US Naval Air Training Center - Yearbook (Corpus Christi, TX)

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LIEUTENANT COLONEL J. W. SAPP, Jr., USMC WFICER IN CHARGE 0F AVIATHIN CADET REGIMENT LieuTenonT Colonel John W. Sopp, Jr., USMC, reTumed from air ccmboT duTy in The SouTh Pacific To assume duTies 05 Officer in Charge of The AvioTion CodeT Regiment He broughT To The Naval Air Training CenTer, ocTuol comboT experience of viToI imporTomce To Naval AvioTion Training. Colonel Sopp was appoinTed To The U. 5. Naval Academy 0T Annapolis in 1930 and was gradu- oTed wiTh The class of 1934 Two years loTer he repched To Naval Air SToTion, Pensacola, Florida for flighT Training. Winning his wings in 1937, he received designoTion es 0 Novel AvioTor. In 1942 Colonel Sopp lefT The conTinenTol shores as Cl Commander of The second Torpedo bomber squadron To be formed by The U. 3. Marine Corps and led This uniT in comboT. LoTer, he served as ossisTonT cperoTions officer of The combined air forces cperoTing in The Solomons Area. In This copociTy, he direcTed ocTiviTies of all TocTicol planes, including Block COTS ThOT poTrolied by nighT. This Tour of duTy Took him inTo The comboT areas of Guadalcanal, EspiriTu SonTo, New Zealand, New Georgia Island and Bougoinville. For his ouTsTonding service To Novel AvioTion 0T Guadalcanal he was awarded The Air Medals He also wears ribbons for The campaign QT Bougoinville and New Georgia island.

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CAPTAIN HENRY 0. 1101111, USN COMMANDING OFFICER OF NAVAL AIR STATION CapTain Henry C. Doan, USN, arrived abcard The Naval Air STaTion in June, 1944, To assume duTies as Commanding Officer, relieving Commander R. M. Signer, USN, who was deTached for duTy afloaT. CapTain Doan graduaTed from The U. S. Naval Academy aT Annapolis in 1924. Soon afTer graduaTion, he reporTed for duTy aboard The U.S.S. Arizona, and laTer The U.S.S. Pennsylvania. AfTer This, he spenT Tive years in The under- seas service and GT The end of This period, was qualified To serve as submarine commander. CapTain Doan reporTed To N. A. 5., Pensacola for HighT Training and in 1932, received his designaTion as a Naval AviaTor. He was immediaTely assigned To a fighTer squadron aboard The USS. Langley, and afTer a Two year Tour of duTy was Transferred To The U.S.S. Texas and Then To The U.S.S. Idaho. Following This, he reporTed aboard The U.S.S. Rockaway as Commanding Officer. . Before reporTing aboard The Naval Air STaTion, CapTain Doan was The Commanding Officer of The Kingsville Auxiliary Naval Air STaTion. CAPTAIN JACKSON 11. TATE, USN DEPUTY COMMANDANT OF THE NAVAL AIR TRAINING BASES CapTain Jackson R. TaTe, USN, reTurned in May, 1944 from The Tsland of Tarawa, where he was AToll Commander, To assume dUTies as DepUTy CommandanT of The Naval Air Training Bases. CapTain TaTe served as an enlisTed man during World War I, when he volunTeered Tor duTy in The Naval Reserve. During This period he served aboard The U.S.S. Agamem- non, U.S.S. ConnecTicuT and was aboard The U.S.S. Borie in 1921 on iTs World Cruise. In 1922, he enTered The TlighT Training program aT Pensacola and upon compleTion, received his designaTion as a Naval AviaTcr. ATTer graduaTion, he was ordered To The U.S.S. Langley, as experimenTal and squadrch piloT. In 1925, he became a member of VF Squadron 2, The TirsT carrier squadron formed by The Navy. CapTain TaTe has had an ouTsTanding career in Naval AviaTion and has been idenTified wiTh many of The early experimenTs of Naval AircraTT and AircraTT Carriers. ATTer Two years in The experimenTal division aT N. A. 3., Norfolk, he was Transferred To The U.S.S. Mississippi, as Squadron ExecuTive Officer of VO-S, and TaTer serving aboard The U.S.S. Ranger, as Commanding Officer of FighTing Squad- ron 5. He has served on The U.S.S. SaraToga wiTh The FighTing Squadron THI HaTsT and on The U.S.S. YorkTown as Air Group Commander and Air Officer. In 1940, CapTain TaTe assumed duTies as Commanding Officer of N. A. 3., SiTka, Alaska. ATTer spending Two years There, he was given The Command of a C. V. E. Carrier, U.S.S. AlTamaha. Page 27

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LT. 80L. INJBERT E. GALER, USMC QWCER Jim: mm; aic CAFFTT whim LieuTenanT Colonel RoberT E. Galer, USMC, holder of The Congressional Medal of Honor and one of The Marine Corps mosT disTinguished AviaTors, assummed command of The AviaTion CadeT RegimenT on 3 AugusT 1945, replacing LieuTenanT Colonel John W. Sapp, Jr., who was deTached. Colonel Galer, a naTive of SeaTTle, WashingTon, enTered The TIighT Training program in January 1936. On 13 April 1937 he was commissioned as a Second LieuTenanT in The Marines and designaTed as a Naval AviaTor. On The day of The Jap aTTack on Pearl Harbor, Colonel Galer was aTTached To a squadron sTaTioned aT Oahu. Shorle afTer The aTTack he was assigned To command The famous RockeTs which laTer landed on Henderson Field aT Guadalcanal. The squadron engaged The enemy almosT immediately and over a shorT period of Time accounTed Tor 65V2 Jap aircrafT, 13 of which were To Colonel Galer's crediT. For his exTraordinary heroism and disTinguished ser- vice, Colonel Galer was awarded The NaTion's highesT honors, The Congressional Medal of Honor and The Navy Cross. He also holds The BriTish DisTinguished Flying Cross, along wiTh The PresidenTial UniT CiTaTion. REGIMENTAL STAFF Left To right, Front row: Lt. Tigi E. A. La Hue, LT. H. S. Olson, LT. Comdr. ArmsTrong Thomas, Ex-officio; LT. Col. J. W. Sapp, Jr., LT. E. E. Stevens, Ex-officio; Capt. R. F. Ramsey, Ex-officio; LT. T. R. Deering, Ex-officio . . .Back row: Ensign K. F. Parsons, LT. K. J. Parsons, LT. W. F. Kuykendail, LT. iigi J. A. Mason, Ensign A. H. Sundstrom, Ensign W. R. Morken.