Starting with this column I will always note the date of submission at the beginning. This one will be “in the mail “ Dec. 6 th. I hope to give you some feeling for the time frame of the news contained in the column.

   As of this writing our football team is doing quite well under the new coach but the reports I’m receiving say our attendance at the home games is, shall we say minimal. Part of that is of course due to the late starting time which, at this time of year, insures a return to Washington via the beltway in the dark. I don’t drive after sunset anymore and some others feel the same way. Aside from that those who have attended have seen some very exciting football games even won in overtime. The late starts are dictated by our TV contract. Warren Graham 2 nd Co. provides the following information, Roger Carlquist 19 th Co. looks after getting and paying for the spot where we have our tailgate, Phil Rogers 9 th Co. provides the money from the pot he controls with the Alumni Association, (see following). We also rent a tent which is paid for out of the same pot. Roger Carlquist 19 th Co. brings the tent and sets it up and it stays up throughout the season. The 24 th Co. mid’s have made us a Class of ’48 banner which is flown on the tent. We used to have a large group sitting together, but that has dropped down to about six couples. Some of our classmates have moved over to the Mid. side (Blue side) to get out of the sun. The 24 th Co. uses our spot for a cook out after the game. They bring their grill, tables, all kinds of food, some of the parents come and bring food, they have soft drinks, maybe some beer, but that is controlled very tightly. They have a small tent where they change from their uniforms into scratching clothes. Most all of the company shows up for a time. They have a treasury, a supply officer (mid) and they really put out a lot of food. Every person in the Co. kicks in some money to help with the food, very well organized. They are really quite happy to use our spot and it is working out quite well thanks to our liaison officer Charlie Heid who puts in a lot of effort to make it happen.

   At a recent game the following were in attendance:

     Carolyn and George Ball 21 st Co, and their son.

     Helga and Bob Smith 18 th Co.

     Patty and Tony Duncan 4 th Co.

     Bob Flood 18 th Co.

     Amante and Roger Carlquist 19 th Co.

     Marion and Don Buhrer 5 th Co.

     Nancy and Warren Graham 2 nd Co.

We all bring some dish to nibble on, Patty with her super cakes, Don with his outstanding crab dip fresh out of the Severn and a lot of other great finger food.

Since I mentioned the “pot” above here a final tally from Phil Rogers 9 th Co. on the gate and Don Buhrer 5 th Co. on the reunion:

     The gate- Total expenses $77,092

       Class contributions $70,867

       Shortage     <$6,225> made up from old ’48 Project Fund

     The remaining balance is $6,551

     The reunion-We had 210 paid attendees each having paid $300. The total expenses amounted to $278.53/person leaving a surplus of $4,508 which goes into the Class of ’48 account at the Alumni Association.

   To both of you, Well Done (Bravo Zulu if that is still the correct hoist.)

A note on 3 November from Jim Myrick 3 rd Co. – Seldom do I write but recently talked with Nancy Dunn, wife of my 3 year roommate Syd Dunn 3 rd Co. and learned that he fell in Feb. and as a result has a severe head injury that has affected his short term memory and he spends most of his time in a nursing home in Greenville NC. However Nancy brings him home often and their three sons are most attentive.

   Jim also reports that Eleanor has beaten a cancer scare and is doing well. I fight my back problem of 10 years but am mostly functional. We too are blessed in that we have three daughters nearby.

Let me make a correction to the October Shipmate. Jeanne McKinley noted that I showed Mac’s birth date incorrectly and told me that the correct date was 17 August 1922. I had copied the birth date of M.M. McKinley. For those of you who ever search for birth dates you have to go back to the 1999 Register since the later Registers don’t list birth dates (privacy they say). Thank you Jeanne. Since most of us were born ’23 thru ’26 that makes Mac one of the oldest Classmates. I’ve never taken the time to determine who is the oldest one amongst us? Do any of you know off the top of your heard? While we are at it, who is the youngest? We’ll buy him the proverbial bottle of Brandy to be held until his demise then passed to the next youngest in line until the last man standing (or lying down) drinks it, hopefully sharing it with his wife.

I have no idea why this comes to mind right now, but sometime back I asked you wives to take pen in hand and give me your observations of what it has been like to be a Navy wife/mother over the last 60 plus years. I’ve had some promises but so far nothing in writing. None of us are getting any younger so please document the distaff side.

A quick note for those of you without email. Ann and Boyd Sibert 9 th Co. have moved. Their new address is 148 Morrings Park Drive #L303, Naples, FL 34105. Their phone number remains the same.

We are all slowing down in-so-far as foreign travel is concerned but on 22 October Rosemary Hogg returned from 5 weeks in Italy. She and Gordon 9 th Co. lived there while he was assigned from 1961 to 1964 as the first U.S. Naval Liaison Officer to the Italian Naval Academy in Livorno. They returned periodically to visit friends and sight-see. Rosemary has been back several times since Gordon’s death, and on this latest trip she took a 4-week class in Italian at Rome to improve her language skills.

   From her recounting, the part of that class which intrigued me was the fact that the students all spoke different languages and as a result, if they wished to talk with each other, they had to do so in Italian. All students were given a written and oral test on arrival and then placed in a class corresponding to their level of competence.

