Kennedy High School Alumni
Bloomington, Minnesota (MN)
Recent Members
| Anne Anne M Barry | 1975 |
| Carrie Kingfield | 2010 |
| Jim Peavey | 1970 |
| Marissa Johnson | 2018 |
| Matt Whyte | 1998 |
| Paige Rustad Paige Rustad | 2015 |
| Sean Cole | 2006 |
| Terry Smith | 1988 |
Military Alumni
Honoring Our Heroes
This area is dedicated to our alumni that have served or are serving in our armed forces!
Lost Class Rings
Have you lost your Kennedy High School class ring? Have you found someone's class ring? Visit our Eagles lost class ring page to search for your class ring or post information about a found ring.
Honored Military Alumni
Alan Ellefson
Class of 1970
Air Force, 4 Years
USAF Security Service, Misawa, Japan, and TUSLOG Det. 94 Karamusel, Turkey.
Class of 1970
Air Force, 4 Years
USAF Security Service, Misawa, Japan, and TUSLOG Det. 94 Karamusel, Turkey.
Charles (Chuck) Luttrell
Class of 1978
Navy, 20+ Years
Served from 1978 (just after graduation) until April 2011. Began as aircraft mechanic and then attended flight school and being assigned to the EA-6B Prowler community. Have flown combat missions in Desert Storm, Operation Northern and Southern Watch and OIF including living in Western Iraq. Served on Combined Air Operations Staff in Qatar as Navy Liaison Director for OIF and OEF operations. Logged over 3000 flight hours and 650 carrier arrested landings
Class of 1978
Navy, 20+ Years
Served from 1978 (just after graduation) until April 2011. Began as aircraft mechanic and then attended flight school and being assigned to the EA-6B Prowler community. Have flown combat missions in Desert Storm, Operation Northern and Southern Watch and OIF including living in Western Iraq. Served on Combined Air Operations Staff in Qatar as Navy Liaison Director for OIF and OEF operations. Logged over 3000 flight hours and 650 carrier arrested landings
David Will
Class of 1970
Navy, 4 Years
San Diego based Helicopter Squadron, deployed on Aircraft Carriers, USS Kitty Hawk, USS Ranger and USS Ticonderoga. 1971 through 1975.
Class of 1970
Navy, 4 Years
San Diego based Helicopter Squadron, deployed on Aircraft Carriers, USS Kitty Hawk, USS Ranger and USS Ticonderoga. 1971 through 1975.
Debra McDaniel Smith
Class of 1972
Navy, 20+ Years
I served in the Air Force (Personnel and Computer Science) and in the Navy (Medical Service Corps).
Class of 1972
Navy, 20+ Years
I served in the Air Force (Personnel and Computer Science) and in the Navy (Medical Service Corps).
Dennis J. De Long
Class of 1972
Navy, 6 Years
Disbursing Clerk 2nd Class on the USS San Jose (AFS-7) Vietnam Veteran
Class of 1972
Navy, 6 Years
Disbursing Clerk 2nd Class on the USS San Jose (AFS-7) Vietnam Veteran
Dennis J. De Long
Class of 1972
Navy, 6 Years
Disbursing Clerk 2nd Class on the USS San Jose AFS-7
Class of 1972
Navy, 6 Years
Disbursing Clerk 2nd Class on the USS San Jose AFS-7
Douglas C Leininger
Class of 1969
Army, 2 Years
Trained at Fort Campbell KY and Fort Polk LA. 18 months in Gelnhausen Germany.
Class of 1969
Army, 2 Years
Trained at Fort Campbell KY and Fort Polk LA. 18 months in Gelnhausen Germany.
Duaine R Jackola
Class of 1966
Navy, 6 Years
Hospital Corpsman (HM2), 1973-1979, stationed at National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, and Naval Dental Research Center, Great Lakes, IL.
Class of 1966
Navy, 6 Years
Hospital Corpsman (HM2), 1973-1979, stationed at National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, and Naval Dental Research Center, Great Lakes, IL.
Gordon Israelson
Class of 1968
Army, 4 Years
Gordon Israelson – United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, NY
This attempt to recall the sequence of events that I experienced may be flawed as I try to recover memories from half a century ago. Please forgive my memory lapses where I may not remember everything clearly or out of order.
Plebe Year
I flew from Minnesota to New York City. I was met at the airport by the Lee family. The Lees were visiting NYC family and kindly agreed to meet me when I arrived. The oldest son, Steve, was one of my school classmates. He and his younger brother, Dean, were both teammates of mine on the Bloomington, MN gymnastics team. Before they took me to West Point, the Lee bothers and I saw several of the tourist attractions including the Empire State Building observation deck and Coney Island amusement park. On 1 July 1968 the Lees drove to West Point and dropped me off. Thus ended my civilian status. With me entered 1244 other young men.
The official term for the West Point version of boot camp is “New Cadet Barracks”. Every cadet refers to this period of time as “Beast Barracks” or usually, “Beast”. My memories are hazy due to my mental defense process of clouding and hiding those which are unpleasant. I remember us all being herded to the cadet barber shop where the team of barbers spent less than a minute each for shearing all the hair from our heads to a length no greater than ¼ inch. We were issued our first set of uniforms; khakis, fatigues, dress uniform consisting of black shoes, black socks, white shirt with grey epaulets, grey trousers with belt and brass buckle and hats. Sometime during the first couple days we were issued toiletries, underwear, socks, bedding and field gear and rifle with dress and field bayonets. The bedding included sheets, pillowcase and a comforter which we were told is a “Brown Boy”. It was actually yellowish beige or a dark gold. Also, there was a heavy wool blanket designed specifically for cadets, having a large black USMA centered on a gray field with broad black and gold stripes at the head and foot. I still sleep with this warm blanket now more than 50 years later.
We “New Cadets” were divided into companies. Each company had three platoons. Each platoon had four squads of about 12 men per squad. I was in the 5th New Cadet Company. Each squad had a 2nd Class cadet squad leader and assistant squad leader. (2nd Class = Junior) First class cadets (1st Class = Senior) were platoon leaders, company commanders, battalion and brigade commanders and staff.
At West Point the seniors are called First Class cadets or “Firsties”. The juniors are 2nd Class and are called “Cows” for no reason other than that is tradition from distant unrecorded history. Sophomores are 3rd Class and called “Yearlings”. The bottom of the pecking order is the 4th Class freshmen called “Plebes”. This term is derived from the social lowest class in the old Roman Empire called plebeians.
My squad was assigned rooms on the third and fourth floors. My room was on the fourth floor directly across from the squad leader and assistant squad leader room. This was the least desirable room to have. There were four of us assigned to my room. I only saw one of new roommates very briefly before he resigned from West Point and left. He wasn’t around long enough to sleep in his bunk the first night. My remaining two roommates eventually graduated with me; Hank Kinnison and Bob Lang. It was during Beast that I befriended my squad mate, Charlie Hundley, who was alphabetically next to me. By the time we graduated, Charlie and I were roommates about half the time we were cadets. These barracks that we lived in during Beast were the oldest ones and were demolished immediately after Beast to make way for new barracks.
The first day of Beast we were given sufficient marching training so that we could march to a swearing in ceremony. Here we all raised our right hands and took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I consider this oath to still be binding.
One evening during the first week we were all gathered for a lecture in Thayer Hall during which we were told to look at the man sitting to your right and then look at the man sitting to your left. We were then told that at graduation, one of you three would not be there. This was a very close estimates as I graduated with 822, or about 66%. 801 graduated on 7 June 1972 and the remainder graduated a few weeks later after summer school instruction to raise their grades sufficiently to graduate. Of all my roommates during the four years, four did not graduate with me. Three resigned and one flunked academically.
One of the first things we were taught was to look at the signal flags displayed outside the guard room which indicated what uniform we were to wear at the next formation. The use of signal flags was the technique used to inform cadets about which uniform was required during Beast and also the following summer as Yearlings at Camp Buckner.
During Beast I was initially issued shoes that were too small. Due to many hours of marching I developed blisters on the tips of my toes as well as along the sides of the toes. After a couple of days walking in continual pain I finally admitted to my squad leader that I had blisters. That evening he lanced the blisters and made sure I was sent to get some new shoes. I kept those small shoes the whole time I was a cadet, but never wore them again. I shined them so they looked like black glass and they were the ones I set out for room inspections.
My first demerits were awarded during an inspection a few days into Beast Barracks. My squad leader barked “Did you shave today, Mister?” “No, sir” I answered. I was written up as unshaven. I had never shaved in my life. I was seventeen years old and the thought of shaving had never crossed my mind. After inspection I observed the baby fine hairs on my chin and wondered what my sharp eyed squad leader had seen that made me so obviously unshaven. At first opportunity I bought a razor and shaving cream and shaved my chin. I dutifully shaved every day the remainder of my plebe year in order to prevent being legally unshaven, even though there was nothing to shave away.
During Beast we spent a week at the rifle range where I managed to qualify with the M14 rifle at the lowest permissible rating of “Marksman”. Not bad, considering I had never fired a rifle before going to West Point. The two higher ratings were “Expert ” (best) and “Sharpshooter” (next best). My roommate Bob Lang qualified as Expert. Any plebe who was not able to qualify at any level earned a special load of hazing. My rifle was one the oldest in the entire army. It had a four digit serial number. Everyone else had rifles with six or more digits. If you could not recite your rifle serial number at any time, extra hazing was the result. The benefit of having an easy to remember serial number was offset by the fact that it was old and the bluing had worn off in many places. Consequently, it rusted quickly. I had to frequently rub it with gun oil to keep it ready for inspection.
From the first day of Beast through the rest of the academic year all of us plebes “braced” in the presence of upperclassmen and also when out in public areas. Bracing means to put your chin back to try to make it disappear into your neck while keeping the head upright. If that sounds painful, it is, especially when maintained for long periods. Bracing was part of the hazing that plebes endured. If not sufficiently tormenting oneself, any upperclassman would encourage us (at high decibels) with something like “Grab a wrinkle Smackhead!” Other elements of hazing included double-timing up stairs, bracing at the table during meals and reciting any of the required “Plebe Poop” at any time. The upperclassmen took it very seriously that they were expected to “run out” (entice to resign from USMA) the unworthy plebes. The concept was that those unable to take the stress of hazing would be unable to function in the stress of combat.
I know that the hazing during meals prevented all of us from getting enough to eat. I thought this hazing was stupid and let my opinion be known in subtle ways. I became the subject of interest to several of the upper-class cadre. I entered West Point weighing 154 pounds. By the end of the first month I was down to 140 pounds due to hazing during meals. I had since lost all fat and was burning muscle. When they tested us at the end of Beast I could only do 4 pullups at that light weight. Considering that I was a Minnesota state level competition gymnast in high school, this indicates how weak I was. I survived because the training detail changed after the first month and we were assigned a new set of squad leaders while the first set went on leave. I do not think I gained any weight in the second month, but I did not lose any either. I became sick at the start of the academic year following Beast and my body did not have the resources to heal until I went home for Christmas leave and got enough to eat for a week.
