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In preparation for the 45th reunion next year, we have been updating our Class of '55 address list.  This is where it stands as of July 1.  We have 736 known addresses that we are pretty confident are current (includes 69 non-grads & 61 widows).  The breakdown by state is as follows: AL: 8, AR: 8, AZ: 18, CA: 107, CO: 12, CT: 15, DE: 5, FL: 80, GA: 17, HI: 7, IA: 2, ID: 2, IL: 11, IN: 4, KS: 1, KY: 1, LA: 6, MA: 17, MD: 58, ME: 4, MI: 8, MN: 5, MO: 4, MS: 6, NC: 17, NE: 1, NH: 4, NJ: 11, NM: 10, NV: 4, NY: 21, OH: 13, OK: 1, OR: 5, PA: 27, RI: 5, SC: 15, TN: 9, TX: 27, UT: 3, VA: 134, VT: 2, WA: 15, WI: 1, WV: 3, Virgin Islands: 1, & Germany: 1.  We are attempting to locate all missing classmates - particularly the16 missing grads.  They are:
 

Name                         Co.     Last Known Address                                         Telephone #
George O. Compton     14 1212 Mulberry Ln., Oklahoma City, OK 73116
Joseph M. Earley, Jr.    06 1992 Greenfield Dr., El Cajon, CA 92021
John J. Flynn, Jr.            11 541 Constitution Dr., Warminister, PA 18974     215-674-5759
Edward E. Fowle           15 2823 Woodmont Dr., Xenia, OH 45385               937-426-0723
Leroy F. Gayle                11 P.O. Box 1685, Greenville, TX 75401                  903-454-3348
Billy M. Grimes               22 251 Via Socorro, San Clemente, CA 92672       714-492-3098
Aaron B. Jacobs            21 P.O. Box 175, South Laguna, CA 92677             714-499-5253
Delbert V. Keener         24  Believed deceased
William C. Martin           09 5234 Alzeda Dr., La Mesa, CA 92041                  619-440-8782
Ronald D. Miller             03
Charles L. Newman       01 P.O. Box 1752, Houston, TX 77001                      713-674-9484
James J. Roche             06 4753 Emerson Ave., S., Minneapolis, MN 55409  612-825-4521
Wesley L. Saunders, Jr. 09 405 Island Way, #5, Clearwater, FL 34630         727-443-2448
Eric R. Woxvold             02  Believed deceased
William R. Young            15
Donald L. Zuckerman    16

If anyone knows of their whereabouts, please let me know.  On the subject of demographics, a total of 148 classmates are known to be deceased - 126 graduates & 22 non-grads.

Denny Sullivan (13) writes:
 

I travelled to San Diego in June to attend my 50th high school reunion at Saint Augustine High School.  The most amazing thing was how much the whole city and the entire area had changed during the fifty years.  All my classmates looked the same - among them was Dick Murphy '54. (PHOTO #1, "Dick Murphy '54 & Denny Sullivan") I also had a chance to visit with Ned Floyd (18) in Coronado to see if there were any upcoming occasions around which to schedule a class mini-reunion.  No west coast Navy football games are scheduled for the future, so we'll have to have a reunion anyway - maybe in 2002 or 2003.

The enclosed photo sent in by Otto Zipf (15) shows the new Zipf Scholar from the Class of '99. (PHOTO #2, "Otto with '99 Zipf Scholar")  He is 2nd LT Jeffrey S. Beelaert, USMCR, and is starting his two year schlorship tour at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, by the time this is published.  Jeff was in the 29th Company, graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science, and hails fron New Jersey.  Both Zipf Scholars in Germany now ('98 & '99) are marines!

