Nancy Gucwa (E-3)
consented to the posting of her thoughts about the Old Grad March Back with
the new cadets on 16 August:
"I thought I would share the wonderful time I had on
the march back from Lake Frederick with the plebes on Wednesday, August 16, at West
Point. By the way, it will become an annual event , and it would be great
if more of you come out for future events.
The day started early- the grads were asked to be at
the Alumni Center at 0130, and buses departed at 0200 from Herbert Alumni
Hall. Thanks to the Newells, I had dinner and a couple of hours sleep at
their home on post before the march. There were about 140 grads there, the majority of which
signed up for the 15 mile march (including about 4-5 women grads), rather than the 2 mile march from the ski slope. The class of
80 was well-represented: Me, Russ Vernon, Mike Trusty, James Becker, Mike Beans, Bob Morris, and George
Prohoda.
We were bussed to Lake Frederick at 0200, where upon
arrival each of us were assigned to a platoon in one of the 8 basic training
companies. Many of us in '80 were assigned to G company, 4th platoon, which was great, since we
were able to catch up with each other, as well as talk to the plebes and the cadre. Once there, we waited till close to 4am
till it was time for our company to depart. For our "uniform", we were told to
wear Khaki shorts or pants, and they gave us pretty nice polo shirts with the crest and the
words "Grad march back- class of 2004", as well as baseball caps, and we were each given a 2 quart
canteen.
As for footgear, I wore my heavy-duty hiking boots, but many other grads wore their running
shoes (maybe they thought it was on paved trails? Not!). The march was very hilly and very wet and very muddy.
It poured for about an hour around 5am, with dramatic lightening and thunder, but of course we
kept going. I felt rather smug that I had thought to pack an extra pair of socks, but unfortunately, did not put them in plastic,
so they got soaked, just like everything else in my pack. After we were all thoroughly
drenched, the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful day.
For me, the highlights of the march were talking to
the plebes and the cadre, and chatting with the classmates that marched in the same platoon.
In general, many of the cadets, cadre too, were in high spirits. The cadets seemed to enjoy their training (what a shock!). Morale
was high, and there were few cadets in the sag wagon. Even more amazing was the fact that all
the old grads made it (including some from the Class of 1954 and 1945). Good
for them!
One pleasant event that I had forgotten about was the
"parade" once we got back on post. The old grads formed a platoon at the ski slopes, and marched
ahead of the plebes till we got to the gate, then waited there in formation. One by one, each of the 8 cadet companies
passed us, with an
"eyes, right!" and we applauded and cheered them like crazy. When the 8th company had passed, we fell in behind them onto post,
marching in step with the band leading the way. The entire West Point community lined both sides
of the road to cheer us on. It was so cool. We ended at Quarters 100 and had a small reception in the Supe's yard.
Donna Newell and Jeff Weart were there to help welcome us. After showering in the gym,
had lunch in Ike Hall before being bussed back to the Alumni Center.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable day. I was surprised how fast it went.
I could not help but notice the dramatic contrast in my emotional frame of mind that day, compared to our own march back over 20
years ago. I felt like a warrior who returned to the scene of battle years later, only to
find few traces of the harsh memories that we originally experienced. I wish more of the
Class of'80 could have been there!
In conclusion, it was well worth the time and effort to participate in the
march back. I encourage each of you to participate next year."
Class Gift Voting.
Get your votes in for the class gift - the suspense is 15 September.
The 24 August update from AOG indicates that 144 of you have voted so
far. Have your say and return your vote postcards. Our AOG Class
Giving Assistant is also forwarding your comments to John Stoner (Class Gift
Chairperson) and Bret Dalton.
News from LTG Christman.
The Superintendent held his semi-annual command information briefing on 30
August. Some highlights from his presentation:
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New athletic marks.
The logos (marks) shown on the scrap book page replace the mule with
Army "A" in use since 1973.
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Army Sports.
The Supe wants a winning spirit at USMA because our nation has one Army
to do its business and does not expect that Army to come in second in
battle. This is in keeping with MacArthur's philosophy about the
fields of friendly strife, not a "win at all costs"
philosophy. Look at Army's new sports information page at Go
Army Sports!
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Eye Charts.
He showed a chart depicting the Installation Status Report that is filed
semi-annually and shows the poor condition of many of our
buildings. He said this wasn't one of Bob "Smitty"
Smith's (B-4) eye charts - classmate in the news! Later, as he
showed the Army POM plus up that West Point will get over the next ten
years, he flipped between two charts, the old and new, asking
"which is clearer, one or two . . . one or two?" By the
way, the POM has been increased from about $165M annually to $210M in an
effort to overcome the $200M maintenance backlog and pay for increasing
the excellence levels of other facilities and programs.
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Required Reading.
LTG Christman also mentioned reading a book recommended by Scott
Snook (H-4). The book deals with change and it's title is
something like Who Moved the Cheese?
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End of Year Plus Up.
USMA received $18.7M in end of year funds which have been plowed right
into the infrastructure. The Supe is also going after Urgent Minor
Construction funds for a new fire station in the Stony Lonesome area
with a contract award in the next two weeks.
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Construction Updates.
Stony Lonesome Road closes this fall with the groundbreaking for the new
Kimsey Athletic Center at the south end of Michie Stadium.
