Col. Manrique's journey

Ken Taber and Col. Fernando Manrique

I would have bet the house that the last thing my 'ole roommate would do would be to join the US military. In the school prophesies that we wrote for the last edition of The Musketeer in 1976, I jokingly had Fernando instigating a revolution somewhere in Latin America or Europe.

Being from Colombia and having been sent to Hargrave under rather false pretenses, Fernando always seemed to carry a bit of a grudge toward the concept of military school and the US in general. The military school one is obviously understandable. And so was the grudge against the US, if you happen to look at it from the Latin American perspective... very normal indeed. I didn't carry this feeling with me because I had been raised in the US since I was 4 years of age. Even though I am of Latin American origin, I've always identified more culturally with North America.

The amazing thing is that Fernando ended up pursuing the two things that he most disliked as a teenager... a military life and a career with the US government. He will be the first to admit that both the Air Force and the US have been extremely good to him, and he has no regrets. In fact, he's extremely proud of the uniform he wears and his service career. Fernando ended up marrying a wonderful North American woman, and both of their children are fairly "true blue".

Keep in mind, though, that ideologically and philosophically Fernando hasn't changed all that much... clearly he's infinitely better read, traveled and experienced. He and his family lived in Japan for many years. He still has an extremely independent nature to him and is very outspoken in private. But he has learned (as we all have to some degree) to pick and choose his battles and be smart about it, particularly when it comes to divisive and very emotional issues. One learns and becomes wiser with age, although there often remains an idealistic flame within many of us.

When Fernando and I got together a few months ago, it was as if time had stood still. Were it not for his blue uniform, leather jacket and receding hairline, and a few additional pounds, Fernando is nearly the same person I knew in 1974-76. And that is a good thing because we were able to talk freely and relate. We did not leave our first encounter in more than two decade with the sad thought, "Gosh, what ever happened to the guy I knew?"

After he left HMA, Fernando went on to graduate from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. He eventually earned his PhD degree. In a couple of years, he will retire from active duty with his 20 years. He will be returning to live in Colorado, and he told me that his dream post-retirement career would be head of the Languages Department at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

Fernando was an extremely intelligent student at Hargrave. Probably the brightest and most capable of the Class of '76. He didn't try very hard, and yet everything came very easy to him and he got excellent grades. Prior to arriving at Hargrave, Fernando had gone to a great British school in Bogota. I don't think Hargrave challenged Fernando much academically, but I do think that the school helped him mature and perhaps knocked his ego down a few notches...

Ego notching down is a Hargrave strength. It is this one thing that probably helped the colonel adjust, survive and prosper in North American society.

Ripley pays tribute to Marines

The Richmond Council of the Navy League celebrated the Nov. 10 birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps a few days early yesterday with a rousing speech from one of its most decorated members.

Col. John W. Ripley, awarded the Navy Cross and other medals for heroism during the war in Vietnam, talked to about 160 people at the Willow Oaks County Club about toughness, eadership and team work.

Though retired, he made it clear, "Once you're a Marine, you're always a Marine."

Ripley, a native of Radford, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1962. According to the Navy League, he shares the distinction with one other Marine of having the most combat xperience in the Corps.

In Vietnam, he rescued the crew of one downed helicopter by loading them into another helicopter. On Easter 1972, he swung hand-to-hand under a bridge at Dong Ha for several hours packing the span's steel beams with 500 pounds of explosives so it could be blown up, denying the enemy a way across the river.

"The cheapest way to kill the enemy is to send a Marine with a rifle," Ripley told the appreciative crowd. The Marine, he said, gives the United States the best return on defense dollars.

"Austerity has been a way of life in the Marine Corps. Indeed, it is a religion to us, to be the leanest of services."

Noting the current film about the Corps' flag raising on Iwo Jima, "Flags of Our Fathers," Ripley pointed out that one of the six flag raisers was a U.S. Navy corpsman. At Iwo Jima, said Ripley, he Marines suffered 25,000 casualties out of a force of 75,000. Among them were 300 Navy corpsmen, he said.

Iwo Jima, he said, was the only battle in the history of the Corps where the Marines suffered more casualties than the enemy. "That's because we ran out of enemy," he said, prompting aughter.

"I learned how to adapt well in conditions of misery, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, short rations, grief of loss, staggering heat, biting cold, sustained filth," he said.

Ripley, former president of Southern Virginia College in Buena Vista and Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, is a former director of the Marine Corps History and Museums Division.

By Frank Green
The Richmond Times-Dispatch

Some of Hargrave's finer selling points

(photo courtesy of Henry H. Mitchell)

I nearly went to Fork Union, were it not for a few "little things" that caught my father's attention about Hargrave in early 1974. Basically, I think my father simply liked the physical layout of Hargrave. It was more stately than Fork Union's more spread out campus with its rather drab greyish buildings.

In a sense, Fork Union fit more closely the "image" of a traditional military academy. Hargrave looked more like a grand university, with its majestic four-columned main building. Hargrave looked less somber than Fork Union; it appeared more "big league" to my father. For some reason, my father also felt that the cadets looked sharper than those at Fork Union. Who knows what exactly he saw. Perhaps he happened to catch cadets at Fork Union at a down time when most were dressed in gym attire, while we may have visited Hargrave during a formation or during class hours. In any case, my father was better impressed by the manner of dress at HMA.

Then, of course, there was the 'ole statue in front of Cheatham Chapel. That really appealed to my father. He thought it was sharp (... note, the word "sharp" is a staple of my father's vocabulary... look sharp, be sharp, stay sharp!). When my father read the words at the base of the statue... well, he was sold. How does it go?... "I came here a boy. I left a man." Something like that... Huge huge selling point! Never underestimate the power of a statue and an inspirational saying to go with it. Don't know if Fork Union has something comparable.

Lastly, my father liked the name "Hargrave". The name "Fork Union" didn't seem to strike a chord with my father. But "Hargrave" definitely did. Keep in mind that my father's first language is Spanish. He left Honduras in his late-20s to continue his medical studies at the University of Kentucky in Lexington in 1963--the year President Kennedy was shot. He speaks English perfectly well, but occasionally my father misses a detail or subtlety or two.

I am convinced that when he heard the name "Hargrave" spoken, his mind processed "Hard grave". Well, for a macho Latin American man like my father, that was another fine selling point. Any school named "Hard grave" just had to be a no-nonsense institution... and that was where he was going to send his eldest son!

No doubt Fork Union is an excellent military academy, and I probably would have done fine or maybe even better there than at Hargrave. We'll never know. Fact of the matter, I was destined for Hargrave. With such a fine series of selling points, how could it have been otherwise?

The '61 basketball team

In October 1960 a group of young basketball prospects assembled in Hargrave Military Academy's beautiful new gymnasium to get ready for a tough, twenty-game schedule. No one dreamed that from this group would come, as most people said in the end, the most highly-touted team ever to play at Hargrave. No one could have guessed that by season-end this handful of boys would become the most publicized, the most potent, and the most admired of them all. As the Danville Register and Bee said, “These boys will forever be embellished on Hargrave's athletic roll of honor….”

After winning five pre-season games (Halifax, George Washington, Whitmell, and two with Martinsville), the Hargrave Tigers went to John D. Bassett to open the regular season. The Tigers won. On the following night they played the first game ever to be played in Hargrave's new gym against Hampden-Sydney College's freshman team, and broke in the new place with a 91-75 victory.

On a four-day trip through Pennsylvania, the team slipped by Lebanon Valley College's freshman team by two points, took two overtimes to win over a determined Wyoming Seminary prep team, then made it a clean sweep by downing the Susquehanna University freshmen.

Back home, now behind tremendous cadet support, the roundballers beat the Lynchburg College freshmen to make it six wins without a loss.

Now, taking on competition in the military league, in its first year of organized existence, the Tigers met Staunton, easily the toughest assignment in the league. The local courtmen pleased the home crowd with a hard-earned win, 80-71. Next they won from the second best opponent, Greenbriar, as they passed the century mark, 108-80.

In a two-day round-robin at Staunton involving four teams, the undefeated Tigers took on Massanutten and, though having a rough go of it physically, won again. The next night they lost their first and only game for the season. A strong, revenge-seeking [Staunton] Hilltopper crew knocked the HMA team from the ranks of the unbeaten to the convincing tune of 80-58.Getting up from the fall, they showed Augusta the way by a score of 70-51 and then left league play long enough to drop John D. Bassett. Massanutten then forfeited a make-up game, and the Tigers started down tht estretch with a win over Augusta, and an impressive victory over Greenbriar, 110-82, which proved to be the only loss the fighting cadets had suffered at home all season.

