Early Work in Aviation 47 



and some of them ran over that. I think the primary cause of complaint fro ra- 

 the people around here was that it took their working men, the laborers, off 

 their farm work. They were offered jobs at Dahlgren which were relatively 

 easier than farming and paid more. As Dahlgren expanded in the amount of 

 work it did, it took more people, and people wanted to live near their work. 

 Naturally, houses sprang up here and there, and it became more congested. 

 Finally, it got so congested that they were almost hesitant about dropping even 

 dummy bombs in the water around here. There were boats everywhere. 



Who was the Officer in Charge at Dahlgren in the period you were here iti the 1930's? 



Captain Leary* was here when I started PG into the summer of 1930. Then 

 when I came back in 1934, Captain Schuyler** was in command. When he left. 

 Captain Furlong t came. Captain Furlong was relieved in 2 years by Captain 

 Mike Robinson, ft 



How would you describe these men? 



Leary was a go-getter. Everybody had to work and do their job because he 

 showed no mercy. But I'd been with him before aboard ship, and I thought the 

 world of him. Schuyler was the studious type, and Furlong was a very good 

 organizer and a good leader. I liked him. When Captain Robinson took over, he 

 was another one who was good. I have no bad memories of any of the 

 Commanding Officers. As far as I was concerned, they were all very good. 



Were any of them adverse to the air function? 



In those days, there was more or less some hesitation about the value of the 

 air part. Some of them wanted to lay down rules, but after we'd explain what it 

 was all about, we had no trouble. 



*Vice Admiral Herbert Fairfax Leary (with the rank of Captain) was Naval Inspector of Ordnance 

 in Charge at Dahlgren from October 1928 until May 1931. He obtained the rank of Vice Admiral 

 in 1941. In 1942, he assumed duty as Commander, U. S. Naval Forces, Southwest Pacific, and 

 received many citations for gallantry not only from his own country but foreign countries as well. 

 He retired from the Navy in 1946. 



**Rear Admiral Garrett Lansing Schuyler (with the rank of Captain) was Inspector of Ordnance in 

 Charge at Dahlgren from May 1931 until July 1934. During his naval career, his principal 

 achievements were in science and development of ordnance for naval vessels and aircraft. He re- 

 tired from the Navy in 1947. 

 tRear Admiral William Rea Furlong served at Dahlgren from July 1934 until May 1936 as 

 Inspector of Ordnance in Charge. He attained the rank of Rear Admiral in 1937 and retired in 

 1945. He saw action in World War 11 during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor when his 

 flagship. USS OGLALA, was strafed, torpedoed, and finally sunk. Following that attack, he 

 assumed the dutiesof Commandant of the Navy Yard. Pearl Harbor, and during that assignment 

 was awarded the Legion of Merit with Gold Star. 



ttCaptain C. R. Robinson was Inspector of Ordnance in Charge at Dahlgren from June 1936 until 

 December 1938. 



