Soldiers and civilians featured in this issue include: S/SGT James A. Mayne; 1st SGT Thomas Shanley, 2nd LT George Doran, 1st LT Earl R. Holm, 1st SGT Paul M. Engle, SGT Mario Sirabella, Louis Belliveau, Lillian M. Talbot, and SGT Joe Crooks.
LT COL Orie O. Schurter, former CO of Dow Field, welcomes the new Commanding Officer, LT COL Edwards F. Tindall; Captain Elbert Stallard, the Chief of Dental Services at Dow Field, gets an extended profile and photo; winners in the handball tournaments on base include CPL Leo Stein, SGT Abel Seidman, LT Jerome Grossman, CPL Sheldon Rosenthal, CPL Charles Brown, and W/O A.G. Sprague; Alta Edgecomb has "prettiest smile" in Hanger 1; Mrs. Louise F. Bell handles Red Cross at hospital; and we get a story entitled "20 Women Doing Men's Jobs on Hangar Line of the Base" which name-drops Genevieve Marcus of Bangor, Lilly Langlais of Old Town, and Arvilla Thayer of Bangor.
SGT George Barton "makes with the needle and thread to sew on the new Dow Field insignia"; LT Grace Manning, a WAC commanding officer, is profiled; PFC Pisetzner Aaron, PFC Floyd W. Tidwell, PVT Mary Skillings, CPL Alfred Richardson, and SGT Joseph Milanesi answer the question of the fairness of the point system; CPL Lloyd McFarland marries PVT Alice Fillion at the Dow Field Chapel -- complete with a newlywed photo; and Page 5 displays photographs of various soldiers cleaning the facilities at the base. The cleaning soldiers include: SGT George Ciminera; SGT Dan "Mailman" McCarthy; CPL Harry "Ticker Taker" Tsucalas; S/SGT James "Money Order" Haffey; CPL William "Photogenic" Beattie; CPL Mason Burcham; SGT Edgar Marcotte; SGT John Clifford; CPL Norman Benning; CPL Edward Chell; CPL Lowell Dahlberg; and CPL Anthony Videtta.
PFC Maceo Simpson was tops on base in the PT quarterly tests; CPL Audrey Moulton was the first Dow Field soldier discharged under the new point system; PVT Fred Gaymon, T/SGT Robert Miller, PFC Frank Dillon, and SGT Joseph Milanesi answer a pressing question on a base policy change; and George Cameron describes his role of being in charge of the base's motor pool.
Includes a lengthy profile on S/SGT. Grant F. Walsh, another article profiles base PX worker and Bangor native Charlie Share, a detailed story about the 135th Squadron of the 6th Wing of the Army Airways Communications -- completed with brief biographies of several officers, and a full page write-up, with many photographs, of "The Hub," the Priorities and Traffic Section of Dow Field.
Feature articles include promotion of a USO show by the Wilfred Mae Trio, features about 1st Lieutenant Armel H.C. Opp, PFC Vera Edwards, T/SGT. Irving N. Meltzer, and soldiers "from away" being asked about likes or dislikes about Maine.
Captain John J. Fischer and 1st LT Curtis Patterson receive decorations and commendations, complete with photograph; T-4 George E. Schach tells of his deployment at Gander Bay in Newfoundland; PVT Don Croskey, CPL Rex Russell, CPL Grant Jessop, SGT Alfrieda Wauben, and PFC Saul Hennes answer the question "If there had been no war and you were living the normal life of a civilian, what do you think you would be doing now?"; PFC Joseph Pohlman was leading scorer in base basketball games, and the engagement of PFC Katherine Green to T/SGT Stanley Lyons is announced.
LT COL Orie O. Schurter, formerly executive officer of the base, takes over as commanding officer, replacing the transferring COL James C. Jensen; we meet LT Frank Obermeyer, Jr. an assistant Post Exchange Officer at the base; PFC Tony Mule, PFC Sol Schiff, and PFC Michael Zagar sit at a table, sharing coffee and cookies; and we also get profiles of CPL Clemente Gaud and Ulysses A. Providence.
Major Charles W. Hume was named president of the board of directors of the Dow Field Officers' Club; CPL Harding "Deane" Good won the quarterly physical fitness test at the base, edging out Second LT George E. Doran, Jr.; Captain John T. O'Connell rose to the position of Flight Control Officer; CPL James F. Burns had a poem published in the Bangor Daily News; Lt. William Albert McKinley we Dorothy A. Ross; SGT Stanley Milkelk, Information and Education NCO, gets an extended biography; and PVT Margaret (Dickinson) Gilmore also gets a lengthy profile.
"Who's Who of Enlisted Men" spotlights CPL Archie Silver, base baker of General Mess; CPL Silver contributes a column himself about the recent doings in General Mess; pages 4 and 5 are (almost) full pages telling the steps taken in the production of the Observer, showing LT A.G. Thompson, PFC Pasquale Grosso, SGT "Fritz" Snyder, Jim Coghill, J.M. McLeod, Edward Goodin, CPL James Burns, and SGT Stanley Mikelk in action; and we meet WAC corporals & sisters Phyllis and Stella Stappler.
Three Maine heroes, two of them posthumously, receive honors. These men were: Second LT. Rodney S. Gerrish, of Holden, killed in action in aerial combat; S/SGT Walter C. Rich, a prisoner of war in Germany, of Union; and 1st LT Alfred C. Chamberlain of Ellsworth, who was also killed in action. We also get a profile of S/SGT Clarence Riley; two full pages detailing the military travels of S/SGT Donald F. Martin, crew chief at Dow Field; and a brief biography on WAAC 2nd LT Florence Foy.
