Today is 7/29/12 and I am just starting this column, which is due on the 31st.  Betty and I have had a house full of family and it was wonderful; however, back to business.

Let’s begin with some nostalgia.  Sometime at the end of last year one of you sent me a picture but I cannot remember who and I have lost the accompanying letter.  If that person will identify himself I want to give him credit for this item.  I sent the picture to Chick Rauch 6th Co. and asked if he could add to the identification of the people in the picture.  He replied on 1/23/12 with the following:  I suspect that you are aware that this is a picture of the Class of 48 men who attended a reunion of our Submarine School Class (that graduated in June, 1950) in November 2002 in San Antonio, TX.  The trouble is that I have been ashamedly terrible in keeping up with classmates and shipmates through the years.  I have blown the picture up and labeled the ones that I am relatively sure about.  However, here is list of all of the attendees at that reunion.  Perhaps you might know somebody who could take the ’48 folks out of that list and pair them up with the picture.  If I were a betting man, I would say that the person on my left in the yellow jacket is Herb Kline 12th Co. , the one between him and Angus is Kevin Hanlon 2nd Co., and the one in the yellow sweater in the front row is Jack Klinefelter 5th Co., however I am not sure of those.  Craig Olson 15th Co. agrees with Chick’s guess about those not labeled. 
          Here is the list of attendees:
          2nd Co.     Alford, Zeb & Joan
                          Carroll Kent
          3rd. Co.     Early, Paul & Violet
          14th Co.    Fogarty, Frank & Dottie
                           Greene, Wally & Suzy
                           Grojean, Chuck & Joanie
         2nd. Co.     Hanlon, Kevin & Joanne
                           Howe, Tom
                           James, Jo (wife of J.W. James 21st Co)
        19th Co.       Jensen, John & Bev
                           Johnson, Pat & Ann Childs
                           Keating, Ed & Pat
        12th Co.      Kline, Herb & Patricia
        5th Co.        Klinefelter, Jack
                           Lambertson, Tom & Francelle
                           Mathews, Matt & Lenora
       7th Co.         McDonald, Angus & Mavis
                           McKenzie, Mac & Marge
                           Murrill, Bob & Jeanne
                           Nockold, Lou and Sally
      22nd Co.       Parish, George & Jeanne
      6th Co.          Rauch, Jr., Chick
      4th Co.          Rawlins, Bob & Catherine Curtis
      12th Co.        Styer, Bob & Judy
                          Thomas, Bob & Nancy
                          Vaughan, Jack & Thelma
                          Wells , Mase & Les
                          Wessinger, Dave & Gini
     14th Co.         Wilkie, John & Joan
     19th Co.          Zelov, Randy & Josie

    
Back row, left right-UNK, Randy Zelov, Zeb Alford, John Wilkie, Frank Fogarty;
Middle row, Chick Rauch,Herb Kline, Kevin Hanlon, George Parish, Angus McDonald, UNK;
Front row, Bob Rawlins, Paul Early, Jack Klinefelter, John Jensen.

Scribe’s note: Chick, you need not be ashamed about not keeping up with Classmates and Shipmates.  I’m certain we are all in that same boat.  I know I am.  Many years ago in Norfolk the postman handed me a stack of Christmas cards and commented, “you certainly have a lot of friends all over the world.”  Not so anymore for we have lost track of so many of our friends who are still alive.

Since I have been unable to identify all 15 of the ‘48ers in the picture would you readers jump in and fill in the holes.

Phil Rogers 9th Co. has given me the following memorial:

Patsy and Phil Rogers report the death of their youngest son, William Irl Rogers who was inurned in the Arlington National Cemetery Columbarium with full military honors on 13 June.  He died on 14 February 2012 following several years of poor health.  Will served eight years with the Seabees attaining the rate of Builder 2/c.  He is survived by his daughter Jennifer, who is presently serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, and a son, Nicholas.  Will was accomplished in all phases of construction and spent his working years in it.  His hobby and passion was duck, goose and dove hunting along with his total knowledge of every type of salt and fresh water fishing.  Most importantly, he was a great father and son.

Speaking for the Class Phil, our condolences.

Before he passed on Bob Ghormley 11th Co. wrote this report/request.          

Time has passed and for our increasing needs it is time to again build up our Flower/24th Company funds.  Today we have a little over $5,000 left (Scribe’s note: this was as of April 2012).  So far this year we have spent over $1,100.00 on just the deaths of classmates and their wives.  I expect to see this number increase with time.  Our last drive was 6 years ago and then we raised over $23, 300.00 from the generosity of 190 of our classmates.

