Classmate Avocational
Accomplishments
and some are vocational as well
Last updated
01/06/16
A
number of our classmates have
considerable talent and participate in diverse activities.
We will present some of their work and other contributions here.
Dotty Westby
When most people think of Dotty think of her as being a medal winner on the
national swim team of Venezuela. But she has had considerable success as an
artist. To me she shines in capturing the eyes of her subject, whether human or
animal. Notice also how she deals with lighting and highlights.
Nancy Darling art
Fred Benford cars
Fred Benford and his love for all things cars and machines.
Here we show pictures of some of his work. You may have to use the back arrow on your browser to come back to this page each time.
Click the links below to see what else he has wrought:
Below is a speech given by our
classmate Ed Wheeler.
Though I have to admit to a soft spot in my heart for this strong man,
it is the verbalization of his thoughts in writings, and in his speech,
that I know are so worth our contemplation.
I commend this presentation of his speech for your consideration.
“WHY VETERAN’ DAY?”
BY
BG Ed Wheeler (USA-Ret)
Presented to the
SPEAKER
TODAY IS BRIGADIER GENERAL
ED
WHEELER, WHO’S REMARKS ARE ENTITLED…
WHY VETERANS’ DAY?
OUR SPEAKER WAS A “MUSTANG” OFFICER,
RANK
OF BRIGADIER GENERAL OVER A 35-YEAR
MILITARY
CAREER.
THE
AUTHOR OF SEVERAL DOZEN ARTICLES
ON
HISTORICAL, MILITARY AND POLITICAL
SIGNIFICANCE,
HE IS ALSO THE PRINCIPAL
AUTHOR
OF A BOOK ENTITLED
“DOORWAY TO HELL: DISASTER IN
AN
INTERNATIONAL MILITARY BOOK OF THE
MONTH
SELECTION.
A
GRADUATE OF THE
COLLEGE,
CURRENTLY HE IS AN ADJUNCT
AND NOW.. GENERAL ED WHEELER WITH
REMARKS ENTITLED…”WHY VETERANS’ DAY?”
ALL
OF THEM ….ARE GONE NOW.
THE LAST ONE LEFT US
JUST
A SHORT WHILE
SOME
OF US IN THIS ROOM KNEW THEM.
FOR
THEY WERE OUR GRANDFATHERS, OUR
GREAT
UNCLES AND MAYBE EVEN THE OLD MAN
WHO
LIVED NEXT DOOR.
HAD
WE BEEN OLD ENOUGH TO REALIZE
WHAT
A TREASURE THEY WERE, WE WOULD
HAVE
TAKEN TIME TO ASK THEM ABOUT THEIR
ADVENTURES
AND THEIR LIVES. BY DOING SO,
WE
WOULD HAVE HAD AN INSIGHT INTO THOSE
MEN
WHO LIVED THROUGH A CHAPTER OF
AMERICAN
HISTORY WE ONLY STUDIED IN SCHOOL.
THEY
WERE THE ONES WHO SPENT PART OF
THEIR
YOUNGER YEARS PROVIDING US THE
ORIGINAL
REASON FOR THIS DAY.
THEY
WERE THE ONES WHO VOLUNTEERED
FOR
THE GREAT ADVENTURE.
THEY
WERE THE YANKS WHO VOLUNTEERED
TO
FLY FOR
THE
LONG
ENOUGH, THEY MORPHED INTO THE
ARMY
AIR CORPS, AFTER THE
AERIAL
COMBAT, AND IF THEIR PLANES
CAUGHT
FIRE THEY WERE FORCED TO RIDE
THEM INTO THE GROUND
BECAUSE
THEY HAD NO PARACHUTES.
THEY
WERE ALSO THE SAILORS WHO
MANNED
TIN CAN DESTROYERS THAT
PROTECTED
THOSE IN THE MERCHANT
MARINE
WHO CARRIED SUPPLIES TO THE
ALLIES
AND KEPT
THEY
RAN THE GAUNTLET THROWN DOWN
BY THE GERMAN NAVY’S “UNTERSEEBOOTN”
OR U-BOAT FLEET, THAT LAY IN WAIT
TO
TORPEDO THAT SUPPLY LINE.
AND…THEY
WERE THE ARMY’S
DOUGHBOYS…OR
WHAT THE GERMAN ARMY
CALLED “DERTEUFEL HUNDEN” … OR “DEVIL DOGS”,
OF
THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS.
….WHO
SLUGGED IT OUT WITH BAYONETS
FIXED,
WITH BATTLE-HARDENED GERMAN
ARMY
“STURMTRUPEN” REGIMENTS, IN THE
COLD
AND MUDDY TRENCH LINES OF
AND
WHEN
THEY ARRIVED, THEY LANDED 300,000
PER
MONTH, AND REPRESENTED THE FIRST
AMERICAN
TROOPS, SINCE THE MEXICAN WAR
OF
THE 1840S.
