USNTC Bainbridge 1951 – Company 373: Faces, Names & Stories from The Compass Yearbook
Front Cover, United States Naval Training Center, Bainbridge, MD, "The Compass" 1951 Company 373/374 Boot Camp Yearbook. | GGA Image ID # 2330019d6b
Review & Research Summary — “Navy Boot Camp Book 1951: Company 373, The Compass (USNTC Bainbridge)” ⚓️📖
This page is a compact primary source: a front cover, leadership line, full roster, and two recruit photo plates for Company 51-373 from the U.S. Naval Training Center, Bainbridge, Maryland, during the Korean War era. The entry records 61 graduates and names the company commander as R. F. Carroll, BMGC (Boatswain’s Mate G (Shipboard), Chief Petty Officer).
GG Archives
VA
Company 51-373 Leadership
- Company Commander: BMGC R. F. Carroll
Company 51-373 Roster
Company 51-373 Recruits, Page 1 (BMGC R. F. Carroll, Company Commander and Recruits Becker-Norman)
- Richard G. Becker
- George L. Bedard
- Bertrand E. Bilodeau
- Johnny R. Birchfield
- Roger J. Bloss
- Robert C. Bourgeois
- Albert J. Brochu, Jr.
- Leonard A. Brochu
- Neil K. Brown
- William R. Carter
- George M. Check
- Paige T. Cherrix
- Donald E. Copp
- George B. Dempsey
- Clifton W. Dick
- Robert W. Edmiston
- Barry M. Feinberg
- Edward A. Fern
- Norman A. Hatter
- Henry J. Heydt, Jr.
- Joseph A. lannazzo
- Mario J. Izzi
- Stanley Kramer
- Peter A. Mahoney
- James L. Maney
- Donald T. McMillen
- Earl F. McNee
- T. G. Michalopoulos
- Albert C. Morante
- Robert S. Moulton
- Richard L. Norman
Company 51-373 Recruits, Page 2 (O'Connor-Young Plus Fox and Cincebox)
- William N. O'Connor
- Vincent J. Oliveri
- Robert J. O'Neill
- Ramon Ortiz
- Freddy E. Patnaude
- Anthony J. Raco
- Carl J. Rand
- Anthony Riniti
- Arnold B. Rosenthal
- Joseph P. Roses
- George Rushanna
- Joseph S. Saffioti
- Stelios Sakas
- S. Schwartzberg
- David I. Seymour
- Earl M. Shardlow, Jr.
- Robert R. Sharrits
- Richard J. Smith
- David J. Starkie
- Boris Swider
- Jerome J. Torbik
- Americo J. Vieira
- Donald 0. Warrin
- George M. Weisman
- Roy E. Wheeler
- Richard A. White
- Wayne C. Woodward
- David G. Young
- H. Fox
- T. Cincebox
Navy Boot Camp Recruit Photos - Company 51-373
Company 51-373 Recruits, Page 1 (BMGC R. F. Carroll, Company Commander and Recruits Becker-Norman). | GGA Image ID # 233006ba8a
Company 51-373 Recruits, Page 2 (O'Connor-Young Plus Fox and Cincebox). | GGA Image ID # 233019d5c5
Why this matters (for teachers, students, genealogists, historians) 🎯
Teachers & Students: Use the roster and photos to humanize the Korean War/Navy boot-camp pipeline; the book shows how recruits were organized by “company” and trained at Bainbridge—one of the Navy’s key recruit depots from 1942–1976. Pair the images with a short explainer on how Bainbridge fit into Navy training and post-WWII mobilization.
Genealogists: The exact spellings and middle initials unlock obituary and veterans-index matches. The yearbook provides a time-and-place anchor (USNTC Bainbridge; 1951) that lets you triangulate later life via obituaries, national cemetery records, and veterans lists.
- GG Archives
Naval historians: The leadership line (“BMGC”) is a clue to mid-century rating nomenclature and deck divisions, and the photos capture uniform details and recruit-company layout typical of Bainbridge in the early 1950s.
