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

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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.

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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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M . mumw. 1., meannm- Tra W wi 80 Tri re L 11111111 111111111 00111111101111 J0lli1 L. CIIITTENDEN, USN Rodd Auxiliary Naval Air STaTion, placed in commission June 7, 1941, was The TirsT auxiliary field To be compIeTed for use in The CadeT Training program. The field is a small ediTion of The Main STaTion and provides compIeTe faciliTies Tor , use in The cadeT TlighT Training. Rodd Field was named as a TribuTe To ThaT disTinguished Naval AviaTor, LieuTenanT Commander HerberT C. Rodd, USN, who lost his life in a plane crash aT EasT Camp Flying Field, HampTon Roads, Virginia, June 15, 1932. Commander Rodd was one of our TirsT Naval AviaTors and, Through his early experimenTs wiTh aircraTT, has played a I maior role in The developmenT of Naval AviaTion. As a member of The Seaplane NC-4, he parTiCipaTed in The firsT successfui 1 Trans-ATlanTic flighT. For This ouTsTanding conTribuTion To aviaTion, he was awarded The Navy Cross for I'DisTingUished Service in The line of his Profession ,- The Air Force Cross Tram GreaT BriTain, and The Order of The Tower and Sword from PorTugal. Commander John L. ChiTTenden, USN, is The Commanding Officer of Rodd Field. He assumed This duTy in November 1943, following a Tour of acTive duTy in The AleuTians. Commander ChiTTenden was graduaTed from The U. S, Naval Academy in 1932, and received a furTher assignmenT To duTy as CommunicaTions WaTch Officer on board The USS. Colorado. ATTer serving in This capaciTy unTiI 1935, he was assigned To duTy aT N. A. 8., Pensacola Tor TlighT Training. In 1935, he received The wings and designaTion of a Naval h AviaTor. AT The beginning of The War, Commander ChiTTenden was on board The Cruiser Quincy and on ThaT TaTeTul day in December ; 1941, when The Japs aTTacked Pearl Harbor, he was aTTached To a PaTrol Squadron. As commander CT a paTr01 squadron, he was immediaTely Transferred To The AIeuTian Island Area The Air Medal was awarded him for his courageous launching of a lone dive-bombing aTTack againsT enemy insTallaTions in Kiska Harbor, compleTing The mission despiTe The facT ThaT his crafT was heavily iced. Page 30