ALMOST
FOUR YEARS WHEN THE YANKS
ARRIVED.
AND THEY CAME FROM A NATION
THE
GERMANS THOUGHT WAS ONE THAT ONLY
PRODUCED
FARMERS AND SHOPKEEPERS.
THE FIRST ONES ARRIVED IN
THE
EARLY SPRING OF 1918.
THE
FRENCH WANTED THEM
FED
INTO FRENCH REGIMENTS AS FILLER
REPLACEMENTS.
BUT GENERAL JOHN J.
“BLACKJACK”
PERSHING, COMMANDER OF THE
AMERICAN
EXPEDITIONARY FORCES REFUSED.
HE
INSISTED THAT AMERICAN TROOPS WOULD
ONLY
FIGHT UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES..
OR HE WOULD NOT ALLOW THEM TO FIGHT AT ALL.
THE FRENCH
AND ENGLISH FINALLY
CAVED
IN…AND THE
WENT
INTO THE LINE IN APRIL.
THAT
DIVISION
WON ITS FIRST VICTORY AT
BY
JUNE, 300,000 MORE LANDED
THEM
WERE THE UNITED STATES MARINES.
THEY
STOPPED A GERMAN ADVANCE TOWARD
BY
THE END OF JULY, THE ARMY’S
“DOUGHBOYS”
CAPTURED CHATEAU THIERRY.
AND
A MONTH LATER, THE GERMAN TRENCHES
AT
ST. MIHIEL FELL.
IN
SEPTEMBER, THE YANKS LAUNCHED A
MASSIVE
OFFENSIVE. IT RESULTED IN THE
AMERICANS
CAPTURING IMPREGNABLE
GERMAN
DEFENSES
IN THE
BY
THE END OF OCTOBER.
THE
WAR TO END ALL WARS ENDED 11 DAYS
INTO
THE NEXT MONTH.
WITH
THE END OF THE GREAT WAR,
VETERANS
FROM ALL OF
COUNTRIES WENT HOME.
900,000 YANKS RETURNED HOME AS WELL,
TO PARADES AND MEDALS
AND
WELCOME HOME PARTIES.
BUT
112,000 DIDN’T.
THEY
REMAINED FOREVER IN
FIELDS,
AT
CEMETERIES
THROUGHOUT
TODAY
REST IN THE GROUND OVER WHICH
THEY
FOUGHT THE GREAT WAR.
BLOODSHED
THAT COST THE
AND
MANY OTHER NATIONS, AN ENTIRE
GENERATION OF YOUNG MEN…
15
MILLION YOUNG MEN.
20 MILLION MORE WERE WOUNDED,
HORRIBLY
MAIMED AND LEFT WITH
NIGHTMARES
OF THE UNENDING ARTILLERY
AT PRECISELY 1100 HOURS, ON THE 11TH DAY
OF
THE 11TH MONTH, THE ARMISTICE WENT INTO
EFFECT
AND ALL THE GUNS IN
SILENT
AT THAT MOMENT EVERYONE IN THE
TRENCHES
REALIZED THEY HAD JUST SURVIVED
THE
MOST COSTLY WAR IN THE HISTORY OF MAN.
WHAT
BECAME KNOWN AS THE “LOST
GENERATION”
BELIEVED IT WAS OVER.
IT
HAD BEEN THE WAR TO END ALL WARS..
OR
SO THEY WERE TOLD BY POLITICIANS.
NONE
OF THEM AT THE TIME COULD VISUALIZE THAT
THEIR
SONS AND DAUGHTERS WOULD FIGHT AN
EVEN
GREATER WAR 20 YEARS LATER.
BUT
ARMISTICE DAY WOULD NEVERTHELESS
BE
CELEBRATED FOR THE NEXT TWO DECADES.
VETERANS
WOULD PARADE AND CITIZENS
WOULD
CELEBRATE THIS DAY WITH PARADES,
JUST
AS WE DID TODAY IN DOWNTOWN
THOSE
CELEBRATIONS OF THAT ORIGINAL
ARMISTICE
DAY LASTED UNTIL 1954.
BUT
WITH THE COMING OF WORLD WAR II IN
1941,
AND
BECAME APPROPRIATE TO RECOGNIZE ALL VETERANS
WHO
SERVED OUR NATION IN PEACE,
AND
IN WAR.
WITH
LEGISLATION ESTABLISHING
VETERANS’
DAY SIGNED BY PRESIDENT
EISENHOWER,
EVERY VETERAN NOW HAS A DAY
IN
WHICH HE…OR SHE.. IS REMINDED THAT
THEIR SERVICE TO A GRATEFUL NATION
WILL
NOT BE FORGOTTEN.