VA
- Naval History and Heritage Command
Most engaging elements 🔎✨
Named Roster with Photos: Two plates identify every recruit (Becker→Norman; O’Connor→Young, plus Fox & Cincebox). This level of face-to-name pairing is gold for classroom narratives and family research.
- GG Archives
Leadership Line: Seeing a Chief Petty Officer in charge (BMGC) invites a mini-lesson on rating vs. rank and on Boatswain’s Mates’ roles aboard ship and at training commands.
Contextual Fit: Bainbridge’s status as a massive recruit hub during/after WWII and through the Korean War helps students place Company 373 in the broader force-generation story.
Noteworthy images (from the page) 🖼️
Front Cover — The Compass, 1951, Cos. 373/374 (GGA Image ID #2330019d6b). Great as a unit opener—design, title, and year instantly set context.
Recruit Plates (2 pages) — “Becker–Norman” and “O’Connor–Young (+ Fox & Cincebox)” (GGA Image IDs #233006ba8a and #233019d5c5). These are the key face-matching images for identification work.
- GG Archives
“Who were they?” — Preliminary profiles of selected Company 51-373 sailors 👥🧭
Below are evidence-based matches from public obituaries/veterans indexes. Because many names are common, I’ve prioritized distinctive combinations and sources that mention Navy service or otherwise fit the 1951 Bainbridge context. (Treat these as starting points and save the source links.)
Peter A. Mahoney (RI) — Served as a Quartermaster Signalman in the U.S. Navy; later settled in Warwick, RI; his son became CDR, USN (Ret.). Died 2019.
Mario J. Izzi (CT, 1930–2023) — Obituary notes U.S. Navy 1951–1955, consistent with this company’s timeline; later an active community member in Branford, CT.
Paige T. Cherrix (VA/DE, 1931–2003) — Korean War Navy veteran; later an engaged church/community member in Wilmington, DE.
George M. Check (NY/FL, 1932–2023) — Navy veteran (Korean War); later active in American Legion Post #527 in Hamburg, NY.
Donald T. McMillen (OH, 1931–2002) — Navy veteran (Korean War); post-service career included leadership in Carpenters’ Local 200 and at the Ohio Office of Collective Bargaining.
Joseph S. Saffioti (NY, 1927–1970) — Veterans index shows entered U.S. Navy 15 Oct 1951; released 8 Jun 1955; estate records confirm 1970 death.
Jerome J. Torbik (NJ, 1933–2007) — Longtime New Jersey resident; obituary memorializes his life; (company timing aligns with Navy service age cohort).
Americo J. Vieira (MA, 1929–2017) — Veteran buried at Massachusetts National Cemetery; obituary directs to funeral home memorial. (Branch not specified in obituary; listed here as a veteran match.)
Wayne C. Woodward (PA, 1930–2018) — Later authored Congress: The Chester County Line; recognized on the House floor (2016), illustrating a post-service civic/history contribution.
Arnold B. Rosenthal (MA, d. 2021) — Obituary states four-year Navy veteran (Korean War); name and initial match the roster. (Common surname—treat as a strong lead.)
⚠️ Attribution note: Some names (e.g., Ramon Ortiz, Richard J. Smith) are too common for a confident match without added data (hometown, birthdate). When in doubt, corroborate with census/city directories, VA BIRLS, or grave records before declaring a positive ID.
Quick research playbook for this page 🧰
Start with the yearbook page (names + faces).
- GG Archives
Search “[Full Name]” + Navy + obituary; confirm by age (b. ~1929–1934 fits 1951 recruit) and any Korean War/Bainbridge mentions.
Use veterans indices (Calverton/Massachusetts National Cemeteries; VA BIRLS), local papers, and Legacy.com to complete life arcs. Examples above show the process.
For Bainbridge context and to explain the training environment to readers, include a sentence on the base’s role.
