Did you miss last month's issue?  December Issue

A spectacular '55 "With Wives" luncheon was held at Portofino's in Crystal City on 4 December. Holiday cheer prevailed and a lot of fun was had by all, as attested to by the accompanying pictures.(Photos #1 & #2, "Wives Luncheon") Attending were: Ginny & Don Conner, Jean & Norm Harper, Marlene & Al Dawson, Nancy & Don Kellerman, Nancy & Bob Hinton, Martha & Tony Bracken, Peggy & Otto Zipf, Lucy & Hank Mustin, Suzie & Geoff Gardner, Dee & Chuck Senn, Joan & Dick Morgan, Diane & Dutch Schultz, Roz & Mal MacKinnon, Beryl & Dan Ebert, Bill Smith, Dick Peterson, Bud Summers, Jerry Holland, Denny Sullivan, Tom Kiefaber, Tom McIsaac, Chic Ciccolani, B.J. Straub (Ed's spouse), and Joan Hamilton (Dave's spouse). While two luncheons a year are set aside for wives and significant others too, they are always welcome.

Vern Carlson (8) spends his time between La Jolla, CA and his coffee plantation in Costa Rica. He had a "swimmingly good time" at the '55 West Coast Reunion and herewith provides some great grist for the column. One photo (#3, "Down on the farm") show Vern and his neighbor, National Police Col. Jorge Solano, on Solano's farm in Costa Rica. They have long shared a mutual interest in producing organically grown coffee by eliminating the use of chemicals in the agricultural process. The other (#4, "Al and Vern") shows Vern and Al Kozischek (2) at the '55 poolside buffet at the San Diego Hanalei Hotel after the Navy-SDSU game. Koz, as usual, was in fine form after his stellar cheerleading stint earlier that day (Koz has pom pom and will travel should his services be desired at any Navy pep rally nationwide). Vern was mesmerized by Koz's encyclopaedic recall of how he got to USNA. It seems that, starting as a lowly hotel employee at a fancy resort in the Poconos, Koz was recruited early for football by several major universities. After a year of All American performance at an eastern university (name withheld for security reasons), Koz was spotted by Navy recruiters and sent to a "seminary in Wyoming." Initially thinking he had been selected for priesthood, he soon learned that he would be groomed for a different vocation. Thus chosen, Koz was immersed in courses in Western Civ., the manipulation of equations in Calculus and in the use of the subjunctive in English Composition. He acquired, concomitantly, a nodding acquaintance with Plato and the principal parts of Latin verbs. Further, the mysterious "seminary" also forced him to confront the difficult language of Dickens and to master the precise terms of Trigonometry. Thus armed, he arrived on the steps of Mother Bancroft on 2 July 1951 carrying only a gym bag and a Collins Pocket Latin Dictionary. From that point on, there was no stopping him. He went on to star in football and, also (nearly) basketball (another story, very complex and highly classified as the long arm of the NCAA has no limits). Most importantly, Koz acquired along the way a very clear idea of what constitutes a well-rounded education. He is now fluent in four languages (his German is impeccable) and is touring the cathedrals of Europe at this time. He plans to visit Vern in Costa Rica in the spring.

HONORARY CLASSMATES. We have now four honorary Classmates: Charles W. Stenholm, Congressman from Texas, who has been associated with the Class for a long time; M.G. Buchanan, who has been actively involved with '55 since our Plebe Year; Sergio and Pilar Micheli, who have been our hosts for Washington area luncheons at their Portofino restaurant for about 15 years; and Ingram Leedy, who has been our major domo and host for the '55 Listserv. All have certificates proclaiming their status as honorary '55ers and were honored at a brief ceremony attended by Classmates. For the future, plans are to formalize the procedure for making a deserving person an honorary Classmate. A candidate will have a sponsor from the Class, who will write a brief statement to our President, laying out the reasons he or she should become an honorary Classmate. Class Officers will publicize the nomination to Classmates (via email and telephone, as practical) to allow for comment and/or objections. Following this vetting process, the final decision will be made by the Class Officers. This procedure will be the subject of discussion at our 45th Reunion.

