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Contact Information: December 2008The Reunion is over and it was a super event—except for the football game. Every time we gather I look forward to spending quality time having a nice long chat with everyone catching up and hearing what you think about things. Although that doesn’t seem to happen it was indeed a great pleasure to have at least said hello, to have exchanged a few words and to shake hands. The Class of 1963 is made up of one great group of guys. A note from Diff on the Reunion: “Greetings Gents: If you missed the 45th, you missed another good one. 219 of 413 remaining attended; that's a nice turnout. I don't suppose we'll ever see 90+%, but maybe for the 50th we can all get after our classmates who have not attended a reunion. The highlight for me was, as always, the Memorial Service. There's something about the cup ceremony that really strikes a high note in the weekend. I am convinced that ceremony must endure as long as we are able to make it happen; and, I know those who attended agree; many of you told me so. I will not repeat my "thank-yous" in this column having done so during the class meeting; however, I will again single out one individual for his continued effort on behalf of '63; Bob Hayes has made it happen. Speaking for the class, Bob - THANK YOU! Randy Reynolds briefed the class on progress made by the Cup Committee; the options have been narrowed and soon you will be asked to vote on the remaining options as to the final disposition of the class cups. There was good feedback from those attending the class meeting. It's possible the final disposition of the cups can be tied into a class gifting project aimed at the 50th. Drue DeBerry has been working on the gifting issue for some time now. He gave a most informative briefing on ideas for such a gift. I will be organizing a Committee to work this issue. My intent is to have the Cups and Gifting Committees working together to reach an acceptable and lasting gift from the class. Please stay tuned.” A recent exchange of e-mails between Bill Wecker, Art Johnson, and Drue DeBerry followed up on the Class Gift discussion. What may be especially helpful to us is to understand how our funds for a gift would be managed by the AOG or the USAFA Endowment, Inc. Maybe we can go into some detail at a later date. If you want to get in on the dialogue and Drue encourages all of us who have anything to add please do so. The best place to start is with Drue who is reachable via e-mail at drue.deberry@comcast.net. Reunion events started very early on Thursday with the Golf Tournament and I heard the winners were announced by Jerry McClellan Thursday evening. Winning or losing didn’t matter that much after our team was forced off the course while on the 17th hole, because of a late morning thunderstorm. What was important was we had fun! Friday morning found many of us from the Class attending the dedication ceremony for the Forward Air Controller (FAC) Memorial. We were there to honor those FACs who made the ultimate sacrifice and most poignant to us were the names of our classmates chiseled into the memorial: Park Bunker, Bob Rex and Doug Butterfield. Members of Doug Butterfield’s family were at the dedication and participated as well in our reunion events. Lou Matjasko reported Doug's family was thrilled by all the classmates they met and the stories shared about Doug. It far exceeded their expectations and they were so glad they came. Cammie Harris (USAFA ‘88), Doug's daughter, was there with her husband Rob (USAFA ‘93), son of our Rufus (Waltzing Matilda) Harris, and their children Drew and Abby. Doug's sister, Lynn Maras, and his aunt, Mary Douglas Mullins (Auntie Doug), were also there. Auntie Doug loved it so much she has committed to be at our 50th. She will be 95 then. They were graciously hosted by Jimmie Butler and the FAC Committee. They also were hosted by 11th Squadron at an informal get together and remembrance. The final highlight of their visit was their introduction by Bob Hayes to the class at our Friday banquet and the subsequent visits and stories from more classmates of Doug. “Fantastic job classmates for making Doug's family feel most welcome, and Cammie hearing for the first time about her father from his friends.”
Friday was a very eventful day. The FAC Memorial Dedication was followed right after lunch by the USAFA Leadership Team briefing that left us with a very positive outlook for the Academy’s future. One subject that came up in their briefing also came up later in our Class Business Meeting: the Center for Character Development—you should hear more of this item in later columns. At the Class Briefing a decision was made to hold the 50th Reunion earlier in the football season rather than chance the cold that many times accompanies the Army Football Game in November. After the meeting was adjourned we all trooped across the Terrazzo to the Chapel in quickening darkness amidst gusty winds, lightning and thunder to attend the Class Memorial Ceremony. This Ceremony always makes the entire trip for me. Fully understanding that the numbers are greater every time we gather I still wish that we could find a way to mention each classmate who has gone before and not just those who left us in the past five years. I know it is not practical but it just seems right. The gala Class Social and Dinner capped a very busy and emotional day. While wandering around the various reunion venues I was able to snap a number of photographs.
Johnston, Coates, & Hall a colorful trio
Dietz, McCollum, Anway, & Neff look at all that hair.
Chief and Dean making a move for the Bar-B-Que
Drue and Jim W: which one is telling the story? The rest of my pictures (about 50 or so) will get organized and then sent to Gil Merkle for inclusion in the Class Web Site. I really encourage all of you to put together your photographs of the events and your stories/observations and send them to Gil. He has a spot on the Web Site reserved for the 45th reunion. Gil’s e-mail is merkleg@texas.net.
Bob confirms the Healy really is his cadet car. Bob Hall sent the above photo back in late August. He and Shirley hosted a “mini-reunion” for all Golden Boys in the DC area on June 7, 2008 (Bob and Shirley’s 45th wedding anniversary). Pictured in front of their 19th century Victorian home, the “Hall House”, and behind Bob’s original 1962 Austin-Healey (cadet car), are the attendees (L to R): Devere Henderson, Barry Walrath, Jim Johnston, Joe Hicks, Gerry Westerbeck, Dick Guild, Jim Hannam, Gene Rosendahl, Pete Ognibene, Dean Hess, Larry Eastman, and Bob Hall. |
