The White Falcon - 09.04.1965, Qupperneq 3

Friday, April 9, 1965
wmra FALCON
3
A It I IS-II Men Work Long Honrs
Finding Answers About Arctic lee
by Special Correspondant Mike Greenman
(Editor’s Note: This is the first in a continuing series on the Arctic Research Laboratory Ice Station
(ARLIS II). The story of men and science on an island of ice.)
A pair of feet comes down through the hole in the snow, then another and another. It’s
7 a.m., breakfast time on Arctic Research Laboratory Ice Station II (ARLIS II). Some
of the men have just awakened, others have been working all night long on their projects.
The 11 scientists and 6 support personnel who inhabit this floating community, main-
tain an around-the-clock schedule. There is always someone working and a 16-hour
work day is not unusual for the individual. There’s just not much else to do. There’s
no television, very little radio reception, and only rarely are there new faces to talk to.
All the buildings on ARLIS IIli>
are surrounded with snow up to
the roof. The only way to get
into them is through a tunnel dug
from each door up to the surface.
This makes heating very easy as
snow is an excellent natural insu-
lator. To get into the dining room,
the research team has to climb
down a ladder from the surface,
and then go through the front
door.
Well-Fed Crew
The chief cook, Carl Johnston,
has been up for a long time, mak-
ing coffee, hot cakes, fried eggs,
sausages and just about anything
else one can imagine eating for
breakfast. The meals are always
large and delicious.
Huge steaks are common fare.
As Carl says: “If you feed them
real well, and feed them a lot, you
keep them pretty happy. The di-
rector said: ‘Don’t spare the food
cost,’ and we haven’t. New York
cuts weigh about 12 ounces, but
here our steaks go about 20 to
Hail & Bless
Personnel who have arrived
(Hail) and left (Bless) U.S.
Naval Station, Keflavik for
duty as of April 6:
HAIL
Baize, D. M., AN
Dallman, D. E., SKSA
Gowen. G. M., AA
Hudnell, J. I., CSC
Hurst, G. M., ABH3
Hutchins, C. V., ATN3
Kramer, R. E., SKSA
Looney, D. R., BM3
Pingel, W. H., Jr., SKSA
Pulaski, H. E., ADR2
Toccolini, G. W., A03
BLESS
Duncan, T. A., J03
Stone, R. G., JOSN
Teichman, J. R., BULCN
Roberts, S. C., PRAN
Levine, S. A., SN
Oglesby, L. E., AN
Mims, I. B., ATI
Balif, P. W., RM2
Licklider, D. E„ ETN3
Drumm, H. J., Cpl.
Ray, W. H., Cpl.
Carvalho, A., CS3
Creighton, S. F., CT3
Lampe, R. W., SN
Cappa, M. F., FN
Peralta, R. B., SK2
McCarley, R. L., CEPCN
Williams, D., CEWCN
Hawkinson, R. D., SKSN
Schlesier, E. M., Jr., AOl
Eney, R. L., RMSN
Mock, J. C., RMSN
May, B. L., Cpl.
Wood, A. W„ Cpl.
Walz, R. C., YN3
Jones, B. R., CMA3
Montgomery, G. W., AN
Allen, C. G., ADRAN
Collins, P. R., CT3
Hukill, J. L„ SH2
Heath, H. C., Jr., AEC
Miller, B. G„ RMS
Bergeron, A. C., RMSN
LaCoppla, F. P., PFC
Perri, T. A., Cpl.
Wojcicki, J. W., Cpl.
St. Jean, J. W., ETN3
Melton, P. W„ SKSN
Pound, W., AD-T 4 N
22 oz.”
Carl keeps the oven on con-
tinually, baking cakes, cookies,
rolls, anything to keep a variety
of delicious foods on the table.
Equipped For The Cold
From the dining room-living
area complex, it’s a long mile walk
to the research area. The only
road, the landing-strip, connects
the two main areas of the camp.
The temperature outside is about
15° below zero. That seems very
cold, but one doesn’t feel it be-
cause it is also very dry, and
there’s no wind.
However, it’s a long walk, so
they all wear heavy Arctic parkas.
The hoods are lined with wolverine
fur. The hair is hollow, so that
on exceptionally cold day, it
doesn’t stick to the skin. The snow
makes loud crunching noises as
they walk along the runway.
Science At Work
Ward Senior, of the U.S. Naval
Oceanographic office, is studying
sea ice physics. Every day he goes
out to his surveyer’s transit and
takes readings on stakes he has
set up on the surrounding pack
ice. He is determining what forces
go into creating openings, pres-
sure ridges, and other types of
deformation of the sea ice.
