The White Falcon - 22.12.1962, Side 1

WHITE
Volume II, Number 42
U.S. NAVAL STATION, KEFLAVIK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, ICELAND Saturday, December 22, 1962
Barrier Christmas Story Told
By Long Island Newspaperman
WELL DONE—Lt. Cmdr. Charles H. Hergesheimer, Project Officer,
pats two of the young ticket selectors at the Donation Ticket Sales
for a job “Well Done” at the drawing last Saturday at the Viking
Service Club. Left to right: Jo Ann Gratta, Jamie Carle, Lt. Cmdr.
Hergesheimer, Jeffrey Arn, and Joe Reh. The special drum was made
at the Public Works Carpenter Shop.
FOR CHRISTMAS FEATURE—-’Mr. Leonard Victor, second from left, interviews station personnel from
the Long Island, New York area for a special Christmas feature story of the airborne early warning
barrier and Long Islanders stationed here. The story will be published in the Long Island DAILY
PRESS. Left to right are: Lt. Cmdr. James Mullin and LT Carl Leban of VP-16; Mr. Victor; SK2 Edward
H. Ryder, Naval Station; AN Owen W. Magee, and AMH3 Richard T. Agostinelli.
-----------------------------«
Catholic Chapel
Gets New Altar
Last week the Catholic Blessed
Sacrament Chapel underwent
changes. The Catholic Chapel is
called by the name “Blessed
Sacrament” since it is here that
the Blessed Sacrament (the actula
Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus
Christ) is retained night and day,
“awaiting, calling and welcom-
ing all who come to visit”.
With the continual preserva-
tion of the Blessed Sacrament
here, this part of the chapel can
be looked upon as the source of
spiritual strength for all those
of the Catholic Faith at Keflavik
Naval Station.
The redecorating of the Chapel,
which was prompted by the same
love and devotion as that which
inspired the decorating of the
great Medeival Cathedrals of Eu-
rope, took place primarily in the
following floor plan: The step on
which the altar rests has been
retiled in a light gray tile by
Joseph Valdez, SKI, Naval Station
Supply, who left Wednesday, Dec-
ember 5 on PCS. Symbolic de-
signs have been inlayed into the
tile which were designed by Jos-
eph Toman, YN3, the Catholic
Chaplain’s Assistant.
The designs consist of two
lambs looking inward toward the
center motif of a fish — the fish
was a sign used by the early
Christians to designate themselves
as believers in Jesus, since the
letters of the Greek word for fish
IXOXC (pronounced Ixthos)
stood for „Jesus Christ, God, Son,
Savior. Its use in the Blessed
Sacrament Chapel, however, is as
(Continued from Page 6.)
By TSgt. Gerald A. Du Bois
A Long Island, New York re-
porter for the Long Island DAILY
PRESS who wanted to know just
what early warning barrier crews
stationed in Iceland would be do-
ing on Christmas Day, arrived
here last week to get first hand
interviews, photographs and in-
formation.
Mr. Leonard Victor, well-known
reporter for the DAILY PRESS
barely had time to alight at Kef-
lavik when he was whisked upon
a 12-hour barrier flight. He want-
ed to get first hand information
and he got it!
Accompanying Lt. Cmdr. R. Ris-
er’s Crew 2 of VW-13 on a rou-
tine patrol of the airborne early
warning barrier, Mr. Victor saw
how the flight was coordinated to
arrive on station at the scheduled
time.
During the flight he observed
each of the crew members man-
ning their positions and later re-
marked about the high degree of
skill displayed by the pilots, na-
vigators, flight engineers, and
Combat Information Center per-
sonnel. He said he was most im-
pressed by the constant vigilance
Postal Rates Increased
Postal rates for regular and
Air Mail letters and cards will
be increased January 7, 1963.
Airmail cost will be eight cents
per ounce or fraction of an ounce
up to and including eight ounces.
The surface mail cost for the same
weight will be increased to five
cents.
If you're planning to send cards
stateside, the price will be six
cents for airmail and four cents
for regular.
of the crew and the demonstrated
effectiveness of the barrier.
