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USS BUSH (DD 529)

"The Great Mustache Contest"

As 1944 came to a close, the men aboard BUSH had spent many long days and nights at general quarters. A number of the officers embarked on a mustache growing contest. This page includes pictures of some of those participants, all thought to have been taken in January 1945.

In an August 1999 conversation with one of the participants, it was not clear if an actual winner had been declared. While pictures may not exist of all the participants, for those that are available, possible winners could have been Lt. Howard West (the ship's Communications Officer)....or Tony "John L." Lilly (Executive Officer and Navigator)....or perhaps they decided to use a bit of discretion and made the winner their Destroyer Division Commander, Captain J. B. McLean!

Take a look and decide for yourself who you think the winner should be.

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Dr. Johnson Clean Shaven Dr. Johnson with Mustache Dr. Johnson with Mustache Again
Above is Lt. George Johnson, Medical Officer.......With and Without Mustache!

Lt.(jg) Moses Hubbard III, Clean Shaven Lt.(jg) Moses Hubbard III with Mustache
Lt. (jg) Moses G. Hubbard III, Asst. Gunnery Officer

Lt. Tony Lilly Clean Shaven Lt. Tony Lilly with Mustache
Lt. P. A. "Tony" Lilly, Executive Officer and Navigator

Ensign Willis Kinney Lt.(jg) Clement Jostes
Ensign Willis D. Kinney, Asst. 1st Lieutenant Lt. (jg) Clement B. Jostes, Asst. Gunnery Officer

Captain J. B. McLean Lt. Raphael 'Ray' Moses
Captain J. B. McLean, Destroyer Division 48 Commander Lt. Raphael "Ray" Moses, Asst. Communications Officer

Lt. Harry Stanley Lt. Howard West
Lt. Harry C. Stanley, Gunnery Officer Lt. Howard N. West, Communications Officer

Lt. (jg) Harry Woodhurst
Lt. (jg) Harry K. Woodhurst, Asst. Gunnery Officer
Lost April 6, 1945

Mustachio Officers!
As a few of the contestants posed, this blurry photo was snapped. Could the
photographer have been laughing just a bit or was he paying more attention to
native girl painted on the #1 5-inch gun in the background? Perhaps it was just
a poorly timed sea swell.

FRONT ROW (Left to Right): Lt. (jg) Newton P. Foss, Lt. Howard N. West,
Lt. (jg) Harry K. Woodhurst

BACK ROW (Left to Right): Lt. Harry C. Stanley, Lt. P. A. "Tony" Lilly,
Capt. J. B. McLean, Lt. George M. Johnson

And the Unofficial Winner just might be.....

Lt. Tony 'John L' Lilly

Lt. P. A. "Tony" Lilly,
doing his best impression of legendary fighter John L. Sullivan

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