World War II Chronicle: October 19, 1941
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“He’s rough and tough and knows his stuff, he’s Barnacle Bill the sailor.”
Never pass up an opportunity to incorporate a line from an old sea shanty. Star Midshipmen halfback “Barnacle” Bill Busik is playing his final season for the Naval Academy, and had a good game against Cornell (weakened from graduating 20 lettermen from last year’s squad). Before heading for Annapolis, Busik played and ran alongside Jackie Robinson at Pasadena, Calif. Jackie played shortstop and Busik played second base. They both were long-jumpers. Jackie was halfback and Busik fullback. In basketball, Jackie was a forward and Busik — the team captain — was guard.
As a Naval officer, Busik spent most of his time aboard the destroyer USS Shaw and participated in the battle of Santa Cruz Island, Guadalcanal, the landings at Cape Gloucester, the Saipan-Tinian-Guam operation and the Philippine Islands occupation. He retired as a captain and earned a Purple Heart. Story on page 40.
Page 24 discusses what was likely the largest mass delivery of aircraft to date: 123 Vultee BT-13 Valiant aircraft are leaving southern California for use across the country as basic training aircraft. Nicknamed “Vibrators” for the plane’s tendency to shake under several different conditions, pilots would fly the BT-13 after mastering operation of their easier-to-fly primary trainers, the Boeing Stearman biplane or the Fairchild PT-19. Vultee produces nearly 10,000 of these trainers by war’s end.
The sports page also pokes fun at college football superstars-turned actors Tom Harmon and John Kimbrough., who are taking a break from Hollywood to return to the gridiron. But back to the USS Shaw, yes, that is the same destroyer that was blown to bits during the Pearl Harbor attack.
Incredibly, while workers at Pearl Harbor were dealing with all the death and destruction of their facilities they managed to overcome all the difficulties and patch Shaw up enough over the next month that this twisted mass of sunken metal sailed to San Francisco. By June she had a new bow and was ready for action.
George Fielding Eliot column on page 20… An impressive flow chart showing the American defense program’s chain of command is on page 21… World War II is now in its 111th week, and is summarized on page 32… Sports section begins on page 40…
Tyrone Power and Betty Grable star in A Yank in the R.A.F., which is coming to the Palace (page 66). Power plays a dashing but womanizing pilot that joins the Royal Air Force and runs into an old love interest, who happens to have fallen for his new group commander. If you’re a fan of Tyrone Power war films like I am, you’re probably thinking that this plot sounds just like next year’s Crash Dive. That’s because it is. But this one’s got Betty Grable, and honestly it is a good movie.
Boy, who wouldn’t want to be Power though, starring in a movie with Betty Grable right after co-starring with Rita Hayworth. And soon he will be appearing with Maureen O’Hara. Acting is nice work if you can get it.
Evening star. (Washington, D.C.), 19 October 1941. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1941-10-19/ed-1/