The Bergen Evening Record

Just A Lucky Gamble,
Says Admiral Hewitt

Plotted Landing Of Giant Armada, Gambled Heavily And Won,
Says Hackensack Officer Modestly

Vice-Admiral H. Kent Hewitt of Hackensack, in charge of the Navy's Amphibious Command which nosed an 850 ship armada into North Africa to open an unexpected second front, says he was lucky.

He returned home yesterday to visit his mother, Mrs. Robert Anderson Hewitt at 271 Hamilton Place, and then as quickly left. Reporters caught up with him at the home of his friends, Mr. and Mrs. C. Mercer Myers at 275 Summit Avenue.

TALKED SOME, WENT IN

"Lucky, Admiral Hewitt?" one asks.

The night was dark near dawn of November 8. The water was calm for one of the four nights of the months it would be calm before ground swells would churn it into almost unnavigable swirls at the shore line. For other days of the month at this time of the year, this corner of Africa edging into the ocean and sea snubnosed at the base of the Atlas Mountains, provides no spots for troop landings, no place for beachheads.

"We did it," he said, "and we were lucky. The top command of the Army and the top command of the Navy put their heads together to see what would be the right places for ingress to complete our operation. We talked some, coordinating our forces, comparing notes and when we were ready we let out with everything and we won. Once completed, our ships had to stand by until beachheads had been set up and our men well on the way inland."

Admiral Hewitt stood by in these hours just before the dawn and suddenly Casablanca 's shore batteries spat fire, the only enemy attack on the invaders.

The guns of his flagship returned the fire and began to edge in and out of this remarkably accurate fire until several harbor vessels lay as charred husks and these shore batteries finally were silenced.

Only these Casablanca guards knew what had struck them. All through Morocco everything was as usual. Up at Fedalah, 17 miles north of Casablanca , the Nazi Armistice Commission ending its parley with local French, was taken entirely by surprise as they left their hotel and were arrested.

If Hewitt's ships had been turned

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Just A Lucky Gamble,
Says Admiral Hewitt

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back by impassable shoreline waters, it would have meant a few hours delay and possibly failure, he said.

"We gambled heavily and luck was on our side," he said. "If we had to turn back a bit to go steaming into the sea until the water would be calm, we might have invited trouble from submarines and from the air. We would surely have been spotted."

As a matter of fact one detail of this armada was spotted as it steamed southward from England near Gibraltar carrying the entourage of American General Dwight (Ike) Eisenhower. Nothing happened.

For this one assignment Admiral Hewitt was promoted from rear admiral. Now he is in the States waiting for another such assignment in the Navy's Amphibious Command and he says, if it comes, there is no telling when it may come.

Admiral Hewitt, a Hackensack High School student in 1902, also visited his former mathematics teacher, Miss Agnes Bennett, now dean of girls, and addressed the students.

Admiral Hewitt was a student at the old high school building at First Street and Central Avenue after his graduation from Union Street School.

"I'm rather surprised at that record of marks," the Admiral told the students after George A. Merrill, supervising principal of Hackensack schools, in his introductory remarks had cited Hewitt's high scholastic average while a student at the high school.

"I don't remember anything like that. I hope you don't get the impression that I was one of those who spent all his time in studying." The Admiral added, "Maybe mathematics, Algebra, and things like that came easily to me. Some people like that sort of thing; it's just a question of whether or not you like it. That's probably one of the reasons I was taken into the Naval Academy ."

Hackensack's Admiral Hewitt stands out as bold as life leading his command in a return of fire from Casablanca's shore batteries, on the screen of the Oritani Theater in Hackensack today.

A few fast flashes of flame from gun turrets of his flagship and the firing from Vichy guns is ended. Soon the screen shows Admiral Hewitt greeting French dignitaries aboard ship.

This newsreel edition continues through Tuesday.

In his opening remarks, the Admiral told his student audience that he had never quite overcame his nervousness in speaking before a group.

"You know, I haven't ever gotten over the feeling I used to have when I went to Union Street School and had to appear before the assembly and speak a piece. I used to memorize that piece and take a bow, get it over with just as fast as I could and then take another bow."

SUCCESS BY TEAMWORK

"This large assembly is somewhat bigger than I ever saw in the high school I attended at First Street and Central Avenue. It's a big improvement. It is very pleasant to be back home and to be in what is really my old school. It doesn't seem like 39 years since I was here."

On the Naval campaign he directed on the African coast, Admiral Hewitt attributed the successful results to teamwork and thorough planning.

"It was like a football team expanded a hundred and even a thousand fold," he said. "Although this team had different uniforms, blue and khaki, it was all the same team and they all had to be trained together."

The speaker was received by Ralph Sens, president of the Student Association; Jack Leyden, vice-president of the Student Association; Jeanne Snedecor, president of the Honor Society; Harold Jesse, vice-president of the Honor Society, and Murray Rosenblatt, Honor Society member.