'55 SHIPMATE COLUMN - June '00

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55 SHIPMATE CLASS COLUMN - June '00

A mighty fine Washington DC area Dark Ages Party took place on March 4 at the Army/Navy Country Club in Arlington VA.  Denny Sullivan hosted the affair in magnificent fashion, and the best turnout in recent memory attested to the superlative job he did.  Doldrums swept away by exquisite cuisine and titillating conversations! Attending were:  Karen & Pat Taylor, Pat & Bob Freeman, Ray Hine, Martha & Tony Bracken, Anne & Ted Parker, Bernie & Jim Powers, Joan Hamilton (Dave's widow), Beryl & Dan Ebert, Lucy & Hank Mustin, Nancy & Don Kellerman, Paul & Pat Sutherland, Angela & Demo Kolaris, Ann & Wes Saunders, Ginny & Dan Conner, Sheila & Cal Weaver, Betsey & Bob Fountain, Eileen & Fred Koester, Nancy & Bob Hinton, BJ Straub (Ed's widow), Marlene & Al Dawson, Dotty & George Martin, Hartley Holte, Debbie & John Adams, Sandy & Ted Hyman, Tom McIsaac, Fred Tolleson, Susie Gardner (Geoff's widow), Luz & Todd Meloy, Ursula & Tom Kiefaber, Sibyl & Charley Plumly, Margot & Gary Snyder, Mary Gale Buchanan, Jean & Darrel Westbrook, and Del & Chuck Senn. The Taylors, Plumlys and the Sutherlands came all the way up from tidewater area of Virginia, the Snyders came down from Pennsylvania, and the Fountains came from the northern neck area of Virginia.

We had a great DC area luncheon at the Portofino restaurant on March 16.  I missed it, but Denny Sullivan recorded the goings-on:

Bill Anders dropped in and entertained us with stories of rockets, space, aircraft racing mishaps, and the great Northwest.  Bill was in town for a meeting of the National Academy of Engineering, where he is a member.  Bill had to take time off from his pastime of racing his P-51 and F8F.  He plans to be at Homecoming on October 21 this year to attend the groundbreaking of the new soccer facility, which he was instrumental in getting started; he will also be honored as a Distinguished Graduate at the parade on October 20.  Bill will be sticking around for our reunion the following week.  Bill Smith gave us a briefing on some of the nation-wide events celebrating the 100th anniversary of the modern submarine.  Bill is President of the Submarine League and has been very much involved in all the planning and direction. The ceremonies began on April 11 with the opening of a large display of submarine history in the Museum of American History on the Mall.  Throughout this year there will be some sort of event or ceremony honoring this anniversary.  Jack Baldwin gave us a rundown on his work to identify a suitable gift to the Academy for our 50th Reunion in 2005.  He interviewed Academy officials in athletics, administration and academics to get a feel for their views and priorities.  At this time, we are forming a committee to take a hard look at some options.  There will be more information in the next issue of Shipmate and on our listserve.  We plan to solicit input from all classmates and to have a presentation at our class meeting during the 45th.

The 2000 season DC Golf Schedule for the Class of 1955 has been set for the dates/times/courses as indicated below.  Please contact the event host 3 days prior to each golf date so they can plan accordingly.  We will continue to have competition between foursomes as we have in the past.  Following the Bell Haven Country Club event hosted by Don Kellerman, we will continue the tradition of dinner on the patio - an event that is always enjoyed by all who attend.  The 1955/57 shootout will be held for the 4th time and, as usual, hosted by Jim Poole '57.  This year it will be held at the Gauntlet course at Curtis Creek, which is in Fredricksburg VA.  The awards dinner, hosted by Ray Hine, will follow our outing at the Hidden Creek Country Club in Reston VA with cocktails commencing at 1830.  The final event of the year will be the reunion function at the Naval Academy course.  We have a limited number of tee times so advance planning is appropriate if you would like to play with former roommates/battalion mates.
 