Hargrave made it 15 out of 16 with a win over Fork Union, then took an outside team, Hampden-Sydney Frosh, at Death Valley by a score of 85-63. Two wins over Fishburne brought the courtmen to their last regular season game at Fork Union. With a victory there, the winning Tigers ended the season with the most wins and the best record of any team ever to represent Hargrave.

In the military tournament held at HMA (the location of the tournament rotates among the military schools alphabetically) the Hargrave team drew a first-round bye because of being regular season winners. Greenbriar beat Fishburne, Massanutten won over Augusta, and Staunton took Fork Union in routine fashion. In the semi-finals Massanutten gave Staunton a go for it before bowing out, and Hargrave won from Greenbriar to make for the “natural” final pairing.

The consolation game found Massanutten pulling the tourney's only upset over Greenbriar, then … the finals … who would it be? Each [Staunton and Hargrave] had almost identical records; they had split regular season games.

“This was unquestionably Hargrave's finest hour in sports. A capacity crowd, limp after forty minutes of heart-stopping basketball, was on its feet,” for, with the support of the greatest cadet corps ever, and with the help of God, the Tigers had won, 81-79.

-The Cadence, 1961

Looking for missing classes

The oldest alumnus we have on the Hargrave Alumni Forum is Charles R. White of the Class of 1946. Next is Leon Rue of the Class of 1949 and Edward C. Wiegand of the Class of 1950. We have representatives of many classes since 1950, except for 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1964, 1970, 1974, 1977, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1994, 1996, 2004 and 2005.

If you belong to one of these "missing" classes, please join the forum by sending a blank e-mail to hargravealumni-subscribe@yahoogroups.com ...

Do so also if you belong to the Class of 1948, 1947 or classes before 1946. Do so also if you belong to the classes we already have represented: 1946, 1949, 1950, 1954, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2006.

Walter B. Jones

Congressman Walter Jones [1961 graduate of HMA] tuned his Greenville office television to CNN Thursday morning.

Jones' stance on U.S. involvement in that country has garnered headlines for the six-term U.S. representative, who recently broke ranks with many Republicans on Capitol Hill by announcing his impatience with the lack of a concrete plan for withdrawing American forces.

The District 3 congressman from Farmville said his outspokenness about how the country was led into the war, and the conduct of the campaign so far, won't hurt his current re-election bid, where he faces Democrat Craig Weber of Atlantic Beach.

That's because people are becoming aware of arguments made by people such as Greg Newbold, an East Carolina University graduate and retired Marine lieutenant general — "one of the bravest men I have ever known," Jones, 63, said. "He gave up a third star because he saw the lies and the distortion that got us into Iraq."

During an interview at his Greenville district office on Thursday, Jones read from Newbold's article in the April edition of Time magazine titled "Why Iraq Was a Mistake:"

"From 2000 until October 2002, I was a Marine Corps lieutenant general and director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. After 9/11, I was a witness and therefore a party to the actions that led us to the invasion of Iraq — an unnecessary war," Jones read.

"Inside the military family, I made no secret of my view that the zealots' rationale for war made no sense. And I think I was outspoken enough to make those senior to me uncomfortable. But I now regret that I did not more openly challenge those who were determined to invade a country whose actions were peripheral to the real threat — al-Qaeda."

Jones criticized the Bush administration for its portrayal of Iraq and its weapons of mass destruction program, which formed the basis upon which Jones voted for military action. No WMDs have been found in Iraq. The congressman said the administration misled he and others were, though he stops short of naming Bush among the culprits.

Jones said District 3 voters will understand his position.

Why?

"Because," he said, "the people know that I have made my decision (based) on the research and the investigation" he has conducted, citing his interviews with CIA operatives, a cabinet member's chief of staff, generals and others.

"(Voters) read the newspapers, they see the TV, they understand when people like this are speaking out," he said, tapping on a copy of Newbold's column. "I can never send a person to die for this country unless I know it is absolutely necessary. And when the questions have been coming out for three years now about the justification, was it justified or was it manipulated, I don't know how anyone can say that they want an elected official that does not want to know the truth."

In June 2005, Jones signed a bipartisan resolution urging President Bush to devise a concrete plan for withdrawing troops from Iraq.

"I think people are beginning to understand that ... I want to do what's right based on the facts, not based on the wishes of somebody," he said.

About 70 Pitt and Beaufort County Republicans gave Jones a warm reception Friday night. He was stumping for N.C. House candidate Hood Richardson at a farm between Grimesland and Chocowinity. Jones limited his references to the war to prayers for U.S. soldiers and their families.

Applause punctuated Jones' comments on issues central to his party: lower taxes, gay marriage and illegal immigration.

"I'm more concerned about terrorists coming from Central and South America than I am about terrorists coming from Iraq," he said Friday night.

During the interview Thursday, Jones also touched on the possible effects his campaign may experience due to fellow Republican Rep. Mark Foley's resignation. Foley, of Florida, is being investigated for allegedly sending inappropriate e-mails to teenage pages working on Capitol Hill.

Jones said that controversy wouldn't affect his campaign.

"I hope I'm known for my integrity," he said. "I hope I'm known — whether people agree with me or not — for my moral character. From the very first day I heard about (the Foley case), I said, 'If there's anybody in (the Republican) leadership who has known about this, weeks or months or years ago, then they need to resign.'"

Javier Castillo, chairman of the Pitt County Republican Party, doubted that Iraq or Foley would negatively affect Jones' chances.

"I personally believe not, because Walter has done a great job for his district," Castillo said. Voters may disagree with Jones on that one issue (Iraq), but District 3 voters likely agree with him on most things, and approve of his services in the district, Castillo added.

Richardson echoed Castillo's sentiment on Iraq.

"Republicans don't have to march in lock-step on all the issues," he said.

Johnny Rouse, Pitt County Democratic Party chairman, took the opposite view.

"I think, if anything, it'll hurt him with the core Republican voters," Rouse said. They may choose not to vote at all out of disgruntlement over Jones' criticisms of the Iraq war, he added.

Neither Castillo nor Rouse believed the Foley scandal would affect the incumbent.

"Mark Foley's in Florida, and he's already quit, so that's a problem for electors in Florida, not here," Castillo said.

Rouse said the scandal "may hurt the Republicans' image as the party of quote-unquote values, but I don't think it should affect" Jones. "It would be unfair to paint him" with the actions attributed to his Republican colleague, Rouse said.

By T. Scott Batchelor
sbatchelor@coxnc.com
The Daily Reflector

Hargrave in the fall

It is a cool 43 degrees today and windy here in northern Virginia. The leaves on the trees are spectacular in their range of colors. Halloween and Thanksgiving are just around the corner. For some reason, it just feels like Hargrave today. I sense this powerful desire to go find my black jacket.

I recall always being cold. There was certainly nothing warm and cozy about the barracks. I can still feel the icey wind blowing through the obviously poorly caulked window in our (... my roommate was Fernando Manrique of Colombia) room. That old radiator (great for drying socks and underwear) beneath our window sometimes gave off sufficient heat and sometimes very little. I guess it depended on how well the boiler was functioning on a given day. Those old standard-issue wool blankets (dark olive color) were adequate, but it took a while to warm up once you slid into bed.

Getting up in the chilly mornings before the sun rose and standing in formation waiting to march to the mess hall for a powdered eggs breakfast certainly didn't give me a toasty feeling either.

Yet, there exists a strange longing in my gut for southern Virginia, Chatham and Hargrave in the fall... cold hallway floors and bathrooms and all.

The Quartermaster's hats

The day before my parents drove me to Hargrave to begin my junior year, I got together with two of my best friends and went out for a drive in the country, in southern Virginia. The primary aim of the outing was to find a barber shop and have a kind of ritualistic hair cutting in preparation for my upcoming two-year "exile" from the world as we teenagers knew it.

I had just turned 17 and my hair was nearly down to my shoulders. Deep down inside I always suspected that it was the "hair thing" that was at the root of my father's desire to send me off to military school. Yeah, there was the problem of my poor grades and the looming possibility that I might start to hang out with the wrong crowd in town. But I just knew that that long hair was the true source of the discomfort between me and my father. Hargrave offered the "final solution" to the hair issue.

