The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-12-10
''Ninety-D Wonders" Build Own Tradition Of Naval Heroism
By TOM WOLF NEA Service Staff Correspondent

New York, Dec. 10 - The Navy's new Ninety Day Wonder" - the young reserve officers trained in comparatively few months at special schools all over the country-are building their own traditions of guts and gallantry that can stand side by side with Annapolis best.
 Take the class of 50-odd young business and professional men who were graduated as officers from Navy training school in Chicago last July. They've been in the service less than six months-most of them commanding gun crews on merchant shipS-but already half a dozen have been torpedoed and at least one has lost his life in action.
 RESCUES CLASSMATE
 By one of those quirks of fate that makes truth incredible, one young ensign, Wirt P. Hoxie, of Waterloo la, got his first news of one of his classmates Lieut., Joseph Bailey when he rescued IS of the crew of the torpedoed merchantmen on which Bailey had commanded the armed guard,
 Two of the merchantmans life boats, including Lieut.. Bailey's had been picked up after week of sail ing in the -torrid South Atlantic. The third was missing - until Ensign HoXie sighted its red sail on the horizon few days later and, ginger ly, lest 1t be submarine trap, went to the rescue. A month later HoXie himself was torpedoed.
 Latest and most dramatic of the action stories that are making the class history comes from Ensign Harry Brown, who left pretty blond wife and Chicago law practice to join the Navy. Browns fight was as much with the seas as with the submarine that sank him.
 He was returning in convoy through the North Atlantic. It was hurricane weather, with winds up to l20 miles an hour and seas so mountainous that the men had to be taken off the after gun because waves were crashing right over the stern.
 So violent was the weather that the ship couldn't maintain her posi- tion in the convoy. She had to head into the wind pull out of rank to keep from being blown onto the other vessels.
 The torpedoes struck just before midnight. The merchantmen took a Starboard list and swung sideways into the wind. By the time that Brown reached the after gun it was under water. out of action.
 The captain estimated shed go under within few minutes.
 The torpedoes' concussion had wrecked all the lifeboats save one. Miraculously, they got it into the raging sea. Over 40 men managed to crawl down the scramble nets and squeeze in. The captain, first mate, steward, Navy gunner and Ensign Brown stayed abroad the ship. ABANDONS SEARCH
 Brown started to check the ship for any hands left. When he got to the crew quarters, amidship on the main deck, the water was up to his waist. Further search was useless.
 Now, by some miracle, the first mate managed to launch life raft - despite 50-foot seas - and maneuver it under the Jacobs ladder. The four men still abroad climbed down the ladder, waited for the raft to ride up on a crest, ] and jumped--a stunning 20 feet to the crazily heaving patch of safety
 Less than two minutes after they cut themselves free of the ship the sub made another attack, get ting lucky hits that exploded the ships gun magazines and showered the liferaft with debris.
 But this was the least of the !. worries for the five on the raft ! The raging North Atlantic was icy. They couldn't lash themselves to , the raft lest 1t be hurled upside | down. They held onto the floor strips | as best they could.
 Brown was washed of three | times. Twice he got back under his | own power. The third time his ,