The Navy Department set up a special board of officers yesterday to hear the case of Eugene Landy, 21-year-old Jewish youth, who was denied a reserve ensign’s commission last Friday on the grounds that his mother had once been a Communist and because he was “close to his mother.” Mr. Landy, an honor student, was graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, Long Island.
Secretary of the Navy Charles Thomas, who intervened in the case after a public uproar over the Navy’s decision, led by a protest by Sen, Herbert H. Lehman, said that the investigating board would give Mr. Landy an opportunity to appear personally and present his side of the case. Mr. Thomas said he would personally review the board’s findings. Meanwhile, Mr. Landy sailed yesterday on a 30-day tanker cruise as a seaman to earn $400 which he needs to meet expenses at Yale Law School where he has won a scholarship in admiralty law.
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