My friends Richard, Mark and I took off one morning in my family's yellow Chevy Vega and drove toward Lawrenceville, VA. I wanted to take one last look at my old high school, Brunswick Academy, to which I had slowly developed an attachment and a high level of comfort during 10th grade. Brunwick was located down the road from the center of Lawrenceville.

As we drove through town, I noticed a small barber shop. I must have looked at my friends and said something like, "Okay guys, let's get it over with, let's do it." Of course, Richard and Mark were loving every minute of it. Both of them had long hair, and must have felt an element of fear and sorrow for me. However, they were going to milk this moment for all it was worth!

I sat down in the barber's chair, almost as if I were sitting down in the electric chair or laying my head beneath the guillotine. It gave me the shivers. It felt surreal, as if... "This really couldn't be happening to me... I'm going to lose my freedom AND my hair?"

Well, it felt like an eternity. But before long, the deed was done. Three-quarters of my hair was gone... on the floor. I looked like a freek! Short hair. Now, I definitely had to go to military school, because there was no way I could go back to Brunswick like this. I knew somehow it would all work out, but at that precise moment in time it seemed my life was over.

The next morning, we left early for Chatham. My whole family went. My parents, my brothers, my sister. They helped me settle in. My mother took me into town to buy some shelves for my stereo and books. We probably had lunch somewhere... kind of a "last meal" kind of thing. They were gone by late afternoon, and I was left in my room in the B Company barracks... left to ponder my fate and begin making the mental adjustments that I would need to survive and hopefully flourish in my new environment. My first roommate, Mike Miller, came in and introduced himself. We exchanged pleasantries.

Ultimately, B Company was little more than a weigh station, as I ended up in Band. I figured if I had to be in a military school, I would at least have some fun and play drums... not carry a rifle.

The next day, I received instructions for a range of things, I'm sure. At some point that day, I was guided to the quartermaster's shop (in the basement below the mess hall) to get outfitted with everything I would need to look like a cadet. My grey trousers and coat, my white dress trousers, my grey shirts, my white shirts, my black tie, my belt, my black wool jacket, my black shoes, my shoe polish kit, my insignias, and of course... my hat.

I searched around for several minutes for a hat that fit me properly. Must have tried on five or six hats before a kindly gentleman with a tape measure slung dangling around his neck came up and picked one out for me (kind of like the scene in Ollivadner's Wands from the first Harry Potter movie). I tried it on, but the hat was still too small. The quartermaster looked up at me above his glasses, which balanced on the end of his nose. He paused for a second and quickly decided the hat would do... "No, the hat will fit you fine son after you get your hair cut."

What? "But I just got a hair cut!" I thought to myself in disbelief. "You gotta be kidding me."

I quickly resigned myself. After all, to whom would I complain, reason with? I knew from that very moment that things were going to be pretty black and white. All those shades of grey that previously had given me some wiggle room were gone.

The quartermaster's name was Lt Col. John L. Beaver. Col Beaver died on June 1, 1980, a few years after I graduated from Hargrave in 1976.

Col. Beaver was born in Rowan County, North Carolina, June 8, 1915, a son of the late John Alexander Beaver and Florence Beatrice Eagle Beaver. He was a graduate of Wingate College and Elon College, and attended the American University of Shrivenham, England. He was a veteran of the US Army and spent most of his life in Pittsylvania County, teaching at Schoolfield High School and serving as a teacher, coach, and athletic director at Hargrave . At the time of his death, he was the quartermaster at Hargrave.

Boots and breeches

I recently bought an old '43 HMA annual and just finished reading it. This was three years before I started at Hargrave Military Academy, but there were some cadets in it that I remembered as they were in Junior School then.

The uniform differed a little in that all cadets wore a leather belt with brass or gold plate buckle. The total cost of both belts and buckles was $2.00. They also had a web belt with slide buckle which is what we used in '45.

Some of the officers wore riding breeches and high boots and used capes instead of overcoats. The cadets used overcoats with half capes. I had one of these in '45 as my folks could not afford a new overcoat for me. The overcoat was the most expensive part of the uniform. The half cape had a red lining and looked pretty sharp when worn in the open position.

I noticed also that the drum major had a very fancy white uniform and hat with lots of brass buttons.

Smoking was discouraged but allowed to senior school cadets with parental permission but not to any of the Junior school kids.

I noticed that the basketball team had several different jerseys, one of which said "Harris Cleaners".

One of the teachers there was Lt. Col. Thomas Cunningham. He had been an army officer since 1898. He was PSM&T my first year there. He had served in the Philippine Insurection as a calvary officer.

Another familiar face was that of S.P.G. "Jack" Spratt. He had been a lawyer and Customs Agent but married Col. Camden's sister (the school president) no, not the sister, but the Col. was the president. Anyway, I never knew what his real name was until recently I found out it was Samuel Perry Godfrey Spratt.

The track team picture showed the bamboo poles we used for the pole vault. Not much give to those things but better than the aluminum poles. Some of the nicknames were interesting: "Ears","Tiger","Goon","Bugs". "Horse" (Hmmm).

Leon Rue
leonrue@adelphia.net
Class of '49

Annapolis resident is highly decorated in service to his country

Col. John W. Ripley

There is a certain irony in being immortalized by one structure for blowing up another.

But, there's been no irony in how Marine Col. John W. Ripley has lived a life that has been wilder and more adventurous than any Hollywood action hero. Superman can fold up his cape when Ripley's in the house.

In Vietnam, the Marine rescued the crew of one downed helicopter by loading them onto a second copter. Left behind and wounded, he held off the enemy long enough to extinguish the fire aboard the first copter, and then repair it so it could be flown away.

Months later, under heavy fire on Easter Sunday, 1972, he swung beneath a bridge over several hours, weighted down with his belt and weapon. He packed the bridge's seven steel I-beams with 500 pounds of explosives and, biting gently with his teeth, crimped the percussion caps onto the primer cord. One wrong bite would have blown his skull apart.

He lit the fuse while he was still hand-walking under the bridge.

The Marine would have received the Medal of Honor had a single American witnessed his incredible act of valor. There were plenty of eyewitnesses: two South Vietnamese Marines and, on the opposite shore, 30,000 angry enemy troops.

Col. Ripley's earned a slew of medals, including the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, two awards of the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars with Combat "V," a Purple Heart and the Cross of Gallantry. He and one other Marine share the distinction of more combat experience than any other Marine.In the years since, the Marine has fought other battles, on and off the field, and received numerous honors. The Annapolis resident has been a key player in the renovation of the Naval Academy's Memorial Hall. He's also been the creative force behind the new $55 million Marine Corps Museum set to open this fall in Virginia, and he's deeply involved in a Maryland political action group that focuses on veterans affairs.

Last week, on the campus of the Naval Academy Preparatory School, he received a new accolade. He became the rare living Marine to have a building named for him. The school's new barracks, built to house 348 students, was dedicated in honor of the indomitable Col. Ripley, known to many as a Marine's Marine.

"John is an outgoing, larger-than-life person who lives life on the edge," said retired Marine Col. "Iron Mike" Williams. "He's a gentleman but rough and tough when it's required."

The building in Newport, R.I., took years to plan and $14.3 million to build, but only a few minutes to decide whose name should be blazed on the front of the massive three-story building. The large letters spell out "Ripley Hall."

Capt. Charles Hautau, commanding officer of NAPS, recalled a conversation he had last fall with Vice Adm. Rodney Rempt, superintendent of the Naval Academy.

"He was looking for suitable people, NAPS graduates or people in the area to name the building after. It came to light that Col. Ripley is one of our more famous graduates. He's a member of NAPS '58. He hadn't had proper recognition as had other NAPS graduates who'd earned the Navy Cross," Capt. Hautau said.

The school, located in Maryland when Col. Ripley was a student, is a one-year preparatory program for the Naval Academy as well as the Merchant Marine Academy and Coast Guard Academy.

"After Col. Ripley's active duty in Vietnam, he served as an administrator and a teacher," Capt. Hautau said. "He isn't just a warrior's warrior, he's an articulate, well-schooled individual, the balance we look for here."

Impression made

As a young boy, Col. Ripley first encountered Marines in his rural hometown of Radford, Va. Trains packed with Korea-bound enlistees rolled through the town and he'd climb aboard to sell them a nickel newspaper.

