The WPPC
of Oregon & SW Washington Newsletter

SHORT SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING EVENTS

West Point Parents' Club of Oregon
  & SW Washington Newsletter -December. 1999

Looking forward to seeing you all on
11:30 to preview Buckner Video, 12:30 executive, 1:00 meeting
Contact Patty or Al Klascius by e-mail <klascius @teleport.com>

This is a diary account re: Graduation, interspersed with good advice submitted by Sheri Matson (Jeff '99)
-----Sat. May 22, 1999 Arrived Boston 11pm
-----Sun. May 23, 1999 After Jeff's fiance's graduation (general ceremony and actual engineering ceremony) from BU we packed up all Suzanne's gear from her dorm room at BU and headed to West Point to drop off Jeff. We had pizza at Shades in Highland Falls, then headed to the grandparents homestead in Monroe, CT. about 1 1/2 hours away. A very long day. But renting a van is the only way to travel!
-----Mon. May 24, 1999 Stayed in Monroe to acclimate!
-----Tues. May 25, 1999 Drove up to West Point with the grandparents for picnic lunch on the river with Jeff. Then drove up the river to Hyde Park. The ticket is $10.00, but it is interesting, if you are into history of the area. We dropped off Jeff and headed back to CT.
-----Wed. May 26, 1999 Met Jeff at 1pm went to gift shop, ran into the Stone's (Heather '99). Then headed across the Hudson River by way of Bear Mt. Bridge, to Henry's on the Hudson restaurant for late lunch. Very good, but a long drive, about 45 minutes.
     West Coast grandparents due in at 6:30pm at Stewart, delayed until 11:30 pm. We went to the Choir concert at the Chapel. But we left early because Jeff wasn't sure of the uniform and saw his TAC up front and didn't want to deal with him (he was in civilian clothes)! We made it out the back door!
-----Thurs. May 27, 1999 I have to say the Thayer Hotel did as best they could under the construction circumstances! And I would recommend that anyone who can stay there for the graduation week do it. The location is ideal. After the remodel it will be wonderful. We grabbed the continental breakfast set up in the hallway, and headed for the Parade field by 9:30am. The parade didn't start until 10:30 so we had plenty of time, we used the handicapped parking, good locations
     The drill teams were first up, then the Supe's review, and it ended with the skydivers. A great way to start the day. We met Jeff at 1pm. His room was right across from the Supe's garden so it was easy to wait for him on the corner, across from the gym. We went to the firsty club but found it too crowed so we went to IKE hall for some fast food in their cafeteria. Don't forget about this place it is fast and easy.
     Back at the Hotel we changed for the Supe's reception at 3pm in his garden. Very nice. We met Jeff's room mate and family and actually stayed quite long.           From there we checked out the officer's club for dinner reservations, and got them for 5:30 pm. We all had a drink then went to dinner. The buffet was average, but the view beautiful. Jeff had to rush off to change uniforms. We went to Baccalaureate at 7pm. Got there at 6:45 sat in the back and used the handicapped parking. Went back to Hotel to change for the "A" dance. Supposed to be less formal than grad Hop but you see everything! Band was really great, and not loud! Not many danced, at least while we were there. Saw Gene Stone, and Pat and Jim Johnson(Rick '99) from the Washington Club. We stayed until 10:30. The kids took off for the firsty club, which closed early! Jen was staying with Jeff's sponsors and Suzanne with us.
-----Fri. May 28, 1999 Up early for breakfast in the hallway, bumped into Sawsers (Brian '99) and the Millers (Jake '99). Drove over to handicapped parking. Met the rest of the group over there. We were only allotted 4 tickets in the stands. Bummer! So the rest of the group picked out a spot at the end of the bleachers. But they were the second row. They had their lawn chairs for the grandparents who couldn't stand. And wouldn't you know it, the folks in the front row with the blankets stood the whole time and our group was essentially aced out of a view! Check it out, if you can't be in the stands, then have someone out early and snag a front row spot.Find out where your cadet's company will be and try to sit in the stands close. Jeff's D company way right in front of us! It was quite a change of command ceremony, and then the cadets passing in review for the seniors!   Jeff had plans right after the parade, we knew it but hoped that he would show up. We had a big picnic. And when he finally showed up we walked over to the stadium to check out our seats. Good idea. Jeff showed us approximately where he would be and then he knew where to come after the ceremony to meet us
