St Thomas More High School - Utopian Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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on the paper became so tight that he wrinkled the report sheets. It was an incident he would never tolerate from a subordinate under normal circumstances. He released his grip on the paper and picked up the remaining sheets. He thumbed through them to be sure they were all there and looked to the Staff. The laughter had slowly died away. Colonel Radstaff, the situation is not hu- morous, not with four thousand lives at stake. I have here, though, something which I think will remedy the cause. We have heen experi- menting for almost two years now on a team of men who will be able to go right up to the beaches and destroy those obstacles. These men will swim to the beach and will carry special watertight cases of dynamite. Their one job will be to remove those obstacles. They can also return with samples of soil, which we can analyze to determine what type of armor the island can support. Our experiments in the Mediterranean have been very successful. In three months we'll be able once again to attack, and this time there shall be no impediments. I present these papers for your inspection now. Our new weapon, nicknamed the Frogmen, is the Underwater Demolition Corps. l 'I' I The sun rose cautiously, touching parts of the U.S.S. Stedman as one slowly points a flash- light about a dark room. Her speed was slow, her destination, secret. The sea was a dark blue with slight rises in the form of waves lapping at the sides of the small destroyer escort. The watches on deck constantly scanned the sky while the small radar antenna made revolution after revolution. Below decks in a small room, six men talked in whispers. Spread before them on a table was a map of the Marshall Islandsg circled in red pencil was Kwajalein Atoll. The leader of the group was a lieutenant- commander. His men included the Navy's finest. There were his executive officer, Lieutenant Bill Waterman, Ensign Dutch Swartz, Ensign Her- man Sott, Ensign Thomas Irish 0'Larey, and Chief Petty Officer Ronald Pops Somerton. The Commander was speaking to them. Now, here is Kwajalein Atoll. Big brass want us to clear the southern portion of it. The pick-up boats will each take three teams of five men. Dutch's and Pop's teams will come 66 . with me. The beach is divided into two sections, Blue Bell and Green Gong. My team's on Blue Bell. Our name is Mermaid. I'm Mermaid Oneg Dutch is Two, and so on. What you don't know, however, is that five other groups of frogmen will jump oif two hours ahead of us. We go at 0800. They're clearing Roi and Namur. Any questions? Yeah, spoke up Bill. How are the laps' chances on picking us up? Our job will be twice as hard if they see the other groups. They'll be on the look-out. Otherwise, we'll have to watch out for shore patrols, mines, booby traps, and machine-gun emplacementsf' A cinch. f 2' ff. -- f z A 4 g 1 Z F l A g M -it .1 X- YA' x lg v ,- Z' ',..'f fy .-f- ... 5' A Av M 1' -W -E23 X 'Q-P v'i?-, 4 :W-? 5 S' 'W Q - 4:3-:,,A::.s?,'-Q-.LJ gp-, -6- .. .. y ...As-as - A ' r' f. .... : -Z -'i-'- f 2.-2- ' r I -ff?- ' ': ' ' 2 5 ': - I 4.- :f 1, .41 - W-1 'I :gl -'-.:'-33 t :I 'Z - . Iuka if . . . ' - 0 V, ' i Q 'S' W AX f .. -ff '- asf' . ' Q-ff wdyg i X - ' XS kv L , in I I Q is ..' - -.. E. .ff-ffm, I 5, IJ' ' I X - :' Pg' 1 g -1.5.1.1 ' ,,,..fm' .pi -ij' f- Z- F' 1-1' .L x '5 !,f' ,. A -n -n L' 1 4, -' 4 f ' ! I i M -, ' I H 'dun o 0 5.2 f' as ' 'Ls ,.,: .s --' 5' . .--' -no We , '-R'-.

