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     I approached the entrance to Ft Belvoir's medical facility last year as an old veteran puttered towards me. Easily over 80 years old, stooped and slow, I barely gave him a second glance, because on his heels was a full bird colonel. As they approached, I rendered a sharp salute and barked, "Good morning, Sir!" Because they were heel to toe, I began my salute as the old veteran was about two paces from me. He immediately came to life!  Transformed by my greeting, he rose to his full height, returned my salute with pride, and exclaimed, "Good morning, Captain!" I was startled, but the full bird behind him was flabbergasted. The colonel stopped mid-salute, smiled at me and quietly moved on.
     As I entered the clinic, the utter beauty of the encounter preoccupied me. What prompted the old man to assume that I was saluting him? Perhaps he just thought, "It's about time!" After all, doesn't a WWII vet outrank us all?
     I turned my attention to the waiting room taking a moment to survey the veterans there. Service people rushed around, loudspeakers blared, the bell for the prescription window kept ringing. It was a whir of activity and the older veterans sat quietly on the outside, seemingly out of step, patiently waiting to be seen. Nobody was seeing. My old friend stayed on my mind.
     I began to pay attention to the military's attitude towards its veterans.  Predominately, I witnessed indifference. Impatient soldiers and airmen plowing over little old ladies at the commissary; I noticed my own agitation as an older couple cornered me at the Officer's Club and began reminiscing about their tour in Germany. To our disgrace, I have also witnessed disdain: at Ramstein AB terminal, an airman was condescending and borderline cruel with a deaf veteran flying Space A; an ancient woman wearing a WACS button was shoved aside by a cadet at the Women's Memorial dedication in D.C.; a member of the Color Guard turned away in disgust from a drunk Vietnam vet trying to talk to him before the Veterans Day Ceremony at the Vietnam Wall.
     Have you been to a ceremony at the Wall lately? How about a Veteran's Day Parade in a small town? The crowds are growing faint. Why do we expect the general public to care if we don't? We are getting comfortable again.  Not many of us around that have been forced to consider making the ultimate sacrifice. Roughly 60% of today's active duty Air Force did not even participate in Desert Storm. I always lament about the public's disregard for the military. I do not count all the days I stayed in bed instead of going to a ceremony or parade. It was my day to be honored and I deserved to sleep in. It's just like a 28-year-old, whose weapon was Microsoft
PowerPoint Slide Presentation during the last conflict, to complain about recognition.
     Sometimes I wonder who is going to come to our parades in 20 years; will anybody look me up in the Women's Memorial Registry? The answer lies in the present. We will be honored as we honor those who have gone before us. The next generation is watching. It is not my intention to minimize the selfless service of our modern military; my comrades are the greatest people I know (and frankly should be treated better). But, lately I'm wondering if the public's attitude towards the military isn't just a reflection of the active duty military's attitude towards its own veterans. It's time to ask - do we regard them, do we consider them at all? How does our attitude change when the hero is no longer wearing a uniform?
     I was proud to wear my uniform. Can I admit that I thought I was cool?  There is no denying that there is something about our profession, combined with youth, that feeds the ego a little. We have all seen a young pilot strut into the Officer's Club with his flight suit on. He matters; he takes on the room; he knows he can take on the world. But, one day he will leave his jet for a desk, and eventually he will have to hang up that flight suit.  A super hero hanging up his cape.... How will we measure his value then?  He will no longer look like a pilot, an officer, a colonel. He'll just look like an old man coming out of the clinic with his prescription. But, is he less of a hero? Will anybody remember or care about all the months he spent away from his newborn daughter while making peace a possibility in the Balkans? Probably not. Our society has a short memory. Maybe it is not for the protected to understand. Rather, it is my hope that when a young lieutenant walks by him they will each see themselves reflected in the other - one's future, the other's past. In that moment, perhaps, the lieutenant will also see the hero, now disguised as an old man, and thank him.
     The truth is, there are heroes in disguise everywhere. I use to wonder why people would want to chat with me when I was in uniform - telling me about their four years as a radio operator in Korea. So what? I wasn't impressed relative to my own experiences. Now I understand that they were telling me because nobody else cared. Proud of their service, no matter how limited, and still in love with our country, they were trying to stay connected. Their stories were code for: "I understand and appreciate you, can you appreciate me?" The answer is, yes.
    I separated from the Air Force in February. I'm out of the club. Still, I want you to know that I'll attend the parades, visit the memorials, and honor you. All this while my kids and your kids are watching. Then, maybe, someday when I'm an old woman riding the metro, a young airman will take a moment of her time to listen to one of my war stories. I, in turn, will soak in her beauty and strength, and remember.
     Today, as I reflect on my adventures in the Air Force, I'm thinking of that ancient warrior I collided with at Ft Belvoir. I'm wondering where he is, if he's still alive, if it's too late to thank him. I want to start a campaign in his honor - Salute A Veteran. What a great world this would be if all our elderly veterans wore recognition pins, and we would salute them even if we were out of uniform and saw them coming out of a Seven-Eleven. Yes, this started out as a misunderstanding on my part. But, now I get it. That day was the first time in my life that I really understood what it meant to salute someone.
     Dear Veteran, I recognize and hail you! I do understand what I have and what you have given to make it possible. So I'm wondering if we meet on the street again - may I salute you?
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     It wasn’t magic that made Josh Olinger’s wish come true, but his visit to West Point was magical, and Josh expressed that in his own way.  "It’s really cool," said the 10-year-old, who is fighting cystic fibrosis.  The Ferndale, Wash., fourth-grader’s magical experience at the U.S. Military Academy was the result of a joint effort between several elements of the West Point family and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
     "I’m particularly grateful to the academy, the Association of Graduates and the U.S. Corps of Cadets for making the wish come true," said Mark Getzendaner, the nine-year Make-A-Wish volunteer who helped organize the visit and who accompanied Josh and his mother, father and older sister Christina on the trip. "They made wonderful things happen."
     Cadet 2nd Class Drew Baird, the cadet-in-charge of the West Point Big Brothers/Big Sisters program and Josh’s West Point visit, said he and his fellow cadets took on "the seemingly impossible task of filling Josh’s day up" with the goal of showing him a cross section of cadet culture.  "Our idea is to keep him on a high time," Baird said.
    Josh said he wanted to experience that cross section, to come to West Point, "because it’s the top military academy. It’s got some of the best people."  That endorsement reminds cadets of the esteem their school enjoys, according to Baird.  "When you hear that this little boy who has a terminal illness wants to come here, people remember how special it is and how lucky they are to be here, and they want to show it," Baird said.
     And show it they did.  Josh arrived at West Point April 6 and got a full dress gray cadet uniform made by the uniform factory with insignia that represents the 47-month USMA experience.  The fourth-grader started his day Saturday in that uniform at breakfast with the Corps in the Cadet Mess, where the deputy brigade commander announced him to the Corps and presented him with a certificate that named him an "Honorary Cadet," a distinction that he worked to deserve.   "He’s been polishing his shoes for the last few weeks," his mother, Lora Olinger, said.  And his feet weren’t his only focus; he wanted to look good from head to toe.  "We had to take him for three haircuts," his mother explained. "He wanted it shorter and shorter."
     All that preparation earned praise from Col. Joe Adamczyk, who had breakfast with the Olingers.  "He’s definitely the most squared-away cadet I’ve seen today," the brigade tactical officer said.  After breakfast, Josh toured the cadet area, where he helped inspect 4th Regiment, visited barracks rooms and saw a uniform show. Cadets going about their normal weekend business greeted the honorary cadet by name and traded hand salutes with him. He sat in John "Blackjack" Pershing’s chair in Nininger Hall and scanned the cadet area with the general’s binoculars.  Josh’s seeing cadet rooms ready for inspection may have an additional benefit, his mother said with a smile.  "It might make him want to keep his room clean.  When he sees how people he looks up to do it, it makes him want to do it."
     Josh finished out his morning by watching a demonstration by the cadet drill team and going on a tour of Quarters 100.  Then he threw out the first pitch at the Army-Navy baseball game at Doubleday Field.  After lunch, he spent Saturday afternoon touring the West Point Museum and the academy grounds and wrapped up his day with a dinner where he completed his uniform with a cadet saber, a gift of the Corps. Josh and his family took a tour of the Cadet Chapel Sunday and stayed and heard the sermon from the front pew.
     Throughout his visit, cadets met Josh at various locations to present him with tokens of their admiration, including autographed sports memorabilia, pins, pictures and letters.  "This is more than what he ever expected," Mike Olinger said.
     The international Make-A-Wish Foundation is a nonprofit organization "that grants wishes to children between the ages of 2 and a half and 17 with life-threatening illnesses or conditions," according to the foundation. Founded in 1980, the 18,000-volunteer organization has granted more than 80,000 wishes. The Alaska, Montana, Northern Idaho and Washington chapter helps fulfill an average of 20 wishes per month.  Josh and his family left West Point Sunday to continue his Make-A-Wish trip with a visit to the Pentagon and the White House
(Taken from story and photos by Sgt. Christopher Land, Pointer View Staff Writer)