Returning from his flight at
3 a.m., the reporter rested for
a few hours and was awakened
early Sunday to meet Long Island-
ers stationed at Keflavik. The
“press conference” was held at
10 a.m. at the Viking Service Club.
After personally interviewing
seven Long Islanders, Mr. Victor
and several of his home towners
proceeded to Keflavik for local
color shots.
The advent of
the Christmas
holiday brings
with it a dual
reminder. It is
a season of re-
joicing, but it is
also a time for
serious reflec-
tion. There is
joy in celebrating the birth of
the One who gave us the prin-
ciples vital to our way of life, yet
we must not forget that in so
doing He paid the highest price.
What we of the Defense Force
are doing is to help protect for
our loved ones and others of the
free world those ideals without
which life becomes mere existence.
This defense force we constitute
is made up of people and not
stones or steel and personal hard-
ship and sacrifices are often in-
volved. The sentinel’s lonely watch
has always been a trying one,
especially when his post is far
from his homeland. However, in
these dawning years of the Space
Age we are not very far at all,
and constant vigilance must be
Four Take Home
Valuable Prizes
By TSgt. Gerald A. Du Bois
Young, bashful Jamie Carle,
daughter of ABHC and Mrs. J. E.
Carle, Naval Station, slowly reach-
ed into a large, grey, screened
drum, selected a ticket, and gave
it to Lt. Cmdr. Charles H. Herg-
esheimer.
A quiet stillness fell over the
near-capacity audience at the Vik-
ing Service Club as Lt. Cmdr.
Hergesheimer prepared to read
the name on the lucky ticket to
win the new Volkswagen given
away last Saturday.
the nature of our duty.
Technology has complicated our
task, but in simple terms we may
be compared with a father in a
hostile forest who all through the
night huddles near a flickering
campfire, wakeful so that his
children may sleep peacefully.
That our loved ones may have
more peace of mind and enjoy a
greater degree of security is our
gratifying reward. It is not
against the predatory beast that
we guard, but against the Godless
who would deny us freedom and
the way of life taught us by Him
whose birth we now rejoice in.
If the strong family tradition
of this time of year serves to
painfully remind some of us of
our separation ,let us also be re-
minded that the most important
gift we give cannot be enclosed
in a be-ribboned box, but is the
preservation of that gift divinely
given so long ago. I hope you
may feel the true joy of Christmas
—the joy of knowing that because
of each of us, millions of others
will have another Christmas in
freedom.
“J. W. Gilligan, Bendix Depot,”
read Lt. Cmdr. Hergesheimer, pro-
ject officer for the Donation Tick-
et sales and the Children’s Christ-
mas Parties.
Pretty Jo Ann Gratta, daughter
of RM1 and Mrs. Joseph Gratta,
Naval Communication Station,
then took her turn at the ticket
drum to pick the ticket of Chief
Richard E. Carr, Naval Security
Group Activity, winner of the
second prize, a Telefunken stereo-
radio phone console.
Winner of the third prize, the
Telefunken stereo tape recorder
was Jonas Sigurdsson of the Base
Motor Pool. His winning ticket
was selected by Joe Reh, son of
PT2 and Mrs. Michael J. Reh,
Barrier Force Atlantic.
ABH1 Lynn F. Herrington of
VW-11 in Argentia won the fourth
prize, a Kodak Automatic 35mm
camera. Jeffry Ann, son of Cmdr.
and Mrs. J. A. Arn, Public Works,
picked this winning ticket.
(Continued on Page 7.)
Xmas Decorations
Could Be Deadly
Safety like Christmas is a Fam-
ily Affair. An all metal Christmas
tree may become shockingly alive
if its branches or tinsel decora-
tions come in contact with exposed
parts of an energized circuit such
as colored lighting strings or elec-
trical wall outlets.
When one branch is energized,
the entire tree and all metal ob-
jects in contact with it, such as
metal stand, toys, lamps, etc., be-
come part of the electrical circuit,
and the traditional symbol of peace
and joy converted into a lethel
Frankenstein. Metal trees listed
by Underwriters Laboratories,
Inc. are provided with wiring at
the factory, and are designed to
reduce this hazard to an accept-
able degree.
(Continued on Page S.)
Adm. Moore Sends Christmas Message