Page One recounts the November 29, 1944, landing and capture of two German spies, Erich Gimpel and William Curtis Colepaugh, undertaking Operation Elster at Hancock Point on the Schoodic Penisula. The Observer had previously "scooped" the nation with the story just a few weeks prior. Much of this issue provides a wealth of details of this incident perhaps long-forgotten or not previously known. This issue also profiles WAC LT Mildred Hearon, PVT Frances Dickerson, PVT Alice Fillion, and PVT Ruth Collins; and we see SGT Chester C. Sutton and PVT Samuel A. West making yarn mats.
"Who's Who of Enlisted Men" offers a peak into the life and mind of Corporal Leon Tarien; reported that four WACs (PFC Alice Womack, PFC Eileen O'Reilly, PFC Ruth Alger, and PFC Lillian Gottlieb) proudly sewed on their first stripes; Captain Elbert S. Stallard and S/SGT Earle M. Fennimore are shown hauling a Christmas tree for the base; and Major Lloyd S. Smith offers his pre-war history and his rules for operating the PX.
Announces Dow Field as the new headquarters of a North Atlantic Division C-46 Curtiss Commando airline; and details at great lenght Dow Field personnel's role, in words and photographs, at Goose Bay in Labrador, at Frobisher Bay and other Baffinland posts, in Greenland, and beyond.
We see a group photo of part of the personnel of General Mess who made the Thanksgiving dinner last week -- the men are: CPL Thomas Potter; PVT William Widhman; PVT Augustin Ramirez; PFT Gene Szczepanik; PFC Christopher Moran; PFC John F. Mesko; CPL Ernest Berge; PVT Phillip McGetrick Jr.; PVT Clarence Page; CPL Leo Mikolajezyk; PFC Thomas P. Sandle; SGT Thomas Diaz; S/SGT Irving Chazanoff; CPL J.W. Dodson and SGT Henry Oppy. "Who's Who of Enlisted Men" profiles CPL John Kokinda; we meet LT Madeleine Proctor; and CPL Martin Hagopian shares the latest news of the base military police.
CPL Frank Higgins and PFC Mitchel Strange proudly display large deer they brought down on the base; others successfully getting a deer were PFC Otis Cavender, T/SGT Albert E. Weems, Major Joseph G. Moran, PVT Carl F. Wakefield, Captain Elbert Stallard Jr., and SGT David Gantt; Major Harry W. Largent and T/SGT William H. Toles Jr. are profiled; and costume contest winners at the Halloween party were Captain George H. Stone, CWO James R. Campbell, and COL Charles K. Martin.
The "Post Personality" features S/SGT Russell Swickard; "Know Your Officers" spotlights Captain Lewis W. Graham; PVT Johnny Alloca wowed a crowd as a fill-in boxer; and S/SGT Philip Stem said "I do" to WAC Ernestine Gerrathy.
F/SGT Dean Grove recalls his time stationed in Hawaii; CPL Sheldon Rosenthal submits a full-page sketch in honor of Father's Day; we get two photographs of Colonel S.F. Landers and his wife; "Know Your Officers" presents Major John T. Pettee; and PFC Martin Hagopian provides the news of Unit No.4 and PFC Emil Salkay does so for Unit No.2.
The men of Dow Field wished a happy 25th anniversary of Colonel S.F. Lander and his wife; F/SGT Thomas Joseph Shanley is the week's "Dow Field's Post Personality"; we see a photo and profile of Brigadier General Carl W. Connell; and we get a poem from CPL Archie Silver.
The Dow Field Gremlins, a base musical group, "alternated between dishing out the jive and smooth sending" -- band members were: S/SGT Roland Schmidt, SGT Vincent C. Quinn, CPL Ferwick L. Gilroy, CPL James Tompkins, PFC Martin Hagopian, PVT Richard Swift, PVT Robert E. Washington, PVT Robert P. Sarzek, PVT Robert J. Moxley, PVT Spurgeon Illery, PVT Anthony Soyka, and PVT Lawrence Hatch. "Dow Field's Post Personality" F/SGT Cyril Biros has amazing memory for first names. "Know Your Officers" presents Captain Charles D. Horvath. Sam Maurer and Bill Goodwin, civilian sheet metal workers at Dow, have to more inventions they hope will shorten the war.
SGT Stanley Mikelk, Corporal Al Korman, PVT Julius F. Kenney Jr., and PTV Levin Weiss debate the question "Will Russia be a factor contributing to peace in the post-war world?"; Corporal Sheldon Rosenthal is profiled and pictured and his artwork dons the cover; and LT C.S. Ballinger is the officer we meet in "Know Your Officers."
CPL Ade Seidman defeated CPL Lee Daleckey in the Dow Field badminton tournament; "Know Your Officers" presents Captain Robert S. Wiggins; SGT Leo Schuchman is the "Dow Field's Post Personality" of the week; and S/SGT Roland Schmidt claims the base's band is taking shape, with members SGT Vincent Quinn, SGT Joseph Cooper, CPL James Thompkins, CPL George Evans, PFC Venerable McFarland, PVT Richard Swift, and PVT Oliver French.
"Know Your Officers" introduces LT Roy Simmons, Base Ordnance Officer; we also get to know S/SGT Irving Meltzer; and we witness a bayonet battle between M/SGT Matthew Skypek [or Skypeck; it is shown with both spellings] and SGT. Duane Hazle.
