UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY

SIXTIETH GRADUATION ANNIVERSARY OF THE CLASS OF 1940

This is a transcript of "The Long Voyage of the Class of Forty-U. S. Naval Academy" taken from the book The Class of Forty After Fifty Years © W. M. Carpenter 1990. Original text by C. H. Hall and W. D. Lanier.

Many of our classmates became college professors while others were affiliated with university organizations in research and public service. Practically all of us teaching in colleges taught math, physics, or engineering with an occasional exception such as Frank Hertel, with his PhD in business administration, teaching business at the University of Wyoming, and John Sims also with a PhD, teaching business at Cal State in Hayward. Tom Wells, with a history PhD from Emory, taught at LSU and wrote authoritatively about the Texas navy and other naval subjects. But they were outnumbered by those who taught math, physics, and engineering: Hank Davison at St. Petersburg Industrial College, Blaine Eader at Newberry College, John Henry at Lord Fairfax Community College, Stormy Karl and Russ Moon at Trident Tech in Charleston, Herman Klare at Northern Virginia Community College, Bill Lamb at Maryland Community College, Bob Newcomb at Whittler, Jack Partridge at Penn State, Jim Phelan at VPI, Herschel Sellers at University of Chattanooga, Roger Vaughn at Brevard Community College, Jim Coyle at Villanova, John Sullivan at Tidewater Community College,Wally Utley at Bucks County Community College, and Bob Wooding at Arizona State. Bill Fly taught at Tidewater Community College, Pat Clancy at a California community college, Ned Bent at Sinclair Community College and Fred Gorczyk at an American college. Stew Swacker founded and ran the Texas Institute, a data processing school. Miles Libbey served on the faculties of Indiana, Columbia, and Queens College. Bob Triplett earned a PhD and taught at Odense University in Denmark. Others worked as administrators or headed up college-affiliated organizations. Skip Appleton earned a PhD and was associate director of Public Policy Research at the University of California at Irvine. Chuck Beers' was on the staff at Old Dominion and Rosy Caldwell was Director ofAdmissions at King College. Benjy Frana worked in administration at Northwestern and Joe Snyder at Yale. Jake Heimark was involved with economic forecasting at the Wharton School of Economics. Bob Harris developed field services for marine resources at the University of Washington. Frank Frankenberger was assistant director of the State Technical Institute of Memphis, while Fred Karch was president of the Institute for Professional Education and Ash Little was president of Aiken Technical College. Jim Elkins headed the Governmental Research and Services Division of the Institute of Government at the University of Georgia until his retirement in 1980. Jack Hinman was head of the Aviation Management Program for the School of Aeronautics, Florida Institute of Technology. Bill Bryan stepped in as volunteer administrator for the senior education program at Tarrant Junior College in Fort Worth. Mat Cain, after retiring from Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory where he worked for 17 years, joined the Texas Transportation Institute of Texas A and M. Ace Edwards was physically retired in 1960 and, after a year as administrative assistant to MIT's dean of engineering, joined the MIT instrumentation laboratory, the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, until his retirement in 1987.

In the defense industry, McDonnell-Douglas added Ned Garrett, Jim Hedrick, Vernon Teig and Doc Weatherup to its already sizable group from '40, while Raytheon added Ace Barton, Connie Carlson, Oscar Gray, Tad Lothrop, Ed Muhlenfeld and Bill Scott to its contingent. Swede Carlson, Ray Hundevadt, Miles Libbey and Snuffy Smith went with Lockheed, and George Kronmiller and Dick Laning with United Technologies. Others with defense industries included Bill Bryan, General Dynamics; Tab Collins, Northrop; Jonse Hughes, Grumman; Phil Glennon, Chief of Planning at Electric Boat; Carl Gurley and Ed Muhlenfeld, Litton; John Hardy, Director of Engineering for Government Projects, Honeywell; Bob Kalen, Ingalls Shipbuilding; Deacon Fickenscher, vice president of Loral Electronics; Lyle Keator, Avco; Bob Boettcher and John Henry, Westinghouse; Bruce Lloyd and Howard Smolin, Boeing; Ward Witter, Singer Kearfott; Snuffy Lockett, Rockwell; Rosy Roseborough, Todd Shipyards; Neil Fisher, Naval Weapon Systems; Ozzie Osborne, satellite orbital operations with Aerospace Corp; Vince Healey, vice president, EDO Corporation; John Lacouture, Ling-Temco-Vaught,