My class year, 1972, was the last to endure the old system of plebe bracing. I saw no reason why this hazing would make better Army officers. The bracing caused some men to develop chronic neck pain that never went away. When the next class, 1973, entered, we referred to them as “wrinkle free ‘73”.
Unlike the very smart men, I had worked hard in high school to earn good grades. When I went to West Point I had good study habits that allowed me to succeed. I had some roommates who were so smart they claimed to have not needed to open a text book in high school. Not having good study habits caused them much grief as they learned the hard way that the USMA courses required everyone to study. Because God built me with a brain that works with mathematics, I did well as a plebe since we had 80 minutes of math class six days per week. One of my plebe roommates failed math and was separated from USMA at the end of our plebe year. Plebes and yearlings were reassigned different rooms and roommates three times during the academic year.
While sitting with my company (B company, 3rd regiment, or B-3) for meals during the academic year we were held to the requirement to sit at attention (including bracing) and eat small bites. We could be asked at any time to recite any of the assorted trivia (“Plebe Poop”) we were required to memorize. Failure to recite properly could result in being told to “Sit Up” and forfeit the rest of the meal. I was fortunate to be on the gymnastics team which coincidentally had the longest season of any of the sports. While sitting with my teammates all plebes were treated as human beings and we could eat normally. I pitied my classmates who participated in intramural sports and had to sit with the company during this long winter season. At company tables the plebes would try to earn a “Fallout” for the supper meal. By acting a skit, singing a song, reciting a poem, telling a joke or otherwise sufficiently entertaining the upperclassmen, the plebes could be allowed to eat without harassment. My friend Charlie Hundley tells a story of how I earned a fallout one evening by doing a back flip off a chair. I do not remember the incident. Back flips were part of my skill set and would have been nothing remarkable for me to remember.
Earlier I mentioned the construction of new barracks during my plebe year. I was in the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Regiment. We were housed in what was called Old South Barracks which was adjacent to the construction site. Enormous clouds of dust were raised during the demolition which included blasting of the foundations under thick woven steel mat to contain flying debris. This is mentioned because there was no air conditioning or ventilation in our rooms except for opening the windows. As a consequence every day required much dusting and sweeping to make our rooms, clothing and equipment dust free for inspection. One of my roommates, Dave Lynch, somehow got a bottle of Johnson’s floor wax. We learned that a quick layer of floor wax over a buff shined pair of shoes looked better than spit shined shoes that took a long time to finish. The wax eventually destroyed the leather, but buying a new pair of shoes was a small price for the labor and time savings.
Every Saturday academics started with a math class, a short break, and another class. We rushed back to our room, donned the full dress uniforms and endured inspection and parade. The parade was for hundreds or thousands of spectators who flocked into West Point each Saturday to watch. Every year during Spring and Fall tourists would come to West Point to watch the spectacle of thousands of cadets on parade in dress uniforms with shining brass and sparkling bayonets and swords. We sometimes called West Point “Disneyland East” because of all the entertainment we provided.
During the Spring and Fall we would have three parades per week, weather permitting. Two of the four regiments would parade on Monday and Wednesday immediately after the afternoon classes. The other two regiments would parade on Tuesday and Thursday. The entire brigade, all four regiments, would parade Saturday morning. While assembled in ranks prior to marching off to weekday afternoon parade many cadets would be chanting together “Odin, Odin!” calling for the god of rain to wash out the parade. After marching onto the parade ground the cadets were set in line by companies and battalions. The ranking cadet, the brigade commander or regimental commander would call the battalions to attention and call out “Report!” All battalion commanders would respond “All present or accounted for!” in order. The ranking cadet then calls out “Pass in review!” to start the parade. Usually someone in the company would mimic out loud so we could hear it and the spectators could not “Piss in your shoe!” We all hated parades.
Prior to Saturday parade in the company area the company would be called to attention for inspection. The inspections before these events gave the upperclassmen much opportunity to write up plebes for more demerits. Every cadet was allowed a certain number of demerits per month. For each demerit above that allowed, the cadet is required to endure another inspection where even more demerits can be assessed followed by an hour of marching for each demerit. These “Walking Tours” were served on weekends when free time would normally be available. Cadets who were on intercollegiate athletic teams are exempt from walking hours, but must stay confined to their room for a set number of hours during weekend free time. A confinement “Con” time would be Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon. Thus, a cadet sitting Con could work off 3 demerits each week. I personally never walked an hour. Because I was on the gymnastics team I sat a few Con weekends.
During the first event (floor exercise) of a competition gymnastics meet I dislocated my right shoulder doing a trick called a half kip. Sitting on the floor, I pushed my shoulder back into joint, and finished my floor exercise routine. I then competed in three more events after that. The next morning I was in enough pain that I went on sick call. X-Ray of my shoulder showed a bone chip in the joint. The doctor had me give it a rest for a couple of weeks to see if it would tighten up. After it went out of joint a couple of times while doing nothing more strenuous than lying in bed, I went back to the doctor and told him I thought it needed to be fixed. On 1 May 1969 I underwent surgery. For the first 24 hours I was on morphine. The affect it had on me was that I felt every bit of the pain, but I just did not care. It hurt worse than anything I had ever experienced. I would have no desire for morphine. They kept me in the hospital for several extra days because I was showing a slight fever. I would go to classes with my arm in a sling and go back to the hospital to sleep.
The academic load was heavy. All cadets averaged about 21 or 22 semester hours of class work per semester for all four years. I greatly annoyed my roommates every evening before finals because I spent very little time preparing for the tests. I would look over the notes I had taken during the semester and read the portions of the textbooks I had underlined. Then I would read science fiction, relax and go to bed early. The roommates without good study habits would try to cram a semester’s worth of knowledge in during the evening.
By the end of the plebe year, most underclassmen ceased hazing plebes and, at long last, plebes were accepted into the Corps of Cadets on Recognition “R” Day after the final parade for that academic year.
Whew.
Yearling Year
Upon release from West Point we had one month of leave and I flew home to Minnesota. My Mom was very happy to hand me a paint brush, show me the paint pails and allow me to paint the entire house. That is the main thing I remember about that leave. I actually enjoyed the mindless application of paint to the house siding. It was so restful to live without any stress. I also made up my own rehabilitation exercises and used my brother’s weight set to build up my muscles while healing from surgery.
Returning to West Point as a freshly minted Yearling we were bussed out to Camp Buckner on the USMA reservation for a month of training. We were sorted into eight companies by academic year battalion. The four weeks had eight different training regimens with different companies training in different things. Part of this included another week of rifle range practice with the M16 rifle, the standard infantry weapon. Once again I qualified as Marksman. We also practiced with the M60 machine gun, a tripod mounted weapon that used the same ammunition as the M14. We did not take a qualification test with the M60. In single shot mode I was deadly with it, hitting almost every target out to the 400 yard limit of the range.
Some days we were in the field overnight and slept in tents. There were a couple of nights when we sat in foxholes in the rain or were walking on patrol, also in the rain. Those nights there was no sleep. Sometimes we were at the camp and enjoyed the luxuries of bunk beds, indoor plumbing and a mess hall. When you are sitting outside in the rain during a meal in the field, everything is cold soup, no matter what it was supposed to be; e.g. salad soup, baked beans soup, hot dog soup. Every morning when we had slept in the barracks, we started with an exercise run following reveille. The normal exercise uniform was the sneakers, gym shorts and tee shirts. One morning it was very cold. Our breath frosted in the air. It was a frigid run. No one broke a sweat. Showering did not wash off any sweat but did serve to warm us up. The signal flags for the uniform of the day when we later assembled for breakfast included the heavy field jacket which is suitable for winter wear. We wondered what sadist had decided that we did not need to wear sweatshirts and sweatpants for the earlier freezing run.
One night we left for a patrol in the drizzle for “Infantry Week”. As we walked by the recreation hall we could see classmates in other companies watching the first moon landing walk by Neil Armstrong on TV. We walked all night. At one point we had to climb a cliff in the pitch dark. I heard the clatter of someone falling and the cry went out by some classmates “Medic! Medic!”, knowing that someone was hurt. Then we heard the person say “Shut Up! I am the Medic!” We continued the patrol and the medic was airlifted out by helicopter in the morning after daylight. He was the only person injured during our entire summer training.
After walking on patrol all night, we pitched tents over wet ground and went off to a day of training. At the end of the day the mud had dried slightly under the tent. I had a poncho and blanket and went right to sleep. We were up early and out late every day for that week. When we got back to the barracks we immediately headed to the showers, not having had the opportunity to even take off our clothes during the week. That is the only time I recall being able to feel slime running off my body. Later, my red, rusty rifle needed a thorough cleaning.
Because of my shoulder surgery as a plebe, I was prohibited from doing the only fun things at Camp Buckner. When the others got to practice rappelling down a cliff, I had to watch. When they rode the “Slide For Life” I again had to sit out. The Slide for Life was similar to a zip line except the rider held onto a bar attached to a pulley on a long cable over a pond. The end of the ride was a stop into the water. There were no safety straps to keep anyone from falling off. If you lost your grip at the start, you would fall from 30 feet above the water. No one in my training company fell before the end. My damaged shoulder did not prevent me from participating in all the running, including an unpleasant five mile run (called a forced march) with full field gear: rifle, helmet, entrenching tool, canteen, gas mask, backpack, web belt, and bayonet in boots and fatigues. We also had to carry a platoon load of special weapons. The mortar base plate and tube were passed around during the run because no one could carry them the whole way. There were times when we might be also carrying an extra rifle to help a buddy. My platoon was not the fastest to finish, but we had no one fall out. The concept was to teach us what the human body could endure.
As part of our training we flew to various army posts around the country for specialized instruction in diverse topics. At Fort Knox, KY (home of the Armor branch) one evening after training, another cadet and I were walking to the PX (post exchange) when a jeep flying the flag of a brigadier general pulled over and stopped right in front of us. Out stepped the post commander. We saluted and he introduced himself as George Patton, Jr., the son of Gen. George Patton who commanded the 3rd Army during WWII. We had a pleasant conversation for about five minutes. One interesting statement BG Patton made was that he was one higher rank than he thought he would ever be and two higher ranks than he should be. It was nice to hear some humility from a high ranking officer. At Fort Sill, OK (home of the artillery branch) we observed artillery demonstrations that made me glad I would never be on the receiving end of these weapons. It was truly awesome.
