Smyrna times., 1940-06-27

and he attained comparatively
quickly the position of Chief Ma
chinist Mate, the highest rank he
could reach as a non-commissioned
officer.
Next to engines his chief en-
thusiasm was music, and he had
way of organizing orchestras on
the vessels with which he was as
sociated. One day in 1918, he was
rehearsing his orchestra on the
battleship North Dakota when he
learned that its great turbines
were out of commission and could
not be turned over. Shore experts
at high rates of pay had been
working on them, but could get no
results. The situation was critical
because maneuvers were due to be-
| gin in the near future. He volun-
| teered to see what he could do. So
! he took two enlisted men, donned
his dungarees, and went to work.
In few hours the turbines were
in order. This gave him such a
reputation that thereafter his SUI
periors referred to him as me-
chanical genius.
On another occasion, the battle
ship Rhode Island went aground
on the rocks off the West Coast.
1t looked as though salvage oper-
ations would have to begin. But
he took command, and, by rocking
the great ship through a tour-de-
force of manipulation of its en-
gines, he got it off under it's own
power, and the Dreadnaught pass
ed into safe waters.
Navy School Instructor
So great a respect did these
achievements command from the
Navy Department that shortly af-
ter he had served through the
World War he was detailed as an
instructor in the United States
Navy School of Turbine Engineer
ing at the Carnegie Institute of
Technology in Pittsburgh. This
was a unique honor for here he in
structed Annapolis men, naval Of
ficers who held higher ranks than
his own, and selected commercial
experts in the same field. His sue
cess was so marked that the
Navy Department cooperated with
the General Electric Company to
inaugurate at Schenectady a sup
Elementary course with him as in
! structor. For a man without col
lege training this was extraordin-
ary recognition.
AT this time he was a magnific-
ant figure of a man, standing bet
ter than six feet tall, without an
ounce Of fat, a trained officer al
ways in good condition. Little did
4 his students realize that sometimes
it took all the control he could pos
sibly exercise to keep himself go
ing on his feet. Sharp pains be-
gan to occur with threatening reg
ularity in his left ear, and some
times after class he would almost
collapse from exhaustion and nau-
sia. He was still in his thirties,
and eager for life and accomplish
ment he refused to recognize the
seriousness of his affliction. At
length, however, he had to go 70
see specialist, and the tragic
word was that cancer had de-
veloped as result of an accident
al bruise received in service.
1t seemed literally impossible
that such a thing could be. He and
his wife sat down with the story
of their years since that day when
she had come out Of the church oa
the arm of her handsome husband
to march beneath the sabers Of his
shipmates. They remembered the
| journeys and the -takings and
the reunions of their years. Ro-
mantle names of places they had
! touched came back to them
Guam, Honolulu, Italy, Panama,
Newport, France, Pearl Harbor,
San Pedro, Guantanamo Bay, Sa-
moa. They recalled the old excite
ments Of the football games
had been tackle and captain on his