August, 2002; Page 5

(2004 Cont.)

That day we took him to West Point to get some of his things and he ran into his brother’s squad leader and instructed him to give Matt extra push-ups from him. We have had a couple of phone calls and he wants to hear all news about his brother. Like any good brother he wants Matt’s beast to be as hard as his.

Joe Kidder: Joe spent June at Ft. Benning, Georgia (Airborne). We (his family) got to see him jump on four of his five jumps. It was thrilling to see. Also we presented Joe with his “Wings” on June 28th. Joe Spent a week with us (Mom and Dad) in Alabama while his sister and brother were at Church camp. On July 8th we drove to Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C. and left Joe to continue his next assignment at Ft. Bragg for the month of July. He will be returning to West Point on August 11th for his “Cow” year. It was a very full summer for Joe.

Aaron Poe: This has been a busy summer for Aaron, as I am sure it has been for all of our cadets. Immediately after graduation he departed for Ft. Lewis, Washington and Platoon Leader duty with the 25th Infantry Division. His comment: “This is what West Point has trained me to do.” He loved every minute of it: the 7-mile runs; the weather; the Post; the duty! He left Ft. Lewis with a glowing efficiency report and headed directly to Ft. Benning and Airborne School. His solitary complaint on Benning to date has been the weather. Ft. Lewis spoiled him and he had forgotten what weather in the South is like. He has laughingly commented on the essence of Ben Gay hanging over the barracks. We head out on the 22nd for jump week and graduation on the 26th. As a former paratrooper, Dick is looking forward to the privilege of pinning jump wings on our cadet. A proud moment indeed!

Mark Swanson: Mark had a successful academic year; he remained on the Dean’s List, despite his worries. He won a Brigade championship patch for a swim meet that was for non-swim team members. He was pleased to earn the gold level German Proficiency badge (road march, pistol shooting, and swimming). Mark graduated from Airborne School at Ft. Benning, Ga. July 3rd. Parents and girlfriend watched as the proud (retired) paratrooper father pinned on his wings. Mark returned to WP to be a platoon sergeant at Beast. He is pleased that he will keep his same roommate next school year.

GO ARMY!

BEAT NAVY!

CLASS OF 2005

“KEEPING FREEDOM ALIVE”

Nathan Brown: Nathan had a great second semester earning a 3.85 GPA. After a three-week break in Tampa, during which I think we saw him for 6 hours, he was off to Camp Buckner. He’s having a wonderful time. All the military stuff is what he signed up for. Nathan has a cell phone but has to go to the part of “cell phone hill” where there is reception for Sprint phones. Even then the signal is weak, but we do enjoy hearing form him. Larry and Jan flew up to Fort Knox and stayed at the Wickham guesthouse. They missed the cadet arrivals, but were able to link up with Nathan at 1330 on Sunday when they were released. Special kudos to the West Point Parents Club of Kentucky for keeping all the visiting parents well informed about what was going on. The cadets didn’t have to check back in until 2200 so we had a nice afternoon visiting the Patton Museum, stalking up on boodle, napping and going out to eat for a big steak. Monday morning was the CALFEX. Unlike last year, it was well organized and they (Fort Knox Public Affairs Office) took special care of the Cadet parents. We really enjoyed the static displays at CALFEX. It was great fun climbing all over the tanks and Bradleys and howitzers and helicopters. We were able to visit with Nathan after the cadets arrived at the CALFEX site. During the demonstration, Nathan was able to sit with us in the Parents seating area. CALFEX was very impressive and very loud. Unfortunately, the cadets had training after CALFEX and were not released until 2045 and had to return at 2200 so all we had time to do was go to Burger King for a burger. We left Fort Knox Tuesday morning which was just as well because they had a very full training schedule for the rest of the week. So we weren’t likely to see much of him. Nathan really enjoyed driving the Abrams tank simulator and firing the .50 caliber machine gun. He’s looking forward to completing Buckner and getting back for re-orgie week. He’ll be in B-4 starting the fall semester.

Andrea Travis: Andrea Travis finished up her plebe year on dean’s list, which helped her spirits greatly. Summer break was wonderful for her to visit former high school friends, have a sailing trip with family, and take some side excursions on her own. With some trepidation, she enthusiastically returned to West Point for CFT at Camp Buckner. We just visited her at Ft. Knox for CALFEX and enjoyed a wonderful visit. From all indications, she is not only doing well this summer, but actually enjoying the field training. Her WP friendships continue to grow stronger with time and experiences together. Andi is now excited about getting back to “campus” and has a solid commitment going into her Yearling year. This is a long way from Beast Barracks.

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