Ted Hill worked for the Naval Air Systems Command in Iran. Ned Garrett also worked in Iran as an engineering advisor. Ike Blough moved from GE to Grumman to Boeing and finally to the University of Pennsylvania as Research Administrator. Also in research, Cliff Bundy spent seven years, Don Bruce ten years, and Bill Carpenter seventeen years with the Stanford Research Institute. Bob Wann joined up as a systems analyst with an Arlington company, ANSER, Harvey Vogel took a position with Booz, Allen Applied Research and Stookie Steuckert signed on with Ocean Data Systems. Ed Sledge spent 15 years with Burroughs on Pershing missiles, air traffic control sytems, and on data display and control systems.

Those who chose to be in business and general industry included John Antonelli, who became president of Ferrara and Sons, food wholesalers. Barney Barnett was 22 years with Blue Bird Body Co., the largest manufacturer of school buses, and Bud Beaver was chief engineer of International Harvester's gas turbine division--and then, after retirement from that job, ran a travel agency in Coronado. John Barron joined Prudential Insurance and Jack Holmes went into Health Systems Management. Dave King became general manager of a container plant for Weyerhauser. Orval Dickes managed an employment agency. Bill Caspari spent 16 years with Sanders Associates.

Champ Champion became the weather expert of an engineering firm providing consulting services to utilities. Ralph Gerber ran an ocean cargo shipping organization from Miami and Andy Lyman went with American President Lines as general manager in the southeast Pacific. Ray Koshliek became an executive of Nissan Baking Company in Portland, Maine. Mark Hanna joined U. S. Electrical Motors. Dave Wolfe was vice president of the Washington Tobacco Co. Tad Stanwick founded the Stanwick Corporation and did so well that, in 1979, he donated a yacht to the Academy. John Rossie, who failed his eye test second class year, continued his career as a consultant to electrical utilities. Bob Tackaberry sold electrical equipment to utilities and finally ended his career administering a trade association of electrical utilities. Tom Elliott was an engineer with Abbott Laboratories in Chicago.

Mark Varland ran the Department of Utilities for the city of Norfolk. John Wier became the president of Lenox China and his wife became the envy of all wives. George Kittredge started Kittredge Industries, which produced something over forty small submarines, the last one delivered to the University of Nagasaki. Dick Cochrane spent three and one half years in Germany, helping the (West) Germans build frigates.

Some of our classmates went into the financial world. Willie Trice was a trust officer with Bank of America. Lyle Ramsey was a stock broker with Dean Witter & Co. JigJig Jackson and Jonse Hughes were also stock brokers, both with Goodbody in St. Petersburg. Jim Lockwood, who resigned after WWII, became a senior group vice-president for Hutton. GG Williams, also a stockbroker, was vice-president of Wheat First Securities. Bill South became a commodities broker and at one time published a financial magazine. Kirk Kirkpatrick did stock market research and provided financial management. Bob Bogardus was a stock broker in Portland, Oregon and Dick Shafer in Corvallis, Oregon. Don Kable went with an accounting firm. Gordon West was in intenational finance in Geneva. Wes Westhoff worked for Wells Fargo Bank until his death in an automobile accident in 1976.

Some sold real estate. Taking this route were Dick Parker, Jack Bowell, John Williams, Pappy Dupzyk, Jack Rait, Roy Smallwood, Terry McGillicuddy, Will Morton, Tom Perry, Joe Snyder, Willie Walker, Early Winters, Doug Clark, Jess Worley and Dick Shafer who sold commercial real estate after his years as a stockbroker. Bill Lattimore was a developer in Savannah. Mike Alpert managed property in Galveston. Bob White, Irv Davenport and Cliff Bundy appraised real estate. Jerry McCarthy resigned in 1950 to own and manage the family land title firm. Rick Mueller was a general contractor, building large homes in La Jolla, while Speedy Simmons built apartments and commercial buildings in Dallas.

