The WPPC
of Oregon & SW Washington Newsletter

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West Point Parents' Club of Oregon
  & SW Washington Newsletter  Nov./Dec. 1999
(The last of the millennium)

Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday, January 29th at ??
12:30 executive, 1:00 meeting
Contact Patty or Al Klascius by e-mail <klascius @teleport.com>
(503) 695-2824, for questions or to suggest agenda items
We are doing boodle for the "gloom period", and suggest you bring (or arrange to have someone bring yours) 30 like items.  Here are some suggestions I picked up in addition to the "usual" things:  instant oatmeal, plain and flavored, cup of soup packets (not styrofoam cups--too bulky), freeze dried camping food and jerky, Tang, Gatorade, or friendship tea mix, hot chocolate, instant coffee and creamer individual packets, nuts, raisins and other dried fruit, fruit rollups, banana chips, Chex or other cereal or trail mix, Rice Krispie treats, animal crackers, moistened disposable handi-wipes, sturdy disposable eating utensils, flavored (cherry/lemon)throat lozenges, labeled samples of aspirin, Ibuprofen, bandaids,  office/desk items like stamps, post-it pads, white-out, glue, AA batteries, disks in envelope, etc.  I hope this helps!  Also, if you're sure you can't make the meeting, you could send your "donation" now to another parent in the club to buy and bring items for you, as I have done already with one long-distance family.

ARMY-NAVY FOOTBALL

If you would like to join with others in rooting for our good old Army team against Navy, you are invited by Bill & Shannon Roller (of the West Point Society) to the CAA Clubhouse in Aurora for breakfast and the game.  There's a big screen and cheap drinks. $15.00 adults.  RSVP to Bill Roller via e-mail at bill_roller@compuserve.com
by Nov.10th or call him at (360) 896-0708 to see if there is still room.    

     1944 Army 23, Navy 7 Game featured the nation's No. 1 vs. No. 2 teams. Three weeks prior to game, it was moved from Annapolis to Baltimore upon recommendation of President Roosevelt. The fans were required to purchase war bonds in order to purchase a game ticket. $58 million in war bonds were bought as a result of this effort. An INTERESTING TRIVIA bit for a plebe to supply to an upper-classman if such is needed.

ANCHORS AWEIGH FOR THE CORPS

                   The following is from a 3 December 1994 issue of the Richmond Time
Dispatch written by John Steadman of the Baltimore Sun. The article was in conjunction of the 50th anniversary of that Army-Navy game played in 1944 at Baltimore. It provides some interesting facts not known to many members of the Class and in addition brings back many memories.  This year's game will be the 100th anniversary of this legendary contest.
     "Football, or even all of sports, never had an event to equal the circumstances that existed in Baltimore exactly 50 years ago.
     It was the only time Army played Navy when each was ranked the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country plus the fact you had to first buy a war bond before being eligible to purchase a ticket. Furthermore, because of railroad travel restrictions, the corps and brigade of the academies came to the game by ship.
     The entire mission was guarded by World War II censorship rules. Had German U-boats known of the trip down the Hudson River, and then hugging the coast line of New Jersey, they may have attempted to torpedo the USS Uruguay, and wipe out the 2,400 future officers it was transporting.
     There was a convoy of protection, six destroyers, which surrounded the troop carrier against such an attack. Meanwhile, Naval Academy undergraduates merely sailed up Chesapeake Bay from Annapolis to Baltimore and then marched to then Municipal Stadium, built on the same site as present Memorial Stadium.
     It wasn't until after the war that the almost spell-binding details of how the Cadets and Midshipmen made it to Baltimore for the 1944 kickoff were revealed by Harold Rosenthal, sports writer of the New York Herald Tribune. What happened was never talked about or discussed and known only to military personnel before Rosenthal related the secret scenario that unfolded.
     World War II was at its height. Railroads were moving supplies and men. It would have been a violation of national policy to utilize trains to carry the cadets and midshipmen to Baltimore. Thus, the precarious nautical maneuver, an approach by sea, was implemented.
     Army Coach Earl 'Red' Blaik, great as a man and football strategist, later said, 'I know there must be a moment in every coach's career which surpasses all the others….I believe the No. 1 moment for me came in that victory of Army's greatest over Navy's greatest in Baltimore.'
     To see the game, a fan was compelled to first buy a war bond to qualify as a ticket holder. A crowd of 66,658 was present, including Gen. George Marshall, Army Chief of Staff; Adm. William D. Leahy, Navy Chief of Staff; Ernest King, Chief of Naval Operations; and Gen. H. H. Arnold, Chief of the Air Forces. A seat on the 50-yard line meant a million-dollar war bond had to be purchased. Fifteen boxes, bought by corporations and industries, were sold for that figure. Overall, the total war bond sale represented the most money accrued during World War II from any single event - an astronomical $58,637,000,
     It was the Treasury Department that came up with the idea of staging the war bond bonanza, succeeding in a brief 15-day period, with congressional pressure, to move the game site from modest Thompson Stadium at the Naval Academy to Baltimore where the capacity was three times the size as could have been accommodated in Annapolis.
     As for the game, it was an epic even though Army won by a deceptive score of 23-7. Two future Heisman Trophy winners, Felix 'Doc' Blanchard and Glenn Davis, were in the West Point backfield.
     Blanchard, in a momentous twist of irony, had tried to enlist in the Navy after his freshman year at North Carolina, but was turned down because doctors found he was color blind. Imagine if Blanchard had gone in the Navy and play there. History would have offered a diverse perspective.
     Davis, in reflecting on the game remembers Blaik telling the team in the locker room how Gen. Robert Eichelberger had wired him 'to win for all the soldiers fighting for us.' There was no denying the resolve as the teams took the field Davis is in agreement with Blaik that the Baltimore performance was historic.  It was Army's first undefeated season in 30 years. 'Of the many thrills I've had in my career, I guess the Army-Navy game of Dec. 2, 1944, was my greatest,' he says. 'We at West Point considered that victory the high point of our undefeated streak.'
     And on a distant battlefront, Gen. Douglas MacArthur learned via Armed Forces Radio what had transpired in Baltimore. He quickly dispatched a cable to Blaik that qualifies as a vivid example of the flamboyant MacArthur. His message read" "The greatest of all Army teams. We have stopped the war to celebrate your magnificent success.'
     After Army's win, the cadets hoped to celebrate in downtown Baltimore but had to march four miles from the stadium to the Baltimore waterfront, where they re-boarded the troop ship. They looked forward to a promised victory dinner but those plans, for most of the party, went awry.
     A freak storm, close to hurricane proportions, came up Chesapeake Bay, creating a chop that was so severe the men couldn't eat. They crowded the rails because the seasickness beset them. The only thing they rationalized at that moment was how pleased they were to be involved in an Army career, and not aboard ship, after graduation.
     It would have been the perfect anniversary setting if the 50th anniversary of the wartime game could have been staged in Baltimore, not Philadelphia, because of the symbolic significance. College football and the service rivalry never overcame so many difficulties to play a game. Even the most horrendous war in world history didn't stop them."

