National Rifle & Pistol Championships
Camp Perry, Ohio

Benner Takes Rapid-Fire Pistol Meet

CAMP PERRY, Ohio, Sept. 1 (UP) MSgt Huelet Benner, pistol team coach at West Point, topped the fired for the second straight day yesterday in winning the rapid-fire competition for the American pistol team.

Benner, who won the slow-fire tryouts Sunday, scored 1,163 out of a possible 1,200 in the rapid-fire. Marine 1st Lt William McMillan, Turtle Creek, Pa., was second with 1,162; Marine Capt Thomas Mitchell, Meadows, Tex., third with 1,147 and Philip Roettinger, Washington, D.C., fourth with 1,145. Harry Reeves, Detroit, present American pistol champion, was fifth with a 1,142 score.

Arthur Jackson, Washington, D.C., topped the small-bore rifle shooting with a 2,277 out of a possible 2,400 in the semi-final tryouts for the national team.

Verle Wright, Fort Wayne, Ind., was second with 2,270.

Stars & Stripes, September 2, 1954

Cop Leading In Pistol Shoot

CAMP PERRY, Ohio, Sept. 1 (Special) - As gusty 25-mph winds quartered across the range yesterday, Lt. Harry Reeves of the Detroit police force took the lead in the first phase of the National Pistol Championship. Reeves, the defending champion, had a score of 861 out of a possible 900.

Second position was held by Ray H. Berlo, a policeman from Boston. Two members of the all-Army pistol squad were in third and fourth places. Maj William Hancock fired an 854 to trail Berlo by five points for the third spot, while CWO Oscar Weinmeister had 850 for fourth.

Hancock is stationed at Ft. Bliss, Tex., and Weinmeister is from Ft. Knox, Ky.

Caracas Meet

Matches to be fired today will be with the .38-cal pistol while yesterday's matches were with the .22-cal pistol.

Earlier, MSgt Joseph Benner, Army pistol coach from West Point and an Olympic champion, was high scorer in eliminations to select a team for the international pistol shoots in Caracas, Venezuela, AP said.

Benner totaled 1,080 points to 1,077 for Army Capt John F. Dodge, of New York City, and 1,074 for Reeves.

Following Reeves, in order were: LtCol Walter Walsh, Arlington, Va., 1,072; CWO Offutt Pinion, San Francisco, 1,065; Capt John Jagoda, Parris Island, S.C., 1,060; SC1C Luther Yocum, Norfolk, Va., 1,058; Ralphy W. Anthony, Dallas, Tex., 1,058 and 1st Lt William McMillan, Turtle Creek, Pa., 1,058.

Stars & Stripes, September 2, 1954

Detroit Policeman Nears 6th Crown In Perry Match

CAMP PERRY, Sept. 2 (Special) Detroit Police Lt Harry Reeves yesterday came a step closer with his bid to retain the national individual pistol championship.

At the conclusion of yesterday's matches Reeves had a combined aggregate of 1,731 out of a possible 1,800, as the tourney neared the two-thirds mark.

His margin virtually assures him of his sixth championship when the third and final round is fired today. He would be the first person ever to win the pistol crown that many times.

Raymond Berlo of Boston is in second place with 1,718 points.

MSgt Huelet (Joe) Benner, of West Point, moved into fourth position in the race for the national pistol championship by winning the center fire yesterday with a score of 872 out of a possible 900.

Maj William Hancock, of Ft. Bliss, Tex., teammate of Benner, is in fifth place with a total of 1,704, eight points behind Benner.

Matches fired Tuesday were with the .22-cal pistol. Yesterday's events were fired with .38-cal pistol or larger.

The individual title race ends today with the .45-cal matches.

The national individual championship will be determined by the highest total score for all three days of firing.

The National Rifle Assn. team championships will be held Friday.

Climax of the matches will be the national trophy team and individual championship, which will be held Saturday.

