In mid-May Bob Bradley let the class leadership know that Dave Thompson, our classmate Mike Thompson’s son, was getting married. Bob wanted to know if the class did anything to mark the marriage of classmate children – the quick answer was “no.”

You may recall that Mike was sadly killed in a house fire in 1999.

Well before knowing Dave was Mike’s son, Bob met Dave in San Diego and the two became friends, The class provided Dave and his bride, Bria, with a congratulatory letter and a class coin, not much but the connection to his dad appreciated by the newlyweds. The wedding took place in Litchfield, Mn on July 7th.

In addition to the letter and coin Bob gave the couple a 2004 Lexus hardtop convertible – per Bob, a perfect convertible for Minnesota winters.

Tom Carll’s Celebration of Life took place this past Saturday July 8th in Historic Downtown, Bryan,TX, Tom’s Birth home, attended by well over 100 people, the majority of whom were family and friends current and past. I read tributes and memories from many classmates and of course emphasized that Tom was one of the best and most admired from one the greatest classes ever to graduate from West Point! Attendees from our class in addition to me and my wife Grace Anne, were Tom Henneberry, Bob Bedell, Larry Neal, Ray Woodruff, and Fred Grates wife Grace Anne, Larry Neal, and Mike Lapolla (all I-1 Classmates).

Susan Carll, Tom’s wife, prepared an extensive display tribute to Tom.

Pat Kenny wrote to the Leadership Team to share with them the last Bunnogram written by Rick Bunn the day before he passes, which is attached.

Bob Frank commented, "It is a reminder of how greatly Rick contributed to the Class. His time as Scribe was incredibly important in my view. His ability to communicate was one of the most important factors in keeping the Class informed, engaged and united. His sincerity and dedication made his Bunnograms something that each of us looked forward to receiving, and left each awaiting the next one. I don’t know how many times I spent helping him identify people in photos or getting some fact nailed down, but it was always a joy to receive his phone call or email to work out the details of his snippets to the Class. I treasure my interactions with Rick, whether it was working on Bunnograms, playing golf with him or sitting in awe of his superb eulogy of Ron Walter.

"Now, about the Baja adventure. Rick and Ron got together during Graduation Leave (remember that time?) and decided to drive Ron’s brand new GTO from San Bernardino, Ron’s family home, down to Cabo San Lucas. Cabo was just a little fishing village back in 1965. Anyhow, the two had not gotten far from the border (maybe 100 miles into Mexico) when they were stopped by Federales. These guys had pistoles hanging on their hips and looked to be serious dudes. Using his decent Spanish, Ron managed to learn that these guys wanted their money. So, Rick and Ron paid up with all the cash they had with them. In the pre-ATM and credit card days, that left the two amigos with no money and just enough gas to make it back to the border. To say their trip was cut short was an understatement, but to listen to Rick the adventure lasted much longer and the outcome was uncertain at the time."

Bob Frank shared this picture with some of us in the picture. He identified it as a 1989 picture at an Engineer gathering. Clair Gill identified it as being at Fort Leonard Wood during the transition of the Engineer School from Fort Belvoir. This was the annual Engineer Dinner, being held at Leonard Wood for the first time. According to Tad Ono, he thinks the honoree at the dinner was Max Thurman, there to receive the DeFleury Medal. If any of you have additional information or can help clarify the identity of the sharp looking 0-6es pictured, please let me know.

After additional research, the original posting of this picture in Class Notes was found in the 1989v48n3Oct issue. It was the Engineer Dinner at Fort Leonard Wood but the DeFleury recipient was John O. Marsh, Jr. Secretary of the Army. Here is the comments accompanying the picture.

Not to be outdone, '65's engrs were represented by a great letter from Chuck Nichols (his first since 6/65?) who is the CO, Cold Regions Research and Engring Lab in Norwich, NH. He wrote this letter only under duress, having promised the classmates in the picture that he would do so. From left to right, there is Rick Charles, deputy to the ACE; Pat Kenny, dir of info mgt for USACE; Ralph Locurcio, CO, Savannah Engr District; Clair Cill, CO. 7th Engr Bde; Tad Ono. CO, LA Engr District, soon to be TRADOC Engr; Frank Skidmore, CO. Vicksburg Engr District; Pete Cahill CO Belvoir R&D Center; Emory Pylant,. deputy com of the Engr School; Chuck Nichols; Bob Herndon, CO, Jacksonville Engr District; and Wayne Scholl, FORSCOM engr. Chuck, Elaine and Jason (18) report they really enjoy the Hanover (Dartmouth) region. I wish I had known earlier about your location, Chuck, because Judy & I stayed in the famous Lyme Inn just down the road from you when Army played Dartmouth this past spring in baseball. Perhaps we'll catch you in two yrs.

