Washington Area Lunch - March 23, 2012
Pictures were submitted by Dave Carruth
3/23/12 Luncheon
Our March luncheon had to be moved to the 23rd vice the 9th to accommodate the midshipman’s spring break. There were 32 local area classmates and spouses plus 6 mid’n, their company officer and CPO from the 24th Company as follows:
Warren and Nancy Graham
Bill and Elizabeth Reed
Bob and Helga Smith
Peg Lee
Bob and Judy Flood
Bob Ghormley
Rosemary Hogg
Charlie and Jean Mertz
Tony and Patty Duncan
Roger Carlquist
Charlie and Marguerite Heid
Don Buhrer
Dave and Betty Carruth
Bill Bass and Carol Manganaro
Cab and Libby Davis
John and Dolly Rasmussen
Jim and Mary Beggs
Bill Bartow
Jack and Louise Conable
From the Academy we had:
CAPT Jason Reitz USMC
AOC Sarah DeKarske USN
Mid’n 1/c Caitlin Morris from Pennsylvania
Mid/n 1/c Jon Teague from North Carolina
Mid’n 2/c Christopher Gallardo from California
Mid’n 2/c Parker Summers from Michigan
Mid’n 3/c Ryder Ashcraft from Idaho
Mid’n 3/c Samuel Oat-Judge from Connecticut
I believe I have them correctly identified in the pictures but am not absolutely certain about Oat-Judge and Summers.
The mid’n were, as always, impressive making us feel good about the Academy but also making us conscious of how different things are than they were for us.
CAPT Reitz will be returning to the Corps in May and has been selected for Maj. CPO DeKarske will be with the company through May of next year. She will be advancing to warrant officer when she goes to her next assignment.
The mid’n each gave us a short insight into their lives and one thing which came through repeatedly from them and their officer and CPO was that they view the company and the Academy as their “family” and say they are forming very strong bonds for the future. The third class, now having Wardroom privileges, commented on how much they appreciate it. The first class now get their fleet assignments before Christmas leave. Teague is going to Marine air and I believe Morris is also going to the Corps but I don’t know the specifics. Morris wrote a poem, which she read to us-
Thank you for having us here today
For a lovely lunch and an afternoon away,
And a venture outside those Naval Academy walls,
And the wretched—I mean delicious! —meal in King Hall
Which I’m sure was just as bad when you were here,
because some things will never change I fear.
Speaking of things that have stayed the same,
Midshipmen are still pretty much insane.
But at least we have women now to keep the men in line,
‘cause we are all angels and so well refined.
And people still argue about who had the last real plebe summer,
And every year it’s such a bummer!
Because everyone knows that to this date,
The last class with a real plebe summer was the class of 1948.
But even though we may have it a little easier here these days,
Our classes are connected in so many ways
through our commitment to service and preserving tradition,
and fulfilling our personal moral, mental, and physical missions.
Thank you for all of your support for 24,
for without you, we would be very poor.
Thank you for sharing your stories and tales,
and showing us that the Navy and Marine Corps will always prevail.
Thank you for everything, your class is absolutely charming.
Oh, yeah and one final thing: Go Navy, Beat Army!
It is interesting to note that the plebes are no longer permitted to join us for lunch, the reason given that academics take precedence. Too bad because I always enjoyed getting their take on the Academy.
Things were a bit more rushed than is normal for our luncheons because the midshipmen had to get back the Bancroft.
In case any of you outside this area are planning to visit here the Army/Navy Country Club is undergoing a major face lift and parking is a mess. We are hoping that the situation will be rectified by the time we are there again in Sept.
Our next luncheon will be on May 11th at Pirate’s Cove. Join us if you can.
2605 CAPT Jason Reitz USMC, Warren Graham
2611 Mid/n 3/c Ryder Ashcraft