Ed Newbegin (12) sent in just a few words from the chilly southland. The '55 Charleston contingent is surviving nicely. The big news is Jim Blandford (4) getting married again on 3 January - we wish Jim and Noel all the best! (#5, "Jim Blandford") Jim is retired and living in Folly Beach. He had been the man in charge of the Patriot's Point Museum for many years. Pete (Wilbur) Peterson (5), Don Lovelace (4) and Ed play golf at least once a year. Bernie White (5) aviates in from Florida for the annual event in the spring. Enclosed is a picture of Jack (J.T.) Pierce (21), (#6, "Jack Pierce") first class piper and drummer, beating it out for the Charleston Police Pipe Band just prior to the Charleston Scottish Games last year, for which Ed was Field Director (Newbegin doesn't sound scottish?).

Don Loosley (7) dropped a line and a couple of pictures following his trip out west:

The one (#7, "Cruise mates") is of Carl Peterson (13) and Kent Drummond (11) taken during the harbor cruise portion of the '55 Reunion West. Carl and Kent both live in Houston and carpooled during the reunion. The other shot (#8, "Linebarger and Loosley") is of me and John Linebarger (19) taken in Albuquerque during a recent visit to that city with Donna Reinhart to visit her relatives and also to attend the hot air balloon festival. Quite spectacular - 850 balloons! John and I were roommates in USAF flying school for F-86Ds for five months in late 1956, along with John Sullivan (3), another Classmate. This was the first time Linebarger and I had visited together in 40 years so we had a lot of catching up to do. John has been with Sandia Labs for the past 14 years, and he and his family live in a nice home in the Manzano foothills with a great view of Albuquerque and the Rio Grande Valley.

Ted Parker (19) reported about homecoming that after some years of not attending the Friday evening cocktail party and dinner in King Hall, he and Ann gave it a try again. With a new President at the Alumni Association and a new Commandant running Bancroft Hall, it seemed reasonable to see whether improvements had occurred. A total of five '55 couples attended, so it was plain to see that most classmates had given up on the event! All at one table, were Tom Davis (19), Rosie & Dave Koonce (14), Herb Malick (1) escorting Lynda Bruner, Margo & Gary Snyder (1), and Joan & Paul Steffenhagen (23). They had a great time catching up on what has been going on in their respective lives, and found that they have turned the corner on the event's quality - not to be characterized as superb, but certainly a step up from the last one attended by the Parkers. Dahlgren Hall noise level and bar accessibility both improved, but part of the credit for this must be given to a smaller crowd as people have stopped attending. The King Hall portion also has been revised so as not to be so deafening, the food was better, and the service much better. The post-dinner portion had been moved from Dahlgren Hall to Smoke Hall, a good combo was playing, and the evening's close was achieved much more nicely than in a mostly empty Dahlgren Hall as was previously the case. A '55 Homecoming Dinner, well organized by Ginny & Don Conner (8), was held at Busch's following the game for a crowd of 34 .

On a cold and overcast day in November, the Class of '55 mustered a meager group for golf at Ft. Belvoir, VA. When it was learned that a contingent of 23 golfers from the Class of '57 were nearby and wanted to do battle, the match was on. In spite of the odds (best golfers not available), '55 prevailed, though this was not a glorious victory. It seems, to augment our slim numbers, two honorary members were taken aboard. They won the match for us! Hey! A win is a win! '55 participants were: Diane & Dutch Schultz (24), Joe Chmelik (22) & son Tom, Dick Morgan (3), and Ray Hine (20) with Virginia Wyman. A special thanks goes to Jim Poole '57 who did a great job in being flexible and accommodating last minute player changes and honorary member participation. The Class of '57 represented were truly gentlemen in every sense and we look forward to future challenges where we can muster up our very own.

Carl Strang (8) heard from Al MacDiarmid (13) via email recently. Al lives aboard his Freedom 28 cat ketch, Broad Reacher, a good part of the year. He was berthed at Owl Harbor in Isleton, CA. It is on 7 Mile Slough, just off the San Joaquin river between Rio Vista and Lodi. He had the boat at the 25th Reunion. He sails "in season", which depends on the weather and where he's at. In Mexico, winter is the season, in Washington, summer is. He was about to head out with his 5th wheel trailer next for San Jose, then San Diego, then Ocotillo Wells in the desert and then "in search of warm wet weather instead of cold wet weather, at least this year." When out of touch of a phone, he uses a ham packet but doesn't have HF so doesn't have an e-mail gateway. His basic rule is "up and North are cool and down and South are warm."

