Farmington High School - Laurel Yearbook (Farmington, ME)

Page 20 text:

18 THE LAUREL in his mind. ':Oh, well, I can cable the story just as soon as we get there safely. What the heck am I complaining aboutl Dismissing these thoughts for the moment, he stood in the door of his worn and battle- scarred tent, gazing out into the thick, dusty heat of the army camp located somewhere in the Philippines. He reached for his sun- helmet and stepping out into the beating sunlight, made his way through the maze of tents and camp equipment towards the invit- ing green of the banyan trees beyond the clearing. A soldier with a huge white bandage en- veloping his head and right eye sat cleaning a rifle underneath the shade of one of the huge trees. As Halligan approached, the soldier flashed him a wide grin and the eye- lid of his good eye dropped comically in a solemn wink. How's the star correspond- ent today? Feeling kinda' nervous? Halli- gan's answering grin was both surprised and delighted. Didn't think any Iap could keep you down long, you old grampusl Squatting on his heels, lack offered the soldier a cigarette from a fast-dwindling package-his last. Their conversation was full of jibes at each other such as befit two very old friends. Suddenly the soldier became serious. All kidding aside, lack, are they planning to leave tonight? ,' Iack's affirmative nod brought fleeting lines of worry to the face of his companion. Sure hope you make it okay! The sun was just dropping behind the mountains when Iack shook hands with his friend and turned back into the clearing. There was a suppressed air of excitement and the atmosphere seemed to be charged with electricity. Halligan stepped into his tent, taking in- ventory of his few belongings that stood packed and ready. As he picked up his typewriter case, a white slip of paper caught his attention. Unfolding it, he read it at a glance, Tonight at 10. At ten o'clock a small party left the camp. Walking purposefully at their head was a tall, spare man whose clean-cut face por- trayed a relentless, almost grim determina- tion. At his side were his pretty, dark- haired wife and four-year-old son. There were several officers too whose erect bearing and keen faces marked them as being of the same Fighting creed as their friend and superior. lack Halligan walked alone in the midst of the few soldiers who had been de- tailed to escort the party to the shore, think- ing of many things, They made their way through the woods past the civilian refugee camp where 7,500 homeless Filipinos lived on their meager fare of rice once a day. Down through the woods to the shoreline where it breaks smoothly from the clusters of cocoanut palms. A trim powerboat awaited them in the dark, inky waters. Calmly, quietly, and efficiently all equipment, baggage, and pas- sengers were stowed away, and with a muffled roar the little craft disappeared into the shadows. The soldiers standing on shore were dark blobs against the white sand, but even their shadows looked a little bit forlorn. As the last echoes of the pulsating motors faded into silence, the figures slowly turned back to camp. No one save these few knew that General Douglas MacArthur had left the Philippines for the far-off shores of Australia. Ioan Greenwood '42, ur-r POWER DIVE EST pilot Iimmy Dale climbed into the cockpit of the new Army plane which had just come from the factory. Pulling his goggles down over his eyes, he signalled to the mechanics and the big ship quivered, came to life, rolled down the runway, and left the ground. Nosing the ship upward to get altitude for a test power dive, the circum- stances which had brought him into this type of work came to Iimmy's mind, and once more he was a senior in college on Com- mencement J'

Page 19 text:

