Dahlgren in Perspective 169 



became Commander Naval Forces, Japan, where he served until 1961, receiv- 

 ing a Gold Star in lieu of the Second Legion of Merit. 



Admiral Withington was transferred to the Retired List of the U.S. Navy on 

 April 1, 1961, and later condnued his service with numerous Naval Advisory 

 Boards. The following interview with him was conducted by Cynthia Rouse in 

 his home in Washington, D.C., on November 5, 1976. 



When you first went to the Bureau of Ordnance after graduating from Annapolis in 

 1923, were you aware of the work that was going on at the Dahlgren Proving Ground'? 



At that time, a large group of Ensigns, myself included, were ordered to 

 WEST VIRGINIA and COLORADO— new batdeships. Neither ship was yet in 

 commission, and the Navy didn't know what to do with us, so they gave us what 

 we called a "Cook's tour" of a good many naval activities, including the Naval 

 Proving Ground at Dahlgren. The skipper at that time was Captain Stark, who 

 later became Chief of Naval Operations. There was very little there because the 

 Proving Ground had only been shifted from Indian Head a few years before. 

 The Captain's house was in existence, the Plate Battery was started, and the 

 Gun Battery had been placed, but none of the fine facilities that exist there 

 now — certainly not the computer center — had even been thought of, let alone 

 placed. So, in that respect, I was very much aware of the work at Dahlgren. 



You took ordnance engineering at the Naval Postgraduate School in 1928 and spent 

 some time at the Navy Yard during this tour. Did you have any contacts with what we now 

 know as the Navy Labs? 



We spent the third year of our Ordnance Postgraduate Course on a long tour 

 of various naval activities. I was a fire control postgraduate officer, so my 

 major stop was at Dahlgren where I spent an interesting and eventful 5 months. 

 I also went with other fellow students to Indian Head, Newport, the Army 

 facilities at Belvoir and Aberdeen, the Ford Instrument Company, and several 

 others, but my major stop was at Dahlgren. We lived in a field hand's shack 

 across the road from a former farmhouse which was occupied by the Supply 

 Officer. It was east of the Plate Battery, and it had been hauled in from the 

 woods and set up on bricks. It was impossible to heat. I spent one Thanksgiving 

 Day stuffing the windows with newspapers so we wouldn't freeze to death. 



Captain Leary, who was then Commanding Officer, used to come out and 

 walk around the place worrying about us. He didn't have any money to help us, 

 but he helped just by at least being aware that we were there. I was allowed to 

 bring my family because of the length of my stay as a student. The students who 