The primary interest the Navy
Dept, has in that area is the oper-
ation of nuclear submarines. De-
partment officials want to be able
to find areas of thin ice, or leads
(openings in the ice) through
which subs might surface.
Possible Future-Gazing
Ward is studying forces of na-
ture that go into creating these
openings. He hopes to create a
basis for future predictions of
the location of these openings.
Continuing this series on ARLIS
II, next week we will look at
some of the other projects being
carried out on the Ice Island.
A SHOT IN THE ARM—A cold day on ARLIS II. and the Arctic Re-
search Laboratory’s R4D gets hot air transfusion to warm it up for
the flight back to Keflavik Airport.
“HAPPY HARRY”—SSgt. Harry A. Renau, known in Hofn radio land
as Happy Harry, flips the switch for another popular ballad to go out
over the air. The one-room, 10-watt, entertainment center provides
music, news and sports, in addition to regular Armed Forces Radio
Service programs. (USAF Photo by A1C W.R. Keener)
* Wyatt'—Happy Harry
Help ll-.T* Morale
by A1C W.R. Keener
“Well, folks, the clock on the wall says it’s time for ol’
Wyatt to saddle his horse and ride out of here to make room
for Happy Harry and his news. ...”
Noise from behind: Clippity-Clop, Clippity-Clop!”
“Listen closely, you can’t hear his hoofbeats now.”
It wasn’t often that Wyatt Earp would ride out of town
because a guy named Happy had'^
some news to tell, but that’s the
way the script is written almost
daily at H-A-F-S, Radio 1400, in
operation at the 667th Air Craft
Control and Warning station.
Although the Wyatt Earp in
question isn’t a pistolpackin’, roo-
tin’-tootin’, son-of-a-gun from
Dodge City, he is every bit as
popular with the local town folk
— about 70 airmen and 10 sailors
stationed at the H—3 radar site
near Hofn, Iceland.
“Wyatt” Erp
Far away from commercial
radio and television, AIC Robert
Erp, better known as Wyatt, is
a familar radio personality on the
radar site who helps others spend
their leisure time by spinning re-
cords and conversing in his Ken-
tucky dialect.
A pair of Wyatt’s sidekicks are
Sgt. Harry A. (Happy Harry)
Renau, and AIC Frank J. (Mad
Matt) Matthews, who put in sev-
eral hours a week bringing a varie-
ty of shows which break a serene
silence that seems to hover on
and around the distant radar sta-
tion.
Recreational Facilities
The site has a normal number
of hobby shops and recreational
facilities for its size, but the little
radio station provides that link
with home that nothing but a
letter can replace.
With the call letters of H-A-F-S,
which are the initials for the Hofn
Air Force Station, the little enter-
tainment center transmits at 1400
kilocycles and 10 watts. It has
about a one-mile range, which
covers the site thoroughly and
reaches barely beyond the entrance
to the station.
Radio H-A-F-S has been in op-
eration for about four to five
years, having been established
shortly after the site was activa-
ted. Currently its manager is A2C
Frank J. Murry.
Waves Are Free
The station is on the list for
Armed Forces Radio Service (AF
RS) programs and materials, so
its air time from 8 a.m. until mid-
night is scheduled very like its
big brother station on the main
base in Keflavik. For the next
eight hours, however, the air wav-
es are “free” for the volunteer
announcers to play requests and
favorites, or even just talk a
while.
Daily between 5 and 5:30 p.m.
Sergeant Renau picks up the late
world news from the site’s com-
munication center and gives a 30
minute broadcast beginning 6 p.m.
This news program is the only
means of getting today’s news to-
day on the station, and the audi-
ence is large.
Hofn Stompers
The Station operates very in-
formally, and it’s very often that
an “unusual” show and for-
mat may be sired. For instance,
Wyatt Erp several days taped a
(Continued on page 8.)
Ship Seeks Ex-Crew
For 22nd Anniversary
Former shipmates of the
USS Sproston (DD-577) NOW
HEAR THIS!
The USS Sproston will cele-
brate her 22nd Anniversary
May 18, 1965 and desires in-
formation concerning past
members of her crew particu-
larly from the original com-
missioning crew.
Former crew members are
requested to submit the fol-
lowing information to the USS
Sproston (DD-577), Care of
Fleet Post Office, Sfan Fran-
cisco, Calif.
1. Name, present address,
occupation.
2. Period of duty on board
Sproston.
3. Highest Rank/Rate held
on board Sproston.
4. Duty assignment(s) while
on board.
5. Any event of special sig-
nificance or interest which
occurred while on board.