West Point Class of 1987

Class of '87:
 
It is with sadness that I make this report to you all.  On Thursday, June 24, 2010, Grace's family held a memorial service at the Holy Rosary Parish Church in Seattle, Washington.  The service was well-attended by Grace's family and friends, as well as representatives of the Class of '87, including John Higgins, Matt Kellerhals, Alex Ceballos and myself.  Deb Lewis and her husband Jim (both Class of 1980) came up from Ft. Lewis to pay their respects.

The memorial service for Grace was held last night in Seattle.  There were four classmates in attendance to pay her our last respects -- CJ (and Shannon) Jones, Alex Ceballos, and Matt Kellerhals joined me in saying goodbye.  While the shock and sadness of her untimely passing continue to resonate, Grace's mother and family urged us to focus on celebrating her life and its legacy.  We'll miss you Grace.

Grace Olson passed away June 13, 2010 in Seattle, WA. Right now we do not have any details. Her memorial service will be this Thursday night, June 24th at 6:00 p.m. at:

The Memorial for Matt Zielinski was a very impressive event. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the memorial. We had a great showing of 12 classmates at the ceremony. The monument to Matt was one part of the dedication for the 31st ADA Brigades new complex. Two of the buildings were also dedicated to fellow West Pointers, LTC Larry Pruitt USMA 83 and COL James Hayden USMA 45. We have almost closed out donations for the event. Several individuals fronted the money for the monument so we are trying to recoup some of the money they provided.

It was almost 22 years ago that we lost our great friend and classmate, Matt Zielinski. As a testament to the impact he had on us at West Point and at Ft Bliss the 31st ADA Brigade at Ft Sill will be erecting a monument in Matt's honor as part of their new facility. The ceremony will be on April 16th at the 31st ADA's new Brigade HQ. Dan Karbler is the commander of the Brigade and he has been the main driving force behind getting this done.

I got some interesting "poop" today that is definately worthy of sharing now, instead of waiting until the Assembly is published in Spring 2010....Does anyone know what a PUSMA is? That’s right, a Professor, USMA and we have our 1st from the Class of 87. Congratulations to COL Bernie Banks!

USMA has 30 COL who carry the title of PUSMA; and the role entitles one to voluntarily stay in their role until age 64 (remember that old English PUSMA that seemed older than time?) and retire as a BG. Here's the official announcement which I have taken the liberty of pasting in its entirety because it speaks highly of the honors that Bernie has accumulated in 22+ years of military service...well done Bernie and good luck finishing up your PhD and donning the PUSMA title!