HI-LITES
More
from ’54 – December, 2004
Roger Browne (usma54@adelphia.net) reports:
Ginger
and I had Buck and Marie Weafer visit us last weekend. We organized a
mini-reunion by having Bill and Sally Frier and Spike and Marge Briggs come over
one night for apple pie and ice cream, and to swap stories and lies, which we
did liberally. Good time had by all.
I lost my
head a few months ago by volunteering for a
Mission
to the World Medical Mission trip to
Belize
9-19 Oct. Interesting trip to that country. Our
team, 3 doctors, 3 nurses and 2 med secretaries, plus me, the Gofer 1st class,
did clinic and surgeries. We operated out of Orange Walk (Walk meaning Farm),
the 2d largest city in Belize, (about 75 miles north of Belize City) where the
Northern Regional Hospital resides, in which our surgeries were done. I did a
lot of errand type stuff, driving various team members up north to a small
village, Patchakan, (Mayan for behind the swamp, which should tell you
something) where the Presbyterian Med Clinic was, about 15 miles from the
Mexican border.. The Hospital to Clinic trip was 40 miles, 30 on paved
road, 10 on potholed cliché clay. I was able to teach several math classes
to students at the nearby
Presbyterian
Mission
High School
, covering subjects the staff math teachers said
the students were having difficulty grasping. I hope the trouble dispersed, but
don't know whether or not I helped or confused even more. Wasn't able to get any
after action report since we left before we could get any feedback, probably a
good thing since they may have tarred and feathered me for all the questions I
stirred up. Staff seemed appreciative, but they usually have a completely
different attitude from students. We all participated in several church
meetings, working with the planted church folks, mostly Mayans who were staunch
Christians. Exciting to see the dedication and faith of those folks. We did have
a chance to visit the zoo, and some Mayan ruins complete with accompanying
museum on Saturday as some R&R. Shades of other jungle
adventures, though, still doing the malaria pill regime, last one this weekend.
Plumb wore out when I got home, but a satisfying adventure. Ginger had her
adventure while I was in
Belize
, visited our son and granddaughter in
Austin
for a week, doing the grandmotherly duty of
spoiling her.
Roger
Jay
Edwards (jay.edwards@sbcglobal.net) reports:
Pat and I took a river boat
trip on the
Volga
river in
Russia
that we thoroughly enjoyed, and I would
recommend it to you all. We started out in
Moscow
and were there for three days then took the boat
on to
St. Petersburg
for three days. On the way, which was four days,
we stopped at villages along the way which helps to balance the view of
Russia
. The trip was very well done by Viking
River Cruises who can be found on the web. We also used them prior to that to do
the Chriskindelmarket cruise on the
Danube
late last fall. I am still working part time
with Rocketplane Limited, an
Oklahoma
company that is developing a space plane to
carry passengers into space.
Jay
John
Farrar (fjotam@cs.com) reports:
I
am hanging in, still working full time at State and traveling to meetings at
NATO most months. Tamar and I had a nice one week vacation in
Mexico
(Ixtapa and Zihuenenueva(???) the end of August
and first part of Sept. Then in late Nov to early December going to St
Maartens for a week. We use my United miles for the travel and points from
our time share at Sedona for the resort we stay at -- a good deal! Of
course we both greatly enjoyed the reunion last Spring and it is nice to finally
have Army win a couple of games. The running back, Jones, looks quite
good.
John
Bob
Morris (morrisr1@aol.com) reports:
My wonderful wife of almost 50 years, Elizabeth "Liz"
Armstrong, died of lung cancer at home in
Tallahassee
on 29 March of this year. Her burial, on a
beautiful spring day at Arlington National Cemetery in April, was
attended by West Point family and friends including, Frank and Carmela
Ianni from Delaware, Bill Epling, Frank and Betty Hart, Norm Gerstein, Roy
and Fay Muth, and Larry Skibbie, all from the Washington area. Hap Lieber was
represented by his daughter, Caroline Baldwin, who is a recently promoted
Lieutenant Colonel in the reserve component of the Army Corps of Engineers.
Being at our 50th USMA reunion at the end of May was a special highlight
for me. I salute and thank all who made this event so successful!
During the summer, I accepted kind invitations to visit C-2 class
widows, Barbara Teberg in
Illinois
and Terry Eitel at
her vacation home in
Madeira Beach
,
Florida
. I also attended the
wedding of C-2 Bob Short's daughter, Cindy, on a lovely beach in
Kauai
,
Hawaii
, along with Bob's
widow, Milly, and Bob's son, Fedex pilot and LTC, USAFR, Steve.
