THE CAPTURE OF JAMES DANGEROUS GIST.

THE CAPTURE OF James Dangerous Gist
and other things.

The Gunnery range was taking shape with
great instructors.

The SADs made their debut.  SAD stands
for Specialist Articifer Devices.  It was said
that the SADs were "washouts" from Navy
flight school--- scuttlebut.
They built the drone aircraft that were used
for targets on the shooting range.  We had
regular aircraft from the nearest Navy Air
bases tow targets normally.

The first students moved in in mamoth busses
carrying students from all the allied nations.

We had 50 mm and 40 mm guns on the line
and 3 inch and 5 inch guns to fire on the
towed targets.

AATC was equipped with all the bells and
whistles of a small hospital.

My steady job was Pharmacist.  I compounded
and dispensed all the medicine and anaethetics
used at sick bay and in surgery.

When I had the duty, it meant that I handled
all emergencies, held sick call in the morning
and looked after the patients in our little
hospital.
After a couple of months I took an examination
and made first class,  Pharmacist Mate 1/c .
Before I lef t the service I made Chief Pharmacist
Mate.   That rate was temporary for six months
and I left the service before the six months had
elapsed, so I never knew if I was considered, in
the record,  a Chief or a First Class.

Oh, yes.... James D. Gist returned to the base and
we became good friends.

There were numerous interesting adventures at
this base, some heroic and others slightly odorous.


Beverly eventually returned to her home in Long
Beach.   We had an Executive Officer whose name
I do not remember, but the enlisted men just
referred to him as "numb nuts".  He was discharged
before me and Beverly called to tell me that he had
come to their door and tried to get her to go out
with him and her father told him to get lost or hurt.

Finally we won the war and after 4 1/2 years I had
to go to work again.

Check the next segment and I`ll tell ya all about it.

Before the end I even became good friends with the
Doctor, Jocob Marks from Chicago.  He even
attended our wedding many years later.

----  John Crowley