Company B-3 was housed in a different building for my next two years. I lived on the 5th floor of the east side of New South Barracks. New South Barracks is two buildings separated by a concrete covered courtyard about 50 meters wide. When moving in we upperclassmen used the freight elevator to haul our foot lockers up to the fifth floor. This elevator did not have the automatic closing doors with safety features that are required now days. The doors were closed manually with an upper door moving down to meet a lower door moving up. I was not careful and caught my hand between these doors. I pushed the doors apart and saw my hand spurting blood when I pulled it out. I grabbed my hand and applied pressure to stop the bleeding. Fortunately, New South Barracks adjoins the West Point hospital property. I walked over and was promptly seen by a doctor. I thought I would get a few stitches. The bleeding had stopped and the doctor applied an adhesive butterfly bandage. How anticlimactic. I did get a doctor's excuse from marching with my rifle for a couple of days.
During the academic year a typical day started with reveille at 06:00 and roll call in formation at 06:10. From the company area we marched to the mess hall for breakfast. Everyone had an assigned table with some cadets from all four class years at each table. Plebes were responsible for knowing what each upperclassman wanted to drink at each meal and making sure his beverage was delivered promptly. Dismissal from the mess hall was 06:45 with everyone proceeding individually back to their rooms. Before leaving for the first class my bunk had to be made and the room dusted and swept. Our rooms were subject to inspection at any time during the morning and we had to have all clothing folded properly in the drawers or hung on hangers. All shoes on display had to be shined. All brass had to be shined. No dust was allowed anywhere. We had two classes in the morning with a significant break between them for studying, shopping at the cadet store or socializing. Assembly for lunch formation included another roll call and any special announcements by the company commander. We marched to the mess hall for lunch. We had two classes after lunch. Those of us on intercollegiate sports teams (called “Corps Squad” teams) would go to practice as soon after class as possible. We cleaned up and wore our dress uniforms for supper. Assembly and roll call for supper was at 18:00. We marched to the mess hall for supper. Dismissal from supper was followed by study and free time until taps at 22:00. The first three class year cadets had to be in bed after taps. The fourth year cadets (Firsties) were allowed to stay up all night if they wanted.
Yearling year I continued on the gymnastics team. Because of my shoulder injury I gave up the high bar. I continued to compete on floor exercise, pommel horse and parallel bars. In gym class while playing handball I ran into the wall and broke a bone in my wrist. It was not a severe break and I wore a plastic brace wrapped with an elastic ace bandage to immobilize it while it healed. I continued to go to gymnastics practice and mostly stretched and did weight lifting instead of using the various apparatus. I did some tumbling holding my hand in a fist instead of spreading my fingers and taking weight on my palm. I did a lot of front flips which does not require putting hands on the floor. I got so good at them that I modified my floor exercise routine to start with bounding front flips (flip, land to immediate 2nd flip).
As part of my academic course load I made the mistake of agreeing to take the intermediate German language course after doing very well in basic German as a plebe. I was in a class with men who had lived in Germany as children and learned the language fluently. I understood little of what was said in that class. I had German class every other day. The night before German I spent the entire evening studying German. The alternate nights I studied for all my other classes. Somehow the instructor was merciful and I got C’s both semesters.
Charlie Hundley and I took advanced physics. I enjoyed it. He felt overwhelmed. He tells a story about us studying for a test. Once again this is an incident that I do not remember. He asked me about how to do a type of problem. I told him that when he gets to a certain point in the problem, he should multiply by a number I told him. According to Charlie the instructor called him over after the class when he returned the test papers. He said something to the effect that Charlie got the right answer, but he did not understand what Charlie had done to calculate it. Charlie said he multiplied by the “Israelson constant”. Puzzled, the instructor asked for clarification. Charlie explained I had told him to multiply by my number when he got to that point of the problem. Charlie retained his grade.
Our rooms in New South Barracks were slightly more modern than the rooms we had in Old South Barracks. The space above the closet where we hung our dress uniforms, and shirts and trousers had a sliding door cupboard about 7 feet above the floor. Our company was assigned a new tactical officer, Cpt. Fred Peters. Cpt. Peters was short, about 5’4”. He was not a West Point graduate and thought many of the cadet regulations were silly and unnecessary. He was too short to reach up and open the high cupboard so he never inspected what was in there. My roommate Charlie stored a contraband popcorn popper there the entire time we lived in New South, our Yearling and Cow years. Charlie also installed a hook in the closet behind our hanging cadet clothes where he hung his civilian clothes where they could not be seen. We enjoyed popcorn a few times, but did not make it often. The aroma was distinctive and permeated the entire floor of the barracks. Any inspecting officer would have only needed to follow his nose to find the culprits.
Our tactical officer, Cpt. Peters stayed with us three years through graduation. He was an excellent example of how an officer should behave. I observed two notable types of officer. One type treated people like their value was proportional to their rank. The other type treated each personas an important member of the team. Cpt. Peters was the second type and we considered ourselves to be the most fortunate company in the Corps of Cadets. From his assignment with us as company tactical officer he went to Vietnam and eventually retired as a colonel.
Yearling year was low stress and I happily studied physics, math and chemistry. I was less happy about psychology, history and English literature. I hated German.
Upon completion of the first two years of training, every cadet had an obligation to serve in the regular army two years as an enlisted man if he left West Point before graduation after starting the first day of third year academics. I had two former roommates resign during or after Yearling year.
One incident I did not observe, but was recounted to me, was an anti-war demonstration at West Point. The Vietnam war was raging full blast and there was much social unrest, especially among college students. One afternoon a group of girls from nearby Vassar College, an all women’s school, arrived to protest the Vietnam war. The cadets, naturally being interested in young women, gathered and interacted with the young ladies. They were definitely surprised to find these men in the heart of the US Army were not blood thirsty monsters. When the ladies left, a substantial fraction of them had a date with a cadet for the next weekend.
Yearling year I mostly ignored the plebes and they could not have been more pleased with me.
Cow Year
After a month of summer leave in Minnesota I returned to West Point for a month as a squad leader for new cadets in Beast. I did not haze them as I had been hazed. I did require excellent performance and when they messed up I had them fall in during their free time to practice manual of arms with their rifles. They were sharp by the end of Beast. I also let them eat at meals, sitting at attention, but getting their nourishment.
During Beast I sat with most of my squad at meals. I was the only upperclassman and I sat at the head of the table. During the supper meal one plebe was the designated “Dessert Corporal”. The dessert corporal was responsible for cutting the dessert into the same number of pieces as the number of people at the table. Equal size pieces was the standard. A full table was ten people, but sometimes fewer were present on weekends, making the pieces a more generous serving. One supper early in Beast the dessert corporal did a particularly poor job. Some pieces were very large and a couple were very small.
As “Table Commandant” I was responsible for correcting this poor performance. I did not yell at the plebe. I made this a lesson. I told him to pick a buddy. He pointed out another plebe. I told the dessert corporal to serve the smallest piece to this buddy. I then told him to pick out another buddy. The plebes were starting to catch on. He pointed to second person. I told him to serve the next smallest piece to that man. This plebe was staring daggers at the dessert corporal. I then announced that it is important to do every job well. If you screw up even a small task in combat people may die. They are expected to be diligent in every task, no matter how small. I hope they picked up something from this incident.
The academic year included more elective courses. I chose physics and math courses. My roommate Charlie leaned more toward history and social studies. Because I wanted to take the nuclear engineering course as a Firstie, I had to take the prerequisite nuclear reactor physics course. Because nuclear engineering was not as popular as the other engineering disciplines, my reactor physics course only had five students, the smallest class I attended at West Point. I also took advanced calculus as a fun, easy elective. Required for all cadets were electrical engineering, fluid mechanics and thermodynamics. I also endured law, government and economics courses.
I was a squad leader during the year, but put as little attention to it as I could. Basically I had to count noses of my squad’s yearlings and plebes at formation in order to report attendance. I do not remember ever inspecting a plebe’s or yearling’s room as a Cow squad leader. I figured the inspections by the platoon leader, company commander and first sergeant were sufficient.
One significant event during the year was a blind date with Susan Kelly from Glenolden, PA. For me, it was love at first sight. In preparation for the first date I had bought a ticket for her to attend the Saturday afternoon football game. Cadets attend games for free. After meeting her, as we were almost to the stadium, I realized that I had left the ticket back in my room. I told the ticket collector that I had paid for, but forgotten the ticket. He let us in. The reputation of the cadet honor system paid off. The cadet honor code is “A cadet does not lie or steal or tolerate those who do.” Some will say that the cadet honor system makes people honorable. My opinion is that honorable people enter West Point. The cadet honor system weeds out the dishonorable who will at some point lie, cheat or steal and get caught. A single infraction of the honor code results in dismissal from USMA. As a plebe someone stole my watch out of my gym locker during gym class. I suspect I know who it did it, but have no proof. He did not graduate with me.
Sue made many trips to West Point that year and the following one. In spite of my faulty memory, Sue married me two years later.
Firstie Year
I went home to Minnesota for two weeks and then flew to Germany to spent two weeks of leave hitchhiking around Germany with classmate Bill Staudenmeier. My summer training was an assignment as a platoon leader in the 23rd Engineering Battalion in Hanau, Germany. I was assigned a platoon in C company. There had been a murder in the company a few months prior and morale was down. I was told that the worst goof offs in the battalion were put into C company and the worst in the company were put into the platoon I was assigned to. Fortunately, the platoon had a good platoon sergeant and three good squad sergeants. I knew I was only going to be there a short time and also that I did not know anything about how the real army worked. I let the sergeants run the platoon during my assignment. A couple of times I was asked to inspect the platoon and their rooms. I made to no attempt to hold them to the spic and span requirements for cadets. I pointed out when long hair needed to be cut and missing patches on uniforms. When I saw beer in the barracks I asked the platoon sergeant is that was allowed. He said yes so I passed it by. At West Point, no cadet was allowed to consume or have in his possession any alcohol within 15 miles of the post.
On one occasion the commanding general of the area issued a request (translation: order) for all cadets assigned to his command to join him for supper. It was a chilly day and two of us from my area rode in an open top jeep, freezing for over three hours, a 180 mile trip. About a dozen cadets from the various units traveled to the Grafenwöhr Training Area where we sat and listened to the self important man boast about himself and his opinions. This is one of the few times in my life where I have been invited to a meal and then be expected to pay for my own food. The return trip was even colder than the previous one. Another character building experience.
Another incident was a field exercise where the privates were shoveling dirt with the sergeants standing around watching. Being a young man with lots of energy, I grabbed a shovel and shoveled dirt with the privates until the task was done. Handling a shovel is also in my skill set. In retrospect, I am sure I broke a lot of tradition that officers just give orders and do no work. A few weeks later after returning to West Point I was called into the company tactical officer’s office to hear my performance report as a summer platoon leader. To my surprise, the C company commander had sent a high praise, glowing report of my performance. I struggled to keep a straight face as I was listening to this. More than half the days I was a platoon leader, I sat in my office reading fiction because I had nothing else to do. Most evenings after work I accompanied my sponsoring officer to the Officers’ Club for drinks. My dominant activities that month has been reading fiction during the day and drinking in the evening.
