125th Column. 30 Aug 01. Due
tomorrow. I have put this one off because the
important news is bad. Stan Slater died on 5 Aug. Karl
Oelke represented the class and provided a report on class email net. Excerpts follow for those of you not on the net:
“The immediate cause of Stan's
death was cardiac arrest due to renal failure on 5 Aug.
Stan had been battling cancer for a few years; and, although he had fought a
successful fight, it had cost him a kidney, bladder, etc., and sapped his immune system.
He had been in remission for about 8 years. He
failed to recover after surgery on 22 Jul. The
team of doctors fought valiantly, as did Stan. His
body just wasn't strong enough for that last fight.
“At the viewing (9 Aug), Suzanne, all five children, their spouses
(except Scott, who is not married) were present, as were two of their five grandchildren. The viewing was followed by full military honors
with an honor guard from Nellis AFB. A deacon
from their church led a brief but moving service after the military ceremony. I made a few remarks about the bonds of West
Pointers and read remarks from Chuck Profilet
as well as remarks collected by Chuck from John
Evans (E1), John Schroeder (M2), OK Hill (D1), Heyward Hutson (E1) and Chuck Densford (A2). The family deeply appreciated
all the remarks. At the end of the service,
son Scott ‘96, sang (I joined in) all three verses of the ‘Alma Mater.’ Deeply moving.
“The funeral mass (10 Aug) was
held at St Elizabeth Ann Seton Roman Catholic Church.
Stan and Suzanne had been living in Las Vegas and going to church there for
less than two years. The church, fairly new,
had a large yet inviting sanctuary. The whole
effect was warm, intimate, and reassuring. The
family, especially Suzanne, appreciated having a class representative present. I believe Suzanne plans to move back to San
Antonio within a few months. Sue and I will stay in touch with her.” On behalf of all classmates who could not attend,
thanks to Karl for representing us for his report. The
ghostly assemblage gained a great football player in Stan.
The Army Team must be doing better in heavenly football than recent earthly
seasons. Maybe with Stan’s guidance from
above this season will be better! It must be
said “well done, be thou at peace.” Suzanne,
Scott and the Slater family are in our thoughts and prayers.
Bad news continues. Again, wired classmates read this in a timely
manner. Hervette Mason died on 29 Aug. Our sympathy and prayers are with Tom. Information
is extracted from an email to me from Mike Daley
who was notified by Tony Forster.
“Hervette
Mason of San Juan Capistrano died (long illness) on the morning of 29 Aug. I have included Tom’s entire message to me. PS. I
had talked to Tom on 20 August about Hervette when I was in San Juan Capistrano for Tony’s
wedding. Karl
Oelke is going to provide you material about the wedding. Grip Hands. Mike”
And now excerpts
from Tom's email to Mike: “I was glad we had the chance to talk, also. We are requesting that donations in lieu of other
remembrances be made to Laura's House, 97 Via Pico Plaza, San Clemente, CA 92672. Please indicate the donations are made in the
name of Hervette Mason and are restricted to shelter use only.
“Laura's
House provides shelter for abused women and their children. It helps
these poor
souls to get back on their feet, find a life, job skills, etc. Hervette volunteered at their thrift store,
Laura's House of Treasures. I believe she
single-handedly kept the doors open with her continuous purchases of great ‘deals’
she found. They were truly great deals:
designer clothing for $3-4 per item, many worn only once; some never worn at all. She bought me a cashmere sports jacket for $3 that
had never been worn (the pockets were still sewn shut!).
“We are
burying Hervette’s ashes next to her mother's plot.
In the vault with the urn, we are placing a small bag of Lays potato chips
and a Ghiradelli's chocolate bar -- she loved chips and chocolate and all things Egyptian. We believe she will appreciate the thought of two
of her favorite foods going with her on her journey.
Thanks for your good thoughts and for your assistance, Tom”
31 Aug. Do date. Must
finish and mail four photos to my boss at Assembly. Snail
mail letter from Terry Connell with a photo of
the Portland Mini Reunion crew visiting John Stone. Terry identified the guy with wooden smile
(front-center) as Karl Oelke. I am not so
sure.
Terry writes, “John and D'Ann own an antique poster and picture framing
shop. They enjoy the good life of ocean
breezes, sea gulls, seals and sea lions, oysters, great vistas and California tourists. They welcome visits from any classmates traveling
along the coastal highway.” Thanks for
letter and photo.
Corky Henninger writes, “Don’t faint! This is my ‘First Ever’ message to you. First, Ann & I are still in sunny Beaufort,
SC. Second, we were blessed with our 5th
grandchild, Abigail Maria Henninger, daughter of my son CPT Kurt (CE in Amberg, Germany),
Cornell ROTC DMG ’94 and his wife Jen, same class.
“Now,
Founder’s Day in Beaufort, better late than never.
The enclosed photo of myself, President of this Society, LTG Fly Flanagan
’43 oldest grad and MG Tom Garrett ’69 (I was his Tac). Here in the South, we always have a great time!
“As for us,
Ann is active in church, needlepoint, Afgans
and being a good grandmother. I can add
Boards of Chamber of Commerce and Rotary International and consultant to local Beaufort
Academy and local governments.” Corky
has been mentioned in these despatches, but has not been a contributor himself for these
43 years. About time. There are too many others out there in ’58
reader-land who have not communicated with your Scribe (any of us Scribes over the years). Email, snail mail, telephone, fax – there is
no excuse for remaining incommunicado.
Hand-written
letter from Jerry Lewis on Comfort Inn,
Newburgh stationery the night before Plebe Marchback.
He & Barbara had stopped in
VA to visit her 88-year-old aunt, Velma Harvey widow ’36, at the Fairfax. They stayed for dinner. When asked to sign for drinks, Jerry had to
explain they do not live there yet. Aunt
Velma got the tab!
We had 11
classmates join organizer Ed Weckel for the
Plebe Marchback (total 12 for the
mathematically challenged). Ed provided a
full report on the email net and someone sent a digital photo. I hope to get one useable in a future column. A great email exchange from this event resulted
from Pete Trainor, subject: Slide for Life. Seems Pete and Tony Bauer were talking while hiking. Pete remembered doing the slide at Buckner as a
cadet. Tony said we did not do it as
Yearlings at Buckner. Who was correct? The email prompted myriad responses based on dim
memories. Some classmates have better
memories than others. My favorite email
is quoted, “We did not do this Plebe or Yearling
Year, or I would have gone to Yale. But it
was a feature of the Buckner training when we were Firsties for certain. One of my tasks in training was operating the
confounded thing, that is, I was perched at the top to help the trainees take a grip on
the pulley and handle, explain a thing or two, and shove them off. By this time I was committed to a military career,
so it was fun. Jack Bradshaw.” Net effect is that both Pete and Tony were
correct!
Last photo was
“found on post” with a Sep 99 letter from Tom
Morgan written on Detachment B-33, 5th Special Forces Group note paper left
from his 1966 tour at An Loc. I look forward
to seeing most of you in Santa Fe about the time this issue is received. Bye.
The Connell family.
POWs – Tom Morgan & Dick
Schonberger
Corky Henninger, Fly Flanagan ’43,
MG Tom Garrett ‘69