29 Dec, the 5th Day of Christmas. Submitted
121 yesterday, so it seemed a good idea to get started on the next one. My last one reported on three recent children;
therefore, this one will mention great-grandchildren.
We have at least three classmates who are great-grandfathers with four
great-grandchildren among them. The
great-parents are not in order of having achieved that exalted status because I do not
know who was first. When in doubt, use
alphabetical ranking. First in alpha order
are Gary & Sylvia Graves, whose
great-grandson Collyn arrived on 10 Jun 98. Gerry & Kathleen O’Barr had two
great-grandchildren by 17 Jul 98. Arrival
dates and gender are not known. Wayne & Ruth Ann Wyatt’s great-grandson
Sawyer arrived on 18 Oct 96. Wayne commented
that having had a “head start” helped in this race.
Class Prayer List. I have put together a class prayer list for my use
(classmates, wives, and children). Recently a
few classmates asked me about others for whom they could raise in their personal prayers. That prompted me to work harder on my list,
provide it to those who asked and to our two chaplains, Bill Miles and Ted Hepner. I
know that Bill has used our memorial list of classmates and wives in his corporate worship
at the church he serves in Denver. My
mentioning it here is to solicit input from individuals with concerns they would like
raised in prayers. If this subject interests
you, please contact me via email or phone.
Soon after receiving the May/Jun Assembly with these notes the DC contingent will
gather at the VN Wall for our annual memorial service for the 13 who fell in Southeast
Asia. This year we will honor Floyd Spencer by placing our wreath at his panel
(36E-23) and remembering him with personal anecdotes.
Even if you cannot be at the VN Memorial on Sunday, 20 May, you can join us in
spirit by remembering Dick Lynch, Dick Johnson,
Jerry Capelle, Charlie Moore, Mel Morrill, Larry Malone, Floyd Spencer, Ralph Wensinger,
Bob Olson, Lon Spurlock, George Hussey, Bob Degen and Dave Nidever in your prayers that day.
Another former classmate located. Robert G
Murch, former D-1 file was located by Herb
Johnson, an Internet sleuth. Bob was a
casualty of MT&G and Physics in Jan of yearling year.
He was graduated from Washington Univ in St Louis.
Bob became an actor, appearing in several Broadway plays and regional tours. He is not wired via our class email net, but is on
our snail mail roster and promises to attend some future class function. Welcome back, Bob.
Good work Detective Herb. Perhaps you
and Jack Downing (located three former H-2
files) will inspire other companies to find their lost classmates. No one can hide from the Internet!
Herman John Koehler Physical Fitness
Center. Mike Daley
attended the 14 Dec dedication of the Army’s Physical Fitness Center at Ft Benning to
his uncle. COL Koehler is rightly known as the father of Army Physical Fitness at West
Point and throughout the Army. Sad that we
have no building named in his honor at West Point, but Ft Benning, the home of the
Infantry and physical fitness, remembers even if USMA does not.
3 Jan 01. Sad news re Branch
Worsham received from his son BJ via TK Smith.
BJ and Branch
were unloading an oversees container of kitchen cabinets when a 1,200 pound skid that he
was steadying with his hands tilted off the forklift and nearly crushed him, resulting in
“a cracked 12th vertebrae, and 2 broken ribs. The
doctors initially spoke about that vertebrae being ‘compressed,’ but after
X-rays, a CAT scan, and finally an MRI at 7 PM, there is some question about that.”
8 Jan. More from BJ Worsham: Branch is
in ICU pending surgery. Meanwhile, “Mom
(Nancy) slipped in the hallway of the hospital
and broke her hip! She went home 6 hours
later, and it will not need surgery, or any type of cast.
On hearing the news, an aunt came down from Albany and will take care of daytime
food prep until Mom (can) negotiate the stairs.”
12 Jan. Good news on the Worsham
front. “Someone from the hospital called last night saying ‘It (surgery) went
well.’ Not to be outdone, Dad told the
ICU nurse to call me and say the same ... (at) 7:00 AM this morning! (He apparently doesn't even accept major surgery
as an excuse for sleeping in ... man -- just what did they teach you all at West
Point?)”
13 Jan. Bad news from A-2 CCQ Chuck Densford.
“Jud Ellis died at home in
Riverton, WY (on) 1/12/01 at 3:15PM. Here is
a little more detail, and what we know about plans. Jud's
wife, Debra, said he wanted to be buried in
Riverton, WY, in a family plot. Riverton is
on the Wind River Indian Reservation, about 122 miles west of Casper, WY. Phil Raign, Stan Toney, and I plan to go to Jud's
funeral, with more plans to be made once the date and time has been set.”