As a Firstie I traded in “Trusty rusty”, my rifle, for a shiny, chrome plated saber and scabbard. All first class men carried sabers for inspections and parade. Chrome plated sabers do not rust and no care was required. I liked that feature. Later, after graduation, I bought one with my name and class year engraved on it.
For my final year at West Point, company B-3 was assigned to Old South Barracks, the same as during plebe year. For military training purposes each academic year is divided into three assignment details whereas there are two academic semesters. I was assigned as the company first sergeant for the second detail. At formations I received the attendance reports from the three platoon sergeants with a salute from and to each. I did an about face, saluted the company commander and reported attendance. I and the platoon sergeants took up the rear of the platoons as we marched away. I also had some administrative reports to make every morning before I went to classes. Every detail each company is graded on many measures like: marching, total demerits, inspections and other trivia. Somehow, my company was rated first in the regiment of twelve companies. At a regimental formation I was called up front and awarded a plaque for the best company in the regiment. I have photographic evidence. I am still confused.
I met General of the Armies (5 Star) Omar Bradley at the Pentagon in late 1971. About 8 or 10 of us First Class cadets were bussed to the Pentagon for a day of tour and orientation. During that time we had a meeting that was very intimidating to me. We were seated cadet, general officer, cadet, general officer, and so on around the table. General Bradley was wheeled in his wheelchair and parked right next to me. He was a very old man then. I have no recollection of anything that was said. I was probably too concerned about screwing up in front of that much brass.
I was included in another trip with a small group of cadets to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. In addition to watching the changing of the guard, we were taken back into the guard room and told much detail of what goes on with the guards that the general public is not allowed to see and hear. Sometimes, being a cadet is a good deal.
I continued to compete in gymnastics meets with other colleges. During this final year I took up vaulting the long horse, something I had never tried. Because I had competed on trampoline in high school and did tumbling for floor exercise I did well. I won several meets with a full twisting handspring. I finally lettered my final year because I competed against the Navy team.
On a trip to compete in the Eastern Regional Gymnastics meet, teammate Scott Moseley and I were staying at a Howard Johnson's motel which had a restaurant. Neither of us had eaten anything all day to keep weight down to make it easier during competition. After the meet was over, we were hungry and went to the motel restaurant. There was a special, all the fish dinners you could eat for one low price. Between the two of us we ate twelve fish dinners. I ate five and Scott ate seven. Anyone who knows how thin Scott was as a cadet marvels at this story.
My courses the final year included quantum mechanics, nuclear physics, nuclear engineering, space mechanics (calculation of orbits) and some boring classes; e.g. military history and international relations.
One weekend was a cadet exchange with the Naval Academy (USNA is affectionately referred to as “Canoe U”). Over the years I had developed a relationship with a Middie (Canoe U term for Midshipman) that I competed against in gymnastics meets. As Firsties, he was assigned the job of USNA Brigade Commander and he had access to the cadet/midshipman exchange lists. He arranged for my name to not be included on any of the duty rosters for that weekend. As a result, Sue Kelly (my future wife) met me and we drove off into Washington D.C. to tour the sights. I was legally AWOL (absent without leave) and subject to severe punishment. I avoided all the classes and formations I was supposed to attend. No one missed me. Sue dropped me off shortly before Taps and went home after a very pleasant day. I was canny enough to never brag about the things I did contrary to regulations. Consequently, the company tactical officer never heard anything through the grapevine and always thought I was a model cadet.
One Saturday evening a classmate, Richard Lien, and I decided to explore the steam tunnels at West Point. Most cadets remain ignorant of their existence, but we found an entrance in the basement of Old South Barracks. We dressed in sweat suits because we knew it was likely that there would be considerable dust on the things we would climb over. We wandered for a couple of hours entering several buildings through their subterranean access panels. We even got into a new barracks building that was under construction and closed to street level entrance. At one point we were where the tunnel opened up into the steam plant where we surreptitiously observed a technician working on a machine. We left quickly before he saw us. It was a hot, dry adventure, but an exciting change of pace from the normal cadet life. Had we been caught by an officer, we surely would have gained “slugs” and time walking punishment tours on the area.
Toward the end of the academic year, Dr. Edward Teller, the “Father of the Hydrogen Bomb” came to West Point and gave a lecture to the first class cadets (seniors). After the lecture, LTC Wheeler, my nuclear engineering instructor called me and a couple of his other students over and introduced us to Dr. Teller. I do not remember what Dr. Teller lectured about, only that I found it interesting.
At my commissioning physical the doctor noticed rashes on my skin. I told him it was eczema. He asked how long I had it. I said I had it all my life. He asked me how I ever got into West Point with eczema. I said that the doctor who examined me going in must not have noticed it. He prescribed a cream for me to apply to the rashes. Being a busy cadet and never having any success with creams in the past I was less than diligent in applying it as prescribed. I returned for a follow up visit to the doctor and he observed no improvement with the rashes. He asked me if I wanted to stay in the army or not. I had seen excellent to poor behavior among my fellow cadets and saw excellent to poor behavior by some officers related to alcohol consumption. My instant assessment of a future in an army whose social life revolved around alcohol was not what I wanted. I truthfully stated I would rather get out of the army. The doctor’s report subsequently recommended that I not be commissioned as an officer. This was justified by the fact that the Vietnam war was in process and if I was to be assigned to a jungle environment there was high probability of severe skin infections. I sat before an officers’ board a few weeks later. I was willing to be placed into one of the non-combat branches because I went to West Point with the understanding that I would serve at least five years after graduation. I was willing to honor my commitment. The officers’ board produced a recommendation that I be commissioned.
The final decision from the Department of the Army was that I was to be allowed to graduate with my class and then be discharged without a commission. For the third detail of the year I was an unassigned cadet sergeant, meaning I had no military duties. The last week of the academic year was called “June week”. June week always had many alumni returning for class reunions. The alumni consider West Point to be their property and have no compunction against walking around the areas reserved for cadets and into the barracks and looking around. June week was also the week of final exams. The exams were usually spread out across the five day work week. My last set of finals were seven consecutive 4 hour tests starting first thing Monday morning. Fortunately, I had studied during the semester and did not have to cram for the finals. I graduated 7 June 1972 and was given an honorable discharge within an hour of the ceremony.
Wrapup
In conclusion, I am glad I was given the opportunity to go to West Point. I got the best education possible. I was stretched to my limits and formed lifelong friendships that remain enduring and precious. When I was a cadet I felt as though my Constitutional rights were taken away and a few given back as privileges. Except for meeting and subsequently marrying Sue, I would not want to go through the process again. In retrospect, I sometimes feel amazed that I was able to compete and hold my own with my fellow classmates. The USMA class of 1972 is comprised of truly extraordinary men. Our country’s finest are included there and West Point accomplished its mission to produce quality officers to set high standards for our armed services.
Ever since I left West Point I have a mild case of what is called survivor’s guilt. I feel as though I let classmates, the Army and my country down by not completing my commitment to serve as a commissioned officer. I try to make up for my failure by finding ways to help veterans. I look at every veteran and think to myself, “There is someone special.” I truly appreciate every person who has taken time away from civilian “normal” life to serve our country. May God’s blessing fall on them all.
Class of 1968
Army, 4 Years
Gordon Israelson – United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, NY
This attempt to recall the sequence of events that I experienced may be flawed as I try to recover memories from half a century ago. Please forgive my memory lapses where I may not remember everything clearly or out of order.
Plebe Year
I flew from Minnesota to New York City. I was met at the airport by the Lee family. The Lees were visiting NYC family and kindly agreed to meet me when I arrived. The oldest son, Steve, was one of my school classmates. He and his younger brother, Dean, were both teammates of mine on the Bloomington, MN gymnastics team. Before they took me to West Point, the Lee bothers and I saw several of the tourist attractions including the Empire State Building observation deck and Coney Island amusement park. On 1 July 1968 the Lees drove to West Point and dropped me off. Thus ended my civilian status. With me entered 1244 other young men.
The official term for the West Point version of boot camp is “New Cadet Barracks”. Every cadet refers to this period of time as “Beast Barracks” or usually, “Beast”. My memories are hazy due to my mental defense process of clouding and hiding those which are unpleasant. I remember us all being herded to the cadet barber shop where the team of barbers spent less than a minute each for shearing all the hair from our heads to a length no greater than ¼ inch. We were issued our first set of uniforms; khakis, fatigues, dress uniform consisting of black shoes, black socks, white shirt with grey epaulets, grey trousers with belt and brass buckle and hats. Sometime during the first couple days we were issued toiletries, underwear, socks, bedding and field gear and rifle with dress and field bayonets. The bedding included sheets, pillowcase and a comforter which we were told is a “Brown Boy”. It was actually yellowish beige or a dark gold. Also, there was a heavy wool blanket designed specifically for cadets, having a large black USMA centered on a gray field with broad black and gold stripes at the head and foot. I still sleep with this warm blanket now more than 50 years later.
We “New Cadets” were divided into companies. Each company had three platoons. Each platoon had four squads of about 12 men per squad. I was in the 5th New Cadet Company. Each squad had a 2nd Class cadet squad leader and assistant squad leader. (2nd Class = Junior) First class cadets (1st Class = Senior) were platoon leaders, company commanders, battalion and brigade commanders and staff.
At West Point the seniors are called First Class cadets or “Firsties”. The juniors are 2nd Class and are called “Cows” for no reason other than that is tradition from distant unrecorded history. Sophomores are 3rd Class and called “Yearlings”. The bottom of the pecking order is the 4th Class freshmen called “Plebes”. This term is derived from the social lowest class in the old Roman Empire called plebeians.
My squad was assigned rooms on the third and fourth floors. My room was on the fourth floor directly across from the squad leader and assistant squad leader room. This was the least desirable room to have. There were four of us assigned to my room. I only saw one of new roommates very briefly before he resigned from West Point and left. He wasn’t around long enough to sleep in his bunk the first night. My remaining two roommates eventually graduated with me; Hank Kinnison and Bob Lang. It was during Beast that I befriended my squad mate, Charlie Hundley, who was alphabetically next to me. By the time we graduated, Charlie and I were roommates about half the time we were cadets. These barracks that we lived in during Beast were the oldest ones and were demolished immediately after Beast to make way for new barracks.
The first day of Beast we were given sufficient marching training so that we could march to a swearing in ceremony. Here we all raised our right hands and took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I consider this oath to still be binding.
One evening during the first week we were all gathered for a lecture in Thayer Hall during which we were told to look at the man sitting to your right and then look at the man sitting to your left. We were then told that at graduation, one of you three would not be there. This was a very close estimates as I graduated with 822, or about 66%. 801 graduated on 7 June 1972 and the remainder graduated a few weeks later after summer school instruction to raise their grades sufficiently to graduate. Of all my roommates during the four years, four did not graduate with me. Three resigned and one flunked academically.