When it comes to travelogues - informative and frequent, Otto Zipf takes the prize (in our Class at least!):
 

Peggy and I just completed a very enjoyable three week trip to "down under". It started with five days in Auckland, New Zealand, right in the middle of the America's Cup finals, between NZ's Black Magic, the defender's boat, and Italy's Prada.  The waterfront area in Auckland was in a high fever pitch about the races.  Our first full day in the city saw the New Zealanders handily win victory #3.  On next day, a scheduled race day with beautiful weather, Peggy and I went out to the race course on a spectator boat.  There were 2,999 (newspaper estimate) other boats out there besides the one we were on.  It was a gorgeous day afloat - lots of sun, food, drink, etc., but not enough wind.  So, after about a 21/2 hour waiting period, the race was called off.  Before we left New Zealand, the defenders won the America's Cup 5-0.

We departed Auckland on board the Orient lines cruise ship, Marco Polo, which headed for Sydney, Australia.  Along the way, we made two other port calls in New Zealand (one on the North Island, and one on the South Island), plus some time in Milford Sound, the fjordland of New Zealand's South Island.

The transit across the Tasman Sea to Melbourne was a bit rough for most of the passengers.  Marco Polo rode like a destroyer in rough seas and stiff winds.  I thought it was a fine transit.  Our last night on board was a formal night.  The photo of the four of us shows Peggy and me along with a wonderful couple from Australia. (PHOTO #1, "Cruising, again!")

We disembarked in Sydney, a wonderful city in a wonderful country, populated by great and very friendly people.  One cannot visit Sydney without exploring the Opera House, probably Australia's most prominent landmark.  Peggy and I took a tour of the Opera House, and it is the background for the enclosed photo, along with the Harbour Bridge. (PHOTO #2, "Otto & Peggy Zipf in Sydney")

During our stay in Sydney, we also took a seaplane ride over the harbor, plus the usual city sightseeing bus tours.  The picture of Peggy and me also includes our tour guide wearing his "akubra" hat, the typical headgear worn by the locals. (PHOTO #3, "The Zipfs with tour guide in Sydney")

On our flight back home aboard Quantas, the magazine reading material was pretty much about/from Australia.  While flipping through the March issue of "Business Class", I spotted a half page ad with a familiar face looking at me.  Our Classmate, Denis Waitley had scheduled a motivational seminar called "The Psychology of Winning for Women" in Sydney on March 27. (PHOTO #4, "Denis Waitley")

Peggy and I, plus three Zipf siblings and two recent grandsons, are scheduled to head "down under" to Sydney for the 2000 Summer Olympics in September.

Pat Taylor filed a great report on our recent '55 award ceremony:
 

The Hampton Roads-North Carolina contingent of classmates and wives hosted the officers of our "Class Cruiser", USS LEYTE GULF (CG-55) at the Norfolk Yacht and Country Club for lunch, followed by the annual presentation of the USNA '55 Junior Officer Leadership Award.  This year, Ensign Michael Krisman, the ship's First Lieutenant, was the selectee and recipient of the honor. A bright and energetic young officer, while graciously accepting the award, he gave full credit to his leading Chief Petty Officer for her firm guidance, and to his division mates for their hard work and support.

It was especially heartwarming to visit with these young men and women - twenty of their wardroom - to listen to their enthusiasm, to witness their pride in the uniform that they wore and the ship in which they served. We can report to the rest of our class that every one of these young officers were most  impressive! You all would have been as proud of them as we.   Charley Plumly, who put together a great luncheon as the host member of the Yacht Club, also was this year's Class Representative to make the Award presentation. Plum introduced Captain Bill Dunn, the LEYTE GULF's commanding officer, who gave us a summary of the ship's operations since we last met with them.  The ship returned to home waters this last fall after a rigorous schedule in the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf, where they were assigned as the strike coordinator in operations in support of our troops in Bosnia, and then, on the actual battle line in the Gulf. LEYTE GULF has received several fleet awards for their actions during this deployment.  Only recently entering overhaul at the Norfolk Shipyard, LEYTE GULF is expecting to enter the active fleet again in late August-early September of this year.  The skipper extended a warm  invitation to our class to join the ship for a days' river cruise late next summer as she exercises in her shakedown period. We can't wait!   A very nice "extra" was extended to Ensign Krisman by our classmate, Bob Englert, in gifting a handsome glass pitcher engraved with our class crest and  '55 signal flag logo, along with the name of the recipient and citing the "USNA '55 Leadership Award 2000" occasion. Bob and his wife, Pat, own and operate HiTech Engraving in Newport News, and have presented local classmates with some beautiful engravings. Their computer aided and laser capability offers unlimited personal services. You can touch base with them at www.htengrave@erols.com; (757) 249-2408.

