Evening star., 1946-09-15
Bomb Disposal Alumni.
To Elect Officers and
End Convention TODAY.

Graduates of the only school
where the passing grade is perfec-
tion-the Navy's Bomb Disposal
School, located during the war on
the American University campus
will elect national officers of the
Bomb Disposal Alumni at the Will
lard Hotel this morning in the
concluding session of their first post
war reunion.
1t. w. r. Brooks, officer in charge
of the Ordnance Disposal School
at Indianhead, Md. which has taken
over the functions of the wartime
Bomb and Mine Disposal Schools,
last night \told the group of more
than 40 former Navy and Marine
technicians, You can't find a bad
mine disposal man-they bury them
all"
The veterans were In more of a
mood to exchange "reminiscences
than to conduct business session
last night.
Paul M. Taylor, 81. of 5341 Forty
second street NV, related how he
won the Navy Marine Corps Medal
and a citation from the Secretary
of War for achievements in Japan
after VI Day.
Saved 2 Japs, QuelIed Fire.
8 He explained he was in charge of
$50 Japs who were loading japanese
ammunition from a cave ON barges
from which they were to be dumped
at, sea. when fire broke out. Taylor
carried two Japs to safety from the
fsmoke-fllled cave and evacuated q
nearby United States Army gar
rlson. Then he returned to. the cave
where 100 tons of explosives were
stored, and put out the fire with
the aid of Navy officer.
Later, he and companion dis
covered and disposed of a cache of
japanese mustard gas and American
bomb duds buried in a garden.
Bomb disposal graduates often
were called upon to perform other
duties than those for which they
were specifically trained Edgar C.
Brown, %, of Indianapolis found
himself teaching judo and small
arms fire to Chinese guerrillas be-
fore he was transferred to mine
laying work off the Chinese coast.
The first bomb disposal specialist
Of World War II, some of the group
related, was an eccentric middle
aged English nobleman, too old for
active" military service. who made
a hobby of rushing to the scene of
duds that landed on English soil
to disarm them.
Trained With Royal Navy.
While the amateur technician
eventually blew himself up, the
British developed, through necessity,
an extremely efficient bomb dis
posal service. 1t was an American
trained in the Royal Navy Volunteer
Reserve in work Of this type, Draper
L. Kaufman, who was given the
duty of establishing the first Amer
ican Bomb and Mine Disposal
Schools when the United States en-
tered the war.
The initial class at the Bomb Dis
posal School was held January q,
1912, at the Naval Gun Factory. The
scnool was moved to American Uni
versity July 8 of the same year. re-
manning there until September /,
1945.
The Bomb Disposal Alumni or
ganlzation, all of whose members at
tended the school here and later
were assigned to duties overseas,
traces its origin back to June, 1945,
when some of the men at a bomb
disposal unit stationed at Pearl Har-
Dor conceived the idea of maintain
ing a postwar contact.
At Pittsburgh, Pa, the first or
ganlzational meeting was held. John
s. Barber OF Philadelphia Pa, was
elected temporary president, and
after referendum of the member
ship Washington was designated as
the site of the national convention.
Although designed primarily as a
social organization which includes a
bureau to exchange information on
jobs, the bomb disposal group has
also offered its services in any emer-
gency where disarming of American
and foreign ordnance may be nee