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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 
UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 
WASHINGTON 25. D. C. 
12 April 1964 
Mrs. Maryanna Smellow 
Division of Birds 
Smithsonian Institution 
Washington 25, D. C. 
Dear Maryanna: 
The following is critical, and I'm trying to get this 
back out on the plane the information came in on. 
I have the schedules for Fleet going out and Wislocki 
coming in. There must be at least a week overlap between 
these two, with both of them on Kure, as there are aspects 
of our work which Bob handles entirely and only he can show 
George what he's been doing. There is presently no overlap 
in their itineraries and this must be changed. The presence 
of 3 wen here for a week is okay with the CO, and a short 
term thing like that shouldn't need to go through the district. 
In fact. Bob can just not make it out on the plane off Kure 
he's supposed to, but I wanted you to be aware of the problem. 
I notice that I'm scheduled for Kure for June, which is 
an oversight, I presume, as I've been here since the middle 
of February, and I have no desire to stay here for over 4 
months. Do you want to sit in on my divorce proceedings? 
The person who relieves me should arrive on Kure on May 24 
so that he also may have a breaking in period from me. 
I have a suggestion. Take Bob off the end of April as 
planned and return him the end of May, This is fine with Bob 
as he's very interested in working on the tropicbirds for a 
thesis. Also he has had the "trial by fire" during the whole 
breeding season, and is most suited to continue the work here 
in my absence. 
Our relationship with the station has improved tremen¬ 
dously in the last few weeks, chiefly due to a real change of 
heart on the part of the CO. 
I hope for an answer on the above problems in the near 
future. 
Sincerely, 
William 0. Wirtz II 
Research Curator, Pacific Project 
