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Dear ’mates:
As another plebe summer draws to a close, the
Brigade returns, and football season begins, the Flower Children who remain on
active duty are few – but they are highly distinguished. Mike Groothousen
retired in a 20 June ceremony on board HARRY
S. TRUMAN (CVN 75) in Norfolk.
Mike is a former Skipper of TRUMAN. His
last job was Commander, Navy Region Europe and Commander, Maritime Air Naples.
Our
class Marine Corps reporter, JJ Cuff, reports from Camp Lejeune:
Rick Tryon
took command of the 2nd Marine Division onboard Camp Lejeune at 0830 on 20
June 2008. In his own words, Rick told the audience that, “…nothing can be
finer than to be in Carolina on this great mornin’….” He is excited about
returning home to Camp Lejeune, where he previously held command of 2nd
Battalion 8th Marines, and also the 24th MEU. Approximately 6,000 Marines
and Sailors from the Division formed up on the parade deck. The entire
Division encompasses over 21,000 Marines and Sailors, including the 6,000
currently deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Joining Rick’s family from across the country was his old USNA roommate,
Walt Maximuck. Rick and Diane hosted a North Carolina Pig Pickin’ at
their quarters on Saturday afternoon. I saw a couple other USNA grads in
attendance, including MajGen John Allen ’76 and BGen Tim Hannifen
’78. Tim was one of the “star” plebes in 12th and he is doing great
things as he heads off to Quantico, VA for his next tour.
Rick
told JJ that there was a big shuffle in USMC General Officer assignments. Rick
did not know if he was actually going to take command of the division until a
few days prior. How it might affect George Flynn when he returns from
his tour downrange in Iraq remains to be seen.
Bill Squires
sent us a good note about the USNA Blue and Gold Officer program:
I
have been involved in the Naval Academy Blue and Gold Officer program for
the past 18 years. There are many of our classmates who are currently
participating in the program across the country as well. I am the Area
Coordinator in northern New Jersey and in this capacity I work with 58 Blue
and Gold Officers (35 of which are grads including three classmates) who are
responsible for educating guidance counselors and working with interested
students from 350 high schools. Rest assured the Naval Academy continues to
admit the "cream of the crop." I would like to encourage each of you to
look into becoming a Blue and Gold Officer. The Blue and Gold program is
very rewarding and I am confident you will thoroughly enjoy working with
these talented and motivated students.
Bill
is also involved with the planning of the “Flower Children of the Brigade
Non-Reunion Reunion.” The Navy-SMU game on Saturday, 25 October will feature a
larger-than-usual Class of 1975 tailgater as many classmates make it a point to
get together for an unofficial reunion. Hey – once every five years just isn’t
enough!
<photo 75#1: “Marty, Bernard, and Sam”>
Sam Dennis sent us this photo taken after he,
Marty Mason, and Bernie Bailey tamed <or was it survived?> the
Lake course at the Olympic Club in San Francisco on 1 April. Bernard invited
Marty and Sam up for a round, and they gladly accepted. It was a great day with
lots of laughs along the way. Marty and Debbie live in Los Altos, CA. He is
the Executive VP for Business Development for Global Equipment Services. The
company provides outsourced engineering services using engineers from Viet Nam.
Things have changed a bit since it was the place we worried about ending up.
Now it’s great and full of good deals (like the P.I. in the ’70s). Sam marked
22 years with FEDEX in June, flying the MD-11.
<photo 75#2: “Trent and Bill”>
Bill Dixon forwarded a note and picture from an Abu Dhabi
reunion with Trent Powers:
Thirty-seven years ago we were inducted into USNA as the Class of '75. Who
would have ever imagined that after all those years two of us would meet up
in Abu Dhabi? Trent Powers came down from Bulgaria on a business trip and
we were able to make our schedules overlap. We toured around Abu Dhabi and
Trent took some photos although the lingering aftermath of our latest sand
storm left us with an overcast, hazy sky and less than clear conditions. We
got together over at the house for dinner one evening and I think Trent was
surprised at my level of domestication. Unfortunately Rose was in Tulsa
dealing with hail damage and wasn't able to be here. I could have really
used her expertise in the kitchen but was able to get some cooking tips over
the phone prior to dinner. We had our neighbors from Australia come over
and take some photos of us together for Shipmate. Attached is one in
front of our house in Abu Dhabi. Trent brought his laptop over and I was
able to see some photos of our 30th reunion which we missed while in
Kuwait. Rose and I definitely plan on making the 35th. It was a great time
having the opportunity to catch up and reflect back on some of the more
memorable times during our four years together.
<photo 75#3: “Andy and Tina Howard – before
retirement”>
From Andy Howard:
Here
are some pictures from my “second life’s” retirement, from ExxonMobil. I
retired on April Fool’s Day. These two pictures show how fast the
transition can be! Wife Tina was a good sport! I was always trying to
bring some levity into the computer security world, hence the leis and
“Hawaiian” shirts and “dark sunglasses”. I highly recommend retirement
although I need to go back to work to slow down a little. So many things to
do, so little time!
<photo 75#4: “Andy and Tina Howard – after
retirement”>
I’ll
close with a picture of Nancy and me on the day we joined the world’s largest
and best club – Grandparents! Madeline Marie Warrenfeltz was born in Allentown,
PA on 24 June.
<photo 75#5: “First chance to spoil the granddaughter”>
'75 Sir! Larry
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