US Naval Reserve Midshipmens School - Capstan Yearbook (Notre Dame, IN)

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galafain enry gurneff . . respected and admired by alli' Notre Dame has long been known for the prowess of its teams. In time past its men hit the line hard and under the guidance of Knute Rockne its tackles were feared on every gridiron. But the tackles that are now talked about on campus are different from those of the past. Rockne has gone but in his place stands another whose work, like that of the departed coach, is to prepare teams who will also hit the line hard and make their goals and score their touch- downs over their opponents. The new teams are in good hands. The man at the helm knows how to steer. He has played the game which he is teaching for a generation. When he arrived at Notre Dame as Commanding Ufficer of the U. S. Naval Reserve Midshiprnen's School he felt at home at once. For the University's colors of blue and gold brought back to Captain Henry P. Burnett's memory the blue and gold which as a midshipman he saw when he entered the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1911. Captain Burnett has sailed far since those days when as a young Kentuckian he embarked upon his course. He was born in Shelbyville in 1893, the year that Charles Duryea tested America's first gasoline buggy. The next year, Japan, already an aggressor nation, attacked China and in a short war won for it- self the Liaotung Peninsula and the Island of Formosa. Yet war seemed far away from the United States when young Burnett entered the Naval Academy in the spring of 1911. It is true that Italy and Turkey were fighting but Europe was distant at that time when it took a hardy airman 84 actual Hying hours to span the continent. But before Midshipman Burnett's class was graduated, the Germans had in- vaded Belgium and the rumble of cannons began to be heard on this side of the water. The same year that he tossed his cap in the air at Annapolis the British had scored a naval victory off Dogger Bank, the submarine was bringing the war closer to our shores and the Lusitania was sunk. Within two years of the time that Ensign Burnett was graduated he was commissioned a lieutenant, junior grade, but he never wore the stripe and a half for he was off on Heet maneuvers, and when he walked down the gangplank of the Maine he was a full lieutenant. In the meantime we had entered the war and as Communications Officer he sang Anchors Aweigh when the Pennsylvania, the flagship of Admiral Mayo, Commander in Chief of the U. S. Fleet, sailed. The I 11 duties of the Navy during the last war were light com- pared to those today. The modern development of both sea and air power, which Captain Burnett saw happen while he was in service, transfer the burden of the present conflict upon our sea forces. Outstanding in the Captain's glamorous Navy ca- reer is the long and arduous time he spent in sub- marine duty during the period from 192.3 to 1930. But he refrains from beginning to discuss this phase of his life because his adventures were so many and various that they could fill books. In 1925 Lieutenant Burnett was made a Lieutenant Commander and did duty with our destroyer force in the Pacific. Two years later he became a member of the United States Naval Mission in Lima. He roamed through the narrow streets of Peru's capitol, he met people and he drove down to its port of Callao. During those years he learned much about our Latin American neighbors so that he was no stranger when, in command of the Wickes in Nicaragua, he was sent to Salvador to assist in putting down a Communist uprising. Three years later he became a Commander and last year a Captain. At 49, Captain Burnett is a typical Navy man. Perhaps his figure is not quite as trim as it was when he trod the deck of the Pennsylvania. But his present duties are confining and his Navy beltw has stretched since he has not been able to play his indifferent game of golf. All his life he has been devoted to athletics and he still remains a football fan who also scans eagerly the baseball and basketball scores. Despite the fact that he does not get his usual out- door exercise, his oval face retains its tan and the tiny wrinkles etched by the wind and sun and rain. His complexion makes his graying hair seem grayer and brings out the blueness of his eyes which, when he speaks, twinkle and betray his sense of humor. Although he has given orders a large part of his life, he still has the soft drawling tone characteristic of that part of the country from which he hails. His quiet manner, however, does not hide his energy while his magnetism has made him a favorite with the people of South Bend. The prospective ensigns regard their Captain with respect and admiration, and he, in turn, considers them as the finest lot of boys to be found in this country and is confident that every one will continue the glorious tradition of the American Navy. No greater confidence can be placed on anyone than this. S. J. WooLF l

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LT. COMDR. RICHARD WAGNER, U.S.N. fRET.9 Executive Ojicer Early in September, 1942, the new Executive Offi- cer reported here and immediately turned-to on the many detailed tasks which arise in organizing a Mid- shipmen's School. This was not a new task for Lieu- tenant Commander Richard Wagner, U. S. Navy, as he was called from retirement to help organize the first Midshipmen's School of World War II on board the U.S.S. Illinois. Having previously studied to be an engineer, the Commander was graduated with honors from the U. S. Naval Academy in 1927. In the years that followed at sea he served on a battleship, destroyers, two heavy cruisers, and on the staffs of ComScoFor and ComCrusUS. His duties varied from Spot I of a new cruiser to Engineer Ofhcer of a destroyer and included staff work, torpedoes, catapults, radio and even a bit of aviation. He retired several years ago, following an accident, and entered civilian life to become the Commandant of a boys' naval preparatory school. Recalled to active duty in july, 1940, he became the Administra- tive Aide of the U. S. Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School in New York and served there continuously during its organization and expansion until trans- ferred to Notre Dame. I have had many interesting experiences . . . revo- lutions, earthquakes, rescues of shipwrecks at sea, fires and accidents . . . but none of these thrills could com- pare with the pleasure I had in receiving my orders to come back into the Navy to serve in World War II,', Commander Wagner declares. I12l