The 1957 movie, "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison," starring Robert Mitchum as a World War II Marine stranded in on a Pacific island with a nun, clinched it for him.

"Holy Cow, that's me," he declared staring at the small town movie screen.

He enlisted in the Marines that year and, shortly after, was selected to attend NAPS. He went on to graduate from the academy in 1962 with a degree in electrical engineering. While there, he set a record on the obstacle course that has stood unbeaten for 44 years.

Trained as a Marine infantry officer, young Lt. Ripley served two tours in Vietnam. During the 1972 North Vietnamese Easter Invasion, the Marine nearly single-handedly destroyed the Dong Ha Bridge.

Marine painter, Col. Charles Waterhouse immortalized the scene in a painting, copies of which hang at NAPS and the Naval Academy. Still, more copies circulate on the internet, fueling the legend.

Author and Marine historian John Grider Miller recounted Col. Ripley's incredible heroism in the book "Bridge At Dong Ha." A deal to turn the book into a movie stalled over a producer's ownership rights and a changing scene in Hollywood.

"With the war in Iraq, Hollywood won't make that movie anytime soon," Mr. Miller said. "But it's a great story. It can wait."

A diorama, "Ripley at the Bridge," has been on display at the entrance to Memorial Hall, inside Bancroft Hall for 21 years.

Recently, Col. Ripley showed it to a visitor. A small figure with a rifle strapped to his back is swinging beneath a bridge with a burning fuse sizzling next to his right ear.

Looking at the miniaturized scene, the colonel exclaimed, "I couldn't believe how big this son of a gun was. FOX-TV took me back to Vietnam to look at it a few months ago."

He pointed out that the bridge had five piers, not the three shown in the diorama. Everything else was accurate, including his filbert-sized helmet, which lay on the ground. He discarded it because it limited his vision.

According to Naval Academy Alumni Association President George P. Watt, Jr., Memorial Hall would not have been restored without Col. Ripley's leadership on the project. During homecoming this fall, the association will dedicate the hall.

"John calls Memorial Hall the Naval Academy sanctus sanctorum - the holiest of holy places. That's where we honor those who've gone before, and, thanks to John, it's been restored to its former dignity and honors those graduates lost in operational line of duty, whether in war or testing an F-14 or aboard the Challenger shuttle. John was the action officer to make that happen. He brought people together."

Academia

After Vietnam, Col. Ripley served with Marine Force Reconnaissance and was an exchange officer with the British Royal Marines in Malaya, and as a commanding officer at the battalion and regimental level.

Eventually, he entered academia, first as a Marine instructor at Oregon State, then the Naval Academy and then commander of the Naval ROTC unit at Virginia Military Institute.

After retiring from the Marines, he was president and chancellor of Southern Virginia University and president of Hargrave Military Academy, before being tapped for director of the Marine Corps History and Museums Division and the Marine Corps Historical Center.

Early in his tenure at Southern Virginia, then an all-female college, he got a late night reception of sorts from a rowdy group of town youth and KeyDets - VMI students who should have known better.

"I could hear 'em out there and some beer cans dropping," he recalled. "I went downstairs and put on some PT gear - running shorts and shirt and some shoes. I got into a position of advantage."

He called the police and informed them of the situation. He told them to put a squad car at the bottom of the hill to block any escape.

"But don't come until I tell you," he said.

"When the police started flashing their light, the guys ran uphill. I hit a guy from the side and rolled him over in a wrestling position, a reverse crucifix," he said.

He realized more men were in the bushes.

"Give up now or I'll come get you," he yelled.

They gave up.

"They were trying to get into the girls' dorm. There would have been worse implications if they'd succeeded."

Women in the military

Col. Ripley's time at Southern Virginia gave him a unique view point of the Navy's acceptance of women. He was part of the administration when the school was sold and switched from an all-female institution to a coed school, an echo of societal changes under way at the Naval Academy.

"The Naval Academy is changing in good ways none of us could have predicted," he said. "The change is reflected in the country and mandates changes in its institutions. I was in the great majority of graduates who were, at first, surprised and shocked when the academy accepted females. When the mission is to produce, combat leaders brought us the issue 'What were we training people for?' "

At the time, women couldn't fly planes or be in combat roles. The Navy accommodated women by removing men. This year, the incoming class is 20 percent women.

"Do we need women? No way this country could accomplish its role and mission without women," the colonel said.

If the Navy acknowledges that it needs women in the service, Col. Ripley sees it as logical to ensure they get trained to the same degree of perfection expected of their male classmates at the academies.

"Those who deny that today, hold a fossilized view of the Academies. Women do as good a job as men - and men do as good a job as women.

"They've earned the doggone right to be here."

Marine Icon

As he sat in Memorial Hall surrounded by plaques bearing names of graduates who died, a docent, former director of admissions Chip Seymour, class of '64, wandered in leading a duckling-line of midshipmen and their parents.

"Col. Ripley!" he said loudly. "Folks, I'm shaking the hand of a genuine hero. This is Col. Ripley. Let me show you what he did in Vietnam."

He led the curious flock away. Left behind, the colonel commented ruefully that it "almost seemed faddish" to heap awards on him.

"There's a whole lot of guys out there who did great things. For heaven's sake, pick one!"

He doesn't take his status lightly.

"You certainly better live up the reputation assigned to you. You don't do anything to cheat them. You must be what they think you are, especially youngsters. No way I'd have done something to discredit my family or the Marine Corps. I'm hyper-aware people are going to look at me and give a valuation to all the things I do."

Col. Ripley has fought incredible personal battles, too. While rescuing 15 wounded or dying soldiers during Vietnam, he was drenched in blood. A few years later, he was diagnosed with Hepatitis B. That, combined with a rare genetic disease, Alpha I Anti-trypsin Deficiency, destroyed his liver.

His first liver transplant in 2002, began to fail within hours. He nearly died before receiving the second liver a few days later from the body of a 16-year-old gunshot victim in Philadelphia.

His sons, Tom and Steve, both former Marines, coordinated the effort to rush the organ and transplant team to his bedside that is worthy of yet another movie about Ripley's life.

Four years later, at 66, the old Marine is in pretty good shape.

He lives with his wife, Moline near the academy. Col. Ripley has another talent: The Warrior can talk baby-talk with the best of them. Friday afternoon, in the kitchen of his elegant Annapolis home, he made chocolate milk for his youngest grandchild, 2-year-old Race. It was his turn to baby-sit the boy.

The colonel's voice took on an Elmer Fudd quality as he pulled out a tiny contraption to blend syrup and milk.

New challenges

At the dedication of Ripley Hall, the retired Marine looked out over the 200 people in the audience and spotted "people I knew 50 years ago."

Several classmates turned out for the dedication, along with a former private from one of the colonel's rifle companies in Vietnam. Among the Navy brass in the audience were Adm. Rempt and the Coast Guard Academy superintendent.

Col. Ripley has received other honors, too. He is the first Marine selected as a Naval Academy Distinguished Graduate. Two years ago, the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Force in Afghanistan named Firebase Ripley in his honor.

He is still busy as a consultant, getting the new museum in Quantico ready for its public debut in November.

"You'll be rocked back on your heels," he said. It's a state-of-the-art wonder."

When Col. Ripley heard the new barracks at NAPS would bear his name, he reminded Superintendent Rempt about Marine tradition: things aren't named for living Marines. If the Marine Corps had been consulted about the building's namesake, it would be denied.

"Sir, this is a Navy building," came the response.

Col. Ripley chuckled. "They didn't ask the Marine Corps."

By Wendy Winters
The Annapolis Capital

US Naval Academy alumni welcome newest midshipmen

Stephen Phillips

On June 1, the US Naval Academy Alumni Association, Hampton Roads Chapter, honored the area candidates who were awarded appointments to attend the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. A Plebe Recognition Dinner was held in honor of the appointees and their parents at the Naval Air Station Oceana Officers' Club.

Local appointees are Benjamin Fasseel, Kecoughtan High 2005 and the Naval Academy Preparatory School; Jeffrey Iiams, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy; and Stephen Phillips, Hargrave Military Academy. Area appointees are Andrew Adelson, Frank W. Cox High School; Caitlin Castello, Hickory High; Kelsey Cellon, Ocean Lakes High; Tara Chapmon, Cox High; Aaron Dixon, Tallwood High; William Garland, Kellam High; Nicholas Hanley, Landstown High; Joseph Lannetti, Matthew F. Maury High; Kenneth O'Loughlin, Maury High; and Jessica Parks, Deep Creek High.