THE LAUREL 17 HONOR STUDENTS OF CLASS OF 1942 MARY T1-IEA SINSKIE Valedictory ..,..,..,. Salutatory .,... ,. . IOAN GREENWOOD IRENE GOODSPEED . . . . , Lois COHOON ., ANNETTE VosE . IEANETTE GOULD Third Honor . . . . . . Fourth Honor Fifth Honor Sixth Honor . . . . . . , -rar CLASS DAY PARTS Address of Welcome ......., EARL KNAPP . . ELAINE BARTON CARLTON WALKER RUSSELL ROBBINS History ,..........,..,. Prophecy , . . . . Will... Gifts . . . ....... MARY HOYT KENNETH HUNT Oration ., ..... MAYNARD PHILLIPS TY SALUTATORY T is with great pride and plc. that we, the Class of 1942, welcome - our parents and friends. After four sl. years of hard work and good times we Fino ourselves sitting here before you as the grad- uating class. Tonight we are going to give you, not essays or research themes, but short stories about the sacrifices, achievements, and every- day living of a few of the just ordinary people in our America. These might very well be true. Perhaps they are pictures of some thing that has already happened some- where. In presenting this program we wish to extend our thanks to Daphne du Maurier, the author of that little book-of-the-hour, Come Wind, Come Weather. This book is a collection of short sketches-the Eng- lish mother who triumphs over bereavement, the miner who settled labor disputes at the pithead, the London merchant who brought about cooperation among his competitors- all these were people who were able to turn the difficulties of war time into opportuni- ties to spread a spirit of victory on the Eng- lish Home Front. In her message to American readers, Miss du Maurier says: In your country there are many replicas of the men and women in this little book. You will find them in your town, in your street, possibly in your own house. They will be among the pio- neers of the new America that you are going to build-an America whose claim to the proud name 'United States ' will have new meaning and purpose for the world and whose gay Hag, bright with stars, will not only be a true symbol of your own unity, but will point a finger of faith to heaven itselffi It is with thoughts of this message that we present an American adaptation of Come Wind, Come Weatherf' First we shall picture for you the news- paper reporter and correspondent, who ig- nores an opportunity for personal achieve- ment and recognition by postponing his scoop until it can do no harm to the people irw 'ved and no good to enemy agents. hen there is the test pilot who daily risks his life with the characteristic daring and nonchalance of Americans that our air forces may be superior. Next comes the story of the decoder, whose job is so vital to us that we could comprehend just how vital only if we were to suddenly lose all of these men. Next, a farmer, whose life work of rais- ing food, grows out of the humdrum of ordi- nary routine to an entirely new and exciting occupation. Lastly, there is the fireman of the humble oil tanker, who though he may be obscured from public praise, is just as important as the officer in gold braid. All of this program, excepting only the Address to Undergraduates, is our own con- ception of the everyday people behind the lines who are backing our armed forces to the limit. Halligan - ACE NEWS-HAWK Iack I-Ialligan, Philippine correspondent for the United Press, turned from his port- able typewriter with a half regretful sigh, ripping to shreds the sheaf of papers that he had just completed. It would have been a swell scoop,', was the thought that lingered

Page 21 text:

THE LAUREL 19 As the long white parchment roll was slipped into his hand, Iimmy Dale received the congratulations of the college president and then moved along behind his classmates off the platform and down to his seat. As he took his place among these fellows he had known in and out of college for the past four years, he wondered, rather hopelessly, where he went from here. Ahead of him sat Sandy Mathews, who had a good job as assistant manager of the factory in his home town. Beside him sat Iohnny Green, whose fathei was president of the bank. He then would step into the vice-presidency. On the other side was Tommy Steward, who had wise-cracked his way through college and was stepping into a salesman's job. What do I want to do? thought Iimmy. Through your four years here, intoned the speaker, and behind Iimmy someone moved restlessly trying to get comfortably situated for the long speech which was com- ing. Through my four years, thought Iimmy, remembering. How green he had felt that first day, coming from the quiet little town into this bustling college world. Then he had made the freshman football team and really entered into the college life. The thrill of hearing the crowd yell as he and the other fellows won the pennant in football for their college the next year. His junior and senior years passed Heetingly through his mind with the Debating Club, Iunior Prom, that home run with the bases loaded, and finally the big day. Then it was over and everyone was shaking hands, say- ing Good-bye, and Good luck, See you at the Alumni meeting. and Later as Iimmy walked toward the post office with the last boxes to be sent home, he thought again of what came next. As he approached the building, Iimmy noticed for the first time a new sign in front of the door - Uncle Sam Needs You, read Iimmy to himself. He does, does he? Well it's nice someone does. So What? He moved forward to push the door open then paused. Why not? If there was really a job for him-there were certainly chances enough for advancement-I'll give it a try any- way, muttered Iimmy moving forward ex- citedly. The next four days passed quickly for Iimmy. He filled out an application to join the Air Corps, answering all the questions about height, weight, education and so forth carefully. This he sent to headquarters and then waited. He talked the whole situation over with his parents, who agreed that it was perhaps the best solution to his prob- lem. About a week later there was a letter in the mail for him. It wasn't a long letter, but it gave him full instructions to report in one week to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he would begin his basic training as a pilot in the United States Air Corps. The first week in Tulsa was strange. There were four hours ground work every day. Iimmy found that his college days were not over. He had classes in naviga- tion, mathematics, signalling, mechanics, and many others. He discovered that there was much more to Hying than climbing into the cockpit of a plane, jiggling a few levers and taking off. He lived in barracks with the other cadets. He had to be ready for inspec- tion at all times, salute any officer that he met and obey all army regulations. His recreation was movies, dances, U. S. O. parties and still sports like tennis and foot- ball. Finally the day came when he was as- signed to an instructor, and flying became a reality. The first time Iimmy went up was a thrill which he never forgot, and he was sure he had not made a mistake in joining the Air Corps. After several practice trips with Iimmy at the controls and his instructor just behind him ready to take over, came the big moment. Iimmy came onto the field where his instructor stood waiting near the plane. When he arrived, the instructor said, You're on your own today, Dale. Iust six words, but Iimmy knew that his success or failure as a pilot was at stake. He was conscious of a feeling of suspense, a little