Dow Field Observer

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March 7, 1945

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, 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.
February 28, 1945

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

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.
February 14, 1945

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

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.
February 7, 1945

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

"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.
January 17, 1945

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

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.
January 3, 1945

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

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.
December 20, 1944

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

"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.
December 3, 1944

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

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
November 29, 1944

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

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.
November 8, 1944

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

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.
October 28, 1944

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

Soldiers name dropped in this issue include: PFC Otis Cavender, M/SGT Mike Cherneskie, and SGT T.F. Applebaum.
October 13, 1944

Dow Field Observer, Bangor, Maine

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.
June 18, 1944

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

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.
June 5, 1944

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

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.
May 30, 1944

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

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.
May 13, 1944

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

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."
May 6, 1944

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

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.
February 29, 1944

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

"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.
February 7, 1944

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

We get the scoop in words and photos about a recent Air Base Squadron party at the Bangor House; "Know Your Officers" provides a brief biography of Waterbury, Connecticut, native LT John J. Kennedy; and we meet CPL Albert Edward Korman, a base radio commentator, who, among other details, reveals how he met his wife and mentions his new baby daughter, Merle.
January 29, 1944

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

In "Know Your Officers" we are introduced to LT F. Robert Fox of New York City; and "Dow Field's Post Personality" profiles CPL Lee Scroggs.
January 10, 1944

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

Recounts a ceremony at Dow Field gym in which Captain Richard A. Yorke of Kingfield, Maine, is posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and other awards; "Dow Field's Post Personality" spotlights PVT Lee Dalecky; and LT Lawrence Fitton is profiled in "Know Your Officers."
January 3, 1944

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

Alyce Connor, librarian, and Madeline Shaw, base hostess and party planner, smile on page 1; SGT Chester X. Jackson, a Newry, Maine, native talks about his role as base printer and the mystery of what the X stands for; and we see two photographs from the New Year's Eve party held at the USO club on Park Street, with attendees Frances Johnson, Carol Grotten, Inez Hachey, Dorothy Meehan, and Annette McCathy of Bangor, PVT John Scarbrough of McDonald, Ohio, PVT Donald Ferriss of Rutherford, New Jersey, SGT Joseph Huhm of Flushing, New York, Corporal John W. Karr of Chicago, PTV Jay Herbert Gassman of New York City, SGT Nancy Grant of Chicago, and Midshipman Bruce Sherwin of Edgewood, Rhode Island.
December 27, 1943

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

Front page profiles reports of former provost sergeant at Dow Field, Tech SGT Edward Swope, being cited for gallantry in action by General Dwight D. Eisenhower; "Know Your Officers" has us learning about Maine native LT Frank S. Gutmann; "Dow Field's Post Personality" presents the colorful young life of Corporal Warren Baldwin, himself a regular columnist to the Observer; and we see an ad for downtown Bangor optometrist and optician R.C. Williston, office at 18 Central Street.
December 20, 1943

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

Announces the appointment of LT. Lucius F. Waite as the new chaplain of Dow Field; indicates LT. Isadore Hurowitz has take over the Legal Assistance Officer's duties; "Dow Field's Post Personality" introduces S/SGT. Edward Jerome Thomas as a base basketball manager and writer of sports columns; and has a photo and brief biography of one of the basketball team players, S/SGT. Carl R. "Dick" Carlson, a newlywed, having married Jessie Carlson earlier that year.
December 13, 1943

Dow Field Personnel, Bangor, Maine

Announces that Major William Berman replaces LT. COL. Thorne Deuel as executive officer of the base; introduces quite a character, PVT. Jim Mitchell of Detroit, Michigan, a six foot eight inch tall former boxer and glass eater for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey traveling circus; and S/SGT. Paul Geden provides an extended look at base life in "Dow Field Diary."