The Black Knight
    
Prior to 1941, the West Point football team had a less than stellar record.  Their game was poor, their uniforms were a drab gray with a leather helmet, and they did not even have a full time coach.  In fact, for the 1939 and '40 seasons, a Captain Wood coached football in the fall, and the joined his regular Army unit for the rest of the year.
     The Academy decided it was time to have a full time person to guide and transform the football team, so they hired Col Earl H. "Red" Blaik, a former alumnus, who was coaching at Dartmouth.
     Col. Blaik, whose era at the Academy lasted from 1941-1958, turned the West Point football team around.  They became impressive not only in their play on the field, but also in their appearance.  The team was a powerful force; by 1944 they were averaging 56 points per game, and seldom were scored on.  The Colonel also dramatically changed the team uniform by introducing the black jersey with the gold number, the gold hard helmet, and gold pants.
     About the time of the 1944 season, a sports writer for the New York Times dubbed the cadet football team, "The Black Knights of the Hudson".  It seems that the "Black " referred to the black jersey, and the "Knight" related to the military installation as well as reflecting the medieval gothic architecture of the Academy.
     The colorful name stuck, and while it initially referred to the football team, it is now a name and a symbol that represents all the sports teams at West Point.

All Academy Ball

Cadets of all five academies and their families and friends, Academy graduates, MALOs, and other special guests are all invited to this year's All Academy Ball on Sunday, 26 Dec.,1800-midnight at the McChord AFB Officers Club.   Price for dinner (salmon or prime rib) and dancing is $25.00 per person, which includes an commemorative goblet.  Attire is Mess Dress/Full Dress or Service Dress (military), and suit or black tie/evening wear or semi-formal (civilians).  For more information, including overnight lodging opportunities, contact Washington's Club president Ralph Van Horn, at r.a.vanhorn@mymailbag.com