This makes two
years in a row that A-2 has lost company-mates in January: Dave Coury 1 Jan 00 and now Jud Ellis 12 Jan 01. The class mourns the loss of another classmate. We are contributing too many to the Ghostly
Assemblage. Rest in Peace, Jud. Grip hands!
24 Jan. Before receiving more news
about Jud’s funeral, I received an email about the death of my roommate’s
son-in-law. Many of you know about David
Meeks, Will & Sandy Roosma’s
son-in-law. Quoting from Garry Roosma’s email, “David Meeks died
yesterday, Tuesday morning. Dave had an inoperable malignant brain tumor. This was
diagnosed three years ago and he fought a hard battle during the three years.” Funeral services for Dave were conducted at
Grace Fellowship Church in Timonium, MD on 26 Jan. During
the past three years, your Scribe was privileged to receive periodic mailings from Tracey
and Dave. These kept their friends posted on
Dave’s condition. We were permitted to
share their concerns in facing this illness, their joy in the birth of their son (new
life). I learned a great deal about courage
from Dave and Tracey, soldiers of their Lord, who faced imminent death with strength and
faith.
2 Mar. I am now two days late and must
wind this up quickly. More good news re
Branch Worsham’s surgery and recovery. He
and Nancy appreciate the prayers, cards and best wishes of classmates.
Dick Warner. Recently Bill
Graf and Clint Dobson ’02, football captain for upcoming season, visited and
presented Dick with a football signed by the team. They
also gave him photos of Gen MacArthur, Coach Blaik and Red Warner himself. Kudos to Bill and Clint and, using Bill’s
words, “It couldn't have happened without the help and
support of Mike Hogan of AOG, MG Bob Ivany and John Simar of the Army Football Lettermans'
Club, Associate Athletic Director Tim Fitzpatrick. Special thanks to classmates Joe
Schwar, Mike Daley, Stan Bacon and others who continue to monitor Dick's situation and
provide him needed support.”
Perfect lead-in to visit by Mike Daley, Joe Schwar and John Brinson on 20 Feb at The Highlands in
Laporte, PA. They report that Dick has a room
to himself and seems comfortable. The staff is very supportive and nice. Joe is doing some follow-up work on Dick’s
behalf with VA. Thanks to these four for
making the trips to see Dick. If others can
detour through the beautiful “Endless Mountains” area
of NE Pennsylvania, Laporte and the Highlands Nursing Home, Dick would love to see
you. Great to read about classmates gripping
hands!
Jack Downing, CINC Obits has been
pushing the eulogy pages. Here is a report
from Lon Spurlock’s via his niece Kim
(born the day of Lon’s funeral) and Linc
Jones. Kim was seeking information about
her uncle. Story from Lon’s eulogy site: “Not only was he my English P for a section,
but he was the OIC of the Cadet Parachute Team. A
quick story: After a parachute competition in Orange, MA, we cadets were preparing to
retire to the Inn, a small cabin with $2 bunk beds. Usually
a drive through the woods, experienced skydivers could jump into the very small DZ which
was surrounded by tall pines. Two of my
classmates and I petitioned the coach to let us jump, but with only 30 jumps each, he felt
that it was far too dangerous. We persisted
and he called Major Spurlock over. He looked
at us and said, ‘Coach, boys have to grow up sometime.’ We jumped. In
one sentence, he did more for my confidence and self esteem than anyone or anything at the
Academy. After a nerve-wracking jump, all of
us avoided the trees, hit the target and walked into the Inn with our parachutes. We were studs.
And I’ve never forgotten.” John
Huncharek ‘70 posted this. Thanks for
the story, John. Thanks for sharing, Kim. And, Lon,
thanks for being our classmate!
Plebe Marchback
15 Aug. From Ed
Weckel, a veteran of Marchback 2000 and our class Marchback OIC, “We now have 12
guys who sent in their checks -- Bauer, Ward,
Sedgwick, Kubiak, Lewis, Pensiero, Salisbury, Mignano, G Roosma, Buchly, Collett and
myself.” If you are interested, contact
Ed.
Not out of information, but am out of time, airspeed, altitude, runway and, most
important, column space. Must quit. Photos next time.
Keep cards, letters, and emails coming.