West Point Parents' Clubs Presidents' Conference - Apr. 5-7
(recap of affairs by Patty Klascius, immediate past-president)

The conference started with a reception on Thursday evening. Friday morning started early with opening remarks from Dolores Salvatore and Major James Whaley, Director of the Public Affairs Office.

COL Robert Kane - events that will be taking place for our Bicentennial will begin on Acceptance Day Parade (Aug. 16^th) for the Class of 2005 with a new flag. Class of '02 rings will be first with gold from previous class rings meltdown. OPB/Discovery Channel 90-min special. Bill Moyers Hudson River special, highlighting West Point. Ed Ruggero's new book, Duty First (a review of this book by Rick Atkinson, author of The Long Gray Line, appears in the Washington Post here: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/print/sunday/bookworld/A45445-2001Feb8.html )
Great plebe-parent weekend Oct. 14-15^th--tall ships up Hudson & civil war re-enactment at Ft. Putnam. Army/Navy halftime. Rockefeller tree lighting (early Dec.?) Possibly Rose Parade (Pasadena). Stamp & coin issue in March. 3500sq.' exhibit in Smithsonian American History of 35 grads. Grip hands across the nation March 16^th.   President Bush will be '02 grad speaker. He encouraged every club to do something during this Bicentennial year, and to get the word out on West Points 200th year celebration.

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 Medical Care for Cadets of Leave or Pass

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NEW DATES FOR SPRING BREAK 2002

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All Military Posts Worldwide Increase Security

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V-President & Historian: Al & Jill Hoffman (Jordan '04) ahja@home.com

Liaison Officers-OR & Newsletter Editors:
Al & Patty Klascius (Chad ‘01, Craig '02)  klascius@teleport.com

Secretary: Carole Cox (Morgan '04) carolecoxis@home.com