Army & Navy: The Fighting Coverts

Hefty, handsome Donald James Covert, 17, comes of a fighting family. His ancestors fought in the Revolution. His father served on convoy duty in World War I, is now a lieutenant commander. His eldest brother is in the Naval Reserve.

Last fortnight Donald and his twin brother Eugene cut their high-school classes, hitchhiked from their Long Island home to a Marine Corps recruiting office in Manhattan. Eugene (190 Ib.) got in. Donald (214 Ib.) was too fat.

Donald hitchhiked back home, went on a diet of fruit juice and soup, pounded his muscles, chopped down trees, sweated in a steam bath. Last week, 14 Ib. lighter, he took the Marine Corps oath—then rushed to a hamburger stand.