Skip Macdonald
9 AUG 33 - 23 NOV 2003
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Marty Macdonald and Susan Griggs
Austin Mini - APR 2008
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Marty Macdonald - Jo Fleeger - Dick Baker
Austin Mini - APR 2008
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Marty and Skip Macdonald
JUL 2003
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Skip Macdonald - Dugan - Auger - Gerry Auger
Vail 1998
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John and Ellen Schick - Skip Macdonald
1987
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Skip and Marty Macdonald - Jack Jeter
1985
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The Skip Macdonalds
Presidio 1984
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Dan Dugan and Jessica (Dan's youngest daughter) - Davidson - Skip Macdonald
1984
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I - 2
1st Row: Skip Macdonald - Harvill - Wray - Roades - Wallis - Meetze - Sims
2nd Row: Tom McCarthy - Bill Brown - Wells - Roth
3rd Row: Vanden Bosch - Schow - John T. Hamilton - Jeter - Walt Campbell
4th Row: Gray - Fralen - Donald - Fiscus
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3rd Bn Staff - 2nd Regt
Maus - Rock - Skip Macdonald - Perkins
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Skip Macdonald was a friend of mine during our cadet years. Skip always had a kind word and was happy to encourage others when they were down. A fine athlete and classroom hive - Skip had the whole package. After June '55 our paths never crossed - but I always considered myself lucky to have known Skip at West Point. Rest in peace Skip - well done. -w Bill Welter November 25 - 2003 Damn.....I wish I'd known Ol' Skip was Ronald Macdonald !! Nevertheless - be thou at peace - old friend....well done. You've caught your last pass...you've scored your last goal......you done good - kid!! Tom......Lax 55 Tom Auger 55 November 26 - 2003 Skip was an inspiration to all of us - from his lacrosse playing to his everpresent smile which brightened dreary cadet days. We crossed paths only infrequntly after graduation - but I always made it a point to see him if I was anywhere near by - it just made me feel better. His strength in dealing with the illness which he suffered and his unwillingness to let it lessen his warm and friendly spirit were an inspiration to all of us - may we all be able to carry on as he did. He will be sorely missed. Bill Roth November 27 - 2003 Athlete - Soldier - Family man - Man of God - Friend! Skip was all of those things and more. He was admired by all who came in contact with him and he deserved that admiration. He will be missed - but there is no doubt he will rest in peace in heaven. Carry on Skip... Jack Campbell '55 November 27 - 2003 As reported by his classmate - Skip MacDonald was laid to rest on 26 November 2000 in San Antonio - Texas. A memorial service was held at noon at the Christ Episcopal Church and was extremely well done and extremely well attended. All of the MacDonald Clan were present and Skip's oldest son - John USMA '79 - gave a wonderful tribute to his father on behalf of the family. The service was very upbeat (a celebration of Skip's life) and ended with the singing of "Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory" (Battle Hymn) - followed by a trumpet solo of "On Brave Old Army Team". Classmates that were able to attend and represent the class were Jon VandenBosch - George Kennebeck - Woody Black - Jerry Crancer - Tom Weaver - Jim Cooper - and Jack Campbell. Skip will be missed. -w Bill Welter November 27 - 2003 I’d like to take this opportunity on behalf of my mother - brothers and sisters - family and friends to share with you the values and character of Skip Macdonald………my Dad. He was the son of a Scot who was a cavalry man who earned his way through high school as a bare knuckle boxer - was simultaneously the commandant and student at Norwich University and was a stern yet loving soldier who had a lot to do with giving Dad his staunch backbone. The mischievous side of Dad was always peeking through; a sense of humor with great timing and tempo. The senior Macdonalds were one of the first families to occupy Berlin in 1946. Dad was also one of the first to decide to sail into the Soviet sector in a small sailboat… “ to see what it was like” (much to the concern of the Soviet Army). At Fort Knox - along with a number of wonderful basketball - football stories and building of the Teenage Hang Out (TAHO) he was also known for having a lively cops and robbers routine where he and his brother Sandy would drive cross country with the authorities in hot pursuit. In his later life - he was always ready with a funny remark or an astute observation. My Mother says that the most outstanding element besides their shared faith in Jesus - was their laughter and fun. As a cadet he was on the honor board of the Cadet Honor System and shared some very tough decisions about classmates who could not stand up to the high standards of Honor set and followed at West Point. This sense of honor and duty was a most strong value in his personal code of conduct. I will always remember one of our first grown up discussion about “THE TRUTH”. I was running with a marginal crew and had found that “little white lies” were most convenient. Dad had other thoughts… So - at the ripe age of 10 we had a long and teary discussion about honesty and integrity. A great lesson for me - but more importantly it taught me what my Dad was really all about. He was fine athlete - and used this gift as an avenue to lead and mentor throughout his life. The team captain of the West Point Lacrosse Team - his athleticism carried through in coaching and refereeing the cadets at the Air Force Academy….but more importantly he took time to coach - watch and help James - Clay and me through a wonderful world of sports. He taught us all to ski - hit - throw - jump - shoot - slide - jink - fake - be the ball - think and most importantly he taught us all that sportsmanship and fair play was really what the game was all about. He and Mom met over graham crackers and milk in early 1956 and after only 14 days of made-in-heaven courting - dancing - some long distance letters - they were engaged and married. He was a great dancer and I’ll not ever forget Mom and Dad taking the floor at a cadet and parent event. I cringed…. until the floor cleared for a dashing couple doing the Charleston and Swing to ooohs and aahs…it was the first time