One of the first things we were taught was to look at the signal flags displayed outside the guard room which indicated what uniform we were to wear at the next formation. The use of signal flags was the technique used to inform cadets about which uniform was required during Beast and also the following summer as Yearlings at Camp Buckner.
During Beast I was initially issued shoes that were too small. Due to many hours of marching I developed blisters on the tips of my toes as well as along the sides of the toes. After a couple of days walking in continual pain I finally admitted to my squad leader that I had blisters. That evening he lanced the blisters and made sure I was sent to get some new shoes. I kept those small shoes the whole time I was a cadet, but never wore them again. I shined them so they looked like black glass and they were the ones I set out for room inspections.
My first demerits were awarded during an inspection a few days into Beast Barracks. My squad leader barked “Did you shave today, Mister?” “No, sir” I answered. I was written up as unshaven. I had never shaved in my life. I was seventeen years old and the thought of shaving had never crossed my mind. After inspection I observed the baby fine hairs on my chin and wondered what my sharp eyed squad leader had seen that made me so obviously unshaven. At first opportunity I bought a razor and shaving cream and shaved my chin. I dutifully shaved every day the remainder of my plebe year in order to prevent being legally unshaven, even though there was nothing to shave away.
During Beast we spent a week at the rifle range where I managed to qualify with the M14 rifle at the lowest permissible rating of “Marksman”. Not bad, considering I had never fired a rifle before going to West Point. The two higher ratings were “Expert ” (best) and “Sharpshooter” (next best). My roommate Bob Lang qualified as Expert. Any plebe who was not able to qualify at any level earned a special load of hazing. My rifle was one the oldest in the entire army. It had a four digit serial number. Everyone else had rifles with six or more digits. If you could not recite your rifle serial number at any time, extra hazing was the result. The benefit of having an easy to remember serial number was offset by the fact that it was old and the bluing had worn off in many places. Consequently, it rusted quickly. I had to frequently rub it with gun oil to keep it ready for inspection.
From the first day of Beast through the rest of the academic year all of us plebes “braced” in the presence of upperclassmen and also when out in public areas. Bracing means to put your chin back to try to make it disappear into your neck while keeping the head upright. If that sounds painful, it is, especially when maintained for long periods. Bracing was part of the hazing that plebes endured. If not sufficiently tormenting oneself, any upperclassman would encourage us (at high decibels) with something like “Grab a wrinkle Smackhead!” Other elements of hazing included double-timing up stairs, bracing at the table during meals and reciting any of the required “Plebe Poop” at any time. The upperclassmen took it very seriously that they were expected to “run out” (entice to resign from USMA) the unworthy plebes. The concept was that those unable to take the stress of hazing would be unable to function in the stress of combat.
I know that the hazing during meals prevented all of us from getting enough to eat. I thought this hazing was stupid and let my opinion be known in subtle ways. I became the subject of interest to several of the upper-class cadre. I entered West Point weighing 154 pounds. By the end of the first month I was down to 140 pounds due to hazing during meals. I had since lost all fat and was burning muscle. When they tested us at the end of Beast I could only do 4 pullups at that light weight. Considering that I was a Minnesota state level competition gymnast in high school, this indicates how weak I was. I survived because the training detail changed after the first month and we were assigned a new set of squad leaders while the first set went on leave. I do not think I gained any weight in the second month, but I did not lose any either. I became sick at the start of the academic year following Beast and my body did not have the resources to heal until I went home for Christmas leave and got enough to eat for a week.
My class year, 1972, was the last to endure the old system of plebe bracing. I saw no reason why this hazing would make better Army officers. The bracing caused some men to develop chronic neck pain that never went away. When the next class, 1973, entered, we referred to them as “wrinkle free ‘73”.
Unlike the very smart men, I had worked hard in high school to earn good grades. When I went to West Point I had good study habits that allowed me to succeed. I had some roommates who were so smart they claimed to have not needed to open a text book in high school. Not having good study habits caused them much grief as they learned the hard way that the USMA courses required everyone to study. Because God built me with a brain that works with mathematics, I did well as a plebe since we had 80 minutes of math class six days per week. One of my plebe roommates failed math and was separated from USMA at the end of our plebe year. Plebes and yearlings were reassigned different rooms and roommates three times during the academic year.
While sitting with my company (B company, 3rd regiment, or B-3) for meals during the academic year we were held to the requirement to sit at attention (including bracing) and eat small bites. We could be asked at any time to recite any of the assorted trivia (“Plebe Poop”) we were required to memorize. Failure to recite properly could result in being told to “Sit Up” and forfeit the rest of the meal. I was fortunate to be on the gymnastics team which coincidentally had the longest season of any of the sports. While sitting with my teammates all plebes were treated as human beings and we could eat normally. I pitied my classmates who participated in intramural sports and had to sit with the company during this long winter season. At company tables the plebes would try to earn a “Fallout” for the supper meal. By acting a skit, singing a song, reciting a poem, telling a joke or otherwise sufficiently entertaining the upperclassmen, the plebes could be allowed to eat without harassment. My friend Charlie Hundley tells a story of how I earned a fallout one evening by doing a back flip off a chair. I do not remember the incident. Back flips were part of my skill set and would have been nothing remarkable for me to remember.
Earlier I mentioned the construction of new barracks during my plebe year. I was in the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Regiment. We were housed in what was called Old South Barracks which was adjacent to the construction site. Enormous clouds of dust were raised during the demolition which included blasting of the foundations under thick woven steel mat to contain flying debris. This is mentioned because there was no air conditioning or ventilation in our rooms except for opening the windows. As a consequence every day required much dusting and sweeping to make our rooms, clothing and equipment dust free for inspection. One of my roommates, Dave Lynch, somehow got a bottle of Johnson’s floor wax. We learned that a quick layer of floor wax over a buff shined pair of shoes looked better than spit shined shoes that took a long time to finish. The wax eventually destroyed the leather, but buying a new pair of shoes was a small price for the labor and time savings.
Every Saturday academics started with a math class, a short break, and another class. We rushed back to our room, donned the full dress uniforms and endured inspection and parade. The parade was for hundreds or thousands of spectators who flocked into West Point each Saturday to watch. Every year during Spring and Fall tourists would come to West Point to watch the spectacle of thousands of cadets on parade in dress uniforms with shining brass and sparkling bayonets and swords. We sometimes called West Point “Disneyland East” because of all the entertainment we provided.
During the Spring and Fall we would have three parades per week, weather permitting. Two of the four regiments would parade on Monday and Wednesday immediately after the afternoon classes. The other two regiments would parade on Tuesday and Thursday. The entire brigade, all four regiments, would parade Saturday morning. While assembled in ranks prior to marching off to weekday afternoon parade many cadets would be chanting together “Odin, Odin!” calling for the god of rain to wash out the parade. After marching onto the parade ground the cadets were set in line by companies and battalions. The ranking cadet, the brigade commander or regimental commander would call the battalions to attention and call out “Report!” All battalion commanders would respond “All present or accounted for!” in order. The ranking cadet then calls out “Pass in review!” to start the parade. Usually someone in the company would mimic out loud so we could hear it and the spectators could not “Piss in your shoe!” We all hated parades.
Prior to Saturday parade in the company area the company would be called to attention for inspection. The inspections before these events gave the upperclassmen much opportunity to write up plebes for more demerits. Every cadet was allowed a certain number of demerits per month. For each demerit above that allowed, the cadet is required to endure another inspection where even more demerits can be assessed followed by an hour of marching for each demerit. These “Walking Tours” were served on weekends when free time would normally be available. Cadets who were on intercollegiate athletic teams are exempt from walking hours, but must stay confined to their room for a set number of hours during weekend free time. A confinement “Con” time would be Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon. Thus, a cadet sitting Con could work off 3 demerits each week. I personally never walked an hour. Because I was on the gymnastics team I sat a few Con weekends.
During the first event (floor exercise) of a competition gymnastics meet I dislocated my right shoulder doing a trick called a half kip. Sitting on the floor, I pushed my shoulder back into joint, and finished my floor exercise routine. I then competed in three more events after that. The next morning I was in enough pain that I went on sick call. X-Ray of my shoulder showed a bone chip in the joint. The doctor had me give it a rest for a couple of weeks to see if it would tighten up. After it went out of joint a couple of times while doing nothing more strenuous than lying in bed, I went back to the doctor and told him I thought it needed to be fixed. On 1 May 1969 I underwent surgery. For the first 24 hours I was on morphine. The affect it had on me was that I felt every bit of the pain, but I just did not care. It hurt worse than anything I had ever experienced. I would have no desire for morphine. They kept me in the hospital for several extra days because I was showing a slight fever. I would go to classes with my arm in a sling and go back to the hospital to sleep.
The academic load was heavy. All cadets averaged about 21 or 22 semester hours of class work per semester for all four years. I greatly annoyed my roommates every evening before finals because I spent very little time preparing for the tests. I would look over the notes I had taken during the semester and read the portions of the textbooks I had underlined. Then I would read science fiction, relax and go to bed early. The roommates without good study habits would try to cram a semester’s worth of knowledge in during the evening.
By the end of the plebe year, most underclassmen ceased hazing plebes and, at long last, plebes were accepted into the Corps of Cadets on Recognition “R” Day after the final parade for that academic year.
Whew.
Yearling Year
Upon release from West Point we had one month of leave and I flew home to Minnesota. My Mom was very happy to hand me a paint brush, show me the paint pails and allow me to paint the entire house. That is the main thing I remember about that leave. I actually enjoyed the mindless application of paint to the house siding. It was so restful to live without any stress. I also made up my own rehabilitation exercises and used my brother’s weight set to build up my muscles while healing from surgery.
Returning to West Point as a freshly minted Yearling we were bussed out to Camp Buckner on the USMA reservation for a month of training. We were sorted into eight companies by academic year battalion. The four weeks had eight different training regimens with different companies training in different things. Part of this included another week of rifle range practice with the M16 rifle, the standard infantry weapon. Once again I qualified as Marksman. We also practiced with the M60 machine gun, a tripod mounted weapon that used the same ammunition as the M14. We did not take a qualification test with the M60. In single shot mode I was deadly with it, hitting almost every target out to the 400 yard limit of the range.
Some days we were in the field overnight and slept in tents. There were a couple of nights when we sat in foxholes in the rain or were walking on patrol, also in the rain. Those nights there was no sleep. Sometimes we were at the camp and enjoyed the luxuries of bunk beds, indoor plumbing and a mess hall. When you are sitting outside in the rain during a meal in the field, everything is cold soup, no matter what it was supposed to be; e.g. salad soup, baked beans soup, hot dog soup. Every morning when we had slept in the barracks, we started with an exercise run following reveille. The normal exercise uniform was the sneakers, gym shorts and tee shirts. One morning it was very cold. Our breath frosted in the air. It was a frigid run. No one broke a sweat. Showering did not wash off any sweat but did serve to warm us up. The signal flags for the uniform of the day when we later assembled for breakfast included the heavy field jacket which is suitable for winter wear. We wondered what sadist had decided that we did not need to wear sweatshirts and sweatpants for the earlier freezing run.
