A Piece of Cake article quotes Jack Paxton

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An article by Christine Cabalo of the Hawaii Marine mentions Jack Paxton:

Cracking open the “Hawaii Marine” archives, a birthday present from the past emerges with stories of what times were like at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in 1959.

 Fifty years ago, the 184th Marine Corps birthday base celebrations looked slightly different from today.

 It was a busy time for newspaper staff, said Jack Paxton, executive director, United States Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association. When the base newspaper was called the “Windward Marine,” Paxton was a gunnery sergeant serving as editor. The base was also known as Marine Corps Air Station, Kaneohe Bay.

 “At that time the 4th Marine Regiment was also based at Kaneohe and, as I recall, there were three Marine Corps birthday balls celebrated each year: one at the Officers’ Club, Staff NCO Club and the Enlisted Club,” Paxton said. “Our newspaper staff, as well as other Marines in the Informational Service Office, was tasked with birthday ball coverage.”

In the Nov. 6 issue of the paper, the staff describes how cooks p u l l e d out all the stops for the event. Instead of inedible showpieces, the large birthday cakes were made from scratch for service members and guests. A total of 2,476 pounds of decorated cake was prepared, which included 574 pounds of icing. Everything for the cakes was measured in pounds: 6 pounds of vanilla, 510 pounds of sugar and 255 pounds of eggs…. To read more of the article click here.