     Dinner that night - we were supposed to meet at Mac statue, bad idea. The whole street in front of the mess hall was closed even for handicapped!  So we had to park back at the stands. That meant that my Dad had to walk the whole length of the plain to dinner! That should have been reconned! Allow more time, and research. Our group split for dinner and we (the overflow) had dinner in the officers club. It was crowded, and the TV's small, but OK because we had had dinner in the mess hall before. Just be sure to do it at least once!
     We met up after dinner and found a handicapped parking spot below Ike Hall, perfect! This dance was considerably more crowded. The grandparents called it a night very early and we hung on for a while, but soon faded. We got to see most of Jeff's buddies all duded up in India Whites, they really are a bunch of gorgeous guys and girls!
-----Sat. May 29, 1999 We headed over to the stadium early and dropped off Dad, Dick parking the car, who knows where! We found the seats easily. It was a hike up for my Dad, but he wouldn't have missed it for anything. There is special seating for those who can't handle stairs, but I don't know where.  The rest of our group showed up and we waited. It was hot, be prepared with water, sunscreen, umbrella, etc etc.
     But the actual ceremony - what else can you say but awesome. Be prepared to make some noise for your cadet when he goes up on the podium! I bought a cow bell, that they use at track meets, and Jeff said he never even heard it!  But our section sure did! After Jeff found his way to us in the stands, (which was the easiest way to go, it's way too crowded down below) he got his hugs and kisses all around then headed out to change uniforms again (for the last time out of cadet gray) and pack, etc.
     We were left to make our way to where we would pin Jeff's bars on. There were many options but he chose the grounds at the Chapel. So again with picnic in hand we headed in that direction. There was no way to get to the car and even if we had we would have been in a super traffic jam the whole time. So my Dad and the rest of the grandparents marched out. They did a good job, with many stops along the way. But again be prepared. This was not thought out very well. There is no way to get a car close to the stadium at that time with all the crowds. At least it was mostly down hill.
     When Jeff showed up he was in his greens! We pinned his bars on with family beaming, and then he presented his parents with a saber. (nice touch kid)!
     After picnic lunch, the cars were rounded up, Jeff headed back for final check out, and we headed back to the Hotel to check out. Correction: We had to check out that morning because they would have charged us an extra day for staying past noon!!!!!! We took off for the real party in CT with lot's of  lobster and champagne! Actually most everyone behaved as all the West coaster's were flying out the next day! What an experience!

Points to remember:
---Checkout handicap parking. Ask about street closures
---Check with your cadet where to meet and what time, know HIS schedule
---Picnic work's! The restaurants are crowded, take snakes, and water
---Rental car - van was fantastic
---Stay at the Thayer if possible, can't beat the location!
---Order the graduation video, it sounds cheesy, but it's fun to watch and try to find your cadet!
     Well, that about does it. I hope this helps make some families' trip a little easier. Don't ever even think about missing this experience!

ARMY-NAVY FOOTBALL

     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 warbonds in order to purchase a game ticket. $58 million in war bonds were purchased as a result of this effort. An INTERESTING TRIVIA bit for a plebe
to supply to upperclass if a piece of such is needed.

ANCHORS AWEIGH FOR THE CORPS

The following is from a 3 December 1994 issue of the Richmond Times

Dispatch written by John Steadman of the Baltimore Sun. The article was inconjunction 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.
     "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 theCadets 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 playe 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."

1999 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: George & Evelyn Mears (Dwight ‘01) egmears@casco.net
Treasurer: Wayne & Carol Hatton (Sarah ‘00) sarahpdx@aol.com
Historian Suzanne Olsen (Michael '03) kentolsen@home.com
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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