The White Falcon - 21.08.1964, Síða 8

8
WHITE FALCON
Friday, August 21, 1964
A Little Bit About Iceland
by Lt.(j.g.) J. W. Anderson
The eruption of Surtsey, which will be one year old
this fall is often compared in potency to the grandaddy
of all the volcanos on the Atlantic flaw, the great Hekla.
Since the 12th century, Hekla has erupted 18 times and
has taken many lives in Iceland throughout history. The
last eruption of Hekla was in 1947 and the mountain spewed
out lava and ash from several'^
craters for over a year.
Pompei may have killed more
people, and the crater of Mount
Fujimma may he more beautiful
but no other volcano has the
pralstige of being historically
considered the gateway to Hell
itself. This was the title that
spread throughout the Catholic
world after the first witnessed
eruption of Hekla in 1104.
Although Surtsey when viewed
from an airplane or boat appears
dwarfed by the immensity of
the ocean in which it stands,
Hekla, which could be approached
on foot, staggered the imagina-
tion because its lava products and
devastation could easily be com-
pared with everyday references,
such as the houses it buried.
And it was big.
Chaplain Herbert of the Cister-
cian monastery of Clairvaux wrote
in Liber Miraculorum in the
twelfth century: “The renowned
firey cauldron of Sicily, which
men call Hell’s Chimney is a
small furnace compared to this
Hekla enormous inferno. Who is
there so refractory and unbeliev-
ing that he will not credit the
existence of an eternal fire where
souls suffer?”
Four hundred years later, the
physician Casper Peucer wrote,
“Out of the bottomless abyss of
Heklafell, or rather out of Hell
itself, rise melancholy cries and
loud wailings so that these lamen-
tatious may be heard for many
miles around.”
People claimed to see black
ravens and vultures flying
through the white hot, bubbling,
spattering mass. They reported
hearing human “howling, weeping
and ganashing of teeth,” parti-
cularly in the time of blood carn-
age somewhere in the world.
SigurSur Porarinsson, in his
book Hekla on Fire reports from
his observations of the more re-
cent eruption, that fantastically
shaped fragments of black lava
are thrown around and with all
the smoke and steam of errie his-
sing sounds ‘emitted’ could easily
explain the concern of the an-
cients.
In last week’s issue of the
White Falcon Michael Burt re-
ported how his imagination play-
ed with him on his expedition
to Surtsey recently.
Where Surtsey has had three
different craters, Hekla on several
occasions has had up to eighteen
as it did in 1947 when as many
as eight were active at the same
time.
After 13 months of activity, on
April 21, 1948 the last of any
glowing lava was seen on Mt.
Hekla. After over 100 years of
dormancy, she had briefly come
to life to flign out over six tenths
of a cubic kilometer of massive
rock. This makes Hekla the second
or third largest eruption in the
world this century.
Mr. Porarinsson has calculated
that since the volume of Iceland
above sea level is about 50,000
cubic kilometers, Hekla alone
could have built the island during
Iceland’s 50 million years of
existence.
Exchange Students Leave Keflavik
Dixson Ships For Six
Chief George Frederick Dixson,
commissaryman in charge of gal-
ley 749 reenlisted for an additional
six years Aug. 14. He was sworn
in by Capt. Stanley E. Ellison,
Commanding Officer, Naval Sta-
tion Keflavik. Chief Dixson, who
has been in the Navy over 19 years,
will be departing here the last
part of November. He will then go
aboard the USS Fiske (DD 842),
out of Brooklyn New York. The
Chief is originally from Daytona
Beach, Florida.
Kilroy Proves
He Was Here
Kilroy 62 years old? For worse
—Kilroy dead? Yes, that’s the
melancholy truth—news to sadden
the hearts of millions of WWII
veterans for whom Kilroy was one
of the war’s greatest legends.
Wherever American troops travel-
ed the words “Kilroy Was Here”
were sure to turn up—often with
the little sketch of a man peering
over a wall. To the illustrious
names that came out of the war
—MacArthur, Eisenhower, Nimitz,
King, Bradley—historians are cer-
tain always to add the one and
only Kilroy. He was the U. S.
fighting man—everywhere at once.
How did the Kilroy saga be-
gin in the first place? Well,
James J. Kilroy, who died in
Boston at the age of 60, got a
job in a Bethlehem Steel Co.
shipyard at Quincy, Mass., two
days before Pearl Harbor. As an
inspector he began marking “Kil-
roy Was Here” on equipment so
test crews would know he’d check-
ed it.
It wasn’t long before the phrase
caught on with the troops and
from then on there was no stop-
ping it — from Guadalcanal to
Murmansk, from Normandy to
Okinawa, Kilroy was there.
