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153rd Column


      Pictures at end of column

            153d Column.  22 April for Jul-Aug Assembly.  Between now and that issue of the nation’s premier alumni magazine (with far too few subscribers!) about 300 of us will have been to Savannah (14-17 May) hosted by Roger Waddell and Jae Stanton.  And, we will have held the 17th Annual Memorial Service at the VN Memorial for our 13 classmates who fell in Southeast Asia and have names engraved on the Wall.  At the service we will have highlighted the life of Bob Degen with Sylvia and children here along with a phenomenal turn-out from D2 company-mates of Bob’s thanks to CCQ Paul Ruud.

            In May-Jun (not received as I write this one: Scribe’s normal time-warp) you will have seen the PS (hope the PS made it) about Dick Groves joining the ranks of the Ghostly Assemblage on 6 Mar 2006.  Here is a report by Larry Hunt:Just returned from Dick's funeral service.  Great remembrance and celebration of Dick's life.  He and Margaret were very involved in the Pauma Valley community.  There was such a large crowd that many people had to stand outside the chapel due to the limited seating.  Classmates attending the service included Dick & Bev Graves, Tom & Barbara Sands, Lynn Shrader, Frank & Connie Wright, Tony Forster, and Tom Mason, as well as Becky and myself.  Bill Cohen '59, a member of the board of directors of Dick's company (NAVCO Security Systems), was also present, as were company executives from around the US.  Dick Graves gave a wonderful and touching remembrance about our West Point years and Dick and Margaret's years in the Army.

            “The experiment using the class flag in a funeral service worked out great.  The flag was displayed on an impressive flag pole at the left front of the chapel.  (It was the only flag on display.)  At a certain point in the service, all West Pointers in attendance were called to the front where Lynn Shrader led us in the Cadet Prayer.  During the prayer, Dick Graves held the class flag in a dipped position.

            Following the service, Dick's cremated remains were interred in a side yard area of the chapel, with a military honor guard and flag ceremony.  The class flag was again in reverent attendance throughout the interment.  Margaret said that she really appreciated the class’s initiative to include the flag in Dick's service.

            At a reception following the interment, we took several photos of classmates with the flag.  Also took one with wives and Margaret.  One photos included all of us with the West Point golf team coach.  As you know, Dick made a very generous gift ($5M) to WP for a golf center, which is a state of the art indoor facility that permits year round practice.  The

Center will be dedicated in his name in April.  Tony Forster will forward the photos to George Sibert as candidates for his column.”  (Photos not arrived yet—next time).

            On behalf of the class, Scribe sends thanks to Larry for the report, to Dick Graves for handling the class flag and his remarks at the funeral.  In the last column I included a couple of photos from our first Mini at Palm Springs in Sep 1989 (31st Reunion) and the second Mini at Bar Harbor in Sep 90.  That was before I learned of Dick’s joining the Ghostly Assemblage.  The point here is that he & Marg with the able assistance of daughter Kelly hosted that first Mini Reunion.  In large measure the class has enjoyed 15 mini reunions (and counting) because the Groves had the courage to try that very first one!   I discussed the concept with Tom Sands and Dick Groves during a bus to West Point.  Dick promptly volunteered!

            Bar Harbor (32d), South Padre Island (33d) and Thailand (34th) followed close order behind Palm Springs and got us back to West Point for our 35th.  The rest is delightful class history: Winter Park (36th), Charleston (37th), Carmel (38th), Hershey (39th), West Point (40th), In-Barracks (41st), Portland (42d), Santa Fe (43d), Pensacola (44th), West Point (45th), San Antonio (46th), San Francisco (47th) and Savannah (48th).  And, more to come.

            Richard Groves Golf Center.  From Garry Roosma: “Did manage to attend the dedication of the Richard Groves Golf Center April 7 on my way back from giving a lecture in Monocular.  The academy and AOG did a nice job for the dedication.  Margaret was very happy with the ceremony.  Dick & Bevy (Bevy?) Graves, Tom & Barbara Sands, Ron Turner, Lynn Shrader and Hugh Tubful, (Tubful for Trumbull?), all K-1 files, Bill & Mary Jane Parks and Jill and I were there from the class.”

            B-Squad Teams.  A gray-matter informed us about demise of B-Squads and most Plebe teams.  It also asked for info from former B-Squad athletes.  Scribe leaped on this opportunity for fodder to feed the column.  Here goes, mostly in order received and grouped by teams.  B-Squad Basketball.  From Frank Wright: “Basketball had a B-Squad with a very organized and extensive schedule.  (Members) included yours truly, Kirtley, Edwards, Manges and others.  For those of us on the margins, there was upward and downward mobility between A & B.  Just another thing to check for every week along with grades and demerits.”     And from Jimmy Weis: “For at least one year, I played B-Squad basketball.  I played until football season ended.  Then the football players came out and displaced some of the A-Squad players down to B-Squad, which meant that some of the B-Squad players (like me) got displaced back to company tables.”