In August, Liz's sister, Deche, accompanied me to
Washington
for the MG
George Patton funeral, also at
Arlington
. We traveled from
Florida
via Amtrak, which was
an adventure, given the recent post-hurricane disruptions to passenger rail
service.
On 24 October I joined more than 13,000 other finishers in running the
Army 10 Miler from the Pentagon through
Washington
with my Army LTC son, Robert Jr., and Air
Force LTC daughter, Anne. Afterwards we visited Liz's grave and the nearby
graves of other family, friends and colleagues at
Arlington
.
At end of October I flew to London with a longtime Army friend and local recent
widow, Doris Connolly, to visit our British Army widower friend, Brian
Ayres, for two days of hospitality and sight-seeing, then returned from
Southampton to New York City aboard the QM2. The
North Atlantic
did not disappoint us
with its November gales and high seas!
Now I am planning to spend Thanksgiving holiday with Robert Jr., and his
family in
Mansfield
,
Texas
. Son Robert and
daughter Anne both completed their respective deployments to
Iraq
this year safely, for
which I am most grateful and thankful.
May
God bless you and yours,
Robert
Russ
Par
ker
(rparker2@elp.rr.com) reports:
In early Oct, we drove to
Sun City
,
AZ
to visit Russ' almost
97 year old mother and then on to CA to visit Ann's brother in
Glendale
. Then went a
little south to
San Juan Capistrano
to see daughter Stacy
and family, helping celebrate our middle grandson's 7th birthday. We also
helped Russ' sister and her husband celebrate their 50th Anniversary at their
daughter's. (It seems like the 5 young cousins had a lot more fun than the
adults). In order to keep from too much disruption of our daughter's
family schedules, we stayed at a neat old motel in
Dana
Point
near the beach and
the harbor. Went for a stroll every morning down the beach and to the
harbor, watching the multitude of birds, some surfers, and the 'tourists'.
Could have stayed there much longer! I think we have decided we will do it
again on our next visit! On the way back to
El Paso
, we spent the night
with Corky and Andrea Gabbert, enjoying their hospitality in
Tucson
. After a few
days in
El Paso
, we went to our
timeshare in the mountains of
Ruidoso
NM
for a week. On
the return trip, we detoured to San Antonio NM (where Conrad Hilton started
out), staying in a delightful Birder B & B, visiting the NWR Bosque del
Apache to do some birdwatching. Naturally, we had to have the famous green
chili cheesburger at the 'Owl Cafe' in
San Antonio
. October went
fast, but it went very pleasantly. Probably will have to go to a couple of
the UTEP games now, they are getting up there in the BCS ratings. Seems
like Mike Price has done somewhat better than Bobby Ross, but I look for ARMY to
continually improve. Beat AF and NAVY!
We
visited our daughter Lindsay and family in
Mission
Texas
23-30 Nov for
Thanksgiving. Granddaughters Katrina and Emily (8th and 7th grades respectively)
had three days off from school, so some birdwatching, some game playing, and
probably some shopping all were anticipated. Christmas will be spent in
El Paso
with no one visiting for the first time in many
years. Went to the last home football game for UTEP this year and saw them
beat SMU 57 -27. Tremendous turnaround from last year. Mike Price is
llikely to get 'coach of the year'. Hope Bobby Ross gets it next year!
Have attended some of the UTEP basketball games and it looks like they should
have a chance at the 'big dance' next spring. After so many years of not
doing too well, it is good to see UTEP getting some publlicity. Now, just
need for ARMY to do the same. Beat Navy!
Russ
& Ann
Joe Peisinger (popjoe10@satx.rr.com)
reports:
Gretchen
& I had a great trip cruising from Barbados; across the Atlantic to the
Canary Islands; Tenerife; Morocco; Cadiz, Malaga and Barcelona, Spain; Monte
Carlo; Citavecchia and Sorrento, Italy; Malta, Santorini and Athens Greece. It
was a wonderful 21 day trip arriving in
On November 29th I'm going
in for a total hip replacement. This may slow me down a bit. Unfortunately
we had to cancel a trip that Gretchen and I had been looking forward to for some
time. We had planned to take an escorted trip to
San Diego
and then go to
Pasadena
,
CA
for the Tournament of Roses Parade. Perhaps next
year!
Joe
Fred
Schweiger (schweiger@sprintmail.com)
reports:
My four sons joined me for a weekend at
West Point
on 8-10 October. The weather was
beautiful and best of all we saw Army break its 19 game losing streak with a big
48-29 win over the
University
of
Cincinnati
.
