Montgomery County Sentinel

County Radio Hams Earn Praise From CD Officials

Rear Admiral G. Roy Hartwig, USN (Ret.), who is Deputy Director for Civil Defense for Montgomery County, this week had nothing but praise for the efforts of more than 100 of the county's ham radio operators during their recent 24-hour field day test on the Fair Grounds at Gaithersburg.

Describing the event as "an outstanding achievement by radio amateurs of all age groups," Admiral Hartwig said he examined the logs of the 12 operating stations manned during the test and "was impressed with the strong turnout, high interest and dedication shown."

The field day, sponsored by the Rock Creek Amateur Radio Association, had an "unusually large" number of participants, according to Louis T. Cronenberger, Silver Spring, president of the association. He said many of the young men who took part in the test received their radio code training in the club's own code classes.

Among the youthful hams was 16-year-old John Willier of Rockville, who earned wide spread publicity last month for his lifesaving efforts on behalf of a seriously ill hospital patient in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Willier picked up an emergency call for medical supplies from a short-wave operator in South America and contacted a pharmaceutical firm in this country to ship the drugs.

In the Gaithersburg field day, Willier headed a team of eight teenagers on the 10-meter phone station who worked in shifts and amassed 127 different contacts, some as distant as the Canal Zone, the Bahamas, Costa Rica and Venezuela. Young Willier was participating in his fifth annual field day.

Robert Wachtel, 12, of Bethesda, was the youngest participant. A ham for only six months, he and two teammates staffed the 15-meter code position during the test, contacting stations in Nova Scotia and along the Pacific Coast.

President Cronenberger expressed appreciation to E. L. O'Neil of Gaithersburg, chairman of the Field Day Committee; to the several "band" chairmen; to the men and women who staffed the commissary, to the Montgomery County Agricultural Association for the use of the Fair Ground site, and to the Navy Department for lending an emergency power generator.