One night we left for a patrol in the drizzle for “Infantry Week”. As we walked by the recreation hall we could see classmates in other companies watching the first moon landing walk by Neil Armstrong on TV. We walked all night. At one point we had to climb a cliff in the pitch dark. I heard the clatter of someone falling and the cry went out by some classmates “Medic! Medic!”, knowing that someone was hurt. Then we heard the person say “Shut Up! I am the Medic!” We continued the patrol and the medic was airlifted out by helicopter in the morning after daylight. He was the only person injured during our entire summer training.
After walking on patrol all night, we pitched tents over wet ground and went off to a day of training. At the end of the day the mud had dried slightly under the tent. I had a poncho and blanket and went right to sleep. We were up early and out late every day for that week. When we got back to the barracks we immediately headed to the showers, not having had the opportunity to even take off our clothes during the week. That is the only time I recall being able to feel slime running off my body. Later, my red, rusty rifle needed a thorough cleaning.
Because of my shoulder surgery as a plebe, I was prohibited from doing the only fun things at Camp Buckner. When the others got to practice rappelling down a cliff, I had to watch. When they rode the “Slide For Life” I again had to sit out. The Slide for Life was similar to a zip line except the rider held onto a bar attached to a pulley on a long cable over a pond. The end of the ride was a stop into the water. There were no safety straps to keep anyone from falling off. If you lost your grip at the start, you would fall from 30 feet above the water. No one in my training company fell before the end. My damaged shoulder did not prevent me from participating in all the running, including an unpleasant five mile run (called a forced march) with full field gear: rifle, helmet, entrenching tool, canteen, gas mask, backpack, web belt, and bayonet in boots and fatigues. We also had to carry a platoon load of special weapons. The mortar base plate and tube were passed around during the run because no one could carry them the whole way. There were times when we might be also carrying an extra rifle to help a buddy. My platoon was not the fastest to finish, but we had no one fall out. The concept was to teach us what the human body could endure.
As part of our training we flew to various army posts around the country for specialized instruction in diverse topics. At Fort Knox, KY (home of the Armor branch) one evening after training, another cadet and I were walking to the PX (post exchange) when a jeep flying the flag of a brigadier general pulled over and stopped right in front of us. Out stepped the post commander. We saluted and he introduced himself as George Patton, Jr., the son of Gen. George Patton who commanded the 3rd Army during WWII. We had a pleasant conversation for about five minutes. One interesting statement BG Patton made was that he was one higher rank than he thought he would ever be and two higher ranks than he should be. It was nice to hear some humility from a high ranking officer. At Fort Sill, OK (home of the artillery branch) we observed artillery demonstrations that made me glad I would never be on the receiving end of these weapons. It was truly awesome.
Company B-3 was housed in a different building for my next two years. I lived on the 5th floor of the east side of New South Barracks. New South Barracks is two buildings separated by a concrete covered courtyard about 50 meters wide. When moving in we upperclassmen used the freight elevator to haul our foot lockers up to the fifth floor. This elevator did not have the automatic closing doors with safety features that are required now days. The doors were closed manually with an upper door moving down to meet a lower door moving up. I was not careful and caught my hand between these doors. I pushed the doors apart and saw my hand spurting blood when I pulled it out. I grabbed my hand and applied pressure to stop the bleeding. Fortunately, New South Barracks adjoins the West Point hospital property. I walked over and was promptly seen by a doctor. I thought I would get a few stitches. The bleeding had stopped and the doctor applied an adhesive butterfly bandage. How anticlimactic. I did get a doctor's excuse from marching with my rifle for a couple of days.
During the academic year a typical day started with reveille at 06:00 and roll call in formation at 06:10. From the company area we marched to the mess hall for breakfast. Everyone had an assigned table with some cadets from all four class years at each table. Plebes were responsible for knowing what each upperclassman wanted to drink at each meal and making sure his beverage was delivered promptly. Dismissal from the mess hall was 06:45 with everyone proceeding individually back to their rooms. Before leaving for the first class my bunk had to be made and the room dusted and swept. Our rooms were subject to inspection at any time during the morning and we had to have all clothing folded properly in the drawers or hung on hangers. All shoes on display had to be shined. All brass had to be shined. No dust was allowed anywhere. We had two classes in the morning with a significant break between them for studying, shopping at the cadet store or socializing. Assembly for lunch formation included another roll call and any special announcements by the company commander. We marched to the mess hall for lunch. We had two classes after lunch. Those of us on intercollegiate sports teams (called “Corps Squad” teams) would go to practice as soon after class as possible. We cleaned up and wore our dress uniforms for supper. Assembly and roll call for supper was at 18:00. We marched to the mess hall for supper. Dismissal from supper was followed by study and free time until taps at 22:00. The first three class year cadets had to be in bed after taps. The fourth year cadets (Firsties) were allowed to stay up all night if they wanted.
Yearling year I continued on the gymnastics team. Because of my shoulder injury I gave up the high bar. I continued to compete on floor exercise, pommel horse and parallel bars. In gym class while playing handball I ran into the wall and broke a bone in my wrist. It was not a severe break and I wore a plastic brace wrapped with an elastic ace bandage to immobilize it while it healed. I continued to go to gymnastics practice and mostly stretched and did weight lifting instead of using the various apparatus. I did some tumbling holding my hand in a fist instead of spreading my fingers and taking weight on my palm. I did a lot of front flips which does not require putting hands on the floor. I got so good at them that I modified my floor exercise routine to start with bounding front flips (flip, land to immediate 2nd flip).
As part of my academic course load I made the mistake of agreeing to take the intermediate German language course after doing very well in basic German as a plebe. I was in a class with men who had lived in Germany as children and learned the language fluently. I understood little of what was said in that class. I had German class every other day. The night before German I spent the entire evening studying German. The alternate nights I studied for all my other classes. Somehow the instructor was merciful and I got C’s both semesters.
Charlie Hundley and I took advanced physics. I enjoyed it. He felt overwhelmed. He tells a story about us studying for a test. Once again this is an incident that I do not remember. He asked me about how to do a type of problem. I told him that when he gets to a certain point in the problem, he should multiply by a number I told him. According to Charlie the instructor called him over after the class when he returned the test papers. He said something to the effect that Charlie got the right answer, but he did not understand what Charlie had done to calculate it. Charlie said he multiplied by the “Israelson constant”. Puzzled, the instructor asked for clarification. Charlie explained I had told him to multiply by my number when he got to that point of the problem. Charlie retained his grade.
Our rooms in New South Barracks were slightly more modern than the rooms we had in Old South Barracks. The space above the closet where we hung our dress uniforms, and shirts and trousers had a sliding door cupboard about 7 feet above the floor. Our company was assigned a new tactical officer, Cpt. Fred Peters. Cpt. Peters was short, about 5’4”. He was not a West Point graduate and thought many of the cadet regulations were silly and unnecessary. He was too short to reach up and open the high cupboard so he never inspected what was in there. My roommate Charlie stored a contraband popcorn popper there the entire time we lived in New South, our Yearling and Cow years. Charlie also installed a hook in the closet behind our hanging cadet clothes where he hung his civilian clothes where they could not be seen. We enjoyed popcorn a few times, but did not make it often. The aroma was distinctive and permeated the entire floor of the barracks. Any inspecting officer would have only needed to follow his nose to find the culprits.
Our tactical officer, Cpt. Peters stayed with us three years through graduation. He was an excellent example of how an officer should behave. I observed two notable types of officer. One type treated people like their value was proportional to their rank. The other type treated each personas an important member of the team. Cpt. Peters was the second type and we considered ourselves to be the most fortunate company in the Corps of Cadets. From his assignment with us as company tactical officer he went to Vietnam and eventually retired as a colonel.
Yearling year was low stress and I happily studied physics, math and chemistry. I was less happy about psychology, history and English literature. I hated German.
Upon completion of the first two years of training, every cadet had an obligation to serve in the regular army two years as an enlisted man if he left West Point before graduation after starting the first day of third year academics. I had two former roommates resign during or after Yearling year.
One incident I did not observe, but was recounted to me, was an anti-war demonstration at West Point. The Vietnam war was raging full blast and there was much social unrest, especially among college students. One afternoon a group of girls from nearby Vassar College, an all women’s school, arrived to protest the Vietnam war. The cadets, naturally being interested in young women, gathered and interacted with the young ladies. They were definitely surprised to find these men in the heart of the US Army were not blood thirsty monsters. When the ladies left, a substantial fraction of them had a date with a cadet for the next weekend.
Yearling year I mostly ignored the plebes and they could not have been more pleased with me.
Cow Year
After a month of summer leave in Minnesota I returned to West Point for a month as a squad leader for new cadets in Beast. I did not haze them as I had been hazed. I did require excellent performance and when they messed up I had them fall in during their free time to practice manual of arms with their rifles. They were sharp by the end of Beast. I also let them eat at meals, sitting at attention, but getting their nourishment.
During Beast I sat with most of my squad at meals. I was the only upperclassman and I sat at the head of the table. During the supper meal one plebe was the designated “Dessert Corporal”. The dessert corporal was responsible for cutting the dessert into the same number of pieces as the number of people at the table. Equal size pieces was the standard. A full table was ten people, but sometimes fewer were present on weekends, making the pieces a more generous serving. One supper early in Beast the dessert corporal did a particularly poor job. Some pieces were very large and a couple were very small.
As “Table Commandant” I was responsible for correcting this poor performance. I did not yell at the plebe. I made this a lesson. I told him to pick a buddy. He pointed out another plebe. I told the dessert corporal to serve the smallest piece to this buddy. I then told him to pick out another buddy. The plebes were starting to catch on. He pointed to second person. I told him to serve the next smallest piece to that man. This plebe was staring daggers at the dessert corporal. I then announced that it is important to do every job well. If you screw up even a small task in combat people may die. They are expected to be diligent in every task, no matter how small. I hope they picked up something from this incident.
The academic year included more elective courses. I chose physics and math courses. My roommate Charlie leaned more toward history and social studies. Because I wanted to take the nuclear engineering course as a Firstie, I had to take the prerequisite nuclear reactor physics course. Because nuclear engineering was not as popular as the other engineering disciplines, my reactor physics course only had five students, the smallest class I attended at West Point. I also took advanced calculus as a fun, easy elective. Required for all cadets were electrical engineering, fluid mechanics and thermodynamics. I also endured law, government and economics courses.
I was a squad leader during the year, but put as little attention to it as I could. Basically I had to count noses of my squad’s yearlings and plebes at formation in order to report attendance. I do not remember ever inspecting a plebe’s or yearling’s room as a Cow squad leader. I figured the inspections by the platoon leader, company commander and first sergeant were sufficient.