Nancy and I had taken our sons to WP about 35 years ago when
they were all still in grade school. Unfortunately, we took them
on a hot day in July and the Plebes were receiving bayonet training on the
Plain. We got very close to the training and the boys could hear the
Firsties working over the Plebes. We heard our oldest
son, Rick, say to his brothers "and Dad wants us to go to a place like
this?"
They came away from their recent trip with a much different feeling
about
West
Point
.
They were overwhelmed with the beauty of the place, the facilities, the
tradition, the intramural sports, and most of all by the character and
discipline of the Cadets. After the big win, the Cadets stormed the field,
lifted their team on their shoulders and tore down the goal posts. There was
pandemonium on the field but when the band started to play the Alma
Mater, 4000 cadets immediately came to attention, took off their caps, and sang
the Alma Mater. My sons just couldn't believe this was possible.
Now I have four sons who would like nothing more than to have their sons
go to
West Point
. Each of them told me that this was a weekend they will
remember for the rest of their lives. Of course, the same goes for me.
I came away from the weekend being prouder than ever of
West Point
and the Corps of Cadets.
Fred
Floyd
Siefferman (fsiefferman@salaterman-law.com) reports:
Getting
to be long of tooth, I thought I should make it a matter of record: Jane and I
celebrated [with all 4 of our children, their spouses (the middle two) and 7
grandchildren] our personal 50th in June. Our oldest, Allen, an
accountant is back in school switching careers; our number 2 son Stephen, is a
practicing dentist in his own new building (very attractive 2 story with 8
operatories, 2 laboratories, offices, etc—all cabinet hardware
installed by yours truly) and his 2 daughters and 1 son, all great soccer
players and swimmers in Orland Park, IL; number 3 son, Thomas, is a pediatrician
in a rather large pediatric group in St. Paul, MN and has the 3 prettiest (and
smart) little girls on the face of the earth and 1 tough little guy; and
our youngest, our daughter, Christina is a DVM here in the Twin Cities.
Her Bernese Mountain Dog, Trudy, is boss of the household.
It was a great experience seeing so many of you old friends and spouses
at our collective 50th. I am now 16 years post esophageal
cancer and 4 follow-up surgeries—a little type II diabetes post surgery is
merely a daily bother. Keep fighting!!
Floyd
Vince
Suppicich (vsuppococh@comcast.net) reports:
Have been working part time
for last 10 years but now plan to cut way back in June when youngest graduates
from high school in NH. Have recently purchased Summer house in NC
mts; and will return to FL for Winters.
Plan to cruise to Caymans
and Central Am after Thanksgiving-repeating cruise of '03. Will vacation
in FL panhandle end of year holidays and visit most of children living in sun
belt.
Vince
Lou
Wagner (louwagner@earthlink.net) reports:
My wife Kaye and I took a
trip to
Vermont
to view the fall foliage and visit my old L-1
roomie, John Eckhardt. John has been struggling with Parkinson's Disease
for some time and has had to move to the Vermont Veterans Home in
Bennington
to continue care. He was able to get out
and show us around the town, and
Lynn
joined us for lunch. She is recovering
well from recent back surgery. She generously offered to have us stay at their
cottage in the beautiful
Vermont
woods. While physically restricted,
John is mentally as sharp as ever (well, as sharp as most of us are at this
age). I'm sure he would be appreciate hearing from his old classmates
and teammates. His address is:
John Eckhardt
Vermont Veterans Home
325 North Street
Bennington
VT
05201
If you
are ever in the area,
Bennington
is a nice place to visit. The country side
is beautiful and very New Englandish. The famous Hemmings Motor News is
published there, and they have a nice collection of mint, old automobiles
on display. They also have a gas station where they pump your gas, clean
the windshield, and ask if you want them to check the oil--ah, for the good old
days!
After our
visit, we drove over to
St Louis
to celebrate my 74th birthday with our
daughter Ann and S-in-L James and 3 grandchildren (2-6). From the level of
noise at the party, we must of had a great time.
Lou
Yale
Weatherby (yaleweatherby@verizon.net) via: Ted Neu, reports:
About
10 A.M.
we joined our
daughter and her family, Rick and Tori, along with another flight attendant
friend of Linky's named Janet Brady. Janet loss her son last June, he
was in the 25th Div in
Hawaii
, preparing for
deployment to
Iraq
. We will
caravan down to the
Dallas
V.A.
Hospital
. We set up a
Thanksgiving table and buffet for the family of a soldier, Kyle Burleson.