that Mark Twain’s remark that “my parents got so much smarter - more fascinating and talented between my age of 18 and 22” really started to come true. An amazing couple - married 47 years. Dad loved the Army - it’s values - its institutions - discipline - community - camaraderie and service. His favorite assignments were always with troops and especially his commands. He corralled me into the Army at the tender age of 5 by taking me for a ride on a World War II DUKW - amphibious transport on the beaches of Monterey and again later gunning a tank at 15. But that is the way he’d been brought up…getting pie from the troop mess hall - riding his Dad’s horse at the Cavalry school and shooting an M1 carbine on the range in grade school. Dad’s sense of service and loyalty was predominant. Whether in the Army as we’ve talked about - serving his country - preserving freedom - serving soldiers - serving students at the Academy or here in San Antonio College or serving the community in Bible Study Fellowship and Christ church…he was all about loyal service to others. Dad said that 3 years as an attaché in the American Embassy in Argentina was the time he and Mom were “rich and famous”. Besides the glamorous diplomatic life full of formal parties and travel - they were prepared by the State Department to observe - photograph and exchange information in Spanish - especially about the Argentine Nuclear Program. In one dramatic event - Chile and Argentina were on the eve of war… but for the information from Dad’s office telephoned to the State Department then to the Pope who intervened with just a few critical hours to spare. I mentioned pie a moment ago and can’t let that go. Dad had a wonderful sweet tooth that not only - could we all count on - but we also all inherited. Ice cream always elicited a twinkley eye and a midnight trip to the freezer. Even over the last two years Dad would sneak a dab between the cheek and gum just to savor the homemade vanilla and chocolate. Dad was a great teacher. He loved science and experiments. He knew his subject and was blessed with an ability to explain complex concepts with ease…..except to my Mother. Whenever she couldn’t sleep - she would ask him to teach her a physics problem - which he would do in a slow - scientific way with much detail—it worked like a Tylenol PM! And last I have to talk about his inner strength. His sense of personal discipline - sacrifice - toughness and faith have been inspirational to all of us to his last day. He never complained of the pain associated with his illness…but then all through life he never did. He made sure that his burden was his own but gladly would share yours at any moment. So to close these few remembrances - I’d like to use a final verse of the hymn “Hail Alma Mater” from West Point. “Duty be well performed, honor be e’r untarned, country be ever armed,……. and when our work is done, our course on earth is run, may it be said well done, be thou at peace.” As all soldiers want to hear as they finish a mission and task….. I close with “Well done - Dad - Well done”. John Macdonald - 79 Remembrance Service Eulogy--26 NOV 2003 Skip: Remember you well during our cadet days. Although our paths did not cross during after graduation - I know that you enjoyed many challenging assignments during a very successful Army career and followed that with several years of teaching in higher education. You reflected highly upon West Point and the US Army. Well Done - Classmate Dan Dan Ludwig December 2 - 2003 I first knew Skip as Skippy when he was a little brat at Ft. Bliss - Texas back in 1938 or so. I hung out with the slightly older Macdonald twins - Sandy and Sudy. In those days - a couple of years was a large gap and relegated Skippy to being a "little kid." He would follow us around trying to be part of the group of big kids - but we would often ditch him. On one of those occasions - he broke my prized BB Gun - which did not really work - but it could generate a satisfying "Pop!" in our war games. Perhaps he was just trying to see how it worked from an Army Ordnance point of view. Little did I know that many years later we would be Classmates and that Skip would finish 5 files ahead of me in our Cullum number ranking. Rats! His father - then Major Macdonald - used to take us on Sunday afternoon drives around the roads and highways outside of El Paso in their big - dark Buick. We kids would enjoy them so much and an ice cream - soda - or sundae was always provided at the Gunning-Casteel drugstore on Ft. Boulevard - a street just off post. You may recall that his Dad - now Major General Macdonald - gave us a lecture in the theater during Gloom Period one year. I still recall some of his words of advice to us all - to keep irregular hours at times. Get used to rising at any hour and being ready to be instantly - fully functional. The enemy did not work on an eight-to -five schedule. An amusing thing that Skip did on many occasions while we were Cadets would be to come right up to my steady date - look her right in the eye - and never taking his eyes off her - say "Hi - Danny" - ignoring me all the while. Skip - I - and others caroused around quite a lot at Ft. Knox. KY at the Armor School BOC after graduation. As fresh "Second Balloons" with all of that new found freedom - we cut a wide swath - or at least "they" did. I did have the opportunity to see Skip and Marty on occasion when they were stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco - a place on the top of my preference list for Army assignment - but never fulfilled. Rats again - Skip! You aced me out. The Class full and mini Reunions were other occasions to catch up with the Macdonalds over the years. Anyway - we all miss Skip and though "Time like an ever rolling stream - bears all its sons away," we know that Skip has found his well deserved rest. Dan Dugan E-1 January 14 - 2004 Everybody I know liked Skip Macdonald. As an upperclassman in my cadet company he was one of those about whom we said - “I want to be like him.” He had a smile that brightened even gloom period and always had a good word for a friend. I did not see Skip after he graduated - but I thought of him often. I talked to him a couple of years ago after having seen Monk Dilts in Durham. Monk was not doing well. Typically - Skip was as concerned about Monk as he was about his own serious condition. Even though I had not seen Skip in years - I feel like part of me is missing now. Jerry Raymond '56 September 30 - 2004 |
USMA 1955 Roster
USMA 1955 Pictures