The Gift of Life

Dear Fellow Graduates and other Members of the West Point Community:            When first we stood with our classmates on the Plain and swore our oath, implicit in the words was the concept of Duty. We understood  that inherent in our Duty was the realization that we might be called upon to give our lives in defense of our country. We prepared to do so. The thought that we might be able to serve after our deaths never crossed our minds.  That opportunity, to continue to serve, is here.
      Thousands wait for the precious gift of an organ or tissue donation. Of the thousands, eight to ten will die each day waiting. You can serve and save lives by pledging to donate your organs and tissue upon your death. You are never too old to be a potential organ donor. The advances in pharmacology and surgery make it possible for you to save at least four lives.
     Even if you currently carry a organ donor card or have a driver's license donor indicator, unless your next of kin approve, your wishes may not be honored. By registering and pledging at our site:  http://www.west-point.org/organdonor you will create a document that you can print, date, sign and give to your next of kin.
     We are aware of the value of kidney and heart transplants. But one comes to mind that you may not have considered - the liver. There is no artificial liver or liver dialysis equivalent. The liver is unique in that its performance of some 500 functions has not been duplicated. If it fails, and there is no donor organ available, it is fatal.
     Because of who we are, where we served, and how we served, older active duty military members and particularly veterans, suffer the ravages of Hepatitis C in disproportionately high numbers. For example, current data indicates that 20% of veterans being treated at VA Centers carry the Hepatitis C virus(HCV). Over 50 per cent of VA liver transplants are caused by Hepatitis C. You can be infected with this liver disease in seemingly benign ways, totally unrelated to such "risky" behavior as the sharing of needles by IV drug users. Transfusions with HCV contaminated blood; vaccination with inadequately sterilized needles and syringes in the days before the introduction of disposable needles; a wounded comrade's blood entering an open wound or cut in your body; are among the many ways you can become infected.
     The two of us are among the over 5 million Americans, who are battling Hepatitis C. Someone you know has Hepatitis C and doesn't know it. One of us was given the gift of life by the thoughtful and caring family of a donor. The other is shooting the last pharmacological arrow in his quiver to defeat the disease. If this
arrow doesn't stop the disease, he too may join the many who are waiting for years, in a long line, for a liver transplant. Twelve to fifteen thousand people are waiting for livers at any one time.  And as more and more people are discovered to have the disease, this number will increase.
     We urge you to tell your next of kin and your family that in the event of your death, you want to donate your organs so that others may live. And, we urge you to visit the West Point Organ Donor site at:http://www.west-point.org/organdonor
to pledge your participation. After the initial response, we plan to challenge the other service academies to do the same. After all, it's a neat trick to beat Air Force and Navy after you've gone. If you are awaiting any type of transplant, and listed on the National Registry, please also let us know.
     Donation conforms to our ideals - so that others may live. We urge
you to take the concept of Duty to its apogee.

William D. Bathurst, Class of 1954           William L. Schwartz, Class of 1959

Templeton Guide Recognizes West Point

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- The U.S. Military Academy is recognized for leadership in the field of student character development in The Templeton Guide: Colleges that Encourage Character Development, a guidebook released nationwide today. The academy was one of 100 colleges and universities named to the Templeton Honor Roll for its comprehensive commitment and programs that inspire students to lead ethical and civic-minded lives.
     Designed for students, parents, and educators who believe that character matters, The Templeton Guide contains profiles of 405 exemplary college programs in ten categories, 50 college presidents who have exercised leadership in character development, and the 100 colleges named to the Templeton Honor Roll.
      Lt. Gen. Daniel W. Christman, superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, stated he was honored that the academy was chosen for recognition. "The academy's mission statement clearly articulates our dedication to provide the Army and the nation with leaders of character, committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and a lifetime of selfless service," he said. "We are proud to be recognized for that accomplishment."
     West Point is also is profiled for excellence in two of the 10 program categories: Faculty and Curriculum Programs and Student Leadership Programs. The U.S. Military Academy, founded in 1802, is known worldwide as the premier military institution for leader development.
     "The U.S. Military Academy's strong commitment to character development and the strength of its program make it a model for colleges and universities nationwide," said Arthur J. Schwartz, Ed.D., Director of Character Development Programs at the John Templeton Foundation. "With The Templeton Guide, we hope to help prospective college students and their parents who want to know what colleges are doing to promote the core values of honesty, self-control, respect and service to those less fortunate. The Templeton Guide identifies colleges that encourage students to understand the importance of personal and civic responsibility, which will help them succeed in college and beyond. West Point's work in this area is most impressive."
     Intended for high school students, parents, guidance counselors, college administrators, trustee, faculty and alumni, The Templeton Guide recognizes programs that represent the best practices in the field of character development during the college years. The programs were chosen through a highly selective process that considered clarity of vision and statement of purpose; institutional resources; involvement of institutional leaders; impact on students, faculty, campus and community; integration into the core curriculum or academic study; longevity; external awards and recognition; and assessment.
     Established in 1987, the John Templeton Foundation works closely with educators, scientists, theologians, medical professionals and other scholars throughout the world to support more than 100 programs serving three chief purposes: to encourage character development in schools and colleges; to encourage an appreciation for the benefits of freedom; and to stimulate serious and scientific research on the relationship between spirituality and health. The Foundation's College and Character Initiative supports national programs that offer meaningful opportunities for college students to learn about, reflect upon and practice the virtues of personal and civic responsibility.  The Foundation has created a College and Character website www.collegeandcharacter.org which provides information on the initiative and links to the homepages of colleges selected for The Templeton Guide.
Editor's Note: For further information please contact
West Point Public Affairs Office at (914) 938-2006/4261.

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2000 Oregon/SW Washington Club Officers

President: Al & Patty Klascius (Chad ‘01, Craig '02) klascius@teleport.com
V-President: Richard and Susan Adams (Matt '02) adams@proaxis.com
Secretary:
Treasurer: George & Evelyn Mears (Dwight ‘01) egmears@casco.net
Historian:
Newsletter: Al & Patty Klascius (Chad ‘01, Craig '02) as above
**Please feel free to contact any of the above with questions, suggestions, corrections or for "free" advice.  Your  newsletter editors regret any errors, and appreciate notification of such. Thank you. **

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