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MERMAIII 0 E Illustrated by ALFRED PEPINO, '54 HE ADMIRAL looked about the table at the circle of high-ranking ollicers present. He had waited until everyone had seated himself, and then he removed a stack of papers from his briefcase, all of which were marked Secret or Top Secret. He looked through them and placed them in some sort of order. Then he slowly rose and faced his board. Gentlemen A hush ensued where whis- pering and laughing had prevailed. As you know, I called this emergency meeting to dis- cuss with you a very serious problem. Last Saturday-well-I'll read you the report by General Broltonf' The Admiral picked up the top piece of paper and began to read. 'Saturday, 20 November, 1943, Tarawa, American I..CI's and LCT's concluded grouping runs and proceeded to Blue Beach. The landing went according to schedule until the landing crafts hit a point approximately one hundred yards from the shore. At this point they struck not only the natural formations of coral reef but also man-made obstructions placed there by the Japanese High Command on the island. 'The smaller craft passed through said ob- structions with slight or no damage. The larger craft, however, especially the heavier LCI's, suffered severe damage. The LCT's also endured heavy losses. Armor for establishing the beach- head could not be procured until said obstruc- tions were cleared. Naval demolition teams executed the task under fire within five hours. 'Those men who reached the island were held down by heavy machine-gun and mortar fire until the armor arrived . . .' Gentlemen, it goes on, but we have placed our point. It was a costly mistake on our part allowing those impediments to be present. A costly operationg too costly. He placed the paper face down and picked up the second sheet. Here is an estimate and breakdown on our casualty report. This report was received THE CHELSEA REVIEW . BY JULIUS A. OLITA, '54- only last night. It was Bled by General Reefer, Acting Commander. General Brolton was killed in the ensuing battle. Immediately the room was filled with whis- pers of surprise and cries of anguish. General Thomas E. Brolton had sat at that very table with them only one month ago when prepara- tions were being made for that very invasion. He had been jovial at times, but he was mostly serious. He was a favorite speaker for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gentlemen, please. He died because of our blunder. That shall never happen again. Others died also. Here, listen to this: 'The forces of the United States Marines suffered the following casualties in their in- vasion of and establishment on the island of Tarawa: 'Dead-1,0265 wounded-2,5573 missing in action-none. The .lapanese Army suffered the loss of their entire defense force, which consisted of 5,700 men, except for a few prisoners? These figures speak for themselves. Our casualties could have been much lower if we had only provided for the elimination of those coral formations and impediments. The other men began to question among themselves. When? How? By whom? Ayoung Colonel rose and smiling, spoke in a very South- ern drawl rather to the group than to the Admiral. Now here, Admiral. Are yo' a-praposing that we'ins should go ,en ask them there Jap- paneys to let us sorta' mosey up to them there formahtions and let us evict 'em. Sir, you'r for- getting that thereis a wahr on. The other men burst into a light laughter. The Colonel seated himself and awaited the Ad- miral's reply. Obviously, the Admiral did not think him very funny. This was evident in the redness that appeared in his cheeks, and his grip 466 ..65

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Sir? Yes, 'Pops'? How much time do we get to finish? Boat will wait no longer than 0915. If anyone or anything slips up, remember, you're only a team when you set those charges. Each man for himself to get to that boat. You'll be carrying two fifty-pound sacks of TNT. Four froggies went in two days ago to see what type of charge you'll need. Concrete blocks need to be blasted. How many came back, sir? One, 'lrish.' The ship sped up till she was doing twenty- eight knots. Over the horizon small columns of smoke could be seen. The Stedman headed in IZ f I 4 , ! ' 7' Z' f . Y gt ' 1 i Km. a a as-f s ., A - .-- wif' tiff- 3, -' --'sir ,:1f'::f.. A .Ae Ai 4, in 9 QAIV, ,- a-, ..f-4-'-' -.---- - 'Q Lf: g, .:- ly, -. --i:'f'---- lx '6 ii- ....': -Jai 'tg' shi' :SEZ ? 5 1 5 ' f r -! V- Wim ug- all ill!!- 1 , ' ' 1! E 'fa , . 1 : 'r -,,,--1 'JL - Q 3 -'E' in --.v . 4 f ..- -iii . -- lr: --.- ,,..I I 1 VW A - l T - fs' i I Tse EJ .5 ,sl - pl , , 1--,ff 1' 'gg OI -25.- .I 42 .5 ,fv- .fl in ' B , If f 3 7,11 in Lf- --'- f' filf T-T: X I' , ' n I -'-'-,,, '..: 1E.,s: X A a --... ' A 'LII .-.. E r .N X o 1, ,ply - - A a A fa ! s and K .... ' ' V O' Q I i:..1 - . .-ff-: 3'- , we- .- W -W -'- I ... - 'W' JFS'-'Q I W.. 1 - N x B7-Nix - 1-.--.-.4 .-s- is their direction. The smoke grew larger until it seemed to become attached to smoke-stacks. These in turn, grew into superstructures, and, finally, they emerged into ships - American ships. The Stedman came into the rear of the convoy and began signalling to the flagship. At 0723 she pulled away to the southeast. At ap- proximately the same moment the P. A. system blared out. Will the U. D. T. Commander and his executive officer report to the Captain's quarters? In a moment they were seated in a com- fortable lounge. What gives, Cap?,' inquired Bill. You boys ready to jump of? Sure, any time, replied the Commander. You'd better be. .lust got a message from the Flag. One-half of the set charges on Namur went oif. Three-fourths of the guys got it. The top brass just decided to make the big landing at Kwajalein Atoll, your spot. Your men have to make it good, sir. Not only does the success of the mission depend on it but also whether or not the Underwater Demolition Corps remains as a branch of the Navy. It's a big order, I know, but at least five of your teams have to get through to make the mission a success. Think you can do it? The other guys got it, eh? Okay, Captain, we'll pull through. With my men it's strictly businessf' Of all the bad breaks . . . Knock it off, Bill. Get the boys together. .lump off at 0750. Tell them the situation, and make them get dressed. Shove off. Yes, sir. The sun was fairly high now. It glowed on the metal parts of the ship, and made them warm. Soon they would be red-hot. Men hur- ried about on the deck performing tasks and obeying orders. Some just loafed. On the port side men were preparing to lower a motor launch. This boat was to take the Blue Bell team close to the beach. The Green Gong team, under Lieutenant Waterman, was to leave by a second boat being prepared on the starboard side. Lower away. A chief petty oHicer's voice broke the shrill noise of the deck chaos, and the ..67