it is not an interest uhieh lrreetls hoisterousness or egolism. llis clisposition is that type uhieh marks a man ol' judgment. sell'-honesty. and fair lwreetling. Ile. then. has attainefl the lull stature ol' man. liut what ol' his mlestiny. with vvhieh he is so irreelaimahly linked? What of the Ifate vxhieh tleereecl that he shoulfl so allleet tvvo mighty nations. to the glory of one. and the ignominy ol' the other? 'llo these questions there ean he hut an abstract answer. It is. incleecl. almost enough that ive ean see the traees ol' that tlestiny. as it leaves its marks upon a history as yet unuritten. 'l'hose ol' us vvho lrelieve that all men have a purpose on earth. ean easily perceive the purpose ol' Meyer l,evin. 'l'he vxorlfl. even in those ineonsequential rlays of l92l, nas spinning in a frenzy touztrrl the stupentlous tlay xthen the final liorees of righteous- ness aml evil uoulrl elash in a cleath-struggle. Xlany men met their purposes on that tlay. We may luelieve that flleyer l.evin it as one of them. Surely. his history substan- tiates sueh a eonelusion. The events ol' his lile lormecl his eourse even as he trod it. antl the preparation for the lullillment ol' his purpose provetl quite adequate. Un that stupemlous tlav. lleeemher 7. ltlll. the holocaust of war fleseentlecl like lightning upon a pear-elul people. llesponse nas svsilt: one plane rose to hegin a terrihle xengeanee upon the treaeherous anml tyranuous attaekers, the japanese lfmpire. lfrom that plane tivo men uere eatapultecl into national lame antl glory: one. in tleath. anrl the other. in lite. lle uho rlieel. nas tlaptain llolin l'. Kelly. He who livecl. xv as Meyer l.evin. Sinee that lirst clay. Nleyer l.exin has not reputlialecl the clestiny whieh so favored him. llather. he has eontinuetl in that rlestiny. following' the sueeess of his initial at-tion against our unprovokefl enemy. Japan. l or those tleemls he has reeeivell the merits anal praises ol' men. in the form ol' appreeiative eitations. anfl a promotion from the rank ol' eorporal to that ol' sergeant. He has reeeivetl the Silver Star for Gallantry in Netion. ancl the llistinguishetl Serviee Cross. llut let us, the ultimate lueneliaetors ol' his nolmle aetion. pray that he eontinue in the favor ol' that rlestiny. to the sueeesslul aml glorious termination ol' this epie struggle. 7