Stars & Stripes, September 3, 1954

Cop Retains Pistol Crown

CAMP PERRY, Ohio, Sept. 3 (Special) - The 1954 national pistol championship was won for the sixth time yesterday by Lt Harry Reeves of the Detroit police force. Reeves, the “automatic man” of shooting, took the top pistol title again this year, beating out his nearest opponent, J. C. White of the U.S. Border Patrol, by 15 points - 2,587-2,572.

In third place was the top Army competitor, MSgt Huelet (Joe) Benner, whose name is as familiar as Reeves' in the record book, is stationed at West Point. Benner found the windy weather not to his liking, as he fell 21 points behind in the first day's firing of the .22-cal pistol to a sixth-place spot from which he never emerged.

Benner, however, won the national .45-cal individual pistol title yesterday with a score of 859, three points better than second-place Reeves. This gave the Army non-com two of three national titles - the .38-cal he won Wednesday, and the .45-cal. Reeves won the .22-cal title Tuesday.

Reeves' 1954 victory was a repeat of 1953 and the sixth time he has won the title since his first victory in 1940. Benner, the next highest winner, has won the national title three times.

Today will see the competition for the national pistol team championship with top Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and police teams vying for the title.

The national pistol matches will end tomorrow as the national trophy pistol matches, both team and individual, are fired. Gen Matthew B. Ridgway, Army Chief of Staff, will be present to confer the awards.

Stars & Stripes, September 4, 1954

Army Pistol Unit Wins .22, .38 Titles at Perry

CAMP PERRY, Ohio, Sept. 4 (INS) - The U.S. Army pistol squad successfully defended its national .22-cal team title yesterday and added the national .38-cal team laurels, but lost the national pistol team championship to the U.S. Marine Corps by 23 points.

The Marine Corps “blue” squad, which did not win a match, compiled a total score of 3,386 to the Army “red” squad score of 3,363 out of 3,600. The national pistol team championship was based on the teams' total score with .22, .38 and .45-cal pistols.

The .45-cal pistol title went to the U.S. Border Patrol with a score of 1,127 out of 1,200.

The .22-cal and .38-cal team championships went to the U.S. Army “red” and “black” teams respectively with scores of 1,146 and 1,125.

The national trophy matches for individuals and teams will be held today. These matches are sponsored by the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice, an agency of the Department of the Army.

Trophy winners will receive their awards from Gen Matthew B. Ridgeway, Army Chief of Staff.

Stars & Stripes, September 5, 1954

Army Shatters Pistol Record At Perry Meet

CAMP PERRY, Ohio, Sept. 5 (INS) - The Army pistol team yesterday shattered a record which has stood since the beginning of the national matches in 1904. Army pistol shooters took both the National Trophy Individual pistol match and the National Trophy team match to conclude the 1954 matches.

Maj William Hancock, Ft. Bliss, Tex., fired 285 out of a possible 300 points to win the General Custer Trophy, emblem of victory in the International individual trophy race.

Lt Harry Reeves, of the Detroit police force, trailed Hancock by one point. LtCol Walter Walsh, USMC, placed third with 283, one point behind Reeves.

Awards for the teams and individual victories were presented by Gen John E. Dahlquist, Army Field Forces CG, Ft. Monroe, Va.

In the National Trophy pistol team match the Army “gray” squad came from behind to edge a tough Marine Corps team to win the Gold Cup Trophy with a score of 1,108 out of a possible 1,200.

Not since the national matches were instituted has any service copped both titles in the same year. This was the Army's second consecutive victory in the National Trophy team match.

Firing members of the Army's “gray” team and their individual scores were: LtCol Ellis Lea, Ft. Benning, Ga., 269; Pfc Richard Amundsen, Ft. Lewis, Wash., 279; Capt Forrest R. Smith, Ft. Riley, Kan., 278; Capt John F. Dodds, U.S. Army, Europe, 283.

The nonfirinig captain of the team was Maj Lloyd C. Hummert, Camp Chaffee, Ark. Coach was LtCol Thomas J. Sharpe, Washington.

Stars & Stripes, September 6, 1954

Army Tops Pistol Competition; Marine Team Takes Second Spot

Camp Perry, Ohio - The U.S. Army Pistol Team made a clean sweep of the National Trophy Individual and Team Championships last week.

