50th Class Reunion The Distinguished Class of 1965 had an outstanding 50th Reunion at the Westchester Marriott and West Point from Sunday, May 17 through Wednesday, May 20, 2015. The Class was well represented with 314 grad classmates (65% of living graduates), six non-grad classmates, and one honorary member. Also, 38 deceased classmates were represented by 125 attendees including one mother and 23 widows. In total, 807 attended the Reunion. A complete listing of all attendees is available in alphabetic order and by Cadet Company. The "Greatest Reunion Ever" was made possible through the herculean efforts of the Reunion Committee assembled and coordinated by Tom and Marilyn Kovach. Larry Leskovjan has collected a large number of photographs from "The Greatest Reunion Ever," our 50th, to be published in the Reunion Book. He received more photos that could ever be published but wanted to ensure classmates, widows, families and friends had access to ALL the pictures. The pictures are posted in Larry’s Drop Box. When you click on that link you will see, "...there were a ton of photos that were sent to [Larry]...." (Larry’s words). Because of the total size of all these precious reminders of our Reunion, Larry can only make them available for viewing and download until the end of February 2016. You are strongly encourage to take the time early to view them and download any pictures you would like to keep. Sunday Activities
Activities started with the Golf Outing Sunday morning at the West Point Golf Course. That evening the Class, family and friends gathered for the Welcome Buffet Dinner in the Grand Ballroom of the Westchester Marriott. After dinner entertainment was provided by members of the Alumni Glee Club in both video and live performances. The entertainment started with a Rally including a "Rocket" led by John Seymour (Rollie was originally designated to lead us but handed the ball off to John). A major attraction was the screening of the 15 May 1965 performance of the Cadet Glee Club on the Ed Sullivan show. This was followed by the reprise performances of the joint Cadet and Alumni Glee Clubs rendition of "Army Blue Through the Years" on video and featuring a live performance by the "Village Idiots" -- Jim Ferguson, Terry Ryan, Nancy Ryan, Steve Sperry and Terry Tutchings. Monday Activities
Memorial Service and Cemetery Visit
Buses departed the Marriott at 0800 Monday morning for the Cadet Chapel and a Memorial Service for our deceased Classmates. John McCullough gave a moving Invocation and Meditation where he recounted his remembrance of a number of fallen Classmates he knew. This was followed by the reading of the names of all 115 deceased Classmates and former Classmates. The cemetery visit followed the service. At each Classmates' grave and columbarium site a black and gold brad had been places along with a laminated 3x5 cards with details of their life and a QR Code link to their Memorial Article on the Class Website. Through the QR Codes, visitors to the cemetery were able to take a virtual tour of each Classmates' life. Hellcats and Briefings
Lunch in Eisenhower Hall followed the cemetery visit. After lunch the Hellcats gave a rousing performance in the Eisenhower Hall theater. That got everyone's juices flowing to be followed by Academy and WPAOG Update Briefs. Back at the Marriott Clair Gill, our outgoing Class President conducted the Class Meeting (Power Point Slide Version) where the principal order of business was to amend the Class Bylaws and elect new Class officers for the next five years. Dinner Dance
The Dinner/Dance Monday evening was a sit down dinner. The Marriott did an outstanding job serving a delicious and hot dinner to the 800+ in attendance. During dinner there were two concurrent video presentations going on. The first, prepared by Gerry Buckosky and Jim Olivo, showed each firsty company picture taken from the Howitzer with individual pictures of company-mates giving close-up views of everyone in the company. The second show was a combination of four separate shows. Ralph Locurco showed a reprise of his Beast Barracks (Power Point Slide Version) and Camp Buckner videos (Power Point Slide Version). Rick Bunn compiled a series of pictures with captions (Power Point Slide Version) from the collection he has amassed since becoming the Class Scribe. The last set were the wedding pictures (Power Point Slide Version) Chuck Nichols collected from willing Classmates and family members. Twenty-six pictures of deceased Classmates were submitted for the slide show. Tuesday Activities
Alumni Exercises
Tuesday morning started with a great deal of uncertainty and a lot of apprehension. It had rained during the night and the weather forecast was for more rain during the day. Come 0800 the buses had arrived and everyone started loading not knowing what was to come next. As the buses entered post through Washington Gate the visibility was less than 100 meters. Getting closer to the plane visibility increased and the Class and guests were dropped off behind the reviewing stand. The parade was on. Guests were seated in the stands while all the reunion classes were lined up by Pershing Barracks for the walk to the wreath ceremony at Thayer Monument. After the wreath ceremony the Class took its place on the reviewing line in preparation for the parade. Cadet Review