We join Kyle's family who will drive over from a small town in north-west
Louisiana
. His
grandparents, younger brother, aunt and uncle and other family members will
leave early this morning to complete the four hour drive to
Dallas
. Also, Kyle's
mother and his wife and their two small children, Allie who is two, and
Alexander who is now about 7 weeks old will be there.
Kyle is a soldier who was a gunner on a Humvee, and was shot by a sniper
on 18 Aug. He was flown to
Germany
, then to Walter Reed
where he remained for two months, and now is a resident patient in the Spinal
Cord Injury Unit of the
Dallas
V.A.
Hospital
. Kyle is 21
years old, and he is paralyzed from the neck down. He is still considered
on "active duty", but will be medically retired on 1 December.
Linky has prepared turkey, ham, vegetables, baked bread, cranberry
relish, and pies, and I made the gravy and the sweet potatoes with orange
flavoring and marshmallows. Also am bringing a pecan pie, with the whipped
cream, and the beverages. The back of our station wagon is loaded with two
big boxes of chafing dishes, table clothes, candles, and other table
decorations. Apparently Linky's car will be loaded with all the food.
We expect that there will be approximately 25 of us. Channel 8, WFAA in
Dallas-Ft.Worth (ABC) will send a camera crew to film. Kyle will be in a
wheel chair, with a ventilator attached, so he will be able to come out of his
room, and join his family at the table. Since he has no movement, his mom
and wife Kristy will probably feed him.
This something of a first for us, but we feel blessed and happy to
participate. To those of you who know the story of this young soldier and
his family, and our involvement, we want to thank you so much for your support.
Several of Yale's
West Point
classmates have been
very supportive even though they don't live in the immediate area. Prop
Walker who lives near
Fort
Hood
, accompanied the wife
"Kristy" to the various briefings on benefits. She was very
appreciative of the support by Prop. Bill Bathurst has contributed to the living
expense of the young mother living in a resident hotel. Child Care at the
Daycare Facility at the
Dallas
VA
is almost $900 a
month, and they have at least six months of training to go thru. The Financial
Burden is too much to comprehend for an Enlisted Family of 4. To those of you
who do not know the whole story, please go to the web site which Yale created
www.adoptasoldiericare.com As we visit Kyle Yale takes a
photographic history of his progress. You will find all this under the
"special adoption" button & "Kyles Progress".
Certainly we all have much to be thankful for. Maybe one of the
best things to be thankful for is not only that this young soldier is alive and
his beautiful little son, Alex. On a maybe a more self serving thanks, is
that of being a person who is concerned about people less fortunate that you
are, and having a compassion for those in need. So our table won't be set
at home with the beautiful china, and silver, but when we go around the table to
say what we are thankful for, our cups runneth over this year.
With
kind and loving thoughts,
Yale
& Phyl Weatherby
LEADERSHIP DONORS TO THE CLASS OF 1954
ANDRE
LUCAS
MILITARY
HERITAGE
CENTER
November
1, 2004
$100,000
or more:
A1
Mr. Robert B. Egelston
H1 Mr. Benjamin F. Breslauer, Jr.
B2 Mr. Louis L. Gross
B1
Mr. Fred H. Bartlit Jr.
L1 Mr. William J. Almon
I2 Mr. Gerald A. Lodge
$50,000
or more:
A1
COL
Franklin A. Hart
USA
Ret
C2 GEN James E. Dalton USAF Ret
$25,000
or more:
C1 Mr.
Robert J. Ellis
C1
COL
Howard M. Gabbert
USA
Ret
I2 Mr. Ira Coron
$10,000
or more:
A1 LTG James A. Williams
USA
Ret
M1 MAJ Prosper
N.
Walker
USA
Ret
I2 Dr. Robert E. Fromm
C1 LTC James C. Cooper III USA Ret
A2 LTC James R. Whitely
USA
Ret I2
COL
Harlan L. Gurney USAF Ret
C1 Mr. Robert P. Kraujalis
B2
COL
John T. Miller
USA
Ret I2 Mr. Edward M. Partridge
C1 Mr. Carl J. Stark
B2 CPT Ozro R. Steigleman USAF Ret
K2
COL
Frederick M. Galloway
USA
Ret
C1
COL
David P. Thoreson
USA
Ret D2 Mr. John H. Klingbertg
K2
LTG
Lawrence
F. Skibbie
USA
Ret
D1
COL
Newell E. Vinson
USA
Ret E2 BG James L. Carroll USAR Ret
M2 Mr. Richard M. Boyle
H1 Dr.
Thomas D. Flaherty Jr.