Hampton Roads Daily Press

'68 Cadence for sale on eBay

Leon Rue (Class of '49) noted that there is a 1968 HMA Cadence class yearbook on sale on eBay for $49 if anybody needs one. Click on '68 Cadence for more info. Marc Axel (Class of '63) followed up and suggested that if anyone is searching for their graduating year yearbook for helping plan a class reunion and some other reason, they should check with Hargrave's Director of Alumni Relations, Clay Draud. Clay's e-mail address is draudc@hargrave.edu and his phone number is (434) 432-2688.

NCAA will take hard look at prep institutions

Jeff Allen

Julian Vaughn stands 6-foot-8, boasts a high GPA and is ready to enter one of America's most prestigious basketball factories -- Virginia's Oak Hill Academy.

Nobody, not even the NCAA, can convince Vaughn he's making a mistake.

Even after Oak Hill was placed last week on the list of 22 schools that will have its academic standards under review by the NCAA, Vaughn still intends to enroll there this fall.

"Even if it was on the list of offenders, I'd still want to go," he said. "I have a 3.7 GPA, so I'm really just going there to get my last few credits."

Of course, there's the added attraction of playing basketball for an institution that annually produces some of college basketball's premier prospects. Vaughn hopes to carry on Oak Hill's legacy.

The questions being asked now, though, are more about academics than talent.

Ever since The New York Times exposed University High in Miami, a correspondence school that offered diplomas to students despite having no classes nor instructors and operating almost without supervision, the NCAA has been scrutinizing the standards of nontraditional high schools to identify "diploma mills."

The NCAA has been looking for irregularities such as one-year students, dramatic academic improvements or uncharacteristic classwork patterns.

Jeff Allen, a former Oak Hill player who is transferring to Hargrave Military Academy this fall, appears to fit the model. In one year at Oak Hill, Allen said he made progress academically and fulfilled five core courses toward his college eligibility.

"It was an academic decision," he said, referring to his former school. "It took one year, and it was hard at first. But once I got used to it, it became easier."

There is a risk: Students attending listed schools could lose their freshman eligibility.

NCAA vice president Kevin Lennon said transcripts will continue to be evaluated individually and that students at the listed schools could retain their eligibility if their records show a pattern of academic achievement.

By publicizing the lists, NCAA officials hoped some athletes would reconsider their choices. The early returns are not encouraging.

On Wednesday, 16 schools were added to the list of offenders -- seven of them from Santa Ana, Calif. Twenty-two others, including Oak Hill, face more review over the next year.

And when Vaughn arrived at the Nike All-America Camp on Thursday, he wasn't even aware Oak Hill made the list.

"I didn't hear about it, no," he said. "People can say whatever they want to say, but I've not heard anything bad about their academics. I know a lot of people hate the fact they have a rich basketball tradition, so they'll say whatever they want."

Vaughn isn't the only one with concerns about the NCAA's crackdown.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, winner of the 2003 national championship and a prominent member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, is questioning the process.

He wondered why one school, which he declined to identify, made the list even though it has an enrollment of 300, a principal and a faculty. He also believes the NCAA's new mission poses a dangerous potential for expansion.

"The next thing they're going to do is look at inner-city schools, and we're not supposed to take those kids because it's a bad high school," he said. "Where are we going with this?"

Lennon insisted that would not happen.

Instead, he said the NCAA is looking more closely at schools that do not fall under state oversight, and that if investigators found irregularities at public institutions, the NCAA would notify that state's regulating body.

"Every student will have his records reviewed by the clearinghouse," Lennon said. "What we're trying to do is pick out kids who have miraculous recoveries in their last year. That's the kid that needs to be concerned."

The schools that have been identified span the continent, from North Atlantic Regional in Lewiston, Maine, to Hanna Boys Center in Sonoma, Calif.

Some administrators were surprised to learn of their inclusion. Lt. Gen. John E. Jackson Jr., president of Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, said NCAA officials have neither visited the campus nor expressed specific concerns about the curriculum.

But one common factor is the number of prep schools and Christian schools listed.

"One of the reasons for that is that they are not regulated by state agencies," Lennon said. "You don't see any public schools on the list because they are regulated, so when you have Christian schools or prep schools that aren't regulated, they're more likely to make the list."

Regardless, the risk of losing a year of eligibility does not appear to be changing minds yet.

"I heard a rumor that a lot of kids go down there to qualify, but I don't really know how the academics are there," Vaughn said. "I know the teachers live on campus, like in a dorm, and they give you extra help. I think if a teacher is right there, it would help you a lot."

By Michael Marot
The Associated Press

Afghanistan: Pfc Justin Davis

photo courtesy of Marketa Ebert

As an honor guard performed the burial of Army Pfc. Justin Davis, his mother Paula could not help but think that this is what her son would have wanted.

"He always wanted to be a hero," said Paula Davis. Friends and family say Justin was certainly that as he was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in front of more than 100 friends and family Monday.

Justin, a 2005 graduate of Magruder High School, died June 25 while on patrol with the 10th Mountain Division in the Korengal Outpost in the eastern Kunar province in Afghanistan, where he had been since March. He was awarded the Purple Heart for being wounded in battle and a Bronze Star, both of which were given to his family Monday.

Before the burial at Arlington, close to 600 people attended Justin's funeral service at the Interdenominational Church of God in Gaithersburg Saturday. Almost every speaker called Justin a hero.

"Justin did something most people won't do," said Pastor Randy Dennis of Lakewood Church of God in Germantown. "He went off to fight and die for our country."

As Joseph "Jo-Jo" Holland started to speak, he took a step back to collect himself and was immediately consoled by several members of the crowd. Holland talked about plans he and Davis had made to go to Los Angeles after graduation to pursue acting careers.

"I'm out there now, doing it for him," Holland said. "He's a cool dude, and I love him."

Pastor Leon Grant of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Rockville, where Justin was an active member, said, "Justin was a hero to us all, and his was not in vain."

Barry Moultrie, a family friend who said that Justin was "like a surrogate son," said that while Justin did not die in vain, his should give policymakers in Washington pause to consider bringing the rest our kids home to prevent further needless loss of life.

Justin's is under investigation by the military as a possible friendly fire incident. Army Spokesman Maj. Nathan Banks said Davis was killed by "indirect fire," which is a term often used for mortar attacks, but no other information has been released. So far 17 soldiers have died in Afghanistan and Iraq due to friendly fire.

Paula said that no matter how her son died, the circumstances of Justin's are not important to her. What matters, she said, is that Justin was destined to be a soldier, and he was able to fulfill that destiny.

"You could see it when he was a little boy," said Paula. "He was always intrigued with action figures, GI Joes, that kind of thing."

Justin's interest in the military peaked when he attended Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., during his junior year of high school, where many of his teachers were retired officers. When Justin came back to Magruder for his senior year, it was clear to everyone that he had made up his mind to join the military.

"He was always adamant about joining the armed forces and serving his country, but when he came back from Hargrave, you could see the difference in him," said Ed Ashwell, Justin's football coach at Magruder. "He went from being a boy to being a man, saying 'Yes sir, yes ma'am,' those kinds of things. It fit him to a T."

Paula said she tried to convince her son not to join the military because of the conflict in the Middle East, but she said Justin would not be dissuaded.

"He was my only son," she said, " and I reminded him of that. You know what he told me? 'Mom, you should have had more kids.'"

Paula was adamant about Justin going to college and said she always made sure Justin knew he had options.

"He knew that if I had to work three jobs I would have done it, and that he didn't have to go into the military," she said. "But he told me, 'Mom, I still want to go to college, I just have to do this first.'"

She remembers one night in particular when Justin made her sit down with him and watch a show on television about the Army Rangers.

"I went out and bought him an Army Rangers shirt the next day, and he was wearing that to school, around the neighborhood, and even when he was working out trying to get his weight down for basic training," Paula said. "I knew I had to let him go and give him my blessing. I could have begged him to stay, and he probably would have."

"I asked him once, 'Why don't you just wait a little bit?' He said, 'Wait for what, mom, I have to get on with my life,'" she said.