FOR
THIS DAY IS DEDICATED TO EVERY MAN
OR
WOMAN WHO HAS HONORABLY SERVED OUR
COUNTRY
IN UNIFORM, WHETHER IT WAS IN
PEACE…OR WAR…..
TO ENSURE THAT THEIR COUNTRYMEN
WHO DID NOT JOIN
THE
ARMY, NAVY, AIR FORCE, MARINES, COAST
GUARD,
MERCHANT MARINE, NATIONAL GUARD
OR
RESERVE FORCES…REMAINED IN THEIR
HOMES
SAFE AND SECURE…AND FREE.
BECAUSE
VETERANS VOLUNTEERED TO
PLACE
THEMSELVES IN
BEHALF
OF THEIR COUNTRYMEN, THEY WENT
PLACES
OTHER MEN WOULD NEVER GO.
BECAUSE
VETERANS VOLUNTEERED, THEY
DID
THINGS OTHER MEN WOULD NEVER DO.
AND
BECAUSE VETERANS WENT IN HARM’S
WAY
FOR THOSE WHO DIDN’T, THEY WOULD SEE
THINGS
OTHER MEN WOULD NEVER SEE…
IN
AND
BECAUSE THEY DID, THEY LIVED
THROUGH
HISTORY THAT OTHERS WOULD
ONLY
READ ABOUT.
VETERANS’
DAY IS MORE THAN MERELY A DAY
ON
THE CALENDAR. IT’S A REMINDER TO
EVERYONE
THAT EACH GENERATION HAS
PRODUCED
MEN AND WOMEN WHO WILL DEFEND
OUR WAY OF LIFE…AND HAVE DONE SO
FOR
OVER TWO CENTURIES.
AND
WHY NOT.
THEY
WERE THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF A
PRECEDING
GENERATION… JUST
AS
TOMORROW’S
WARRIORS WILL BE COMPRISED
OF
THOSE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN WHO WILL
REFLECT
YOUR VALUE SYSTEMS AND
PATRIOTISM
AND LOVE OF COUNTRY.
VETERAN’S
DAY PROVES THAT MEDALS
DON’T
MAKE HEROES. THE REAL HEROES ARE
IN
THE CEMETERIES AND IN THE
AND
WOUNDED WARRIORS TRYING TO
RECUPERATE.
JUST
BECAUSE THIS DAY WILL BE OVER AT
WHO
WILL BE SPENDING THE REST OF THEIR
LIVES
RECOVERING
FROM WOUNDS…BOTH
PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL.
THEY ARE
THE ONES WHO MAY NOT GET TO THE PARADES
OR
TO CELEBRATIONS. BUT TO KNOW THEY
ARE
REMEMBERED CAN DO MORE FOR THEM
THAN
A BOXFUL OF RIBBONS, MEDALS AND CITATIONS.
SO
MAY I SUGGEST THAT DURING THE
COMING YEAR…WHEN OUR TROOPS COME HOME,
TAKE
A FEW MOMENTS AND GREET
THOSE
AT THE AIRPORT…SHAKE THEIR HANDS
AND
LET THEM KNOW THEY WEREN’T
FORGOTTEN.
AND
IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHEN THEY ARE
DUE
TO ARRIVE, THEN SOME WEEKEND DROP BY
A
CARDS
OR SOME MAGAZINE.
AND
MORE IMPORTANTLY
…SHARE SOME OF YOUR
TIME…WITH
THOSE WHO WILL NEVER BE ABLE
TO
GO HOME AGAIN …BY LETTING THEM
KNOW
THAT THEIR SACRIFICE HAS BEEN
CHERISHED...
AND THAT THEY HAVEN’T BEEN
FORGOTTEN.
SUCH A GESTURE WILL HELP THEM HEAL FASTER
THAN
ANY AMOUNT OF MEDICINE.
IN
THE PROCESS, YOU WILL BE DOING
YOURSELVES
A FAVOR AS WELL, BECAUSE AS
YOU
SHAKE THEIR HANDS…YOU WILL BE
TOUCHING
HISTORY.
FOR
THEY WILL BE THE MEN AND WOMEN
WHO
WROTE IT WITH THEIR OWN BLOOD…ON
THE
…OR
ON THE ROCKY KOREAN SLOPES OF
DAGMAR, OLD BALDY AND PORKCHOP HILL ...
OR AT QUANG TRI, DAK TO,
OR IN THE CITY STREETS OF HU
IN
THE
AND
NOW ON THE SUN BAKED SANDS OF
AND
SAND BLASTED PLAINS OF
PRODUCE MEN AND WOMEN LIKE THEM…
WE WILL NEVER HAVE TO FEAR ANYONE…
AND
NEITHER WILL GENERATIONS YET UNBORN.
FOR
AS LONG AS WE REMAIN A NATION OF
THE
BRAVE…WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE A
NATION OF THE FREE.