Some of you have memories of your Youngster Cruise on the USS NEW JERSEY, "Big J" (BB-62) while others may have been associated with this fine ship in other ways during her long history of service from 1943 to 1991...in between her decommissionings. After her last decommissioning, she was finally stricken from the reserve fleet. What some may not know is that there is an ongoing campaign to return her to New Jersey so that she can become an educational museum as a tribute to veterans of all of the armed forces. The USS NEW JERSEY Battleship Commission is soliciting support from all veterans organizations as well as active duty, former and retired naval personnel. For more details refer to website: www.battleshipnj.org. Ed Ogden (23), (formerly Ed Otrupchak), would be happy to respond to any inquiries from those who do not have internet service access and are interested in supporting this effort. He is involved in the planning of the tow of the "Big J" from the Bremerton Naval Shipyard to Bayonne, NJ where she will be temporarily moored. The tow will take place after the final US Navy approvals have been obtained and the necessary funds are in hand. This tow will take about two months and my specific part of the planning is the provision of electrical power during the tow...and the "dead plant" transit of the Panama Canal...which is a bit of a technical challenge since none of the ship's machinery plant, other than the electical switchboards, can be activated for the tow.

More welcomes to the '55 Listserv: John Linebarger in Albuquerque, NM (johnmarg@flash.net); Jim McPherson (13) in Corvallis, OR (MCPH@prodigy.net); Al Brown (13) in Cape Coral, FL (ABrown5217@aol.com); Dan Ebert (14) in Springfield, VA (combytel@beryls.com); Al MacDiarmid afloat (al.macdiarmid@one800.net); Dave Monnich (7) in San Antonio, TX (dave@mail.intx.net), and Walt Schulze (2) in Glenview, IL (schulze@interaccess.com).

POTPOURRI.

Glenn Arthur (19) and Barbara Griffith became Mr. & Mrs. Arthur on Saturday, 1 November in Fairfax, Virginia. Classmates Bob Fountain (6), Mac Hughes (11), Mal MacKinnon (14), Ted Parker, Dick Peterson (23), Bill Smith (4), Dickinson Smith (3) and their ladies cheered them on. They will reside at Glenn's home in Gales Ferry, Connecticut. Al Brown is a semi-retired Episcopal priest. His last post was at church headquarters in New York as assistant to the Presiding Bishop. His wife Mary contracted encephalitis last April and has had a long and difficult recovery. Al says he plans to visit his company mate Jim McPherson soon. Phil Monahan (5) is the Director of Football Operations at Boston College effective last June. Phil had held a similar position on the University of Virginia football staff for the past four years, after retiring as a major general in the U.S. Marine Corps. Dottie and Bernie White took a two month, 11,000 mile driving tour of the west this past summer. They were hosted by Elaine & John Kelly (5) at their weekend get-away in Shell Beach (#9, "Whites visiting Kellys"), on the Central coast of California, and visited Valerie & Bill Anders (22) at the Reno Air Races (#10, "At the races"). "His race performance was pretty good for an ex Air Force Jock." Joe Chmelik hosted a '55 Maryland Golf Classic on 16 October at West Winds CC near Frederick. Attending were Ray Hine, Dutch Schultz, and Geoff Gardner (13). Ray won for a change. Hopes for snagging in more '55 folks were dashed by the fact that the Naval Academy Homecoming Golf Outing was on that day. George W. Martin (14) spoke to both the Naval Submarine League Capitol Chapter and the Naval Academy Dolphin Club this fall. (#11, "Demo Kolaras and George Martin") George discussed early deep submergence operations, covering the search for the THRESHER and SCORPION, and recovery of the Air Force H-bomb in the Mediterranean. Classmates attending were: Geoff Gardner, who had towed TRIESTE to sea for dives when he was CO of a fleet tug; Jack McNish (14), who had served on THRESHER; and Todd Meloy (14), a former nuclear submarine CO. And finally, have included some pics of seldom featured Classmates, taken at the SD Reunion. (#12, "Group shot") (#13, "The Schilpps and the Floyds") (#14, "The Conmys and the Kowalskys") (#15, "The O'Lears and the Olsens").

That's all!

Conceptual planning for the 45th Reunion has begun. Dates are October 18-22, 2000 and the Saturday football game is with Rutgers. We have over 100 rooms reserved at the Annapolis Marriott which is on the waterfront within walking distance of the Yard. We also have additional rooms reserved at the Days Inn on Route 50 (same as for the 40th). We still have a long way to go - if you have any ideas, put them on our Listserv or call me at (703) 759-7743 or another Washington area Classmate.

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