"THE ADAK SUN"
CAPT. J. A. HORTON, JR. CDR, M. J. REED
Commanding Officer Exec, Officef
Published each Monday for all personnel
on Adak at no cost to the Government,
Articles contained herein are not to be
construed as representing the official
opinion of the Commanding Officer or the
Navy Department, in as much as the ADAK
SUN is not an official publication.
C. E. BERGSTROM G. A. MC DERMOTT
’’Live Hard, Die Young”
The old adage ’’Live hard, die young”
doesn*t seem to apply to the career Navy
man according to recent statistics issu
ed by an insurance company.
While the accident rate among service
men is considerably higher than among
civilians, the life expectency of John
Doe, CPO, USN (Retired), is just as good
if not better than his civilian friends#
Life expectency tables show that after
doing twenty you can expect to finish a
second 20-year career and still have 13
years left to run that California chick
en ranch# After doing thirty, that is
retiring at around age 50, you can still
stick around another 22 years or so. And
retirement at age 65 leaves another do
zen years for relaxation.
The odds of having an ”Average” life
expectency are as good as the next fel
low^ in spite of the familiar sea story
about the old chief who withered away
quickly after thirty years of hard ser
vice# That*s the exception to the rule!
Annual physical examinations, man
datory innoculations, free hospitaliza
tion and freedom from worry about strike
lay-offs, and lack of a regular income
are certain to add years to your life#
Sailors ”Ifm going to ask you a que
stion in nautical terms#” '
Girls ,rNow, listen here, Ihn a nice
\ girl, so you just watch your language#”
The temperatures for Adak are given here
for your information.
SUN 16 March
MON 17 "
TUES 18 »
WED 19 "
THUR 20 "
FRI 21 «
SAT 22 n
MAXIMUM
41
40
40
42
46
40
40
MINIMUM
36
37
35
32
34
33
33
’’Life begins at 40”
The old adage, "Life begins at 40,Mk
apparently was the thought - of ¥ernon X™
Harris when he enlisted in the Navy at j
the age of 44. . ,
Harris, construction mechanic first!
class, now 57, and a grandfather ten-j
times, believes himself to be the oldestj
man in Antartica.
His job at McMurdo Sound demands oon- j
stant alertness. He is permanent J00D i
and has the responsibility of coordinate j
ing base activities. \
Besides being the oldest man^ on that [
frozen continent, Harris is thought to!
have travelled more miles than any other!
Navyman in reaching his new duty station j
He was serving in London when he re-^
ceived his orders. Navy planes carriet®
him from there to Spain, Morocco, the;
Loges, Bermuda, and Charleston, S.C. ;
Then he took a train to Boston and from j
there, a bus to the Seabee!s base at!
Davisville, R.I, j
Another plane carried him to Seattle, j
Wash., where he again boarded a train j
for San Diego to catch the icebreaker USSI
GLACIER, bound for New Zealand, Little;
America, and, finally, McMurado Sound.i
A total of 18,000 miles. !
Before enlisting in the Navy, Harrisi
worked at the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard ;!
in Quincy, Mass., as an assistant to thel
superintendent of machinery. He was I
working on n6w Navy ships with Navy crew!
and what he saw he liked,
"I just had an urge to enlist and I|
did it,n he said. • He was discharged;
continued top page 3;