Today you’ll find “Kilroy” in
Webster’s Third New Interna-
tional Dictionary as a “transient
soldier.”
Mr. Kilroy became known as THE
Kilroy after the war when the
American Transit Assn, ran a
nation-wide contest to leam his
identity. Still employed at the
shipyard, Kilroy submitted proof
that the legend had begun with
him. As a prize the ATA delivered
a 22-ton trolley car to his home.
And now that Kilroy’s gone
the war stories won’t ever sound
quite the same because the veter-
ans who swap them will be feeling
oh so much older!
Sixteen Icelandic youths, spon-
sored by the American Field
Student Exchange Service, de-
parted Keflavik International
Airport on August 13 enroute to
the United States.
The Icelanders will live in pri-
vate homes in the states and at-
tend American high schools. When
mid-term rolls around, the stu-
dents will reunite and tour the
United States later in the sum-
mer.
Through the exchange, three
American students are expected
to arrive in Iceland and attend
school here.
Both the students in the states
and Iceland will stay for approxi-
mately one year.
Rear-End Collisions
Following the car ahead too
closely usually won’t kill you but
a rear-end collision would hit you
hard in the pocketbook. The Na-
tional Safety Council recommends
that you leave an interval of at
least one car length for every ten
miles of speed between you and
the car in front. Tailgaters are
accident-makers. For safety’s sake,
keep your interval.
Warrant Officer Program
Going Back Into Effect
The Warrant Officer Program has recently been rein-
stituted and revitalized by the Secretary of the Navy.
There are two Warrant Officer Programs: The Warrant
Officer (Temporary) and the Warrant Officer (Perma-
nent) .
All initial appointments of male personnel will be War-
rant Officer, W-l (Temporary). Male Temporary Warrant
Officers may apply for perman-l5>
ent appointment after completion
of three years or more service as
Warrant Officer (Temporary).
Eligible Warrant Officers who
are serving in a temporary ap-
pointment may also apply.
Eligibility Requirements
Enlisted members of the regular
Navy serving as petty officer first
class and above may apply for
the program. If a petty officer
first class, must have served for,
at least, one year on July 1 of
the year in which application is
made. Must be at least 23 years
of age but may not have reached
their 39th birthday and must have
completed six years, but not more
than 20 years, of active naval
service. Applicants must be high
school graduates or possess the
equivalent, and must be recom-
mended by their commanding of-
ficer. All participants must be
examined physically in accordance
with Article 15-42 Manual of the
Medical Department and applica-
tions must reach the Education
and Training Office no later than
September 10.
First Class Petty Officers are
required to have completed all
practical factors, training courses,
and performance tests for Chief
Petty Officer and to participate
for the rating in which serving
at the time of application for
Warrant Officer.
Candidates who fail the E-7
examination or who have not com-
pleted practical factors, training
courses, or performance tests will
not be eligible for consideration
More Servicemen
Purchasing Bonds
(NAVNEWS) — In 1963, Ser-
vicemen and women purchased
$197 million in Savings Bonds.
For the first time since WWII,
according to the Treasury De-
partment, there are more than
one million Service persons buying
bonds through the allotment plan.
Latest reports show a total
participation of 1,614,000 mili-
tary and attached civilian per-
sonnel using the payroll plan.
William H. Neal, Assistant to
the Secretary of Treasury and
National Director of the Savings
Bond Division, said “military and
civilian personnel of the Depart-
ment of Defense are making an
outstanding contribution to the
success of the U. S. Savings
Bond program.”
that year under the Warrant Of-
ficer Program. The examina-
tion shall be administered in Feb-
ruary, following application, at
the same time and with the an-
nual Navy- wide E-7 examination.
Temporary appointments under
this program will be limited to
line, Supply Corps, and Civil En-
gineer Corps, for the performance
of duty limited to technical fields
generally indicated by their en-
listed rating. Applicants who are
selected for appointment will be
ordered to a course of instruction
in officer indoctrination. The se-
lectees will be appointed prior to
this training, conducted at U. S.
Naval Officer Candidate School,
Newport, Rhode Island, or, in the
case of selectees for the aviation
categories, at U. S. Naval Air
Station, Pensacola, Florida.
All selectees will be required
to agree not to apply for voluntary
retirement or reversion prior to
completion of three years’ ser-
vice as Warrant Officers.
HIGH SPEED-LOW SPEED JET
— Final operational tests for the
highly maneuverable Air Force
twin-jet YAT-37D capable of speeds
in exess of 450 mph and as slow
as 125 mph, are being staged at
Eglin AFB, Fla. The YAT-37D is
designed to be used from short,
uninproved airstrips for “counter-
insurgency” combat.
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