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144th Column

144th Column.  Old snail-mail material “found on post” seems a good place to start.  I have a photo of Roger Waddell visiting West Point, Nebraska, population 3,660.

            25 Jan letter from Bill Clary begins with a true confession: “I somehow allowed my subscription to Assembly to lapse and just got it cranked up again in time for your last two columns, which made me appreciate how much I have missed them!”  The latter portion is music to your Scribe’s ears.  Bill continues, “Our life here in GA is contingent upon our current activities where I am still employed as a Lockheed JetStar instructor pilot and now the only FAA appointed examiner empowered to issue l-1329 type ratings to professional pilots.  Ellen decided to go back to school and is a junior at Univ of GA at Athens in pursuit of a degree in Anthropology.  Once all this is done and our financial wounds from 2001-2002 markets are healed, we are headed to our 20 acres in NW MT near Whitefish.  I plan to commute out of Salt Lake City on a part-time basis and Ellen will be digging for dinosaur bones, one of the few occupations outside of logging and mining available in MT.”  Bill included a few photos, one of which shows that he finished Peachtree 10K without Wally Ward “to inspire and embarrass me!”

            An undated note from Jack May says that son Winston is 11 and “maybe I can get him in the Class of ’14.”  Scribe certainly hopes so.  Jack also provided a photo of Winston at the VN Memorial pointing to Floyd Spencer’s name and couple of articles he had written.  The articles were interesting, but too long for this 144^th edition.

            22 Apr letter from Susan Sullinger included a photo from WPS of Silicon Valley Founder’s Day which appeared in 141^st Column.  Her letter included some news: “Carl & I are still working and enjoying life in CA.  Carl is PM ‘Close-In Counter Measures’ for United Defense and I’m still a real estate agent with Coldwell Bankers in Saratoga.”

            16 Jul email arrived via snail-mail from Bob Moscatelli with a post-it note attached.  Note first, “I am no longer the Mayor of Frisco.  The majority of the council voted to do something our town attorney had told us was illegal, i.e., in violation of the Town Charter.  One other council member and I resigned rather than be part of it.”  And now the email: “I am now Two Book Bob.  I have written a second “book.”  It is an anthology of quotes that I have collected since we graduated—quotes that had meaning to me as a Soldier.  Its title is “Food for Thought: An Anthology of Quotes To Think About, To Live By or To Live Up to.”  Meanwhile, his first book, “Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart” (financial advice) sold 3,300 copies.  Bob’s stock was depleted some years ago.

            1 Sep letter from Dave Turner: “Val & I were activated by the American Red Cross on Aug 17.  We proceeded to Orlando, FL for assignment to a mobile field kitchen in North Port, FL.  We slept the first three nights in a shelter and worked during the days delivering meals, water, ice and snacks to the residents of Punta Gordo and Port Charlotte.  The devastation, especially in the trailer parks, is beyond belief.  We were scheduled to be in FL three weeks, but that may change (aside from Scribe, it did – they were either extended or recalled for more hurricane-relief duty).  We were part of a group of 4,000 Red Cross Volunteers from 49 states and Puerto Rico.”  13 Oct letter from Dave: “Val & I just returned from working 21 days on Hurricane Ivan in AL & FL.  Looked up Ken & Jeanne Phillips in Gulf Breeze and recognized Tom Conti cleaning up his yard (see photo).”

            28 Sep letter from Herb Puscheck: “The Wilderness Civil War Battlefield tour on 29 July was attended by 19 classmates, spouses and friends.  Jack Downing and Gus Person, military historian from Ft Belvoir, led the discussion and related the battle to events that preceded it and to the succeeding final year as Grant and Lee fought their was to Appomattox.  After the tour we had lunch at a restaurant in old town Fredericksburg.”  Herb sent a group photo (too many for Scribe to name).  “The other photo shows two horny guys in Reykjavik, Iceland where George & Gale Robertson and Betty & I spent a week relaxing in the Blue Lagoon looking for Puffins and enjoying the Navy’s hospitality.”

            Off to The Alamo Mini where I hope to see YOU.  There are some 180 plus classmates or widows attending with a grand total of over 350 persons from the ’58 family.  Now returned from The Alamo Mini – SUPER!  Jack Bujalski and his team were truly outstanding.  There were tours, shopping, golf, sitting around and talking, a barbeque at Sunset Station, a very moving memorial service at the Alamo on Sunday morning.  I must mention our Class Printer, Dan Brockwell, who does our service bulletins and our Class Bugler, Mel Drisko who played Taps for us as he did at Pensacola and at Trophy Point for the 45^th.  Mel recently played Taps for the 150^th funeral for veterans in Richmond area.  Our Army and other services cannot keep up with the demand for military funerals.

            FYI.  Our Roll Call now numbers 155 as follows: 116 classmates (28 Active Dy, 57 Retd and 30 in Civil life), 38 wives and one Honorary Classmate, George Bean.  As I have said in earlier Columns and gatherings, we are in the primary zone for the final selection.  You should not miss a reunion, especially the Mini Reunions between now and our 50^th at West Point in 2005.  There are no guarantees of longevity.  We want to see YOU at the next one in San Francisco, 17-20 Oct 2005.  You will hear more about it from Paul Ruud, the organizer.

            Back to San Antonio.  Sam Myers is sending me a CD of digital photos.  I will “mine them” for the next few Columns.  I learned from Betty Donovan that we have another colonel, son Mike ’81.  We are getting OLD with colonels and retirees among our offspring!

            First-time reunion attendees included John Manos, Bob Barker and Dale Cockle.  Were there more?  John attended the B-2 company gathering hosted by Don & Pat Johnson in Sep 03 in Lynchburg, VA.  Bob attended the K-1 affair in New Orleans hosted by Tom & Barbara Sands.  Dale & Betty are out of the Emus farming business which, coupled with their proximity to San Antonio, made this one a must.

            L’Objet d’Igor.  From a Stan Bacon email: “33 were enthusiastically purchased in SA and 25 are still available for those wishing to own their own copy of this treasure with the added gratification of contributing $20 to the Endowment Fund.  The Latin phrase apparently derived from the English "What is worth doing is worth doing to excess," translated by some priests with difficulty as "Quid agendum est ad nimium agendum est" for which Mark felt obligated to make a small contribution to the Church.  He just used the second half of it on the prints.”  Over $600 was raised for the Class Perpetual Endowment Fund from the sales.  Mark was promoted by his classmates to Marius Rex, but later abdicated and reverted to his former title of Prince Igor.  You can purchase L’Ojet d’Igor, suitable for framing and signed by Mark, from the class web page or next year in San Francisco, as long as supplies last.

 

            Sad news.  Hate to close this way; however, quoting from Jack Downing’s email notification yesterday, “Sadly I must report the death of Mary Jo Crowley wife of Frank (D-1) who died of a stroke on 17 Oct.  Memorial services were held at St. Peter's in Worthington, OH.  She will be interred at West Point sometime in November, perhaps during Thanksgiving Week.  The family requests donations to the Arthritis Foundation, PO Box 96280, Washington, DC, 20077-7491 or www.arthritis.org.  Mary Jo had surgery for a brain aneurysm in August and was recovering slowly in a rehab facility.  For far too many years she had suffered from rheumatoid arthritis.”  Our prayers are with Frank and their sons Brian and Michael and daughter Margaret.  Scribe is confident that Mary Jo is now in a better place that knows neither pain nor sorrow.