Pres: LCDR Dennis Sullivan, USN (Ret.)
Sec’y: CAPT Thomas G. Kiefaber, USN (Ret.)
11814 Triple Crown Road, Reston, VA 20191

   The 50-Year Book Committee met at Nancy and Don Kellerman's house on 14 December 2002. Attending were Tom Kiefaber (Class secretary), Don Kellerman, Hartley Holte (book chairman) (hartleyholte@hotmail.com), Kent Drummond, Tony Bracken (marketing), Cal Weaver (Class treasurer and 50-Year Book budget controller), and Tom McIsaac (Company representative organizer). The 50-Year History Book project is well underway and we are most appreciative of all the help we have received so far. One area of interest now is that we would like to include information on our special Classmates who went into the services of foreign countries, and there are three of them. Juan Torroella is living in Florida, and we will contact him directly. Sigi Yepez (non-grad; resigned December 1954) and Rene DeValery (deceased 1995) went into the services of Ecquador and Venezuela respectively, and we do not have any written material (bio or obit) on their activities since graduation. Jay DeWitt (13th) made an unsuccessful try to get some info., and we now wish to open our request for assistance to others in the Class who have already volunteered to do research, or may have info, access to info., or a wish to pursue this area. Charlie Edson and Bill Manthorpe, can you help? Pat Taylor (16th Company representative), had contact with Yepez during his service career many years ago so we know he was active. We have some limited info of fairly recent addresses and a couple of articles from our Plebe Summer "Plebeian." To all of our 1955 Classmates, please start thinking about your biography contribution. We want to reflect the history of our Class for the past 20 years. If you have some interesting stories, send those along to Hartley Holte by email or postal mail: 134 Great Lake Dr., Annapolis, MD 21403. Please send Hartley your suggestions, stories, and other information that you'd like to see in our 50-Year Book.

   George W. Martin has submitted an interesting article:

   As secretary of the Explorers Club Washington Group, I put together a Nautical Adventure Weekend in Baltimore last fall. The Explorers Club is a group of folks who have done interesting work in geosciences and field research. The Nautical Adventure Weekend explored the many parts of American history that are showcased in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The key events included a personally guided tour of the World War II submarine TORSK (SS-423), I served in sister ship (SS-421), a guided tour by the director of the National Aquarium of Baltimore (saw the entertaining porpoise show), a patriotic pump up at Fort McHenry and the story of the writing of the "Star Spangled Banner" during the War of 1812, a tour of the Inner Harbor narrated by non-grad Classmate Ed Kane (Ed owns the Water Taxi of Baltimore), and a guided tour of the sailing ship CONSTELLATION (it takes an environmental impact statement to fire the small swivel gun). Dinner was at the Johns Hopkins Club, and our speaker was Fred McLaren, president emeritus of the Explorers Club. Fred's program was "First Dives to the German Battleship BISMARCK." The expedition was led by James Cameron using the Russian science ship KELDYSH and its two MIR submersibles. These submersibles have a depth capability of 6,000 meters, about 20,000 feet. They were used to film the movie TITANIC. The purpose of the expedition was to investigate the actual damage caused by British naval forces and test the German claim that the ship was scuttled by the crew. As reported in this column in the December 2002 issue, Fred contends, and the other expedition members agree, that there is little evidence on the hull showing major damage below the water line. The
starboard rudder is jammed into the starboard propeller which caused the battleship to lose steering control which made her easier to target but not easier to sink. They vote that the ship sank primarily through scuttling by her crew. Some personal notes on HOOD and BISMARCK: In 1941 a British boy lived across the street from me. He lost a brother who was a seaman on HOOD. The family moved back to Britain shortly afterwards. When I told the story of BISMARCK to my wife's 95-year-old father he said, "That's the ship where the rudder jammed the propeller." Mr. Braun was a lieutenant working in the Propeller and Shafting Division of the Bureau of Ships during the war. TORSK is part of the Baltimore Maritime Museum. Much of the maintenance work is done by a group called TORSK Bandits, appropriately so. They are a group of former submariners who work on the boat on a regular basis. They welcome all visitors especially submariners. If you hanker for the smell of diesel oil, want to lean back on a rugged Fairbanks Morse diesel engine, or throw some sticks around in the maneuvering room, email is babroseker@broseker.net or Dick Mendelson at neshek@bellatlantic.net. An interesting web site on the MIR submersibles is www.thebluefish.net/
innerspace.html.

