United States Naval Academy - Lucky Bag Yearbook (Annapolis, MD)

Page 21 text:

4 Step across the hall, please Throat O.K. PHYSI-QUIZ There still remained before us one last obstacle— the physical exam. Our last three days as civilians— would we get the green light from the doctors? Each morning we reported to sick bay; more tests, more questions; but would we pass— no answer. Room five, room nine, room two, an eyechart, a stethoscope, a dentist ' s probe— the doctors checked everything from flat feet to an irregular ticker, from tuberculosis to hay fever. It ' s a wonder we weren ' t underweight from sweating out these days. Now this one, now that one came from the dentist or eye doc- tor, shaking his head. The medicos had a field day wash- ing out a lot of hopefuls. At last a man with flashy stripes said from across a desk, You ' re all right, son, but take care of those eyes. We were in— mentally and physically. Testing; one, two, three, four Vm not a xylophone, doc. 31 amalgam, 32 missing, occlusion fine Qualified!!! 19

Page 20 text:

oreif ' NaT4 J?0 Navy Department bureau of navigation Washington. D. C. Sub.lect: The Chief of the Bureeu of liavipeiion. . :■: M -X.:, Vii. - Coitmflndinr Officer. Reonilar physical exsTiir-Jtion as 8 candidate for raidshiFrcan fron the rec:uler enlisted prroonnel of the U.S. Kavy or Kprine Corps. 1. Hevinp been successful in the coTnpotjtive examina- tion for Vldshipnen from the enlisted personnel of the r ' mlar ., .,v , you v. ' ill be tr ' jnsferred at a later date to AnnapoiSi?, I ' d., to underp-o the rcuLnr physicel- ' ?xar.Inetion for entrance to the rieval Acader.y. 2. Acknowledge without delay the receipt of this c «n- munloatior., and sfter filling out end sif nlnr the first rart of the enclo ' ed blonic, it should bo rror.ptly for .v=rdcd to your parent or guardian in order that fomel written perr.ission may be obtained for your service in the U.S. Navy durin r the pleasure of the President of the T ' nlted States, unless sooner discherffed by conpetent authority. first call for the pilgrimage to Bancroft To BEGIN PROPERLY the story of the Class of ' 46 we would have to thread together more than a thousand different origins. And yet we find one all-important incident that 1200 of us had in common— the arrival late in May or early in June, 1942, of a long, formal Navy Deparhiient envelope. Civilian and sailor alike read the long-awaited news: Having been appointed a midshipman in the United States Naval Academy, you will report . . . With these words came the fulfillment of a lifelong ambition. When the anticipated day arrived, we packed our bags, kissed Mom goodbye, and began that long ride to Annap- olis. Twelve hundred strong we descended upon our future home— from Oregon and Vermont, from New York and Colorado, from Chicago, Illinois and San Diego, California. For most of us it was our first view of the Academy. But the prize, though close at hand, was not yet won— our first few days were spent not in Bancroft, but in town. Physical exams were the order of the day, and we stepped forth to carry out our first order.

Page 22 text:

I DO PROMISE... We seemed small, talked in whispers, and were humbly awed by the impressiveness of the Hall made Memorial through the glorious deeds of past heroes— heroes of the Service of which we were soon to become a living part. With the oath, we became Midshipmen of the United States Navy. We walked into Memorial Hall as students, workers, sailors; we marched out as members of the class of 1946. Past heroes lend inspiration for the future 1076 days to go BANCROFT, te ie we come . . . The actuality of midshipmendom crashed upon us im- mediatelv. First it was the numbers racket: room and rifle, cutter crew and chow table, company and laundry. Then it was stencilling: white works on the outside, col- lars on the inside, skivvies on the front, belts on the back, everywhere on the hands. Next came the bell system: formation bell, late bell, absent bell, fire bell, taps bell, and many more to make the bewildered plebe wonder just what was going on. If you did one thing, you should have done the other. No wonder we became fatalists; we couldn ' t win! 20