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

   A fine contingent of '55ers had the pleasure, and honor, of attending a reception and commitment dinner for the Class of 2005 on 20 August. The reception was held in Smoke Hall (beautifully reconditioned) and the dinner was in King Hall. The new Superintendent, VADM R. Rempt '66, and his wife attended, and his remarks were an inspiration to those assembled. Don Sturtz spoke eloquently for the Class on the subject of commitment. "Those of us who have gone before expect you, the Class of 2005, to pick up the gauntlet and adhere to the Bedrock Principles you have learned here—honor, integrity, loyalty, and moral courage…We, the members of the Class of 1955, whose numerals you so thoughtfully placed on your Class ring, will stand watch with you in our hearts and minds and keep you in our prayers as you prepare to join the chain of committed graduates of the United States Naval Academy." Classmates attending were: John Adams, Joe Armstrong, Glenn Arthur, John Camp, Ace Davis, Joe Chmelik, Dan Ebert, Bobby Freeman, Herb Gamache, Raymond Hine, Hartley Holte, Bill Kennington, Tom Kiefaber, Tom Lapham, Bill Manthorpe, Hank Mustin, Tom Stallman, Don Sturtz, Denny Sullivan, Fred Tolleson, and Darrel Westbrook. In a letter to our president, George Watt '73, president of the USNA Alumni Association praised our participation, writing, "As a testimony to the program, 'Another Link in The Chain,' the participation of the members of the Class of 1955 at the recent Class of 2005 Commitment Dinner was extraordinary…The presence of 1955 at this important event in the lives of these Midshipmen made a strong statement of support."

   Otto Zipf has returned from his annual trip to Spain and has an interesting trip to Pamplona to report about:

   The "Fiesta of San Fermin" has been going on in Pamplona, Spain, annually, since 1591! It took Ernest Hemingway to make it world famous in his novel The Sun Also Rises. Ever since that novel, which contains a lot of Hemingway's real personal life in Northern Spain as a correspondent during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), and who was a frequent visitor to Pamplona, has "the running of the bulls" become a world famous event. It starts every year on 6 July, and runs until 14 July. This year Peggy and I were there as part of the largest well-behaved crowd of polite drunks one would see anywhere. We were only witnesses, not part of the drunks! Our first chore upon checking into our hotel, which was a superb central location in the old city, was to get into "uniform." That was red and white. Almost everyone was in white shirts/tops, white trous (boy, what I would have given for a pair of white works trous), red neckerchief/bandanna, and red waist sash. It was a most invigorating festival. It goes on 24/7, for the entire period. The daily schedule is almost the same every day. The bulls run every morning, so one needs not be there for the kickoff day. The first day of the running is the morning of 7 July. The schedule of daily events may vary, but there is always something to see and/or do. Hemingway is a revered patron in Pamplona. There is a larger than life size bust of him just outside the bull run chute entrance to the bull ring. So, he "sees" all the bulls running every day, as they enter the bullring for the evening bullfights. Yes, the bulls in the daily run are the very ones who later challenge the matadors that same evening. This picture shows us, in our uniforms, sipping a local cerveza at one of the many outdoor cafes on the Plaza Del Castillo in the center of the old city of Pamplona. Pamplona is a wonderful tourist town to visit, even without the annual "Fiesta San Fermin." Other stops for us on this annual trek were a week in Marbella, and then several days in Madrid before flying back home.

   Ted Parker informs that during planning of the project to refurbish the crypt of John Paul Jones, Class officials became aware that a 29-inch model of BONHOMME RICHARD was available for purchase and display in the completed crypt. The model presently in the crypt is relatively crude and the USNA Museum director considers it a poor representation of the ship. Based upon photographic information, the Class made a deposit to hold the newly found model for purchase, and then sought a Class representative to inspect it to be sure that the photographs were faithful to the real thing. John Ganey volunteered to travel to the American Marine Model Gallery in Salem, MA, to see the model, and took with him David Perry, who is knowledgeable of wooden ship construction. The photo shows John and David with Michael Wall (with tie), the gallery owner, during their inspection. John reports that the model is very well made, and is the best he saw displayed in the gallery where it has been kept. We appreciate John's generosity in making the trip and advising us of the value he sees in the model. We have told the model owner that we will proceed with the purchase, and it should be delivered to us in Annapolis in a few weeks.

   Carl Peterson writes:

   Recently we joined Janey and Dick Dutnell in San Antonio for four days with the USNA RV group. We stayed at a very nice RV park at Fort Sam Houston. We had a great time sightseeing, enjoying the River Walk, and of course, the many "Happy Hours." Jean and Darrel Westbrook were the other '55ers there. I recently qualified and competed in the U.S. National Water Ski Tournament held on 12-16 August. I skied all three events (slalom, jump, and trick) and placed second overall in the weighted average of all three events for my age group of 70-75. This was my first national competition, and I aim to win first place in 2004 when they are held in August in West Palm Beach. I've included a picture of me in my "jump uniform."

"Taps"

   Stephen D. Lowe (11) died of cancer on 28 August at home in Annapolis, MD. Steve was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on 27 October with full military honors. A memorial service followed at the USNA Chapel. His wife, Shirley, can be contacted at 1510 Gordon Cove Dr., Annapolis, MD 21403; 410-280-0543.

   On 18 August, a small, but energetic group of '55ers gathered at the Mt. Vernon Golf and Country Club, and enjoyed a pleasant round of golf with Classmate Joe Chmelik's son, Tom, hosting. Golfers included Hank Mustin, Tony Bracken, Joe Chmelik, John Adams, Hartley Holte, and Ray Hine. Included in the group were Ed Chmelik, Lois Nido, and Alex Chmelik, son of Tom. While Alex is only 14-years of age, he hits the golfball as long as his father which is a whopping 280 yards off the tee. Apparently, according to his father, Alex lives at the golf course during the summer months, being deposited there when his parents depart for work and then being picked up again at their completion of the work day. The group of Tom Chmelik, Hank Mustin, and Tony Bracken won the event which was based on a points system. Obviously, the host knew what he was doing. An enjoyable session followed at the club with mucho goodies and ample pitchers of beer. Alex was not invited as he was out practicing some more having been disappointed in his game. Wives, Lucy Mustin and Debbie Adams, joined in the after golf festivities. The next event in Annapolis in September was hosted by Hartley Holte. The final tournament of the season, which included dinner and the awarding of trophies, was held 14 October at Hidden Creek Country Club in Reston. (The latter events were too late to be reported on in this column.)

Potpourri

   I received from George W. Martin an article he wrote for a recent Naval Submarine League Review, titled "The Search for THRESHER." I hadn't known that George was one of two submariners who piloted the bathyscaph TRIESTE to search for THRESHER. Fred McLaren took a
picture of the bow of R.M.S. TITANIC on 7 July 2003 during a 12 hour dive, using the Russian deep-diving MIR submersibles, and conducted an over six hour examination of the wreck site at a depth of approximately 12,800 feet.

   I was absolutely amazed to see how rapidly and extensively TITANIC has deteriorated in the four years since I last viewed her in 1999. The symbiotic conglomerate of microorganisms and fungi called "rusticles" now essentially completely envelops everything. The vigor of these iron and steel consuming "Rusticles" seems to have been accelerated in by past overfishing of the Grand Banks area, which has resulted in infinitely more unconsumed phyto and zoo plankton organic material "raining" on the bottom and wreck after it dies and "feeding" the "rusticles" in some way.

   Fred Schoenberger, Jack Begley, and Kent Drummond are pictured at Fred's cottage in Ocean View, DE (Bethany Beach). Several other photos are included that haven't made it into the column (I think!).