The athletic center will cost a total of $30M and will provide state of
the art facilities for the football, basketball, hockey and lacrosse
teams (men's and women's were appropriate). The new Hoffman
Press Box will begin in a year and the turf will be replaced in June
2001 (after graduation). $3M will be spent for a new bypass
road to Stony Lonesome which will go by the north end of the
stadium. Expect a lot of rock blasting for that one! Arvin
Gym is on track. Work is finishing up on the stabilization of
the hill between Arvin and Mills Road. This fall, the old theater
section (just south of Crandall Pool and directly in from the main
entrance) gets demolished. Construction of the new facilities, appropriation
set at $77.5M will begin next year. $45M is in the program for a new
library and learning center to be built in FY06 in the area
currently occupied by the Patton Statue - maybe Patton will be in the
lobby of the new facility. A new multipurpose academic building
is programmed for FY04. Merritt Road will be repaved next
year, it was needed when I was last stationed at USMA in 1993 . .
. The New Brick housing goes into renovation in FY01 - 50
units per year for 3 years. They will get central A/C and will be
expanded with an addition. MG Van Antwerp, the Army DCSIM, has
committed to bringing all of West Points quarters up to current square
footage and utilities standards. The paving stones for the new Thayer
Walk will be delivered o/a 20 September 2000. The highlight of
the granite pedestrian mall will be memorials for members of the Classes
of 1957, 1961, 1965, and 1974. The new marksmanship center
has been funded by a gift from George Tronsrue (A-3, '78). A pedestrian
sidewalk will be built in FY01 from G Lot to the Stony Lonesome area
which completes a pedestrian walk way from the stadium area to the new
PX complex (which opened on 24 August). The golf course is
currently getting a new driving range and 16th hole.
The golf team will get a club house and covered tee area thanks to
another gift.
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Bicentennial Campaign
and Activities. As AOG announced, the Bicentennial Campaign
has surpassed its $150M goal. $84M has been received, $67M
pledged. COL Pat Kane is on board as the director of the Office
of the Bicentennial. He will orchestrate the bicentennial
activities which kick off with the Acceptance Day Parade on 18 August
2001 and end with Graduation 2002. Events will include Veteran's
Day 2001, special activities with the 2001 Army-Navy game, a
bicentennial concert, a Presidential visit(s), issue of commemorative
stamps and coins, and the West Point Bridge Design competition.
USMA is also getting $3M to revamp the Visitor's Center at
Pershing Center: Abrams Gate with a Sherman tank painted in the colors
of the Thunderbolt scheme, a cadet learning center, picnic areas with
river overlook, walking plaza from the entrance to the museum, replacing
the chain link fence with a black, wrought iron fence.
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Holiday Inn Express.
There have been a few snags but construction continues on this facility
between Fort Montgomery and Highland Falls. The 86 room hotel may
open sometime this fall. The Town of Highlands Planning Board
recently approved the construction of a car wash at the former Pellie's
Pontiac site.
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Old Grad March. I
hope you saw Nancy Gucwa's (E-3) account of the inaugural Old Grad
participation in the Class of 2004 Plebe March Back from Lake Frederick on
16 August 2000. The turn out surprised the AOG and Academy
officials. I echo Nancy's enthusiastic report. What a great
opportunity and the 30 minute rain deluge didn't dampen any spirits (though
it destroyed by blueberry muffin breakfast). Nancy was the oldest
female grad present, a member of the Class of 1958 beat my Dad (1954) out
for the oldest grad honors (for the 15 mile march) by about seven
days. Two members of the Class of 1945 marched the 2 miles from the
Ski Slope to be the oldest participants. Check out the pictures in the
Scrap Book.
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B-1's home page just
relocated to West-Point.Org. This web page hosting service is
available to any USMA company or grad.
M and M Fineries - Jim Cummings (B-4) has teamed up
with Rob Gordon ('79) to offer you a way to purchase beautiful pieces of
Kaiser porcelain. Check out his company - M and M
Fineries. Classmates get a 10% discount on the advertised
prices and a 5% donation will be made to our Class Gift Account.
Vladimir Arts. Lew Iwlew appreciates our
sponsorship of the Red Sash project. He has offered to give our class
a 10% commission on all West Point series prints ordered from
Vladimir Arts until 31 December 2000. You can order online at VladimirArts.com
or call 1-800-678-8523. When ordering online, fill in "1980"
when asked "Are You a Member of a Sponsoring Organization" on the
website order form. If you order via telephone, inform the sales
representative that you are in the Class of 1980, a sponsoring organization.
Reunion suspense coming up! Get your reunion
registration, event sign up forms and football ticket orders in ASAP.
The deadline for the event sign up forms and football tickets is 15
August! We have over 300 classmates signed up to come so far, more
mail coming in every day. Don't forget that the dinner dance on Friday
night can only accommodate 600 people. Do the math folks . . .
Construction continues to be the buzz word at West
Point! Thayer Road and sidewalks are being redone from Mahan Hall to
Buffalo Soldiers Field. Weather permitting, this project will be done
before 1 October. Central Area is being repaved and sealed. It
has been milled and is waiting for asphalt. Before the asphalt goes
down, all utilities work has to be completed. Contractors are also
working on planting areas along Bradley Barracks and an enclosure for a
compacting dumpster by the Cadet Mess. Work continues on the roof
repairs to Washington Hall as well as the "pointing" of the
stonework. The groundbreaking for the new athletic center at Michie
Stadium was held in June with actual contract award coming soon. Road
work is on-going in front of the Holleder Center. All of these are
reasons to use the buses at our reunion - you've already paid for
them in your registration fees . . .
Ed Shanahan (E-3) dropped a note to enclose photos
of his family taken at Christmas 1999. Ed and Joanne's son, Edward
Patrick Shanahan V was born at Lackland AFB, TX, on 26 April 1997.
Medical conditions made for a difficult pregnancy for Joanne but as you can
see from Ed's photos, all turned out well! Ed just registered for the
reunion so our numbers continue to climb . . .
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