One significant event during the year was a blind date with Susan Kelly from Glenolden, PA. For me, it was love at first sight. In preparation for the first date I had bought a ticket for her to attend the Saturday afternoon football game. Cadets attend games for free. After meeting her, as we were almost to the stadium, I realized that I had left the ticket back in my room. I told the ticket collector that I had paid for, but forgotten the ticket. He let us in. The reputation of the cadet honor system paid off. The cadet honor code is “A cadet does not lie or steal or tolerate those who do.” Some will say that the cadet honor system makes people honorable. My opinion is that honorable people enter West Point. The cadet honor system weeds out the dishonorable who will at some point lie, cheat or steal and get caught. A single infraction of the honor code results in dismissal from USMA. As a plebe someone stole my watch out of my gym locker during gym class. I suspect I know who it did it, but have no proof. He did not graduate with me.
Sue made many trips to West Point that year and the following one. In spite of my faulty memory, Sue married me two years later.
Firstie Year
I went home to Minnesota for two weeks and then flew to Germany to spent two weeks of leave hitchhiking around Germany with classmate Bill Staudenmeier. My summer training was an assignment as a platoon leader in the 23rd Engineering Battalion in Hanau, Germany. I was assigned a platoon in C company. There had been a murder in the company a few months prior and morale was down. I was told that the worst goof offs in the battalion were put into C company and the worst in the company were put into the platoon I was assigned to. Fortunately, the platoon had a good platoon sergeant and three good squad sergeants. I knew I was only going to be there a short time and also that I did not know anything about how the real army worked. I let the sergeants run the platoon during my assignment. A couple of times I was asked to inspect the platoon and their rooms. I made to no attempt to hold them to the spic and span requirements for cadets. I pointed out when long hair needed to be cut and missing patches on uniforms. When I saw beer in the barracks I asked the platoon sergeant is that was allowed. He said yes so I passed it by. At West Point, no cadet was allowed to consume or have in his possession any alcohol within 15 miles of the post.
On one occasion the commanding general of the area issued a request (translation: order) for all cadets assigned to his command to join him for supper. It was a chilly day and two of us from my area rode in an open top jeep, freezing for over three hours, a 180 mile trip. About a dozen cadets from the various units traveled to the Grafenwöhr Training Area where we sat and listened to the self important man boast about himself and his opinions. This is one of the few times in my life where I have been invited to a meal and then be expected to pay for my own food. The return trip was even colder than the previous one. Another character building experience.
Another incident was a field exercise where the privates were shoveling dirt with the sergeants standing around watching. Being a young man with lots of energy, I grabbed a shovel and shoveled dirt with the privates until the task was done. Handling a shovel is also in my skill set. In retrospect, I am sure I broke a lot of tradition that officers just give orders and do no work. A few weeks later after returning to West Point I was called into the company tactical officer’s office to hear my performance report as a summer platoon leader. To my surprise, the C company commander had sent a high praise, glowing report of my performance. I struggled to keep a straight face as I was listening to this. More than half the days I was a platoon leader, I sat in my office reading fiction because I had nothing else to do. Most evenings after work I accompanied my sponsoring officer to the Officers’ Club for drinks. My dominant activities that month has been reading fiction during the day and drinking in the evening.
As a Firstie I traded in “Trusty rusty”, my rifle, for a shiny, chrome plated saber and scabbard. All first class men carried sabers for inspections and parade. Chrome plated sabers do not rust and no care was required. I liked that feature. Later, after graduation, I bought one with my name and class year engraved on it.
For my final year at West Point, company B-3 was assigned to Old South Barracks, the same as during plebe year. For military training purposes each academic year is divided into three assignment details whereas there are two academic semesters. I was assigned as the company first sergeant for the second detail. At formations I received the attendance reports from the three platoon sergeants with a salute from and to each. I did an about face, saluted the company commander and reported attendance. I and the platoon sergeants took up the rear of the platoons as we marched away. I also had some administrative reports to make every morning before I went to classes. Every detail each company is graded on many measures like: marching, total demerits, inspections and other trivia. Somehow, my company was rated first in the regiment of twelve companies. At a regimental formation I was called up front and awarded a plaque for the best company in the regiment. I have photographic evidence. I am still confused.
I met General of the Armies (5 Star) Omar Bradley at the Pentagon in late 1971. About 8 or 10 of us First Class cadets were bussed to the Pentagon for a day of tour and orientation. During that time we had a meeting that was very intimidating to me. We were seated cadet, general officer, cadet, general officer, and so on around the table. General Bradley was wheeled in his wheelchair and parked right next to me. He was a very old man then. I have no recollection of anything that was said. I was probably too concerned about screwing up in front of that much brass.
I was included in another trip with a small group of cadets to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. In addition to watching the changing of the guard, we were taken back into the guard room and told much detail of what goes on with the guards that the general public is not allowed to see and hear. Sometimes, being a cadet is a good deal.
I continued to compete in gymnastics meets with other colleges. During this final year I took up vaulting the long horse, something I had never tried. Because I had competed on trampoline in high school and did tumbling for floor exercise I did well. I won several meets with a full twisting handspring. I finally lettered my final year because I competed against the Navy team.
On a trip to compete in the Eastern Regional Gymnastics meet, teammate Scott Moseley and I were staying at a Howard Johnson's motel which had a restaurant. Neither of us had eaten anything all day to keep weight down to make it easier during competition. After the meet was over, we were hungry and went to the motel restaurant. There was a special, all the fish dinners you could eat for one low price. Between the two of us we ate twelve fish dinners. I ate five and Scott ate seven. Anyone who knows how thin Scott was as a cadet marvels at this story.
My courses the final year included quantum mechanics, nuclear physics, nuclear engineering, space mechanics (calculation of orbits) and some boring classes; e.g. military history and international relations.
One weekend was a cadet exchange with the Naval Academy (USNA is affectionately referred to as “Canoe U”). Over the years I had developed a relationship with a Middie (Canoe U term for Midshipman) that I competed against in gymnastics meets. As Firsties, he was assigned the job of USNA Brigade Commander and he had access to the cadet/midshipman exchange lists. He arranged for my name to not be included on any of the duty rosters for that weekend. As a result, Sue Kelly (my future wife) met me and we drove off into Washington D.C. to tour the sights. I was legally AWOL (absent without leave) and subject to severe punishment. I avoided all the classes and formations I was supposed to attend. No one missed me. Sue dropped me off shortly before Taps and went home after a very pleasant day. I was canny enough to never brag about the things I did contrary to regulations. Consequently, the company tactical officer never heard anything through the grapevine and always thought I was a model cadet.
One Saturday evening a classmate, Richard Lien, and I decided to explore the steam tunnels at West Point. Most cadets remain ignorant of their existence, but we found an entrance in the basement of Old South Barracks. We dressed in sweat suits because we knew it was likely that there would be considerable dust on the things we would climb over. We wandered for a couple of hours entering several buildings through their subterranean access panels. We even got into a new barracks building that was under construction and closed to street level entrance. At one point we were where the tunnel opened up into the steam plant where we surreptitiously observed a technician working on a machine. We left quickly before he saw us. It was a hot, dry adventure, but an exciting change of pace from the normal cadet life. Had we been caught by an officer, we surely would have gained “slugs” and time walking punishment tours on the area.
Toward the end of the academic year, Dr. Edward Teller, the “Father of the Hydrogen Bomb” came to West Point and gave a lecture to the first class cadets (seniors). After the lecture, LTC Wheeler, my nuclear engineering instructor called me and a couple of his other students over and introduced us to Dr. Teller. I do not remember what Dr. Teller lectured about, only that I found it interesting.
At my commissioning physical the doctor noticed rashes on my skin. I told him it was eczema. He asked how long I had it. I said I had it all my life. He asked me how I ever got into West Point with eczema. I said that the doctor who examined me going in must not have noticed it. He prescribed a cream for me to apply to the rashes. Being a busy cadet and never having any success with creams in the past I was less than diligent in applying it as prescribed. I returned for a follow up visit to the doctor and he observed no improvement with the rashes. He asked me if I wanted to stay in the army or not. I had seen excellent to poor behavior among my fellow cadets and saw excellent to poor behavior by some officers related to alcohol consumption. My instant assessment of a future in an army whose social life revolved around alcohol was not what I wanted. I truthfully stated I would rather get out of the army. The doctor’s report subsequently recommended that I not be commissioned as an officer. This was justified by the fact that the Vietnam war was in process and if I was to be assigned to a jungle environment there was high probability of severe skin infections. I sat before an officers’ board a few weeks later. I was willing to be placed into one of the non-combat branches because I went to West Point with the understanding that I would serve at least five years after graduation. I was willing to honor my commitment. The officers’ board produced a recommendation that I be commissioned.
The final decision from the Department of the Army was that I was to be allowed to graduate with my class and then be discharged without a commission. For the third detail of the year I was an unassigned cadet sergeant, meaning I had no military duties. The last week of the academic year was called “June week”. June week always had many alumni returning for class reunions. The alumni consider West Point to be their property and have no compunction against walking around the areas reserved for cadets and into the barracks and looking around. June week was also the week of final exams. The exams were usually spread out across the five day work week. My last set of finals were seven consecutive 4 hour tests starting first thing Monday morning. Fortunately, I had studied during the semester and did not have to cram for the finals. I graduated 7 June 1972 and was given an honorable discharge within an hour of the ceremony.
Wrapup
In conclusion, I am glad I was given the opportunity to go to West Point. I got the best education possible. I was stretched to my limits and formed lifelong friendships that remain enduring and precious. When I was a cadet I felt as though my Constitutional rights were taken away and a few given back as privileges. Except for meeting and subsequently marrying Sue, I would not want to go through the process again. In retrospect, I sometimes feel amazed that I was able to compete and hold my own with my fellow classmates. The USMA class of 1972 is comprised of truly extraordinary men. Our country’s finest are included there and West Point accomplished its mission to produce quality officers to set high standards for our armed services.
Ever since I left West Point I have a mild case of what is called survivor’s guilt. I feel as though I let classmates, the Army and my country down by not completing my commitment to serve as a commissioned officer. I try to make up for my failure by finding ways to help veterans. I look at every veteran and think to myself, “There is someone special.” I truly appreciate every person who has taken time away from civilian “normal” life to serve our country. May God’s blessing fall on them all.
Gregory Yung
Class of 1967
Navy, 6 Years
PO2 Boatswain Mate 12/67-68 USS English DD696, 68,69,70 Plankowner USS Durham LKA114, 70,71 Danang, Vietnam shallow water piers, LCPL2 & LCM8 Coxswain,72, 73, USNR Center , Akron, OH.
Class of 1967
Navy, 6 Years
PO2 Boatswain Mate 12/67-68 USS English DD696, 68,69,70 Plankowner USS Durham LKA114, 70,71 Danang, Vietnam shallow water piers, LCPL2 & LCM8 Coxswain,72, 73, USNR Center , Akron, OH.