Aloha from the beautiful island of Kaua’i:

Yesterday I was privileged to have lunch at Gaylord’s Kilohana in Lihue* with our distinguished classmate Ric Shinseki and his beautiful wife Patty. I am happy to say that Ric opened his wallet and picked up the tab. Plus a bottle of fine wine.
* https://www.kilohanakauai.com/the-plantation-house-by-gaylords

We knew each other at West Point, but could not remember the circumstances. We have been corresponding recently regarding our scholarship awards given to local high schools. I believe I sent you those photos. Ric is a graduate of Kaua’i High School and Patty, Waimea High School on the far side of the island. Apparently that geographical undesirability worked out extremely well!

It is hard to cram 116 years of personal histories into a two hour lunch, but we made a good dent, hopefully to be continued at a future date. Ric is only the second classmate I have seen here in my 25 years of retirement. I think Bill Bradley was the other. John Seymour had plans to play golf, but that was interrupted by his sudden death.

Unfortunately, the lunch was overshadowed by the decimation of Lahaina, Maui by the 70mph wind-driven fire. Even the boats in the harbor burned and people had to escape by swimming, not all of them made it. Penny and I vacationed there for 15 years, totaling almost a year in time. I am sure many of our classmates have visited Maui over the years.

'We're all homeless': Maui wildfires incinerate houses and kill at least 36 people cnn.com

Ric, Patty, and myself. Fortunately we had beauty between the beasts…my old shirt is XL, needed another “X”, can’t make the 157 wrestling weight class or Sprint Football “no more”.

This in from Barrie Zais

From 4 to 14 August three colonels of infantry ventured to Canada in pursuit of the elusive smallmouth bass. Bill Sherrell flew from Seattle to Myrtle Beach where he was picked up by Bob Radcliffe. They pulled Bob’s boat to Carlisle, PA where they joined Barrie Zais for a two-day drive to a fishing camp three hours north of Toronto. The group is normally four colonels of infantry, but Jim Wood could not make it as a result of some health issues. The weather was great, the island camp on the French River beautiful, and the bass somewhat cooperative.

From time to time we let the class know about the publication of a book written by a classmate. This is not a promotion or endorsement, but simply a courtesy. The book is a collection of stories of individuals who served in the armed forces, to include seven classmate stories.

There are contributions from seven classmates; John Swensson, Ralph Adams, Dave LaRochelle, Jim Harvey,Jerry Merges, Jay Vaughn, and Bob Anderson.

Jim Stephenson messaged that Al Quie passed away last week. ..."Who's He? ... Jim unearthed some rare history about the Congressman who appointed '65s own Fred Smith. See attachments, but first Fred provides some narrative:

Boo, Jim Stephenson is correct in that Al Quie appointed me to join USMA 1965. He is quite likely the last of the many Congressmen and Senators who appointed USMA 1965 to West Point. Al Quie represented the Southeast counties of Minnesota, my home State.

• I never met the congressman but have never forgotten his nomination and the impact on our lives.
• I don't know anything about the Principal Nominee who chose not to accept the Appointment, but I am grateful for his late decision as well.
• Both were necessary for allowing me to join the Class of 1965 on that July 5, 1961 date

BACKGROUND STORY:

My father was a WWII Veteran who left the farm and decided to make the Army his career. My brothers and sisters grew up as "Army Brats". Our family moved to Mainz, Germany in December 1958. My father Roman A. Smith was assigned to the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment which was reassigned to Germany from Ft. Bragg. Our family, which included 6 kids, went along. I attended Gen. H.H. Arnold High School in Wiesbaden starting halfway through sophomore year until graduation in 1961.

I applied to attend West Point from Germany and used our families domicile of Mower County, Minnesota. Al Quie was the Congressman at the time. I was informed around March 1961 that I was qualified but was not appointed.

In early June 1961 I was informed by telegram that the situation had changed, and I now was appointed. The guy who had the Appointment had changed his mind and declined the Appointment. I was in!! My life changed at that time and 4 weeks later I joined our Class.

I was named after my Grandfather Fred Smith and Al Quie sent him a letter which he forwarded to my father. Many years later My Dad or Mom gave me the letter. I had last seen my grandfather in the Summer of 1958 when I was a 14-year-old kid. His notes on the margins of the letter are a sweet memory. Attached.