It was impressive to watch the four regiments of cadets come from the different points of the compass directly to their designated point on the parade field, much different than the linear method by which we took to the field. It was a moving experience to participate in a parade from the reviewing side. At the conclusion of the parade the entire Class along with guests assembled in the bleachers for our Class picture. The pictures are scheduled to be sent to each person who registered for the Reunion sometime in the next four weeks. Lunch in the Mess Hall
At the conclusion of the picture taking everyone scrambled down out of the bleachers for the long trek across the Plain to Washington Hall for lunch and the awards ceremony where six graduates were recognized as Distinguished Graduates of the Academy. Afternoon Activities
After lunch everyone was on their own to visit places on campus. A large number chose to start at the Arvin Gym to see the Arvin Alcove and the display from Bob Jones' imprisonment at the Hanoi Hilton. Some boarded the early bus back to the hotel, others took the scheduled trip to see USMAPS up by Washington Gate, while others still visited the various things to see on campus. Farewell Dinner
The Farewell Dinner was a rather nostalgic activity with most taking the opportunity to visit with old friends and recount things of an earlier day. The evening could easily have continued on into the wee hours of the morning had not the hotel staff started clearing tables and rearranging the room for the buffet breakfast in the morning. The "star" of the Pass in Review, Alex Alexander, best summed up the reunion: 2015 Graduation
Representing the Class of 1965 at the graduation of our Affiliation Class were our four Distinguished Graduates: Ric Shinseki, Joe DeFrancisco, Clair Gill and Buddy Bucha. Here is a picture gallery of our Distinguished Graduates passing out second lieutenant bars to the graduates. To download a copy of a picture, right click on the image and select "Save image as..." A full set of pictures are posted on the AOG Flickr page. Pre-Reunion Activities The below items were the posts made leading up to the 50th Class Reunion. The official 1965 Class 50th Reunion page on the AOG website can be reached by clicking HERE. February 2015 Reunion LetterFebruary 2015 To the USMA Class of 1965 Community, We will gather for our 50th Reunion from Sunday, May 17 through Wednesday, May 20, 2015. Online registration is now available at https://www.westpointaog.org/1965reunion. Select "Register" and pay with a credit card - this is the preferred registration method. The Reunion Agenda and the Reunion FAQ with important information (the latter can be found in the red "SEE ALSO" box) should be viewed prior to completing the registration form. A list of attendees based upon lodging confirmations is also available on our website. Register by 10:00 PM ET on Wednesday, March 4, 2015 for guaranteed Reunion memorabilia at check-in. Registration will remain open until 10:00 PM ET on Sunday, May 3, 2015, but the orders with best-guess estimates for Reunion memorabilia will have been placed earlier. Be sure to periodically check our website for updated 50th Reunion information. If you do not have access to the Internet, contact Tom Kovach at 702.897.4203 for assistance in completing a paper registration. Paper registrations should be mailed to WPAOG by Monday, April 27, 2015. West Point and Class gear is available on our Reunion website under step number 3. Orders must be received by Friday, March 20, 2015. You will receive your items at Reunion (May 17-20). For those who will not attend Reunion, orders will be mailed after Reunion. If you still need to book lodging, both our headquarters hotel (Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown, NY) and our secondary hotel (Courtyard by Marriott in Tarrytown, NY) are sold out. We are working on a block of rooms at a third hotel, and the details will be posted on our Reunion website. If you have any Reunion questions, contact the WPAOG Reunion support team: reunions@wpaog.org or 845.446.1649. We look forward to seeing you at West Point as we RENEW • REFLECT • REJOICE! Strength and Drive!Tom & Marilyn Kovach Co-chairpersons 50th Reunion Committee Registration InstructionsIn regards to registration for our 50th Reunion, I have received a number of questions - mainly on the procedures for registering your wife or significant other. Please do the following:
If you have already registered and have done something different than above, WPAOG routinely reviews all registrations for any apparent inconsistencies. You might then receive a follow-up email to determine if any corrections are needed to your registration. Registration Site OpenTo the USMA Class of 1965 Community, As a reminder, register by 10:00 PM ET on Wednesday, March 4, 2015 for guaranteed memorabilia at check-in for our 50th Reunion, Sunday, May 17 through Wednesday, May 20, 2015.Registration is available at https://www.westpointaog.org/1965reunion. Select "Register" and pay with a credit card. The Reunion Agenda and the Reunion FAQ with important information (also on the reunion website) should be viewed prior to completing the registration form. West Point and Class gear is available on our Reunion website under step number 3. Orders must be received by Friday, March 20, 2015. You will receive your items at Reunion (May 17-20). For those who will not attend Reunion, orders will be mailed after Reunion. If you still need to book lodging, both our headquarters hotel (Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown, NY) and our secondary hotel (Courtyard by Marriott in Tarrytown, NY) are sold out. A third hotel block has been set up at the Springhill Suites Hotel in Tarrytown, NY. Reservation details are posted on our reunion website. A list of registrants who have signed up for the reunion is also available on the reunion website. The list is updated approximately every two weeks and shows just the main registrant. Registration will remain open until 10:00 PM ET on Sunday, May 3, 2015, but orders with best-guess estimates for Reunion memorabilia will have been placed earlier. Be sure to periodically check our website for updated 50th Reunion information. Reunion questions, please contact the WPAOG reunion support team: reunions@wpaog.org or 845.446.1649. We look forward to seeing you at West Point as we RENEW * REFLECT * REJOICE! Strength and Drive! Reunion Date Set 17-20 May 2015A 50th Reunion mailing with lodging information has been sent to the printer. You should receive this mailing in your USPS mailboxes within a week or so. In the meantime, the letter in this mailing is attached for your preview. The tentative reunion agenda will arrive with the mailing and is available on our reunion webpage.Please visit our Reunion Website for the most up to day information. Update - 27 September 2013Tom Kovach provided an update of reunion planning based on his visit to the Westchester Marriott Hotel (our Reunion headquarters and lodging facility) and West Point. Read the details here.Update - 7 November 2012Two new documents have been posted. The first is a letter of invitation to widows/NOK inviting them to our 2015 reunion. The second is the Tentative Reunion Schedule as of 1 November 2012 showing the activities that are being planned for the 17 - 20 May 2015 reunion.Warning OrderTo the West Point Class of 1965 Community: The West Point Class of 1965 will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its graduation from the United States Military Academy with a Reunion to be held during the Alumni Exercises timeframe of Graduation Week in May 2015. Classmates, widows and next-of-kin of deceased Classmates, and former Classmates along with family members and friends are invited to attend. The specific dates that have been announced by the Academy are as follows: Sunday, 17 May 2015 to Wednesday, 20 May 2015 This is your "Save the Date" notification. Mark your calendars now, and do not schedule any conflicting events. No European vacations, no Alaskan cruises, no African safaris, no Great Wall hikes. Then inform your children, grandchildren, and other family members and friends to not schedule any conflicting events. No graduations, no weddings, no Bar Mitzvahs, no childbirths. Basically, "No Excuse, Sir!" for not attending our 50th Reunion. A slight possibility exists that the Academy could change the dates; therefore, block 10-13 May 2015 and 24-27 May 2015 (Memorial Day) as well. If you have not already done so, start saving your pennies and nickels in order to attend our 50th Reunion (well, er, make that dimes and quarters). Your 50th Reunion Committee co-chairpersons have been busily working to create a festive mood for this once-in-a-lifetime event (see attached photo taken earlier this month). We hope everyone catches the fever! Strength and Drive! Tom & Marilyn Kovach Co-chairpersons 50th Reunion Committee Fundraising LetterGentlemen, the attached fundraising letter will be coming to you in the mail in the next few days. Please consider what you might be able to do. Unfortunately the mailing`was slower than anticipated` because of some printing problems and other requirements. One thing that you need to watch is any contribution that you might want to give this year needs to be done before the 31st of December - pay particular attention to a gift that is given using an IRA you own. Also, our campaign goes until the summer of 2015 so there is plenty of time to spread your gift over the five year period. We appreciate what you have done in the past and hope you can support our final gift that will be given at the 50th Reunion. Again our thanks and we'll be contacting you in the near future. Best...Harry |