Justin was assigned to Fort Drum, N.Y., after graduation, where he was a member of the Alpha Company of the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division. When his unit was assigned to Afghanistan, Justin was excited to go.

"He felt like this was his calling, that he could do some good," said Paula. "This encompassed everything that he was, from his young days playing with GI Joes up through Hargrave and his last year at Magruder. It was who he was."

"He died doing what he wanted to do," said Ashwell. "How many of us are going to be able to say that?"

By Josh Bowman
Montgomery County Sentinel

Free speech is strangled

Nearby Hargrave Military Academy and a pair of disgruntled parents settled a lawsuit this week, but nothing was settled about the court’s “right” to interfere with free speech.

Jerry and Melissa Guyles had started a Web site complaining about the academy’s decision to expel their son after the Honor Council found him guilty of stealing.

Hargrave President Wheeler M. Baker affirmed the decision.

The couple claimed that Hargrave “suffers from poor leadership due to their President, Wheeler Baker.” They also posted a letter they sent to other Hargrave parents saying Mr. Baker lacked professionalism and integrity.

Details of this week’s court settlement are secret, but the Web site was not back up and working.

Hargrave and Mr. Baker sued the Guyleses, claiming, among other things, that they launched their allegations with “reckless disregard for the truth.”

The resulting civil trial would have proved whether Hargrave and its president were right, or whether the Guyleses were justified in their criticism.

It should have been a straightforward case of cause and effect. The law requires each of us to take responsibility for what we say or write, post or broadcast.

If the Guyleses made a mistake, they would have to bear the consequences. That should have been decided at civil trial.

The problem is that a judge took the Web site offline before hearing all evidence. That’s called “prior restraint,” and it violates fundamental and long-established precedents in First Amendment cases.

Two issues are at stake: that the judge exercised prior restraint, before hearing all the evidence, and that he imposed an overly harsh penalty.

The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, based in Charlottesville, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia joined to argue against the censorship. They said the judge’s restraining order violated free speech when it was issued in May because it came before the parents had a chance to argue their side of the case.

“The court’s order is extraordinary, a bad sign of our times,” said Kent Willis, executive director of the Virginia ACLU. “Our freedom depends first and foremost on free speech. Judges are allowed to curb speech only as a last resort and then under the most carefully and narrowly controlled circumstances.

“Wiping out an entire Web site because one party doesn’t like what it says simply does not comport with our understanding of free expression in this country.”

“Wiping out an entire Web site” is the other half of the problem. Not only did the judge impose prior restraint, but he employed a draconian method of overkill.

After all, it wasn’t the Web site itself that was the alleged problem, it was the disputed words on the Web site.

If this sounds like nitpicking, consider long-time precedent. Even if a publisher or broadcaster is found liable for reckless disregard in one of its stories, the newspaper, magazine, radio or TV station is not ordered to shut down. There are responsibilities, there are consequences, there are penalties to face, but the publisher or broadcaster may continue to operate.

This precedent is such a well-established feature of First Amendment law that its violation is especially shocking. It is indeed a bad sign for our times.

There’s a reason our Founding Fathers put free speech (and freedom of religion) first in their list of protections. Democracy can’t exist without freedom of speech. We must be able to criticize those in authority. The Founders knew that even if the criticism was wrong, even if it were reckless, the risk was worth the benefits.

The Charlottesville Daily Progress

The first 50 years

Camden Hall in the 1940s

Dr. T. Ryland Sanford (my grandfather) had the idea for a private school in Chatham, VA. As the pastor of the Chatham Baptist Church, he had little money, but an active idea. Mr. J. Hunt Hargrave, was a well-to-do local tobacco farmer, who lived in a large house near the church, on the northeast side of the road to "Whittletown." Mr. Hargrave was agreeable to investing some money in the idea, and thus Chatham Training School (CTS) was born in 1909.

My grandfather was president from the founding until Aubrey H. Camden became the second president in about 1920 (I am not positive of the year). Col. Camden held the job until 1950. When I came back to Hargrave to discuss my becoming a cadet, it was with Col. Camden in the spring of 1949. Col. Cosby took over in the fall of 1950, and was responsible for guiding the school through the process of rebuilding after the fire of 1950.

During the period that Dr. Sanford was president, a large "President's House" was built from a Sears & Roebuck kit on a site at approximately where the Cheatham Chapel now stands. Dr. Sanford's daughter, Eleanor (my aunt) was the first woman to attend Hargrave, as a day student living in the President's House. The Sears Kit house was used as the President's House until well into the 50's (or later).

Several of my uncles attended Hargrave (or CTS) and upon my father's graduation from the University of Richmond in 1929, he became the Athletic Director at Hargrave and Head Coach for everything for the next 13 years. I was born in Danville, and grew up on the campus of Hargrave until 1942, when my father became Athletic Director at Randolph-Macon in Ashland, VA. We lived in apartments in the Junior Department and the third floor of Sanford Hall, a big house which still sits on Main Street, and a school-owned house down in the "bottom" adjacent to the house built by Mr. Bell - the Head of Maintenance. My mother taught Math and English in the Junior School for several years.

It was while I was a cadet in 1950, that we had the big fire (it began during study hall, in a second floor area immediately below my room over what is now the Main Entrance - as it was then). That cold February 20th night, most of us lost everything we owned - most evacuated in our shirts, without the thought of grabbing a coat. Initially, everyone just thought is was "drill," but the size and speed of the fire made it impossible to go back and get much, if anything.
The Chatham townspeople really did themselves proud in the way they collected displaced cadets and took them to their homes to a nice bed, and gave them some warm clothes and a good breakfast the next morning. Almost everyone in Chatham mobilized to help. Many of us stayed with townspeople for several days until the school was officially closed for a period, and we were sent home. I don't remember exactly how long it was before we returned to occupy doubled up dormitories and the use of every available space to house cadets. Nonetheless, we finished the school year, had graduation in the auditorium in Sanford Hall, and during the summer, much work was done to rebuild the campus.

In fighting the fire, the Chatham water supply was pretty much exhausted, and the firefighters parked one or more pumper trucks down beside the swimming pool in the bottom, inside the circular drive, and pretty much pumped it dry, it being the only available water supply. Hargrave could very easily have died that night. Col. Cosby became the next president, and refused to let Hargrave die. He did wonders at raising money and getting assistance. I was in college at Wake Forest and not involved directly, but remained very aware of what was happening.

Taylor H. Sanford, Jr.
thsjr@juno.com
Class of '50

Hargrave, parents settle dispute

A settlement has ended a battle between the Hargrave Military Academy and an expelled student's parents who created a Web site to lambaste the Chatham prep school.

School officials and the parents' attorney refused to disclose terms of the settlement.

But both sides acknowledged the accord brings to an end a dispute that centered on a Web site, HargraveHasProblems.com, that Jerry and Melissa Guyles created after the school gave their son the boot.

The Web site, which a federal judge had temporarily shut down, was not up yesterday, and neither school officials nor attorneys for the Guyleses would say if it would appear online again.

"We can't talk about it," Hargrave President Wheeler Baker said. "I can't tell you anything."

The Guyleses started the Web site after the school expelled their son weeks before his scheduled graduation and refused to refund tuition payments. An Honor Council had found the son guilty of stealing.

After the Web site accused Baker of poor leadership, Hargrave and Baker sued the Holly Springs, N.C., couple for libel, and U.S. District Judge James C. Turk temporarily shut down the Web site.

That prompted the American Civil Liberties Union and the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression to weigh in on behalf of the couple, arguing that Turk's action violated the Guyleses' First Amendment right to free speech.

The two sides were to appear in U.S. District Court in Roanoke this week but reached a settlement after a closed-door mediation at the federal courthouse Friday, said Jane Glenn, attorney for the Guyleses.

She said both sides have agreed not to discuss terms of the settlement.

Rex Bowman
rbowman@timesdispatch.com
Richmond Times-Dispatch

The VD Hat

I watched the movie Annapolis last night and it brought back memories of my Midshipman days. I won an NROTC scholarship as did several other '49ers. I chose to go to the University of Southern California.

While on a summer training period at Corpus Christy, Texas, There was a drill competition between schools (the Junior class of all 52 schools in the NROTC program). Drill at USC, and I assume at the other schools, was plain vanilla. I told the other USC guys that I had attended Hargrave and knew some fancy drill steps.