Darrel Westbrook (10) reports:
 

Jean and I returned at the end of May from five weeks in Beijing, visiting our eldest daughter Evonne and her family who moved there last August. Evonne's husband, Ray Bracy '78, is President, Boeing China and has been on the job since April '98.  We had a most enjoyable visit, seeing all the major tourist sites and many of the lesser known ones not often frequented by westeners.  We were able to see and participate in the life of the western expatriate community and also in the activities of the International School of Beijing which our four grandchildren attend - a nine year boy and six year old triplets (2 boys and our only granddaughter).  There is nothing more interesting (or nerve wracking) than chaperoning 17 third graders on a field trip to the Great Bell Museum on a school bus caught in Beijing rush hour traffic. (PHOTO #3, "The Westbrooks with grandchildren at The Great Wall")

Yes, we were in Beijing during the demonstrations at the U.S. Embassy. Since Evonne and Ray live on the outskirts of Beijing in a western style community, we experienced no problems.  However, we did keep a low profile for about five days.  When we resumed our normal activities, we experienced no unpleasantness from the Chinese.  In fact, based on our experience, you would never suspect that anything had happened.

One of the highlights of our trip was visiting Beijing University.  The campus is normally closed to visitors, but thanks to Ray's secretary who is a graduate and her father who is a professor there, we received a rare special tour.  It is located in a beautiful setting with a tasteful blend of old and new buildings.

Evonne and Ray anticipate being in Beijing for three years so we are already planning our next trip.  We hope to go further afield next time to see more of China than just Beijing.  Like most of us, I never thought I would be visiting the PRC of my own free will.

Pat Taylor (16) tells it like it is:
 

Those of us in the "Tidewater" Virginia area - home of the Norfolk Navy - were invited aboard USS THORN (DD988) on July 2nd, to carry out this year's presentation of our class / USNA 1955 Junior Officer Leadership Award. The selectee, LTJG Ben Vaughan USN, was transferred from our "adopted ship", the Leyte Gulf (CG-55) last spring and flown overseas to report to the THORN on deployment off the Bosnia coast. We were able to muster a small contingent of class reps to attend a brief but very nicely put together presentation ceremony for Ben, a young officer selected up through the "seaman to Admiral" program. You would all be as impressed and proud of him as well as his very lovely wife -  as all of us were. Again, it was a real treat for us to get back close to the ships and officers that we left behind.  Those on hand, able to join us in our ceremony included: Frank Farino (10), Hank French (13), Bob Miller (16), Bill Stevens (10), Pat Taylor (16), Al Vail (10), and Carol & Carl Vogel (08). Charley Plumly (16) endorsed the citation, and was to be this year's presenter, but got called away "on special assignment" at the last minute. The skipper, Cdr Joe Sensi '80 and his XO, LCDR Gale Wilkins were most gracious hosts in making our group feel at home during this presentation. We hope to have a few pics -taken with the ship's new digital Nikon camera- to share with you on receipt of same...at the very least- the cake cutting ceremony.

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Conceptual planning for the 45th Reunion: The dates of our 45th Reunion have changed.  It will now take place on October 26-29, 2000, an "off-Homecoming" weekend.  However, nothing else has changed.  We still have booked the waterfront Marriott Hotel in Annapolis as well as the Days Inn on Route 50.  And Washington area Classmates are still planning a great program.  More details will be provided later in Shipmate, via letter, and on the '55 Net. We still have a long way to go - if you have any ideas, put them on our Listserv or call Tom Kiefaber at (703) 759-7743 or another Washington area Classmate.

Class Membership for December 1998 is 63 Percent........... Are you a member of the Naval Academy Alumni Association (15 non-graduates are!)? You can sign up by calling (410) 263-4448 x112 or 117. Annual dues are $30.00 or $410.00 for lifetime membership (paid in quarterly installments). Or indicate your interest to me and I'll have USNAAA send you an application. You'll find SHIPMATE has vastly improved. Tom K. Note:  Please contact USNA Alumni Services office at 410-263-4448 x112 or achamber@arctic.nadn.navy.mil to update your address if you are a member of the USNAAA and not getting Shipmate. If you are not a Naval Academy alumnus, but would like to subscribe to Shipmate, please contact the phone number/email address above or click on Subscription Form. Your Webmaster

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