"Taps"

   It is with a great deal of sadness that I report the passing of the following Classmates: It was only learned recently that Robert Franklin Goins (3) died on 28 June 2002 in Jacksonville, NC, after a long battle with cancer. Bob retired from the Marine Corps after 20 years as a lieutenant colonel. He subsequently worked for the state of North Carolina with the Port Authority, both in Wilmington and Morehead City, the Ferry Division and with the Budget Department in Raleigh. He is survived by his wife, Judith S. Goins; daughter, Kristan G. Boyd, and a granddaughter.

   William L. Ehrle (non-grad) died on 29 November 2002 in Austin, TX, after a long illness. Deciding against a military career, he left the academy, served briefly in the Marine Corps and returned to Texas. He graduated from the University of Texas School of Law while serving in the legislature. Last year, he was inducted into the Manufactured Housing Industry's Hall of Fame, joining pioneers in fiberglass heating ductwork and slide-out kitchens for tent campers. Ehrle is survived by his wife of 40 years, Sandy Luckey Ehrle, three children, three grandchildren, and two adopted grandchildren.

   Paul L. Abernathy (6) passed away on 5 December 2002 from a heart attack in Pauma Valley, CA. On the following Monday, a celebration of Paul's life was held at the Pauma Valley Country Club in north San Diego County. His wife, Nancy, was comforted by their two children, Paul Lee III and Susan. The '55 community was represented by Valerie and Bill Anders, Ned Floyd, Fran and Ken Highfill, Penny and John Nyquist, Tom Shine, and Peggy and Hugh Webster. There were about 300 present including neighbors, old friends, golfing partners, and colleagues from ALCOA.

   Joseph John Taylor Jr. (non-grad) died on 11 December 2002 in Sarasota, FL. He had a heart attack, went into the hospital, contracted pneumonia, was recovering in the hospital, and then suddenly slipped away. He was fighting his own separate battle with lung cancer. Joe left USNA right after Christmas leave Youngster Year. He continued his pursuit of a commission, and did get commissioned in the U.S. Army, later retiring as a lieutenant colonel. Survivors include his wife of five years, Phyllis, a daughter, Cheryl Matushak of Lake Oswego, OR, a stepdaughter, Stacy Clark of Midlothian, VA, sons Stephen of Westminster, CA, and John F. of Clifton, VA, a brother, John R. of Niceville, nine grandchildren, and two step-grandchildren.

   James M. O'Hara (12) passed away on 13 December 2002 in Charleston, SC. Upon his retirement from the Navy, he was employed by the RCA Corporation in sales. Jim is survived by six children: Jim O'Hara of Santa Fe, NM, Anne O'Hara Skorski of Chicago, IL, Suzy O'Hara of Gaithersburg, MD, Megan O'Hara of Charleston, Kevin O'Hara of Dusseldorf, Germany, and Sean O'Hara of Columbia, SC, two brothers: Bobby O'Hara and Burke O'Hara of New York, NY, two sisters: Anne Johnston of Chicago and Eileen Ianucci of Los Angeles, CA, and eight grandchildren.

   Richard M. "Mac" Hughes (11) died on 14 December 2002 following a three-year battle with prostate cancer. His naval career was devoted to the submarine service, retiring in 1983 from the chief of naval operations' office as director of the attack submarine section. His commands included the submarine BILLFISH and the sub tender FULTON, as well as command of the Nuclear Power Training Unit, Idaho Falls, ID, and Submarine Refit and Training Group, La Maddelena, Italy. After he retired from the Pentagon, he worked for two Navy contractors, American Systems Corp. and PDI Corp. Survivors include his wife of 47 years, Mary Joyce Hughes of Annandale; four children, Douglas Hughes of Wheaton, CDR Jeffrey Hughes, USN of Saratoga Springs, NY, Susan Resch of Erdenheim, PA, and Gail Hughes of Washington; and seven grandchildren. Classmates attending his burial service at Arlington National Cemetery on 8 January were Dick Peterson, Angela and Demo Kolaras, Sabra and Bill Kennington, Darrel Westbrook, Denny Sullivan, Sabra and Dick Smith, Joannie and Dick Morgan, Tom Stallman, Ray Hine, Pat and Kent Drummond, Tom Kiefaber, Jerry Holland, Hartley Holte, Jim Powers, Tom McIsaac, Evelyn and Ed Lull, and Nancy and Bob Hinton.