E2 LTC James C. Burris
USA
Ret M2 Mr. Alexander P. Dyer
H1
LTC Julius O Thomas USA Ret
F2 Mr. H. Everett Drugge
M2 MG Douglas J. O’Connor USAR
Ret
L1 Mr. David L. Dimick
F2 COL Larry E. Willner USA Ret
M2 COL Mark L. Reese USA Ret
M1
COL
James F. Ransome
USA
Ret I2 LTC Clifford T. Flanigan
USA
Ret
M2 LTC Willis C. Tomsen
USA
Ret
$4000
or more:
A1 LTC Fred C. Berry Jr. USA Ret
G1
COL
William Y. Epling
USA
Ret
C2 LTC Joseph E. Palumbo
USA
Ret
A1
COL
Clarence W. Hannon
USA
Ret G1 Mr. Paul H. Reistrup
C2
COL
John G. Pappageorge
USA
Ret
A1 LTC John E. Krause USAF Ret
H1 LTG Robert M. Elton
USA
Ret
C2 Mr. Robert Short
A1
COL
Richard E. Littlefield
USA
Ret H1 GEN John R. Galvin
USA
Ret
C2
COL
James R. Stanley USAF Ret
A1
COL
Jack R. Logan
USA
Ret H1 LTC Robert L. Hunt
USA
Ret
D2 BG Edwin M. Aguanno
USA
Ret
A1 LTC Craig E. Spence
USA
Ret
H1 MG William E. Klein
USA
Ret
D2 Mr. Charles W. Carroll
B1 LTG John L. Ballantyne III
USA
Ret
I1 MG John W. Hudachek
USA
Ret
D2 Mr. Paul R. Garneau
B1 Amb Jerrold M. North
I1 LTC George F. Kronsbein USAF Ret
D2 LTC Joseph M. Massaro
USA
Ret
B1 LTC Audrey J. Short
USA
Ret I1
COL
Melvyn D. Remus
USA
Ret D2 GEN Louis C. Wagner
USA
Ret
B1
COL
George N.
Stenehjem
,
USA
Ret I1 LTC Ronald L. Salvador
USA
Re
E2 LTC James L. Chapman III
USA
Ret
C1
Mr. Douglas G. Dwyre
I1 Mr. Cornelius J. Sullivan
E2 Mr. Alvin S. Milder
C1 BG Wendell H. Gilbert
USA
Ret
K1
COL
Derrol L. Dennis USAF Ret
E2 LTG William J. Hilsman
USA
Ret
D1 LTC Loren M. Eberhart
USA
Ret
K1 BG Edwin Keiser
USA
Ret
F2 MAJ John C. Bennett
USA
Ret
D1 Mr. Richard A. Farmer
K1
COL
Glenn K. Matsumoto
USA
Ret
F2 Mr. Robert J. Harvey
D1 MG Louis H. Ginn USAR Ret
L1 LTC Allen L. Jennings USAF Ret
F2 LTC Fred S. Lindsey
USA
Ret
D1
COL
Robert E. Goodwin
USA
Ret
L1 Mr. James F. Obendorfer
G2
COL
Robert E. Weeks
USA
Ret
D1 LTC Edward E. Roderick
USA
Ret
M1 Mr. Louis L. Bryant
G2
COL
John R. Zartman USAF Ret
E1
COL
Gerald H. Parshall, USAF Ret.
M1 LTC Jaime Ortiz-Lopez USAF Ret
H2
COL
Douglas
B. Stuart
USA
Ret
E1 Mr. Arthur K. Sirkis
M1 Mr. Robert B. Sale
H2
COL
Wade Hampton
USA
Ret
E1
COL
Bill T. Thompson
USA
Ret A2 MG Stanley C. Beck USAF Ret
I2
COL
Bruce W Bidwell
USA
Ret
E1 Mr. Charles E. Wilson
A2
COL
John W. Gheen
USA
Ret
K2
Mrs. Frederick M. Anklam
E1 LTC
Arnold
H. Winkleman USAF Ret
A2 Dr. Jay W. Gould
K2
Mrs.
Larimer C. McFarlane
F1
COL Kenneth R. Bailey USA Ret
A2 COL Edward M. Moses USAR ret
K2 Mr. John M. Sheehan
F1 LTC William R. McKenney
USA
Ret
B2
COL
Manfred M. Schalk USAF Ret
L2 LTC Robert A. Ironside
USA
Ret
G1
COL
Luke L. Callaway
USA
Ret C2
COL
Wallace K. Haff
USA
Ret L2 LTC Roman J. Peisinger
USA
Ret
C2 Mr. Judson S. Matthias
Note:
This list reflects contributions only.
It does not reflect pledges. It
also includes the names of several deceased classmates who qualified for this
list before their death.