James Bush
Class of 1968
Navy, 4 Years
Served on USS John King DDG 3 for 3.5 yrs as a machinist mate E4 in the Mediterranean fleet
Class of 1968
Navy, 4 Years
Served on USS John King DDG 3 for 3.5 yrs as a machinist mate E4 in the Mediterranean fleet
James C. Stinson
Class of 1967
Navy, 4 Years
Guam/Viet Nam. Med Cruise- Plane Capt.-worked on Flight deck. Then 1 year AIMD.
Class of 1967
Navy, 4 Years
Guam/Viet Nam. Med Cruise- Plane Capt.-worked on Flight deck. Then 1 year AIMD.
JEFF FAIRCLOTH
Class of 1972
Navy, 7 Years
1 TOUR, 3 WESTPACS HOME BASE PEARL HARBOR and SEATTLE
Class of 1972
Navy, 7 Years
1 TOUR, 3 WESTPACS HOME BASE PEARL HARBOR and SEATTLE
Jim Mullane
Class of 1970
Army, 2 Years
82nd Airborne Division, Ft Bragg, NC. Mos 11C Infantry indirect fire (mortars) summer of 1971 served at West Point rifle range training.
Class of 1970
Army, 2 Years
82nd Airborne Division, Ft Bragg, NC. Mos 11C Infantry indirect fire (mortars) summer of 1971 served at West Point rifle range training.
Joe Carroll
Class of 1969
Marine Corps, 6 Years
Viet Nam veteran. 3rd Marine division.
Class of 1969
Marine Corps, 6 Years
Viet Nam veteran. 3rd Marine division.
John Laursen
Class of 1972
Navy, 4 Years
Aircraft Carrier Aviation machinist PO-5 1973 -77
Class of 1972
Navy, 4 Years
Aircraft Carrier Aviation machinist PO-5 1973 -77
Keith Alan Root
Class of 1969
Army, 3 Years
Distinguished Vietnam Decorated Soldier serving in the Army 1969-1971
Class of 1969
Army, 3 Years
Distinguished Vietnam Decorated Soldier serving in the Army 1969-1971
Lance Hotchkiss
Class of 1976
Army, 19 Years
Started in 1976 as enlisted Still Photographer.
Returned to MN National Guard . Went to MMA officer cadidate school. Was commissioned 2nd
LT in Signal Corps April 1980 .Communications Officer in 147th SignalBN MN, Army Guard. Transferred to Army Reserve in 1983 in Infantry and worked as Aide de Camp to Brigadier General Wallace. Was promoted to 1st LT. Transferred to 360th PSYOP Battalion in 1984 . Was promoted to Captain and moved
Went to Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California and graduated as German Linguist in1986. In 1987 went to Signal Officer Advance Course Active Duty class. Graduated and was promoted to Captain and transferred to Military Intelligence branch. Went to 204th Public Affairs Office in 1988 . Finished time in 1989 and was retired as Captain promotable in 1994. Currently service-connected Veteran.
Class of 1976
Army, 19 Years
Started in 1976 as enlisted Still Photographer.
Returned to MN National Guard . Went to MMA officer cadidate school. Was commissioned 2nd
LT in Signal Corps April 1980 .Communications Officer in 147th SignalBN MN, Army Guard. Transferred to Army Reserve in 1983 in Infantry and worked as Aide de Camp to Brigadier General Wallace. Was promoted to 1st LT. Transferred to 360th PSYOP Battalion in 1984 . Was promoted to Captain and moved
Went to Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California and graduated as German Linguist in1986. In 1987 went to Signal Officer Advance Course Active Duty class. Graduated and was promoted to Captain and transferred to Military Intelligence branch. Went to 204th Public Affairs Office in 1988 . Finished time in 1989 and was retired as Captain promotable in 1994. Currently service-connected Veteran.
Leslie (Robinson) Rose
Class of 1971
Army, 4 Years
German linguist in Military Intelligence. Stationed in Berlin, Germany and Ft. Hood, Tx.
Class of 1971
Army, 4 Years
German linguist in Military Intelligence. Stationed in Berlin, Germany and Ft. Hood, Tx.
Lynn Meuwissen
Class of 1976
Army, 6 Years
Three years US Army Military Police 1976-1979, 259th MP Co White Sands Missile Range, MN. Three years MN Army National Guard 1980-1983, 257th MP Co White Bear Lake & Cottage Grove, MN
Class of 1976
Army, 6 Years
Three years US Army Military Police 1976-1979, 259th MP Co White Sands Missile Range, MN. Three years MN Army National Guard 1980-1983, 257th MP Co White Bear Lake & Cottage Grove, MN
Mark Patrick Tompkins
Class of 1972
Navy, 4 Years
1972 -1976
Petty Officer Opticalman Second Class
Good Conduct Award
Honorable Discharge
Class of 1972
Navy, 4 Years
1972 -1976
Petty Officer Opticalman Second Class
Good Conduct Award
Honorable Discharge
Mark Thorud
Class of 1967
Army, 2 Years
Combat infantry Vietnam. Served in 1st air calvary, 25th infantry and 199th infantry, disabled veteran.
Class of 1967
Army, 2 Years
Combat infantry Vietnam. Served in 1st air calvary, 25th infantry and 199th infantry, disabled veteran.
Michael J. Ziegelmeyer
Class of 1970
Army, 3 Years
Served with the 82nd Airborne Division. Was a Tank/Vehicle Recovery Specialist.
Class of 1970
Army, 3 Years
Served with the 82nd Airborne Division. Was a Tank/Vehicle Recovery Specialist.
Michaelle Guess (Morris)
Class of 1971
Navy, 4 Years
I was a Navy Hospital Corpsman '76-'80, Okinawa and San Diego.
Class of 1971
Navy, 4 Years
I was a Navy Hospital Corpsman '76-'80, Okinawa and San Diego.
Patrick D. Seeker
Class of 1969
Army, 3 Years
Served most of my time in Okinawa working as a Legal Clerk/Court Reporter during the Vietnam conflict. Got out 2-22-1972
Class of 1969
Army, 3 Years
Served most of my time in Okinawa working as a Legal Clerk/Court Reporter during the Vietnam conflict. Got out 2-22-1972
SFC John J. Tobiason
Class of 1984
Army, 14 Years
Served in Germany, deployed in Kuwait and then Iraq. KIA 11/28/07 in Iraq. Took a stray bullet from an Iraqi while Iraqi Police and Terrorists fought outside his camp called Camp Victory. He was scheduled to come home on 1/2/08.
Class of 1984
Army, 14 Years
Served in Germany, deployed in Kuwait and then Iraq. KIA 11/28/07 in Iraq. Took a stray bullet from an Iraqi while Iraqi Police and Terrorists fought outside his camp called Camp Victory. He was scheduled to come home on 1/2/08.
Stefan Harold Burns
Class of 2000
Navy, 12 Years
Enlisting the fall after graduating from high school, Stefan went to school in Dam Neck, VA to become an Operations Specialist. As an OS, he was stationed on the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and was part of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. In 2004, he transferred to Pearl Harbor, HI to work in the Fleet Command Center at Commander, US Pacific Fleet, where he was responsible for ensuring communications and geolocation data for the entire Pacific Fleet was maintained. In 2008, he joined the Navy Reserve, where he changed his job to be an Intelligence Specialist. During this time, he was instrumental in assisting with disaster recovery efforts relating to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. Due to injuries sustained on active duty, he was forced to leave the Navy Reserve at the end of 2012. Then, in 2023, he took over the instructor position for the Navy JROTC program at Los Fresnos High School in Los Fresnos, TX for the 23-24 school year. Currently, he is anxiously awaiting DoD funding so that he may permanently become an NJROTC instructor per the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.
Class of 2000
Navy, 12 Years
Enlisting the fall after graduating from high school, Stefan went to school in Dam Neck, VA to become an Operations Specialist. As an OS, he was stationed on the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and was part of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. In 2004, he transferred to Pearl Harbor, HI to work in the Fleet Command Center at Commander, US Pacific Fleet, where he was responsible for ensuring communications and geolocation data for the entire Pacific Fleet was maintained. In 2008, he joined the Navy Reserve, where he changed his job to be an Intelligence Specialist. During this time, he was instrumental in assisting with disaster recovery efforts relating to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. Due to injuries sustained on active duty, he was forced to leave the Navy Reserve at the end of 2012. Then, in 2023, he took over the instructor position for the Navy JROTC program at Los Fresnos High School in Los Fresnos, TX for the 23-24 school year. Currently, he is anxiously awaiting DoD funding so that he may permanently become an NJROTC instructor per the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.
Thomas Huffman
Class of 1968
Army, 6 Years
Door Gunner Crew Chief Casper Aviation 173rd Airborne Vietnam 70/71. Line Chief crew chief 1st. Infantry Division 71/71. Ft Riley Kansas w/ operations in Germany during cold War. Operation Reforger.
Class of 1968
Army, 6 Years
Door Gunner Crew Chief Casper Aviation 173rd Airborne Vietnam 70/71. Line Chief crew chief 1st. Infantry Division 71/71. Ft Riley Kansas w/ operations in Germany during cold War. Operation Reforger.
Thomas Huffman
Class of 1968
Army, 6 Years
173 rd Airborne Vietnam 70, 71. Door Gunner/crew chief.
1st Infantry 71, 72. Headquarters company part of Devil Bridgade. Cold War ecercises Germany. Line Chief for Headquarters company flight line. 3 years active reserves.
Class of 1968
Army, 6 Years
173 rd Airborne Vietnam 70, 71. Door Gunner/crew chief.
1st Infantry 71, 72. Headquarters company part of Devil Bridgade. Cold War ecercises Germany. Line Chief for Headquarters company flight line. 3 years active reserves.
Tom Huffman
Class of 1968
Army, 6 Years
Door Gunner Crew Chief 173rd Airborne Casper Aviation Vietnam 70-71. Ft. Riley 1st. Infantry Division.. Flight line Chief cold War operations in Germany.
Class of 1968
Army, 6 Years
Door Gunner Crew Chief 173rd Airborne Casper Aviation Vietnam 70-71. Ft. Riley 1st. Infantry Division.. Flight line Chief cold War operations in Germany.
Alumni Stories
Read and submit stories about our classmates from Kennedy High School, post achievements and news about our alumni, and post photos of our fellow Eagles.
School News
Bloomington Heritage Days Tennis Festival
Come to the Bloomington Heritage Days' first tennis festival. We would love to have Kennedy Alumni join the fun.
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Our Kennedy High School military alumni are some of the most outstanding people we know and this page recognizes them and everything they have done! Not everyone gets to come home for the holidays and we want our Kennedy High School Military to know that they are loved and appreciated. All of us in Bloomington are proud of our military alumni and want to thank them for risking their lives to protect our country!