            B-Squad Football.  From Denny Sharon: “I played plebe baseball, football and even hockey for a couple months until I was cut from hockey for plain old lack of talent. It was B-Squad football for the following three years and A-Squad baseball. I will send along a copy of my correspondence to and from gray-matter.”  J Phoenix, author of gray-matter, wanted recollections of Gen MacArthur speaking to B-Squad football at practice.  Denny wrote: “I wish I could recall some specifics of the MacArthur talk to us but I don't.  I think we were all so overwhelmed by the occasion that none of us retained anything but the heartfelt expression that Gen Mac put into his comments.”  From Jerry Mitchell: “I was on the football Plebe Squad and the B-Squad Yearling year.  I wasn't a very good college level player so I decided to stop playing B-Squad sometime during or at the end of Yearling year.  It was a good decision.”

            Rosie Grier stories.  First one via Glenn Hall: “In 1955, when the Army still had division and post-level football teams, the Fort Dix team came to West Point to scrimmage our B-Squad.  These Army teams were loaded with former college and future pro players.  I have a distinct memory of our classmate Ken Phillips, halfback, who also wrestled at 147, being tackled by a guy named Rosie Grier.  As the saying goes, Rosie would grab a bunch of players, sort through them until he found the ball carrier and then throw him down.  I don’t think I’m hallucinating; I think you could confirm this story with Ken.  The size differential between the B-Squad and the Fort Dix team was unbelievable, bigger than our A-Squad.”  And from Orlie Hill: “I did play C and B-Squad football although I was not very good.  Except as a dummy.  My memory of C-Squad was, of course, Coach Doc Blanchard.  He was bigger than the ‘normal’ Army player.  Blanchard did not say much, but had a quick smile.  I remember one day he punted a ball that must have gone 60 yards.  I did not know that he did much of Army's punting in the 40's. The B-Squad was real grunt work and the only real change was that each week, you ran the plays of the A-Squad opponent that Saturday.  When we had a B-Squad game, often the plays called would be a ‘Notre Dame 44 right’ or whatever.  The biggest player I faced was Rosie Grier.  He said he was out of shape at 300 pounds and would bat his large belly back and forth and tell us not to hurt this old man.  In those days, post teams were stocked with Pros.  Fortunately, they treated us ‘nicely’ as they did not want to jeopardize their Pro careers.  We really could not have hurt them if we tried.  I weighed 185 pounds.  Melnik and I did a high/low on Rosie once.  On the next play, Rosie reached from his defensive end location and squished Jude Theibert.  Rosie stretched out like a long panther.  The hardest I was ever hit was by our own A-Squad pulling guard, Stan Slater.  He was not much heavier than I but he could hit!   That is why he won so many honors.  Highlights were watching Coach Red Blaik in action.  He was a very quiet man, but you felt his power most of the time.  I recall General MacArthur visiting practice on one or two occasions.  I recall the press trying to sneak pictures under Blaik's green canvas of secrecy.  The B-Squad did have some away games such as Dartmouth, St Lawrence, and Coast Guard Academy.  My memory faded long ago, but I hope more folks with fully functioning brains will fill you in.”  Phil Pryor reports: “have not had time to reflect on the great times on the Plebe and B-Squad football activities.  I was one of the grinders for our 4 years and I do not recall any of us receiving numerals or an USMA for our efforts.  All we got was an atta' boy...and back then that was more than enough.  Not even after facing Rosie G across the line, as Luman will tell you.”  Scribe cannot check with Lawyer Luman: his testimony would be hearsay.  Based on the testimony (memories) thus far, Joe Luman might say that Phil’s is another non-functioning brain based on recollections of others re numerals and monograms.

            Out of space.  B-Squad tennis, squash, soccer and lacrosse next time.  Pretty sure 2007 Mini will be in New Orleans AFTER 2007 hurricane season.  Then it will be on the 50th at West Point in May 2008!

            First ’58 Grandson at USMA.  Grandfather Paul Bons finally heard from: “George, having just finished reading your column in the Mar-Apr 2006 Assembly, it is with humbled heart that I must apologize for my oversight in not revealing that I have a grandson at the Academy.  Actually, it didn't even dawn on me that he might be the first.  Nevertheless, he is Michael J. Hill ‘07, son of my daughter Tamara who spent a good deal of her life at West Point while I was there on the permanent faculty.  She married a Naval-type person, but her son was astute enough to bring our family heritage back to the enlightened path.  You might be interested to know that Mike actually entered with ‘05 and in 2003 he took a stop-out to serve a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon).   He returned from his mission last summer to resume his membership with ‘07.  So, he's been around for a while -- which makes my oversight that much more egregious.  Thanks to John Schaffer's fortuitous contact this dark secret can now be brought to light (who better than John to bring it to light).  Again, my humble apologies.”  Scribe thinks we have another grandson entering this summer, but notes are AWOL.  See you in September as in the Sep-Oct Assembly.


Photos and captions for 153d Column:

 

  1.   Dick Graves DSDS collectors card
  2.   Sam Sookmark senatorial campaign photo
  3.   Bob Miller, Paul Vanture and Orlie Hill
  4.   John Herren after Pentagon security blew holes in his briefcase
  5.   Sam Collins and Mark Sigurski (photo by Joan Collins)