I said my goodbyes to family and friends and flew on a "space available" flight out of Frankfurt and got to West Point on my own. I did not see any family for a year. My father's next assignment was to be the Assistant S-1 USCC with his office in Central Area in the 18th Division. He was a CW4 and signed many of our orders, ID Cards and slugs. For the last three years of my cadet career, I could visit family most any time as they lived in family quarters on Post. Many years later I learned from Larry Neal that there was a Roman. A. Smith Society. I never knew about it at the Academy.

Attached is the backstory on that interesting subject. My Dad never interfered with my cadet activities, grades or life. The family met and welcomed Mary Ellen in September 1963, homecoming Game. He certainly had access to all my records, good and bad. He and my Mom travelled long and far from their life as Minnesota farmers.

...Nice memories

Fred Smith

This from Jim McEliece

Fred,

I never knew (or memory fails) that you were one of us MN guys. Eerie how similar our stories are. I attended high school in northern Virginia, where 4 close friends – Dave Mastran, Tom Johnson, Jack Tidwell, and Rick McCauley – were all planning to attend USMA on graduation (and did). They had all the appointments sewn up. But in the spring of my junior year, my father (FAA) announced we had been transferred to – ugh – Minnesota. The politicos there had open competition for appointments, so I applied and got Sen. Eugene McCarthy’s – a man I never met. I also sat down the first day in school next to little Julie Gilman – my current wife. So what seemed like an unmitigated disaster (transfer in senior year of high school) turned out to determine a 58-year marriage (so far) and a 30-year Army career. Coincident? I think not. Praise the Lord.

Jim McEliece

As many of us have reached octogenarian status, with some of us still trying to catch up, we find ourselves looking back almost as much as looking forward. And, with Patriot Day (9/11) fast approaching, I want to pay tribute to this special band of patriots. They are representative of Strength And Drive as a whole. The story behind this photo is truly inspiring. Tim Vogel (in the Army A cap) faced a major health issue. He was dealing with progressive supranuclear palsy, a Parkinson's like condition. The Classmates surrounding Tim banded together to provide not only considerable resource support but also the moral support he enjoyed in his declining years. The photo depicts a gathering at the nursing home in Montana. Sitting left to right are : Don Parcells, Tim Vogel, Denny Lewis, John Seymour. The back row consists of Chuck Pfeifer, Bob Jones, Ray Paske, Rollie Stichweh, Dave Kuhn, Chuck Shaw.

Its been a long time since this photo was taken. Sadly, many of these stalwarts are gripping hands with us only through the shadows.

From Ken Yoshitani,

Chicago ’65 got together for lunch to send off Ken & Izumi Yoshitani to Minneapolis.

There were several AWOLs from this gathering, Denny Coll, Tom Croak, John Roseberg and Ron Layer. As usual, we caught up on the status of our grandkids.

From Dave Hopkins,

The Central Virginia group got together at Firebirds in the Short Pump Town Center, Richmond, VA, for our quarterly luncheon on Sep 7, thanks to Bob Clover’s organizing efforts. We were very happy that Roger Griffin attended, looking very healthy after his interactions with his cardiologists in May. Emery and Eleanora Chase couldn’t attend because of her continuing recovery from a broken vertebrae in June.

It’s worth noting that Jim and June Harvey and Bob and Tricia Clover spend about 4 hours round trip commuting to Richmond from Chesapeake, VA and Northern VA, respectively, to attend the luncheon. The food at Firebirds is very good but it’s not THAT good, so the attraction must be hearing re-runs of stories about cadet life, Vietnam, and years in the Army. On the other hand, even though we’ve been getting together for 15 years, we don’t remember ever hearing some of the stories told. (Not sure whether that’s because the stories are new or because we don’t remember what we had for breakfast.)

From Barrie Zais

Enroute to Bob Radcliffe’s annual class golf outing being held in Ocean City, MD, 17-20 September, Mike and Joanie Huston stopped to visit with Barrie and Lynda Zais in Carlisle, PA. The photo is in front of the visitors center at Gettysburg National Battlefield. Left to right are Lynda, Barrie, Mike, and Joanie. More on the class outing later.

Mitch Bonnett provided this following information. One of those to be honored this year is Bob Arvin. The "Hall of Honored Members" lists Joe Anderson as a previous honore. Their writeups follow the event announcement. Click on the image below to go to the Hall of Honor website.