Our crowd included:  Pat & Paul Sutherland up from the Outer Banks, Sarah & Larry Frost, down from the farm in Palmyra, Virginia, Carol & Carl Vogel, Dolly & Brent Streit, Karen & Pat Taylor and Sibyl & Charley Plumly; the stags, eager to re-up for another hitch, included: Al Vail, Hank French, Bill Stevens, John Roberts, Bob Miller, Jack Foran, and Frank Farino.

HEARD IT ON THE GRAPEVINE ('55 LISTSERV).   John Nyquist happily reported on a mini-reunion of sorts that took place at a Navy League breakfast held at MCRD in San Diego on March 3.  Bill Turcotte (Dr. Bill!) was in San Diego to preside over a strategic forum at the ASW School (yes, we still teach sailors about ASW). As I'm sure many know, Bill is a distinguished professor at the Naval War College and has been since the 70's.  Hugh Webster, a past president of the San Diego Council, introduced Bill as a member of the foremost class in Naval Academy history. There were some shouts from the back of the room, like, "No!!!...'46.... no ...'85...", but to no avail. Along with us, was Jack Morra, so, as Bill said, we had about a third of our baseball team (Bill, the second baseman, who looks like he can still turn a double play and the two pitchers, a rightie and a leftie) as well as one of Navy's stellar linemen. The nicest compliment Bill offered to us was that he still recognized us!  All in all, it was a great get-together, and Bill, the main speaker, put his finger right on the pulse of today's defense issues: numbers count. We don't have enough ships, submarines and airplanes to meet commitments. Bill's recommendation: call your candidate now, not after the election, to let them know how you feel. Good advice.   Joe Dunn reported that Pete Blair was inducted into the prestigious Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Hall of Fame on Saturday March 4th. It was fitting and proper that the well-deserved and long overdue Induction Ceremony took place at our Alumni Hall as part of the EIWA 2000 Championship Tournament.  The award was received by Margot Blair, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. It was a very special moment as the presenter enumerated Pete's remarkable achievements including an overall record of 29 wins and 2 losses including a streak of 20 pins - Twice All American - Twice NCAA Champion - Helms Wrestling Hall Of Fame - and culminating with a Bronze Medal at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia.  Pete was the last of the five inductees in the Class of 2000.  Margot was radiant and the entire family so animated they received a standing "O" from the audience...a wonderful tribute.  We are up to 268 Classmates on the listserv!  Many well-deserved kudos have gone out to Carl Strang, our "Sysop", and to our long time host, Ingram Leedy at ithink.com.  Jack Tallman has been looking into air travel options for October (reunion).  One looks promising.  Called United Senior Travel Pack, (800) 633-6563, it offers four one-way coupons for $541.80.  The coupons can be used to obtain United tickets to anywhere in the lower 48 plus Canada and are good for one year.  Before the end of that year unused tickets may be turned in for refund or towards a new book of four. This is not the United Silver Wings Plus program which doesn't seem to be a very good deal for coast-to-coast (Sacramento to DC) travel.

POTPOURRI.  For those interested, Les Guille has information about the VA's Prostate Cancer Compensation Program.  You can write, call or email him at: 13218 Tall Oak Turn, Sumerduck, VA  22742; or E-mail: slguille@erols.com ; or phone: (540) 439-8066. Does anyone know of the whereabouts of Catherine, the widow of James R. Snow (03)?  If so, please notify Bill Smith at: (717) 352-9597.  As to the 45th, plans are almost firm and we will be mailing a final letter in June with detailed information.  We will ask for a firm commitment by September 1.  If you have not received this letter by the end of June, you should let Denny Sullivan, Tom Kiefaber or Tom McIsaac know.
 
 

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