Less than 90 days until our reunion! Walt Adams and Clyde Spence will distribute an update in March as well as work to determine any special needs that classmates have regarding special needs, such as resolutions for disability/mobility issues, transportation to/from Fort Myer, West Point, and off-post hotels, etc.
70th Reunion Preliminary Itinerary
With less than 100 days until our reunion, things are coming together. Final details are still being worked out but here is the preliminary itinerary for our reunion.
Sunday, May 17
Welcome Reception w snacks/distribution of memorabilia & Lanyards ( Nametags)
Monday, May 18
Memorial Service
Class Business Meeting
Class Lunch at the West Point Club W/ Classes of '45 & '55
Hellcats Performance, at West Point Club
Academy & WPAOG Updates at West Point Club
Organ Recital at Cadet Chapel
Class Dinner at the Thayer
Tuesday, May 19
Alumni Exercises
Cadet Review
Class Photo
Alumni Luncheon in E wing
Bus Tour of the Academy
Class Dinner
Wednesday, May 20
Depart
70th Reunion Hotel Deatils
Room reservations are available for our reunion.
We have 35 rooms reserved for our class at the Thayer. These rooms will be allocated to classmates and widows on a first come, first serve basis through April 17. Additional rooms at the Thayer will be available for family members is available. The rooms are $300 + tax. Reservations can be made by calling 1-800-247-5047.
Accomodations for families and friends are available at nearby hotels. We have a block of rooms reserved at the Hampton Inn Harriman Woodbury Hotel ($179 + tax) about 20 minutes from West Point. Reservations can be made by calling 1-845-782-9600.
When calling to make reservations, please mention you are with the Class of 1950 reunion.
Bill Yeoman Honored
Bill’s career as the winningest football coach in University of Houston history was celebrated recently.
Read all about it in the Houston Chronicle.
Bill Yeoman, father of the veer offense and the winningest football coach in University of Houston history, sat in a wheelchair at the head table. A rainy and cold Tuesday could not dampen the festive spirit, a mix of Christmas and early birthday celebrations for Yeoman, who turns 92 on Dec. 26.
Grüße von Herr Oberst Doktor Doktor John E. Wagner
Congratulations to Jack Wagner for receiving a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Drury University on December 14, 2019! He has been considered a member of the Class of 1949 of Drury College at least since 1999 when he attended their 50th Reunion.
General Volney Warner Memorial Service
Volney Frank Warner, General (Ret.) of McLean, Virginia, passed away on Wednesday, November 13, 2019. He is the devoted husband of Belva Janice Warner; father to Victoria Warner, Volney James Warner, Jerry B Warner, and Valerie Walker; and grandfather to Duncan, Brian, and Audrey Walker, as well as Hannah, Valerie, Sara, and John Warner.
He was preceded in death by his granddaughter 1LT Laura Walker. Relatives and friends are invited to call at Joseph Gawler’s Sons, Inc. 5130 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. (Corner of Harrison Street), Washington, DC on Sunday, December 1, 2019 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Memorial services will be held at the Fort Myer Memorial Chapel, Fort Myer, Virginia, on Monday, December 2, 2019 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Note: attendees without military ID should arrive 30 minutes early to process through Post security.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to the 1LT Laura Walker Memorial Fund. Details about the memorial fun and directions for making a donation can be found at https://www.west-point.org/users/usma2003/60262/
New Memorials - Loucks, Monihan, and Strohm
Three new memorials have been added to the Memorials section.
2020 Reunion Update
With the 70th Class reunion less than nine months away, Clyde has heard from several classmates that hotels near West Point are "sold out". Clyde reached out to the AOG and learned that they have blocked off almost all rooms in the Thayer and all local hotels and motels for the classes having reunions in May. The AOG intends to send out notifications later this fall to us about the numbers and locations.
Once we hear from them, we will be able to book rooms for the reunion.
And, the good news is that they plan to provide transportation for our class activities from the hotels off post.
The reunion will be Sunday, May 17 to Wednesday, May 20, 2020. More details about the reunion can be found at https://www.usma1950.com/2020-reunion
If you have not already, please let Clyde Spence, our Reunion Chairman, know of your tentative plans regarding attendance.
News from Lou Prentiss
Lou sent on this update about his grandson.
“Chris is one of my grandsons who is serving on the Coast Guard Cutter James. Chris is the senior enlisted member of the crew(E-8). In fact, I think that he is the youngest E-8 in the Coast Guard.“
Below is a recent email from Chris:
What an amazing couple of weeks. I'm writing a quick email between watches because I want to share something pretty awesome with you.
We were conducting gunnery exercises off of Hampton Roads, VA when we were tasked to cancel that and make best speed to the Grand Bahama Islands.
After 2 days of steaming through Dorian's 15+ foot waves, we arrived on the tail end of the storm. We were the first surface asset to arrive on scene and we immediately began humanitarian aid operations by fueling helicopters almost constantly. We nearly ran out of gas until other assets arrived.
We had a reporter come aboard on day three and she wrote an article that is linked below that I wanted to share. I don't usually like embedding reporters into operations like this. They distract from the mission mainly because the crew is on egg shells when they are around. However, it has dawned on me that they are necessary to get the story out on what we do during times like this. So many people have no idea what the Coast Guard does and that's disheartening.
This time I seized the opportunity and made it a point to talk to Ms. Maria as much as I could so she had the best information for her article. I was extremely cautious to what I told her and how I told her the JAMES' story. I didn't want to be quoted because I'd rather not detract from the ship, the ship speaks through her actions and reputation. It wasn't all rainbows and sunshine and this was incredibly mentally and emotionally draining.
However, on a lighter note, Maria did a pretty good job and when she writes about the white board and the medevacs, that was me talking her through how the Operations Specialists work and some of our accomplishments. That's my team and my "shop". I'm very proud of what they have accomplished. I think the article came out pretty well.
'Everything I have is gone': Crews race to rescue survivors of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas
September 6 With time running out to save stranded survivors of Hurricane Dorian, Bahamian and U.S. rescue crews combed through rubble in the hardest-hit areas Friday and braced for the death toll to rise.
Carol Steuart
Sad news from Dick Steuart.
Carol Barbara Bengston Steuart passed away 16 July 2019. Carol died at home, peacefully.
Carol was a nurse and served several years at Middlesex Hospital , Middletown, CT. Upon marriage to then LT Steuart, Carol accompanied her husband to 11 duty stations in the U.S. and overseas while raising five children. Shortly after Dick's retirement the Steuarts joined and served with several Christian organizations in central Africa, primarily Southern Sudan. During this period Carol medically served a Baka pygmy tribe and a leper clinic.
Civil war conflict in the Sudan caused the Steuart's return to the United States. On return to America, Carol served her community in many ways to include as organist at church.