Sid Sherwin took over his family insurance business. Bob Wuest earned a certified life underwriter's (CLU) certificate with Equitable during his 13 years with them. Others who sold insurance were Ed Gillette (a national director of Johnson and Higgins), Otto Treanor, Jake Plummer, and Paul Treitel (who also managed a resort hotel). Paul Brader, a non-grad, after WWII service with the Corps of Engineers, had an insurance business in northern Virginia for 32 years. John Montgomery was, during the three years before his final retirement, president of Verlan Limited, a property insurance company.

Trade and support associations sought out the services of some of our class: Gene Hemley, Executive Director of the International Trade Facilitation Council and, before that, Director, MIS National Girl Scouts Organization; Virgil Hancock, Executive Director of the Southern Arizona Heart Association; Jack Holmes, Executive Director of Health Systems Management, in Memphis; Jack Newbould, President, National Clay Pipe Institute; Fred Karch, Director of the Institute for Advanced Technology, then President of the Institute for Professional Education; Julian Burke, Vice President of Navy Relief; Bob Kaufman, American Group Practice Association; Len Bassett, United Way in San Diego; Bill Keating, National Grain and Feed Association; John Montgomery, Vice President and General Counsel of the National Paint and Coatings Association.

Some of us became civil servants and, we think, brought perhaps a little better service to our country. Ajax Hiller, Jack Wright, and Bob Triplett, and, after retirement, Neil Fisher (at Port Hueneme), Don Neddo and Ted Hill were civil servants in support of the Navy. Ajax completed a long career at NRL. Jack resigned his commission when his large family, eventually ten children, made moving difficult, but continued to work for the Navy as a civil servant in BuShips and the Executive Office of the Secretary of the Navy. Ed Fruechtel, after retiring, was a civil servant for the Army, in Minneapolis. Bob Quinn was Director of Facilities Engineering for HEW. Harry White worked for the CIA and for A.I.D. Rosey Roseborough also did a stint with A.I.D.

Harv Seim joined the Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor and served five years as Director of Nuclear Planning on the NATO International Staff:

Rick Mueller and Ted Hechler worked for NASA on the Apollo program. Phil Eckert was also attached to NASA. Woody Woodside, an employee of GE since 1945, was a manager in the GE component that performed acceptance tests on Apollo rocket boosters, while Jim Smith was the first president of Chrysler's Space Division, which developed the Saturn booster rockets for the Apollo program. Russ Moon at Boeing also worked on the Saturn booster program.

Some worked for state and local government. Bill Meyer was chief of the Air Pollution Control office in Virginia. Mac McFarland was the deputy tax assessor in Los Angeles. Bud Newhall was on the Governor's Council on Criminal Justice in Florida. Bob McIntosh managed trial court administration in New Jersey. Mark Varland ran the Department of Utilities for the City of Norfolk. Early Winters was real estate tax equalizer for the city of Alexandria. Don Bruce was superintendent of Comanche Regional Park and Jim Vellis was assistant chief of harbors in Hawaii. Bill Braybrook was director of the Arizona State Planning agency. Bill Game served as director of on-the-job training for New York state. Bill Bush was a hearings officer for the Nevada Employment Security Department. Bill Bottenberg was an engineer and then consultant with the San Bernardino County Flood Control District. Jack Wright was a volunteer worker in the Montgomery County Department of Parole and Probation and a volunteer assistant to the occupational therapy director of the University of Maryland.

Our only classmate to work as a professional farmer after retirement was George Hawes, who raised beef just outside, of all places, Newport. Bob Miller supervised a ranch, but not as a hands-on operation, and Irv Davenport also managed farmland. Pancho Hunker managed an asphalt company and gobbled up other asphalt companies, to become an asphalt magnate. Warren Schoen, with a home in St. Vincent, is a well-traveled volunteer naturalist. Randy Steffen, who designed the crest for our class ring, was an artist who won the American Friendship Medal from President Ford and wrote and illustrated over 1500 magazine articles on horses and horsemanship and three definitive books about the U.S. Cavalry, including the four volume work, The Horse Soldier. Stookie Steuckert at the age of 62 rented a studio and became a professional painter.

