19th Hole: The Readers Take Over

I was aboard the escort carrier U.S.S. Bismarck Sea, CVE 95, when we took two Kamikaze hits at Iwo Jima . The ship blew away aft of the forward elevator, taking most of our life rafts, so we found ourselves in the water, at night, with nothing but life belts and a handful of small rafts from the airplanes. I had been a runner and was in good shape, but in spite of the fact that I was wearing a T shirt, a khaki shirt, a sweat shirt and a fur-lined jacket, after three hours I had about had it. Sixty-five degrees doesn't sound very cold, but after that amount of time we were nearly frozen. Anybody who had taken off his clothes was long gone.

Hypothermia explains why we lost so many good athletes, such as my boss, Lieut. Commander Mack Tharpe, the assistant air officer who had been line coach at Georgia Tech .

I still have my jacket, flight-deck shoes and life belt in my closet and am thankful I had been to a good Navy survival course. For those of us who got through that mess, the rest of life has been a lovely bonus.
WARD H. PATTON JR.
Publisher
Mobile Living
Sarasota , Fla.

Sir:
Your article left out the most important caveat. If stranded in freezing weather, never drink cold water or melt snow in your mouth to obtain water.

I forget the exact formula, but the energy used to melt the snow rapidly contributes to the lowering of the body temperature. A short time ago in Oregon a couple and their young baby were stranded in the snow in the forest service region a short distance from Portland . The mother melted snow in her mouth and drank the cold water so that she could continue to nurse the baby. As a result she was dead by the time rescuers arrived. The husband and the baby, however, had not melted snow in their mouths and survived.
THOMAS F. LEVAK
Portland, Ore.

IN CHARLIE'S CORNER
Sir:
It is quite true that Charlie Goldman was very proud of Rocky Marciano , but that was not, as Mark Kram stated (The One-Minute Angels, Feb. 17), "all he had left" at the time of his death. There was a very marvelous part of Charlie Goldman that not everybody was cognizant of. Charlie was a family man. True, he never did marry, but he gave and received love from his sister and her spouse, his brother and his spouse, his nieces and nephews and numerous grandnieces and grandnephews.

It can be said of Charlie Goldman , "Greater love hath no trainer." It can also be said, greater love hath no relative.
CYNTHIA GOLDMAN BAUM
Clayton , Mo.

TOSS-UP
Sir:
Finally, Frisbee is getting long overdue recognition as a demanding sport ("They Are My Life and My Wife", Feb. 24). I have been a devotee since my mother found one of the disks on a clearance table at Wool-worth's nearly 20 years ago.

Although I was fascinated by the entire article on John Kirkland and Victor Malafronte, I must question your classifying them as the first professional players. In 1964 I demonstrated Frisbees 72 hours a week at the New York World's Fair with a family from California . We had tremendous audiences in The Better Living Center and one day sold more than 1,200 Frisbees . In 1965 I managed a group of college students doing the same thing. Many people called our act the best at the fair. I also believe that Picaso of Ringling Bros , and Barnum & Bailey Circus should be considered a professional player. I have never seen anyone better.

Speaking of records, I wonder if anyone has surpassed my 105 consecutive finger catches?
DAVID J. COWEN
Associate Professor of Geography
University of South Carolina
Columbia, S.C.