We had about an hour to practice. I had been in the Best Drilled Platoon in 1946 and remembered how to do Double to the Rear, Oblique and To The Winds steps. These USC guys picked it all up in that hour of practice and we wowed them at the competition.

As I was the one barking out the commands, I was rewarded with being made Battalion Commander for the next phase of training. When you watch Annapolis, notice the rank stripes. The senior co-star company commander had two. I had SIX. Notice the blue rims on the sailor hats the midshipmen wear.

When on a summer cruise to Europe, we noticed that the local girls would not have anything to do with us. We found out later that the sailors told the girls that the blue rim on the hat meant that we had venereal disease.

Leon Rue
leonrue@adelphia.net
Band Company '49

The Great Raid of 1949

Chatham Hall in 1905 (photo courtesy of Chatham Hall)

I believe it was on a warm evening on a Wednesday night. Only certain cadets got town leave on Wednesday: Barrack's Commanders, Buglers, etc. I was one of these so was not present for the Great Raid itself.

Word spread among those not granted Town Leave that a raid on Chatham Hall was in the making. Coverals were the Uniform of the Day. About 50 to 100 cadets went to Chatham Hall through the woods led by Leon Story.

Now in those days the girls at Chatham Hall were almost kept as prisoners there. We almost never saw any sign of them. No cross school socializing was permitted.

When the cadets arrived, they entered the buildings and much screaming and excitement ensued. One cadet left his hat on a fire escape. Unfortunately, his name was in the hat. I believe that was James Tingler, who later in the escape phase of the raid was blinded by the headlights of Major Kinzer's '48 Chrysler and ran into a tree on the way down the hill. Broke his arm.

After chasing everyone off, Kinzer returned to the school and set up guards at all the entrances. Anyone in coveralls went on report. There was a wholesale reshuffle in the Officer Corps after this and many NCO's became clean sleeved again.

The Bull Ring in those days was in front of the main building and had a long line out there for quite a while.

Leon Rue
leonrue@adelphia.net
Band Company '49

Class reunions

Class of 1949 Pass in Review, 50th Reunion (photo courtesy of Leon Rue)

It is important to note the difference between Homecoming and a Class Reunion. Homecoming is what occurs on Hargrave's campus (and the golf course) each year, and it is for any and all alums. Your Class Reunion is just for the members of your class, and it can occur solely on campus, or both on and off campus (If you want to do more than simply meet on campus, then the "more" has to occur off-campus—usually in Danville).

Hargrave doesn't do much to put together Homecoming, and they do even less to insure a successful class reunion. I'm not complaining about Homecoming, just that it certainly isn't a gala event set up to really make someone want to come. I also don't have suggestions to make it better.

With regard to Homecoming, the best things Hargrave did in recent years were to eliminate the Saturday night thing at the country club, and replace it with the cocktail party at a hotel. Attendance had become abysmal at the country club because few people wanted to (1) put on a coat & tie; (2) pay for an overpriced, lousy meal; and (3) be trapped in a room listening to speeches. The cocktail party has much better attendance, and is a much better venue for the guys to meet and chat. We owe a great deal to Clay, as he was the one who eliminated the country club thing, and replaced it with the cocktail party.

As for whether or not a Class Reunion is successful, that's not up to Hargrave; it's strictly up to the Reunion Chairperson, and how much work he/she/they put into it. Hargrave likes to present the job as "easy". All they want you to do is have your signature go out on cards reminding your classmates that this is their reunion year.

Hargrave will give you mailing labels and even pay the postage. However, look at the dismal results that have produced over the years. How many times have you looked at the post-Homecoming issue of the Guidon, and seen pictures of a reunion class with only two
guys, or three guys, or less than ten guys. That ought to let you know how successful a class reunion will be when you use the "not-a-lot-of-legwork", "just mail out a card" Hargrave method.

In the first 39 years after I was graduated from Hargrave, my class had only one successful reunion, and it was semi-successful at that. The only reason we had a "fair" turnout is because one of my classmates sent out a "the class of 1963 challenges the class of 1964 to a baseball game" announcement. Still, we had to "borrow" from other classes to make up the two-team roster. Other than that, we had only used the "post card" plan, and I think the best turnout
under that strategy was maybe eight guys.

For our 40th Reunion, some of us finally got off our asses. Two other classmates and I formed a three-man Reunion Committee... and we worked our asses off. First, we used our 1963 Cadence to put together a real list of our class. Hargrave's list was missing some guys, and had the names of others who were never members of our class. Hargrave didn't have addresses for a lot of our classmates, and had "no longer good" ones for others. Second, we used lots of different (time consuming) ways to put together the most accurate address list we could... and discovered some dead bodies along the way. Third, we had numerous mailings to classmates: First to find out how much interest there was in doing something; second to find out what that something was—party, dinner, dance, panty raid on Chatham Hall, etc. Then we put together the meeting spaces and other stuff necessary to do what they guys wanted to do.

We kept mailing flyer to create a "buzz". We ended up with about 40-50 guys attending... not bad for people who, in some cases, hadn't been back in 40 years. And we had a blast.

So yes, you can be a "do-almost-nothing" Class Reunion chairperson, as Hargrave suggests, but you'll probably get "almost nothing" results. Or you can commit to doing it right—which means lots of work, but is the only chance you'll have of a truly successful class reunion.

One other secret I'll pass on. This may surprise you, but not every alum of Hargrave loved the place! I stressed from the beginning that Reunion was about classmates getting together to "catch up". That Homecoming was about seeing the school and getting hit up for donations. That if you didn't want to go to Chatham, you didn't have to; you could stay in Danville and party hardy. A lot of my classmates came to the Reunion because I had explained it that way.

One really needs 18-24 months to plan a reunion, because of the time involved in putting together an accurate mailing list, and making reservations for meeting rooms, etc. It is 10 months until Homecoming 2007, so you'd better start now if you're planning a 2007
reunion. We began 8 months before Homecoming; we could have accomplished a helluva lot more if we'd had 12 months.

One last thing: There are some in my class who presume I'll put myself through this again for our 45th or 50th Reunion. They would be the ones who are still drunk from our 40th!

Marc Axel
marc.axel@verizon.net
Class of '63

Maj. Gen. Caldwell on the killing of al-Zarqawi

Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell speaks to reporters from Baghdad

Army general: Al-Zarqawi alive when U.S. troops arrived
June 9, 2006

(CNN) -- U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, spoke with reporters at the Pentagon on Friday via a video link from Baghdad, Iraq. Here is a partial transcript.

CALDWELL: I'm glad to be here today to help clarify and further elaborate on anything that's gone on in the last 48 hours here in Iraq.

As we stated the other day, it's very, very important for everybody to understand, the elimination of Zarqawi is not going to stop the violence here in Iraq. I mean, clearly, as General Casey stated -- and he's correct -- it is an important step forward; it's a big one. But at the same time, we still have some tough times ahead of us.

The Iraqi people are going to assume a great responsibility here. The prime minister himself has stated, those who elected and put them into power are the same ones now that have to rid Iraq of the violence -- of the violence like Zarqawi.

And so, the people have a big part to play, but there's a government in place, duly elected. We've appointed the minister of defense, interior and national security. The prime minister now has a full cabinet. He's got a plan for Baghdad he's announced, a Baghdad security plan. And we're actually very optimistic as we move forward here, having set a lot of conditions that give them that opportunity to take greater control of their country with us working in support of them.

QUESTION: ... Could you give us a definitive word on how many people were killed in the airstrike and also give us the rationale for choosing to take Zarqawi out, kill him outright, rather than try to capture him and exploit the intelligence value -- capture him alive?

CALDWELL: OK. ... I just flew back in here about two hours ago from a location where I was getting some of the debriefing material to look at so I can better answer ... questions.

What I would tell you is I have not sat and talked to them and asked them exactly why the decision was made to attempt to take him utilizing an airstrike. I have to go back and ask that question. But clearly that was the decision that was made by the commander on the ground.

I would assume if we would had gone in there and tried to have captured him, that would have taken some kind of overwhelming force at that point in time, and that perhaps they didn't have it read.

But we'll have to check on that.

QUESTION: And the first question, General, how many people were killed in the attack? And who was the commander on the ground that you referred to?

CALDWELL: The attack casualties, I was asking again about today to help clarify that. I was told that they're still giving me the final confirmation.