Bill Mauer left us in 1939 with a medical discharge--an injured foot--and disability pay of $6.50 per month. He became the second doctor from our class, with a practice in osteopathic medicine .

We held innumerable positions on town councils, Boy Scout Councils, in the Chamber of Commerce, in our churches, and in every conceivable civic organization. George Kittredge served in the Maine legislature. Champ Champion was chairman ofthe board of education in Pickens County. Bob Kaufman was president of the town council in Clarion, Pennsylvania, and president of the hospital board. Dick Parker and Earle Childs were city councilmen in Coronado. Joe Snyder served six terms as a selectman in Madison, Connecticut. Bex Trimple was a Fox Chapel borough councilman (Pittsburgh). Searcy Farrior was elected supervisor of elections for Hillsborough County (Tampa), spending $12.30 on his campaign. The governor removed him from office, an action appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Many of us were avid sailors: Dixie Howell, John Straker, Stan Wagenhals, Art Varnum, Billy Lewis, Jake Plummer, J.P. Barron, Joe Rinschler, Roger Smith, Woody Woodside, Roger Vaughn and Bob Wuest. Some lived in their boats, some lived for their boats. Some of our wives sailed with us but most were just real tolerant. Dick Brown designed, manufactured, and sold catamarans.

In the late-bloomer category, both John Wier and Ralph Gerber have sons who are Boy Scout age.

Steve Brody sired ten children who have presented him, so far, with seventeen grandchildren. He personally baptized eleven of them in his capacity as a permanent deacon in the Roman Catholic Church. Art Maltby, retired with multiple sclerosis in 1965, has six children and now 16 grandchildren. Stan Orser has 15 grandchildren and Herman Klare 14 grandchildren. Elso Bergman has 14 children with 27 grandchildren. and Jack Wright ten, with 18 grandchildren. Ray Schneider had nine children. Joe Snyder had 11 children and 16 grandchildren while Bill Bottenberg's 11 children presented him with 17 grandchildren. The rest of us are less blessed with descendants.

We died, many of us, and were grieved by our classmates, and memorialized and remembered. Some of us died in couples, Johnny Williams and his wife, Mary, George Hawes and his wife, Garni, Jack and Jackie Boyum, Lou and Mary Mayo, going almost together into whatever it is that awaits us.

Those of us who gather for the fiftieth reunion of the Class of 1940 or who read these words, are the survivors, the fortunate few--and only we know how fortunate--who have traveled this far on the journey that began more than half a century ago.

We share a host of memories. Of the bright and promising days when we were young and eager and spirited, and all things seemed not only possible, but probable. Of the darker days, when the world came crashing down around us and, of a sudden, all prospects changed. The bitter days of bloodstained beaches, of burning and sinking ships, of plunging planes, of exploding depth charges. The black days when survival seemed like a distant and tauting dream, and we ached with the constant, wrenching loss of shipmates and friends.

We recall better days. The days of victory, and of homecoming. The joyous days with wives and children. The never-to-be-forgotten day of our first command. The challenging and fulfilling days as we acquired seniority and assumed, and mastered, greater responsibilities. The rewarding days, when our efforts and our achievements brought notice and recognition. Finally, the culminating days, when we moved on to new careers and new challenges and found new satisfactions.

These are some of the memories that we share. But of all our memories, surely the dearest and the most poignant, are those of faces. The faces, still young, of those who are not among the survivors, but who will nevertheless be always present, standing shoulder to shoulder with us as we salute the colors this June of 1990.

To those comrades who have gone before us, this class history is respectfully and affectionately dedicated. For them, and for us, in our time, the poet provides a gentle benediction:

"From labor in the deep mid-ocean, wind and wave and oar,
Oh rest ye, brother mariners, we will not wander more."

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IN THIS YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1990
FIFTY-FOUR YEARS AFTER OUR VOYAGE BEGAN