Potpourri

   Lavon and Dick Jones hosted Class members in the greater San Diego area for the Army-Navy game. The game was most enjoyable. Many of Dick's children, assisted by their spouses, helped prepare an elaborate brunch spread. Their son, Steve Barnes, was our gourmet chef. They could have served gruel and it would not have dampened the merriment of the occasion. Other Classmates in attendance included Tom Boucher, Jo and Roger Coffey, Leslie and Joe Daniel, Tom Shine, Ned Floyd, Charles Hagee, Sandy Henry (Chuck Henry's widow), George Johnson, Pat Kenny (Chuck Kenny's widow), Jack Morra, Bob Price, Peggy and Hugh Webster, and Karen and Bob Weir. Thank you Big Blue Team. Carry on '06! At the Christmas Eve dinner during a cruise to St. Maarten, Barbados, and Martinique in the Caribbean were included Kent Drummond, Trudy and Carl Peterson, Joan McNish, Jack McNish, and Pat Drummond. CARNIVAL SPIRIT left port in Miami with 4,400 passengers and 1,000 crew. The '55ers with their wives spent a warm eight-day holiday sun bathing and enjoying shopping and touring the islands. They remained undismayed watching the snowstorms crossing the country just before they returned. A good group showed up for the last '55 DC Area Class Luncheon on 11 December. Wives attended as well as out-of-towner, Bill Anders. Caught on camera (next page) were Dan Ebert, Don Sturtz, Don Kellerman, Dick Peterson, Denny Sullivan, John Camp, Fred Tolleson, Bill Anders, Tom Stallman, Bernie and Jim Powers, John Anderson, and Hartley Holte.

   Finally, many fewer Classmates showed up for the final tailgate of the 2002 football season. These brave and sodden souls were captured on film for posterity.

Metro Area Social Calendar For 2003—USNA Class Of 1955

March

   8-Dark Ages Party Bell Haven CC (D.          Kellerman, host)

   12-Luncheon Portofino

   27-CG-55 Award Norfolk (C. Plumly, POC)

April

   15-Golf ANCC (D. Sullivan, POC)

   22-Metro/Tidewater Luncheon Northern          Neck (B. Fountain, POC)

April 30-4 May Mid-Term Reunion San Diego          (N. Floyd, POC)

May

   14-Luncheon Portofino

   20-Golf (Challenge with '57) Renditions          GC (R. Hine, POC)

TBD

   Class '05 Picnic

   Hospital Point (R. Hine, POC)

June

   11-Luncheon/USNA Museum Tour (wives)          USNA (T. Parker, POC)

   17-Golf TBD

July

   15-Golf TBD

TBD

Severn Crab Party Crownsville (W. Saunders, host)

August

19-Golf Bell Haven CC (D. Kellerman, POC)

30-Navy Football Home—VMI '55 Tailgate

TBD

   Class '05 Commitment Dinner USNA (R.          Hine, POC)

September

   10-Luncheon Portofino

   16-Golf Annapolis GC (H. Holte, POC)

   20-Navy Football Home—E. Michigan '55 Tailgate

TBD

   Joint Luncheon   Outer Banks (P. Sutherland,          POC)

   4-Navy Football Home—Air Force FedEx          Stadium (Landover)

   8-Luncheon Portofino

   14-Golf/Awards Dinner Hidden Creek CC          (R. Hine, host)

   25-Navy Football Homecoming—Delaware       '55 Tailgate/Alumni House Party

November

   1-Navy Football Home—Tulane '55 Tailgate

   12-Luncheon Portofino

   22-Navy Football Home—C. Michigan '55 Tailgate

December

   6-Navy Football-Army Philadelphia Stadium

   10-Luncheon with Wives Portofino

Notes

   Luncheons are scheduled outside the Metro area for April in the Northern Neck of Virginia and for June in Annapolis with a special tour of the museum and the John Paul Jones Crypt with lunch following. All other luncheons are scheduled for the second Wednesday of each month at Portofino Restaurant in Crystal City. There will be no luncheons scheduled for the summer months of July and August. Not delineated above are the monthly USNA AA GWC luncheons normally held on the third Wednesday of each month at the ANCC.

   Those in the Tidewater area are requested to coordinate attendance with Pat Taylor for the luncheon in the Northern Neck. Those in the DC area are requested to coordinate attendance with Ray Hine.

   Classmates planning to attend functions in Annapolis during January and February will need to inform the hosts early to ensure proper coordination.

   Class golf is scheduled for the third Tuesday of the months April through October.

   Link-In-The-Chain functions with the Class of '05 will be held in Annapolis in May and August with dates TBD. A picnic at Hospital Point will be held during Commissioning Week. In late August a formal Commitment Dinner will be held featuring a '55 Class speaker. Classmates are encouraged to participate in each event.