The 2023 National Museum of the US Army (NMUSA) calendar is out, with a letter from our own Ric Shinseki. Ric is the Chair of The Army Historical Foundation, the non-profit entity that supports the Museum. Besides Ric’s letter, there is another connection to the Class. In this case, it has to do with Ken and Izumi’s daughter-in-law. During Operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY in Haiti, 1LT Gail Yoshitani served with the 118th Military Police Company (Airborne). Gail’s MP brassard now is on display at NMUSA in the “Changing World Gallery." Many will recall that Gail is now Professor and Head of the Department of History, USMA, a position that Bob Doughty held for many years.

As Ric says in his letter, “…come visit [NMUSA]. Bring your family and friends; you will not be disappointed.” I think this understates the reaction you will have upon visiting. The Museum is magnificent, and you will be thrilled by the experience! Just ask those who attended the 55+1 Reunion.

Bob Frank reminds us that during 55+1, '65 scheduled a tour of the Army Museum. I, for one, attended. This history museum is worth at least half a day attending. The most memorable part of the tour for me was a video in a room where sound was accompanied by floor vibrations. There are life-like settings showing the progress of armaments over the decades and centuries as well. Here is a link: The NMUSA where you can take a virtual tour, but surely not a substitute for being there in person to experience it up close and personal.

From Fred Smith,

On Wednesday 18 January in King of Prussia, PA we had a dozen Classmates assemble for lunch. A wide range of subjects were discussed with a lots of memories and shared history included. As expected, we have had a wide range of life experiences. We were mostly successful in not discussing medicines or medical issues that are current.

Bob Frank adds his thoughts:

I applaud the Philadelphia crew for their efforts to stay in contact. It is gatherings like these that feed into the desire to attend Reunions. Fred’s slant on the get together is exactly on point regarding the diverse life experiences of the 12 gathered on 18 January. One of my observations was how little most of those present know much about what is going on at West Point. (Some are rather well informed.) I am uncertain that much can be done to change the limited awareness. After all, WPAOG and USMA put out quite a bit of information. One only has to be on a list-serve or go to a webpage to stay informed.

Jack Jannarone has volunteered to be our '65 representative to AOG. He will attend meetings from time to time and pass on the poop.

Here are some notes from Jack:

My first meeting will be in May, and I will try to generate a report. I do receive “First Call” e-mails regularly from AOG. Do they go to all of the Class? I also pickup a paper copy of“The Pointer View” each week at the Commissary (guess who does the grocery shopping). The PV can be accessed on westpoint.edu. In fact, if you type Pointer View in the search window, you will get to the PV archives going back several years. That could be brought to the attention of our Class. Army-Navy BB is starting now on CBS supports!

Fred Smith reports on Art Hester's memorial service:

It’s always an enjoyable time of getting together for a couple of hours. We covered the usual subjects: cadet stories, Army stories, 60th reunion, medical updates, kids, grand-kids, etc., etc. Our next get together should happen in 3-4 months.

Coincidentally, our waitress has two uncles who are grads, and she attended the graduation for the class of 2022. When she took pictures of our group, she asked us to give her a thumbs up for one of them, and that photo is attached.

Cathy and I had a pleasant dinner with a couple of classmates and their wives here in Naples last week. Cathy and I live here full time. Bob Frank and Mary were in the Naples area. Dave and Donna Mastran live here part of the year. We had a chance to get together for dinner at a nice restaurant downtown. It was great catching up with all the happenings and travels. It was a fun evening.

The Heritage Hunt Community in Gainesville, VA held their annual Founders Day dinner on March 12th. The entertainment that evening was by the West Point Alumni Glee Club. They opened the before dinner portion of the program with "Benny Haven's Oh" and finished it off after dinner with the Alma Mater. The entire program was a departure from the Club's normal format of singing from the risers. Some of the new elements of the performance were Buddy Holly's "Oh Boy", "Music of the Night" from Phantom of the Opera, the Irish limerick "Parting Glass" honoring deceased Alumni Glee Club members, and an adaptation of "YMCA".

At the conclusion of the performance all Class of '65 members present and their significant others poised for a picture.

In case you are wondering why Terry Ryan and Jim Fergusson are out of uniform, it is because they were part of the group that performed "YMCA" as a take-off of "Army Blue" as you can see in this picture.

At the Villages in FL. Eisenhower Recreation Center, March 18, 2023. Oldest grad was Murray '62. Closing in on us but we still have more '62 and one '64 holding the line. Youngest grad was '80. Imagine that!

Beat Navy...like we did this year in swimming after decades of losing.

At the Villages in FL. Eisenhower Recreation Center, March 18, 2023. Oldest grad was Murray '62. Closing in on us but we still have more '62 and one '64 holding the line. Youngest grad was '80. Imagine that!

Beat Navy...like we did this year in swimming after decades of losing.