Rank & Rating Key (Officer / “NCO” / Enlisted) 🧑✈️🧑🔧
In Navy parlance “rank” applies to officers; enlisted have rates (paygrade) and ratings (job specialty). (People sometimes say “NCO” for Petty Officers.)
- Naval History and Heritage Command and Wikipedia
Officers (junior → senior):
ENS — Ensign (O-1)
LTJG — Lieutenant (Junior Grade) (O-2)
LT — Lieutenant (O-3)
LCDR — Lieutenant Commander (O-4)
CDR — Commander (O-5)
CAPT — Captain (O-6)
RDML / RADM / VADM / ADM — Flag ranks (O-7 to O-10)
Enlisted / Petty Officer path:
SR / SA / SN — Seaman Recruit / Apprentice / Seaman
PO3 / PO2 / PO1 — Petty Officer 3rd / 2nd / 1st Class
CPO / SCPO / MCPO — Chief / Senior Chief / Master Chief Petty Officer
Ratings you’ll see in/around this era:
BM / BMGC — Boatswain’s Mate; BMGC = Boatswain’s Mate G (Shipboard), Chief Petty Officer (e.g., Company Cmdr R. F. Carroll).
QM — Quartermaster (navigation/signals) — ties to Peter A. Mahoney’s Quartermaster Signalman role.
GM — Gunner’s Mate; HM — Hospital Corpsman; PH — Photographer’s Mate, etc. (overview).
Dictionary: Navy words & abbreviations civilians may not know 📗🧩
USNTC — U.S. Naval Training Center (here: Bainbridge, MD), a recruit boot-camp complex.
Company — A boot-camp training cohort (numbered by year and sequence, e.g., 51-373).
- GG Archives
Company Commander (CC) — Senior enlisted leader who trains the company (often a Chief Petty Officer).
Rating vs. Rank — Rating = job (e.g., BM, QM); Rank/Rate = paygrade (e.g., PO1, CPO).
BMGC — Boatswain’s Mate G (Shipboard), Chief Petty Officer (mid-century abbreviation).
The Compass — Bainbridge’s recruit yearbook / cruise-book-style publication.
- GG Archives
Liberty — Authorized time off from duty; Mess Hall — dining facility; Drill Hall — indoor marching/training venue.
Teacher-ready prompts & activities 🍎📝
Close-read the roster: Have students pick one name and build a mini-biography using obituaries and veterans records (see examples above). 🔍
Rating vs. rank mini-lesson: Use BMGC and QM to explain jobs vs. paygrades, then map to a modern Navy org chart. ⚓️
Bainbridge & the Korean War: 5-minute backgrounder on why the Navy expanded recruit training in 1950–53. 🌏
- Wikipedia
Preservation tip for families & researchers 🧷📎
Clip the photo plates and annotate with full names and sources you discover (obits, cemetery entries). For tougher IDs (e.g., common surnames), add hometown queries and year-of-birth filters. The examples above (Mahoney, Izzi, Saffioti, etc.) show how one or two extra details unlock a match.
Sources used here (selected) 🔗
Original yearbook page & images (GG Archives) — roster, captions, and image IDs.
- GG Archives
Bainbridge context — USNTC Bainbridge overview.
Rating/abbrev references — VA/NCA abbreviations list; Naval History & Heritage Command abbreviations; ratings overview.
- Obituaries/veterans indexes — Peter A. Mahoney; Mario J. Izzi; Paige T. Cherrix; George M. Check; Donald T. McMillen; Joseph S. Saffioti; Jerome J. Torbik; Americo J. Vieira; Wayne C. Woodward (Congressional recognition); Arnold B. Rosenthal.
Final Thoughts ⚓
The 1951 Company 373 edition of “The Compass” is far more than a yearbook—it is a military time capsule. It preserves the identity of 61 young men at the moment they began their Navy careers, many of whom would serve during one of the most volatile eras of the Cold War. For genealogists, it provides faces and names; for historians, it represents postwar military culture; and for families, it offers a lasting tribute to service and sacrifice.
💙 This book matters because it bridges personal memory with national history.