Carl Robert Arvin was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on 19 January 1943. At Ypsilanti High School, “Bob” was valedictorian of his graduating class, and accepted an appointment to United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating with the Class of 1965. He was then assigned to Fort Benning, Georgia, for Airborne and Ranger training, and thereafter to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Bob received orders for Vietnam in 1967. For combat actions on 5 September 1967, he received the Silver Star and Purple Heart. On 8 October 1967, during a sweep of a suspected enemy base, Bob’s unit was attacked by an entrenched enemy regiment. The intensity of the enemy’s fire pinned down the unit in an exposed, untenable position. He repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire as he moved about, directing supporting fires. Bob was mortally wounded by small arms fire and died on the battlefield. His heroic actions assisted his battalion in defeating a superior enemy force and were recognized by award of a second Silver Star. Bob was buried at West Point on 17 October 1967. General William Westmoreland, Commander of U.S. military forces in the Republic of Vietnam, wrote, “He was one of the most outstanding young men I have had the privilege of knowing. The Army has lost one of its future leaders.”

Joseph B. Anderson Jr. was born in Topeka, Kansas, and has lived in Bloomfield Hills for more than 30 years. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, in 1965 and became a commissioned officer in the US Army. His military service spanned 13 years, including two combat tours in Vietnam with the 1st Cavalry Division. Later in his military career, Anderson commanded troops in the 82nd Airborne Division. In addition to troop command, Anderson served as aide-de-camp for two general officers and as an assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point. While in the Army, Lieutenant Colonel Anderson was selected to be a White House Fellow and worked as Special Assistant to Secretary of Commerce, Juanita Kreps, for one year.

His military awards include 2 Silver Star Medals, 5 Bronze Star Medals, 3 Army Commendation Medals, and 11 Air Medals. Anderson and the infantry platoon he commanded in Vietnam were subjects of the highly acclaimed documentary film "The Anderson Platoon." This documentary has been shown in more than 20 countries and won several awards, including an Oscar and an Emmy. After 13 years of distinguished service and early selection for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, Joseph Anderson resigned his commission and continued to work for Secretary Kreps until joining General Motors, where he would serve for an additional 13 years. He continued to utilize his leadership qualities as a businessman and a pillar in his community. After owning 12 companies and serving in several different executive and board leadership positions, Anderson’s broad range of life experiences allowed him to support numerous veteran and community causes in his spare time and to serve as a mentor to many others.

Denny Coll was out and about attending the '65 Golf Outing and ran into our classmate Chris Needels. Denny's wife, Kathy, then Googled Chris and found this: Army Paratrooper Chris Needles.

Chris has lived a full life and even has maintained his 150 lbs weight all his life. Great life time work Chis!

The May 2021 golf outing in Ocean City MD worked so well that Bob Radcliffe and Fred Smith decided to host the second gathering there in Sep 2023. Participation was strong and this time included wives and significant others. The weather cooperated for the first two days of golf, but rain threatened on day 3. Nevertheless, the stalwarts plowed on.

The Fenwick Inn provided a workable hospitality suite, which of course means that a card table could be comfortably set up. Our first clue that the Class was open for business was the sign outside the suite door.

A few of the stalwarts enjoying the hospitality suite on Sunday night are seen in the next two photos.

Dinner on Sunday night was on our own. However, Monday night dinner after our first round of golf was in the hotel restaurant, from which we could see both the Atlantic Ocean and the bay to the west. We were treated to a spectacular sunset.

Documenting the fun and festivities was our former Scribe and now unofficial Class photographer Denny Coll. A sample of his work follows.

The real challenge for our inimitable photographer was to get a group photo. Not only was it hard to get everyone looking at the camera (eyes open!), but Denny had to rush into the picture before the timer went off. The result:

Golf on the second day found our intrepid photographer out on the golf course. So as not to embarrass any of the players, no action photos are included, despite many having been taken. One photo merits posting.

Although a fourth Class president (Fred Laughlin was already out on the course), Denny Coll did manage to coral the three (Clair Gill, Pat Kenny, Russ Campbell) who followed Fred’s tenure.

 

The final night of this outing was enjoyed at the home of Fred and Mary Ellen Smith. Their getaway place in Bethany Beach DE was the perfect setting for the culmination of our joyous coming together, as you will see below.

Mary Ellen standing out of the way of the chow hounds Mitch Bonnett, John Swensson, Barrie Zais and Chuck McCloskey in the on deck circle.

 

 

As host, Fred Smith took the floor to thank Bob Radcliffe for his more than two decades of keeping ‘Class golf’ an integral part of our Class’s activities. All present seconded this sincere expression of appreciation.