   Rosemary stayed at a convent in the center of Rome, a stone’s throw from Piazza Navona, and within easy walking distance to and from the school. On weekends she visited with friends in Rome, Livorno, and Milano. It was hard to come home. She especially misses the gelato!

My comment, several members of our Class, Sumner Moore (deceased) 20 th Co. and Gordon Hogg (deceased) 9 th Co.being examples, were given what appeared to be excellent career assignments such as Liaison Officer to a foreign military school and then the Bureau forgot them. Even some of the people assigned to our own Academy as instructors were “forgotten.”

OK, let’s do some more history. This input is from Don Harvey 5 th Co. who retired in 1978 at the end of his tour as the Director of Naval intelligence

Class of 1948—Intelligence Special Duty Specialty

The office of Naval Intelligence was officially organized in 1882, headed by a lieutenant in the Bureau of Navigation in a tiny office in what is now known as the Executive Office building. The mission assigned by the Secretary of the Navy was to collect and record “such information as may be useful…in time of war as well as in peace.” Over the years, the duties of the office centered on collecting and reporting information of foreign navies, including assigning “naval attaches” to a number of countries. Counterintelligence was also an important function. The duties of naval intelligence and its relation to the rest of the Navy were eventually delineated in the late 1940s and the restricted line Special Duty Intelligence category for regular officers (1630) was created late 1940s, and the restricted line Special Duty Intelligence category for regular officers (1630) was created. Less than 60 regulars had been so designated by 1950. Well over a thousand were serving by 1970s.

  
Criteria for the selection of regular and reserve line officers for intelligence were performance and sea duty. With the Korean and Vietnam wars adding to the continuing Cold War pressures, intelligence specialists were assigned down to the squadron and larger ship level. At the same time, the value of intelligence collection and analysis to current and planned operations came to be appreciated, especially in the submarine and aviation communities. Three of the Class of 1948, Dick Bates (deceased) 7 th Co, DonHarvey 5 th Co. and Bob Pyle 9 th Co. became intelligence specialists. Initially there were no flag intelligence regulars, but the specialty eventually was allowed two or three rear admirals. Two on joint duty in later years achieved four stars.

   In addition to the Navy’s creation of the intelligence career field, the Defense Department movement toward unification and establishment of joint functional and command organizations affected the naval intelligence corps. A large number of additional intelligence billet requirements developed as well as a considerable expansion of possible duty locations. With the formation of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 1962, much of ONI’s responsibility for politico-military intelligence was transferred to the new agency. Operational intelligence dedicated to the deployed forces continued to grow in importance as the Soviet naval threat expanded. Soviet weapons advances underlined the vital nature of scientific and technical intelligence.

   Technological advances and marked improvements in communications impacted intelligence at least as much as they did the total naval service. Area knowledge and sub-specialties within the specialty of intelligence grew in importance. Sophistication in the exploitation of electronic signals and the use of imagery, especially that derived from space, substantially changed the practice of naval intelligence while also creating volume management and security challenges.

   During our time on active duty, the demands of a stressful and increasingly complicated world required the Navy to create a larger and more intensely trained intelligence force. The 1882 basic mission to “collect and record such information as may be useful” remained fundamentally unchanged.

   My comment, these history lessons prove to me more and more how up to our ears the Class was in the huge changes which took place while we were on active duty. And so it continues. Thanks Don.

As with each column I must regretfully report the passing of Classmates since the last issue of Shipmate. The holiday seasons always seem to be rough. These are friends who have “gone home” since the last publication:

Anderson, G.A. 8 th Co. 6/16/26-11/26/08

Ayers, W.R. 20 th Co. 4/10/25-11/7/08

Beaver, H.O. non-grad ?-11/24/08

Early, P.J. 3 rd Co. 7/18/25-10/24/08

Gildard, J.H. 4 th Co. 8/14/25-10/24/08

Henry, A.G. 24 th Co. 1/25/24-9/5/08

Pendergrass, H.P. non-grad. ?-9/21/08

Wellons, A.G. 14 th Co. 12/9/24-10/6/08

Our condolences are extended to all the families. We shall miss our friends.

After I published Rube Prichard’s 20 th Co. obit I received the following which I think you will enjoy, it was addressed to his new daughter-in-law, Jin.

Your father, Reuben, volunteered in our Reach Out and Read program at Inova Pediatric Center. He was a great volunteer and loved reading to the children. Even though he spoke no Spanish, he would try to read to the children in their native language and, of course, messed things up. The kids absolutely loved it! They always enjoyed having him in the waiting room. Our staff described him as a great big teddy bear. I was saddened when your Dad had to stop volunteering because of his health. He was a great man and I will always remember him. All the best. Joan Wabschall, RN, MS

When I asked Willie Ayers son, Steve, about funeral arrangements he responded, “Dad made arrangements to be cremated with his ashes scattered at sea. He was insistent that no other arrangements be made.”

Willie didn’t leave any loose ends.

Finally, a note from Helen Orr in late Oct said, “Wanted you to know the girls and I bought Wylie a chair in the alum hall. Haven’t received notice as to location except that it will be with others in 1948. Also, received receipt of tax donation.”

   As the Aussie’s say—good on ya Helen and girls.