A short review of highlights of where the money went shows that we spent $2,000 for 2 chairs, one in honor of Sumner Moore 20th Co. and the other in honor of Raymond Lochner 6th Co.  We also spent $2,400 on funeral flowers and $12,000 for charities in honor of classmates.  We spent another $2,000 to help the 24th company update it’s wardroom, and to pay for meals when the midshipman and their Co. Officer and enlisted representative join us for lunches to tell us how they perceive things are going at the Academy.  Finally, when our secretary inherited the laptop the class bought for Sumner we spent $1,000 to clean it up, install software updates and insure all was functioning correctly.  That expenditure also covered postage to send items from the secretary to classmates.

Please make your checks payable to “Class of 48 U.S. Naval Academy” and mail to CDR Charles Mertz 13th Co., 7200 Matthew Mills Rd., McLean, VA  22101

An email from Bill Small 1st Co., dated 7/18 says:

I sat next to Jack Klinefelter 5th Co. and his daughter, Teri, at the class luncheon today, and they were not aware of Dan Deibler’s 24th Co. death here last week:  as a matter of fact, there has not yet been a local obit.  Jack is at the point where he is unable to use a computer or read email, and when I mentioned the great value of your advisories, his daughter asked if she could be included in your distributions about Jack’s classmates, so she could pass them on.  Jack is able to care for himself, but cannot drive, pay bills, make change, etc.  He is in a therapy program for walking and balance.  Our luncheon was down to 8 today, with Red Holt in rehab following a broken hip and several widows on travel. (Scribe’s note: I have added Teri to the distribution.  There are several other children who are doing the same for their fathers.)

This is a good place to tell you whom we have lost since the last column. 
                   Classmates;
                   24th Co.  Deibler, D.T.    7/12/12
                   4th Co.     Kyros, P.N.      7/10/12
Our condolences to their families.

An email from Doug Lawler 14th Co. dated 7/17

For those of you who expressed an interest in the Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado:  We received a loud banging on our door at about one AM by the local police telling us we were under mandated evacuation and had to leave the premises right away.  We were not in immediate danger but the fire was close enough that the fire could “skip” and start a fire in our area so we did not argue but called the son who was in a safe area to come pick us up.  This took place before the Mountain Shadow area caught on fire and burned the area.  We “visited” Greg, our son, for three days before our home was deemed safe to return so we are in our house and it received no damage and no burglary damage.  Some of the evacuees were burglarized while on mandatory evacuation so I guess we were lucky to have received no fire damage and were not robbed while we were away from the house.  The fire was very scary and did a huge amount of damage.  As of the present, the fire is still burning but the fire fighters are doing a great job containing the fire.  Some of the damage was intensified because of dry vegetation and dead trees and bushes.  A good rain would have been a god send.  Thanks to you who thought of us during the fire.  Help those who lost every thing.   Doug and Arria.

Scribe’s note:  Fires, draught, derecho, (we were without power for three days), flooding, and the hurricane season isn’t up to speed yet.  Mother nature is not being particularly kind to us so far this year.

An email from Harry Belflower 2nd Co. dated 7/15 says-

I had lunch, as usual, Friday with Kevin Hanlon 2nd Co., Bob Smith 18th Co., Bob Flood 18th Co. and Phil Bolger 22nd Co. at the grill at the USNA golf course.  The O’Club restaurant is closed for the summer while the kitchen is upgraded.  All attendees were in their usual good spirits and cynical of most things modern.  Me too.  Change is never accepted readily.  Traditions die hard. I and the others are pretty much “old school” and do not go along willingly with the liberals.  I am concerned about Phil.  While he could easily out live us all, he is not physically in good shape.  Must say that he does not complain.

Scribe’s note: at our age almost all of us have some physical or other problems so I’m impressed that Phil is getting out for lunch with friends of long standing.  I asked Harry to carry a camera with him to the luncheons and send me some pictures.

Related to the above comment, an email from Tom Hayward 21st Co. dated 4/10:  I had earlier advised that there was about a 50-50 chance that Peggy and I would be attending the 65th.  I now have to lower that possibility to about 20-80.  Peggy’s arthritis is increasingly a factor that we have to consider when long trips are contemplated.  Right now, she just could not take the travel grind, plus all the other appropriate activities that will make for a great reunion.  It pains both of us to have to double up on our druthers, but that’s what “old age” seems to be about in large measure.

A note from Roger Carlquist 19th Co. today says he is contacting a number of Classmates who have indicated they will attend but still have not made reservations.  We are still 10 months out so a lot could happen.  I hope most of you will be able to join us.  Betty and I plan to be there but we don’t have far to go