13
Corporal Berl Williams with a Med
ical Ambulance Co. in England, asks
that his buddies on the east side of the
Cascades keep the streams well stocked
with fish as he intends to catch those
big ones that got away before he left,
when he has time off from bridge re
pairing, after Berlin.
Wm. C. Grabenhorst, M.M. 2 / c,
Seabees, will be remembered by many
of the Highway Department oiling
crew men. Bill spent several years on
oiling and extra gang crews before join
ing the Navy, and recently spent a 10-
day furlough at home and with old
friends before returning to Camp
Parks.
Robt. W. Carpenter, M.M. 2 / c,
C. B. M. U. Bob was employed at the
Salem Highway Shops when he joined
the Seabees in 1942 and is now in New
Guinea slinging parts. He should be
good at it as he did a swell job at the
Salem Shops before he left.
Bob says he has seen a lot of the
large cities in Australia, New Zealand
and New Guinea. He says he can see
why they named the "Coral Islands”,
but would much rather be able to step
on good old Oregon beach sand any day.
Lt. Col. George Hester, A.A.C.
George was assistant in Office Engin
eering Dept. when called to the service
and is now Battalion Commander of
anti-aircraft at Camp Cook down at
Santa Maria, Calif. Someone please give
us a little more information on George.
Staff Sgt. James Carlin. Jim has
spent most of the last two years in
Oakland, the greater part of the time
as Chief Clerk in a Medical Unit at the
army hospital there. He recently
stopped at the Salem Shops to see his
old friends, where he used to be chief
parker of equipment. Jim says the
California weather is O.K., but he pre
fers Oregon and will be glad to get
back. He was on one of those 10-day
leaves before going to parts unknown.
Capt. George Bagnall. George has
spent about two years in the Pacific
most of the time in the Hawaiian
islands. A few months ago he was sent
to the Marshalls where he is keeping the
planes in tip top shape for shooting.
George is in Army Aviation Ordnance
there and says that country has nothing
he wants nor can he see anything inter
esting about any of the Pacific Isles ex
cept the Hawiians, and they have been
built up a great deal by publicity
agents. He also says the native gals in
the Marshalls are not attractive and
would like to know what kind of stuff
the fiction writers smoked when w rit
ing their stories about them.
Many of the Highway employees will
remember George, who was the 6’4”
boy who used to go around concocting
mechanical devices for the Salem Shops
where he was Mechanical Designer for
several years.
Paul Davies, C.P.O., Seabees. Paul
was home recently on a 10-day leave
and spent part of the time visiting the
Lab where he was employed for about
20 years, and also visited some of his
friends at the Main Office. Paul spent
seven months in charge of a road con
struction crew on Kodiac Island. He
says the Seabees are doing a remarkable
job despite the severe weather and oth
er bad conditions existing there. He
doesn’t know where his next stop will
be but hopes it won’t be for long as he
is anxious to get back to his old Lab
job.
Pfc. Donald McMurren, U.S.M.C.
Roger Wright, Quartz Mountain sec
tion foreman, says he hears from Don
quite often and that he is quite inter
ested in the Highway work there where
he was employed until his 18 th birth
day, having joined the Marines about
Oct. 1, 1943. Don left the States in
March and is now somewhere in the
Pacific. He hopes to make Highway
(Continued on page' 22)