169th Column
169th Column. 26 Dec (2d Day of Christmas and St Stephen’s
Day) for Mar-Apr 2009 Assembly (in time for Easter on 12 Apr). Time warp big time for your friendly Scribe.
John Donne wrote: “Any man's death
diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to
know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee...” This is certainly true for members of the
class of 1958 this December when we lost four classmates—I say again, four!
1 Dec Raymond B
Riggan B2. Goalie, Team Captain and
All American member of 1958 Lacrosse Team, undefeated NCAA Champions, Armor,
Airborne, Ranger, husband of Bobbi, father of four, 20-year survivor of
heart transplant surgery on 20 May 1988.
What more should be said? Of
course, there is more, much more, but space is limited.
Thoughts from Paul
Schonberger’s email to Karl Oelke
CCQ B2: “I just replayed Tom Carpenter's
superb ‘58 Is Great video to immerse myself in nostalgia in my grief over
RB Riggan's death. I was surprised to see the many photos of RB as a
young and fit athlete. There were also
shots of him during other class events. I urge you to exercise your
literary talents to post a fitting memorial in the guest book linked to Jack Downing's obit notice, to share
your memories of this special classmate. I went on line to share my
spontaneous feelings about my regard for RB as soon as I received the notice.”
Comments
from Phil Ackerman’s email to Karl: “
And
from Don Johnson’s email to his B2
CCQ: “I had my annual appointment with my cardiologist today and mentioned RB.
The doc said that living 20+ years with a transplanted heart was remarkable. He
further suggested that the drugs taken to prevent rejection were the root cause
of the liver/kidney failure. As you may
or may not recall, I nominated RB for the Army Sports Hall of Fame (with
endorsement by our class officers). Unfortunately,
he was not accepted. (Scribe:
might be time to try this again with all members of 1958 Lacrosse Team
supporting the nomination.) All's
well here. Those seven bypasses are now 15 1/2 years old!!!!” (Scribe: yes, Don
had seven bypasses, trumped only by Ray’s heart transplant.)
10
Dec Karl F Prunitsch F2. Another
Airborne Ranger, this time a former Artilleryman turned Ordnance and then
civilian engineer. Acting CINC Obits
contacted Shirley and learned: “Karl's death
was very sudden and unexpected. He had
just passed a complete physical on 11 Nov with flying colors. Apparently, his immune system contracted a
rare disease,
“A native of
“Survivors include his wife, Shirley Romano Prunitsch; two
daughters, Kimberly Ann Prunitsch Kage,
15
Dec Peter D Hidalgo K1. An Infantryman who transferred to Chemical Corps and
a member of our thinning ranks of general officers. Pete died in Tallahassee , FL.
From Bill Serchak’s (K1 CCQ and EC Class Initiatives) informational email to Pat
Hidalgo:
“Dear Pat, Ron Bellows relayed the information by phone this morning about Pete's sudden death
yesterday. Edna Mae and I offer our deepest sympathy to you and your children at this sudden
turn of events. It goes without saying
that we, along with his company-mates and classmates, are prepared to do
anything you ask to assist you at this time.
I am unaware of any plans you and Pete may have made, but I do want to
mention a few things that may assist you in the days ahead. First, I am
attaching below a copy of the Class Initiative (extracted from class website)
about military funerals. It includes phone numbers and some additional details
depending on where Pete will be laid to rest. Perhaps Pete and you have already read the
initiative and made some decisions but, if not, this should help. Second, when there is a Memorial Service or
Funeral for a classmate, the Class Flag will be shipped to that location and
will be displayed at the service. I
think the presence of the Class Flag will mean a great deal to you and
your family at that time. As your plans
are made, please let me along with Jack Downing, Dale Hruby, and Palmer
McGrew know your wishes in this regard. Third, if you decide to have a donation to a
particular institution or charity made in Pete's name in lieu of flowers from
the company and class, please let me and Jack Downing know that in advance of
the services that you plan. Finally,
I am almost at a loss for words to describe my own feelings of sadness at
the passing of such a good friend, company-mate, and roommate.” (Scribe: This advice from Bill to Pat is
great for all of us, especially for our wives and widows!)
22 Dec James L Rossetto
Portions of his newspaper obit follow: “James Lawrence Rossetto, of
“James
is survived by his loving wife of 50 years, Patricia (Thompson) Rossetto; one son, Carl J. Rossetto of
Mechanicsburg; and two daughters, Kathryn A. Juzwin of
Services will be held
Info from Bill
Kelley via Jim Hall, Acting CINC
Obits: “Jim (Rossetto) had had a couple tough operations in the past ten years
which probably led to kidney malfunction/failure. He had been on three day a
week dialysis for about a year now and was pretty weak and on oxygen regularly.
He agreed with his family when they suggested moving him into a long term care
facility last year. It was a pretty nice place and he came to refer to it as
his BOQ room!” Acting CINC Obits
continued: “Bill & Carol visited
Jim last week and were thankful to see him one last time. As indicated in my earlier message, the family
will schedule the interment at
RB, Karl,
Pete and Rosie—we miss you! Way out of
space, but one last admonition often repeated by your Scribe: do not miss
opportunities to attend reunions or visit classmates!
A final piece
of good news from Ray Coffee (Scribe’s first wife and it highlights my
admonition): “Greetings and best wishes for the season. Gerry
& I are visiting our son David. Pichitr (Pete) invited us, Vichit (Sammy)
and Boonsrang Niumpradit (‘71), recently retired Supreme Commander, with our
wives. Twelve stars, one
1.
Peter Jones ’85, father
Linc and 3d Inf Div CG – Peter commands a Bde at
Benning.
2.
Jones family of four
Soldiers, one in mufti, two camp followers and three grandchildren
3.
Abbot Ordway and his disciples
4.
Dick Bauchspies at Cadet Chapel for 50th Memorial Service
5.
Morgan and Bujalski dragging pro at NOLA Mini
6.
Guess what, who, when, where and why