The National Trophy Individual Championship was won by Army Maj. William Hancock of Fort Bliss, Tex., and the National Trophy Team Championship was won by the Army Grey Squad with a score of 1108 out of a possible 1200. The Marine Corps Gray Team took second place with 1105.

Maj. Hancock won the individual match with 285 out of 300 followed by Lt. Harry Reeves of the Detroit Police Department in second place with 284. LtCol. Walter R. Walsh of the Marine Corps Team had a 283 for third place.

There are two major championships in the National Matches. One is the National Trophy Championship and the other is the National Pistol Championship. The National Rifle Association sponsors the pistol championship and the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice sponsors the trophy championship.

The National Pistol Championship matches are open to all competitors while the National Trophy Matches are limited to personnel who have not fired in that particular match for two of the last three years.

The Marine Corps Blue Team took the National Pistol Team Championship and Detroit Police Lt. Harry Reeves took the National Individual Pistol Championship.

In the pistol matches, which started Tuesday, Aug. 31, the Marine Corps shooters captured only a few minor individual matches. The majority of the individual matches were won by two of the country's best marksmen, Lt. Reeves and Benner took all the important individual tests with the exception of the National Trophy Individual Match, which Maj. Hancock won.

The Marine Corps team showed its colors in the team matches by winning one and making the other competitors go down to the wire in the other.

LtCol. Walter R. Walsh, Capt. John M. Jagoda, Capt. Thomas R. Mitchell and 2dLt. William W. McMillan, Jr., comprised the Marine Corps Blue Team which won the National Pistol Team Championship.

On the individual side, LtCol. Walsh won one of the .38 caliber matches and 2dLt. McMillan won the New-Comers Match. The NRA Life Members Match was won by Capt. Mitchell.

LtCol. Philip C. Roettinger, a Marine Corps Reservist of Arlington, Va., won all first places in the individual matches under the classification, "Reserve, not on active duty."

In the International Pistol and Rifle Team semi-final tryouts the Marine Corps heavy hitters more than held their own. Col. Walsh, Col. Roettinger, Capt. Jagoda and 2dLt. McMillan earned the right to go to Fort Benning, Ga., to try out for the big International Pistol Team which will represent the U.S. in the world matches to be held in Venezuela this winter.

2dLt. James M. Smith of the Marine Corps Rifle Team was picked for the International Rifle Team tryouts which will also be held at Fort Benning.

The Parris Island Boot, Friday, September 10, 1954

Six Islanders Awarded At Ceremonies

Two National Trophy Match medals and five Letters of Commendation were presented to Island Marines during formal ceremonies held on the main parade ground last Friday.

Making the presentations at a formal parade and review, was MajGen. Edwin A. Pollock, commanding general.

Gen. Pollock, in behalf of the Commandant of the Marine Corps presented 1stLt. William W. McMillan with bronze and silver medals in recognition for his part in the National Rifle Association on .45 caliber Team Championship Match.

In a Letter of Commendation to TSgt. Kenneth E. Broughton, senior drill instructor of Depot Honor Platoon, 441, 2d Battalion, Gen. Pollock praised the DI for his "value contribution to the maintenance of that high level of training which has been, and must remain, so characteristic of the Marine Corps."

Also lauded by the commanding general in a Letter of Commendation for training a Depot Honor Platoon was SSgt. Thaddeus A. Laird of 3d Battalion.

A Letter of Commendation was awarded to Cpl. Robert H. Capossela, whose efforts at Weapons Battalion merited him a "well done" from Gen. Pollock.

Cpl. Thomas E. Brewer, also of Weapons Battalion, was praised for coaching 94 recruits into a qualification percentage of 88.3. His citation from the commanding general read, in part, "You are commended for your outstanding professional ability and devotion to duty on one of the most important jobs in the Marine Corps."

Gen. Pollock also commended Cpl. Frederick J. Olejarz, rifle coach at Weapons Battalion, for a job "well done." Cpl. Olejarz coached 268 recruits for a qualification percentage of 88.4.

The Parris Island Boot, Friday, February 4, 1955