As with any operation that ever occurs, first reports are never 100 percent correct, and we do continue to follow up to make sure we have established exactly what the facts were on the ground.

I do know from what they told me this afternoon that there were six people that were killed in that airstrike: three males, three females.

Different than what I read in the report yesterday, and so I had asked them to go back and double-check it one more time so that we can be definitively sure exactly what it was. But the report that they were reading today and the back brief with me was three males and three females.

QUESTION: Also can you give us the definitive word now: Do you have any information that Zarqawi initially survived the airstrike, that he was alive at any point in the hands of either Iraqi or U.S. forces? And can you tell us if one of the women was identified as one of Zarqawi's wives, or someone related to him?

CALDWELL: What I can tell you, again, from the debriefs this morning, which gave us greater clarity than what we had before, is Zarqawi, in fact, did survive the airstrike. The report specifically states that nobody else did survive, though, from what they know.

The first people on the scene were the Iraqi police. They had found him and put him into some kind of gurney/stretcher kind of thing, and then American coalition forces arrived immediately thereafter on-site. They immediately went to the person in the stretcher, were able to start identifying by some distinguishing marks on his body. They had some kind of visual facial recognition.

According to the person on the ground, Zarqawi attempted to, sort of, turn away off the stretcher. Everybody resecured him back onto the stretcher, but he died almost immediately thereafter from the wounds he'd received from this airstrike.

As far as anybody else, again, the report says nobody else survived.

QUESTION: To clarify then, you can confirm that U.S. troops themselves saw and can confirm to you that Zarqawi was alive; that is confirmed by U.S. troops on the ground.

And his attempt to turn away, would you describe that as an attempt, even in the state he was in, to escape at that point? Why did you -- was he strong enough for anyone to have to resecure him?

CALDWELL: Again, I'm reading the report; I did not talk specifically to any uniformed person.

But according to the report, we did, in fact, see him alive. There was some kind of movement he had on the stretcher. And he died shortly thereafter.

But, yes, it was confirmed by other than the Iraqi police that he was alive initially.

QUESTION: Did anyone render medical assistance to him? Did U.S. troops try to render medical assistance?

CALDWELL: Again, as I was reading the report, they went into the process to provide medical care to him.

QUESTION: How ... many minutes was Zarqawi alive after the bombing and before he eventually expired? And had he been shot?

CALDWELL: When I was there today it became apparent that this kind of question would be asked. We're trying to put that exact minutes together from the time that we saw the Iraqi police arrive on site to when the first coalition forces arrived on site and when they were able to report that they thought he had died there. And we'll provide that -- we can put that together. We just don't have it at the moment.

QUESTION: Sir, had he been shot?

CALDWELL: There was nothing that I saw in the report, but I'll go back and specifically ask that. But, no, was there nothing in the report that said he had received any wounds from some kind of weapons system like that.

QUESTION: Will there be an autopsy performed, number one?

And number two, was Zarqawi able to speak? Did he say anything either to the Iraqi police or the American soldiers?

CALDWELL: If he said something to the Iraqi police I'm not aware of it.

According to the reports by the coalition forces that arrived on-site, he mumbled a little something, but it was indistinguishable and it was very short.

QUESTION: Will an autopsy be performed?

CALDWELL: They, in fact, have done some analysis of his body. I'll have to make sure I have the proper definition of what was done with Zarqawi's body, but I know they have done some kind of analysis. And I'll get that for you.

QUESTION: Two quick questions. How can you be sure that Zarqawi died as a result of the wounds he received from the explosion without a formal autopsy?

And secondly, when you were cleaning him up did you have to Photoshop his face or anything to make him more recognizable for the picture?

CALDWELL: To take your second question first, yes, his face was very, very bloodied. And we made a conscious decision that if we were going to take photographs of him and make them available publicly like we did in the press conference that we were going clean him up.

Despite the fact that this person actually had no regard for human life, we were not going to treat him in the same manner. And so, they did clean his face up for the shots that were shown publicly.

As far as the autopsy goes, I know that there was, quote, "an autopsy" done, but I'll go back and make sure it was performed by the certified kind of person that we're supposed to have so we can call it an autopsy and make sure I'm exactly correct before I tell you that.

QUESTION: Did you have to digitally enhance the photos at all to clean him up to show him to the world?

CALDWELL: No. The photographs there are the straight photographs. We did no digital enhancement from this end.

QUESTION: What's going to happen to Zarqawi's body after the autopsy? Does it get returned to Jordan to his family? And do you have anything on the identity of the others killed in the strike? Was it six victims total, including Zarqawi, or was it seven?

CALDWELL: Right now we are in consultation with the government of Iraq as far as the disposition of Zarqawi's body. I know that dialogue has been going on since after -- shortly after the strike and he was brought under coalition forces' control.

So that's still being deliberated. They may have made a decision late here this afternoon. They had not as of noon today.

As far as the identification of the other personnel goes, I know they're still working it. The only two that have been positively identified at this point, of course, is Zarqawi and al-Rahman. And, again, those we were able to do through fingerprint identification. DNA results have still not come back as of noon today, and we're waiting for those results, though, too.

The other four, they are trying to attempt to identify. But as of noon today, again, we had not.

QUESTION: The report yesterday that a child was killed in that, are you saying that that's not the case right now?

CALDWELL: I'm saying I'm not certain at the moment. Because the initial report that I was provided in fact said there was a child, and then when I went through the after-action review today -- again, as with any military operation, you get the first reports in. They're fairly accurate, but they're never complete. And then you give follow-on work to establish exactly what the factual facts are.

And the report today says it was six people, three males and three females; no children.

QUESTION: You mentioned yesterday that there were 17 raids conducting simultaneously in and around Baghdad after Zarqawi was confirmed dead. Can you give us any more information on this treasure trove of documents and information you got? And how many people were detained as a result of those raids?

CALDWELL: We, obviously, did conduct those 17 raids, and then last night we conducted an additional 39 operations across Iraq; some directly related to the information we had received, others have not a direct relationship.

I can show you some pictures from one of the raids. We did get some digital photos back from one site where they went in and they found a cache of things.

QUESTION: How many people you detained as a result of these raids?

CALDWELL: I was going through the figures today. I saw two different numbers. One showed a detention of 25 personnel with one killed. Another one had a different number. But I'll give you that number, that's lower of the two, until I can confirm it: 25 detained, one KIA. That's not a friendly. That's an enemy.

QUESTION: I was unclear whether you said it was six including Zarqawi that was killed, or whether Zarqawi makes seven.

And secondly, was there any plastic surgery used to reconstruct his face, to make it more presentable before yesterday's news conference?

CALDWELL: That number is six, which includes Zarqawi. So it's not seven, but just six total.

There was none that I know of. I'll verify that by going back and asking the question, but I did not see it stated anywhere that, in fact, that had occurred, so I don't think it did. But I'll verify that for you.

QUESTION: General, everybody's asking the question how possibly could he have survived seemingly intact after two 500-pound bombs were dropped on that facility.

Was he outside? Was he thrown clear? Is there any visibility on why he was able to survive those two bombs?

CALDWELL: Well, that's the exact same question I asked today when I sat down with several Air Force officers, to include some that were associated with the whole operation.

And they assured me that there are cases when people, in fact, can survive even an attack like that on a building structure. Obviously, the other five in the building did not, but he did for some reason.

And we do not know -- and I've looked through the report -- as to whether or not it was because he might have been right outside or whatever. We just don't have that granularity.

QUESTION: Two questions: One, the $25 million tip reward, what's the latest thinking on whether anybody will receive that?

CALDWELL: I think what everybody needs to understand is that when the coalition forces put together the information that led to this strike the other day, it was a painstaking effort, very focused over about three weeks. And during that time period there's a lot of information that came in allowing us to build that puzzle that led us to that evening when we were able to ascertain that Zarqawi was in that -- and Rahman were in that building together.

The information we had was never somebody coming forth and saying, "At this time, at this place you will find Zarqawi in this building." That did not occur.

In fact, it was the result of some tremendous work by coalition forces, intelligence agencies, partners in our global war on terrorism that all came together feeding different parts and pieces to allow us to build that puzzle to establish the patterns, the methods, the techniques which allowed us to track and then monitor things, which led us to that building that night to find Zarqawi in there.

Note: Maj. Gen. Caldwell is a 1972 graduate of Hargrave Military Academy.