Have a Wonderful Holiday Season and New Year!
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
U/^ $*tufe ]/*>***, $e<%\/<lce,f L1<0yh>o/i', ^4^d- J}<ed<ic*JU><>4~ cz ^6fe &\. TheALUMNI official message board of the University of Texas NROTC Alumni Foundation Volume 12, Issue 4 December 2007 SEPTEMBER 2007 UT NROTC ALUMNI REUNION The 2007 UT NROTC Alumni Reunion was once again a wonderful experience for all who attended - one of several special events, some with very special remembrances. On Thursday and Friday, 13 WWII Alumni and one alum's widow gathered at the Drury Inn & Suites to participate in an oral histories recording program being conducted by the Institute in American Mili tary Histories of the UT Center for American History and work on an update to their annual of 1943. Friday began with our annual Navy-Marine golf tournament - Bob Brown shot a hole in one. Best of all, the players contributed $240 to Midshipman's Foundation Fund. That evening, over 60 alumni and guests, from the WWII era up to present day, gath ered at the Austin Country for a wonderful dinner with our host, Rusty Allman. A number of WWII Alumni and two Alumni widows honored those others attending with their presence. The following morning, the Alumni Foundation Board met followed by the General Business Meeting kicking off at 1000 in Welch Hall 2.304 (see the Alumni Foundation Board Meeting Highlights on page 4). The highlights of the General Business Meeting were the thoughts shared by UT President, William Powers (a former Navy line officer), the status of the Battalion presented by the PNS CAPT Salazar and MIDN 1/C Barber, and the presentation of 10 scholarships totaling $13,000 and two swords to members of the Battalion as follows: SSgt David Snipes $2000 Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Scholarship MIDN 2/C Drew Anderson $2000 Fleet Admiral Ernest King Scholarship MIDN 1/C Claudia Alday $2000 Admiral David Glasgow Farragut Scholarship GySgt Chris Reithmann $1000 LtGen D'Wayne Gray/MajGen Fred Haynes/Class of '52 Scholarship MIDN 3/C Karin Pooser $1000 H. Malcolm MacDonald Scholarship MIDN 2/C Byrne Martin $1000 UT NROTC Alumni Foundation Scholarship MIDN Martin Scales $1000 UT NROTC Alumni Foundation Scholarship MIDN 1/C Danielle Stone $1000 UT NROTC Alumni Foundation Scholarship ( MIDN 3/C Andrew Lewis $1000 UT NROTC Alumni Foundation Scholarship MIDN Andrew Warner $1000 UT NROTC Alumni Foundation Scholarship MIDN 1/C Patrick Barber LtGen D'Wayne Gray & Class of '52 Sword MIDN 1/C Nick Moreno RADM John Hubbard Alvis Sword The meeting concluded with the announcement of the 2008 Reunion date (8 Nov), and all adjourned to the loading docks area (continued on page 2) Corner Quote Have a Wonderful "I never trust a fighting man Holiday Season who doesn't smoke or drink." and New Year! -ADM William F ■■Bull" Halsey, Jr. Volume 12, Issue 4 December 2007 Alumni Foundation Officers SEPTEMBER 2007 UT NROTC ALUMNI REUNION Fred Moon (1970) (continued from page 1) President Edwin W. "Ed" Mergele (1975) Vice President for BBQ with all the fixin's and beverage of choice being provided by Smokey Joe's. At the Spencer Smith (1973) end of the BBQ, Bob Brown (who shot a hole in one Fri at the golf tournament), conducted a Secretary Dan O'Neil (1980) silent auction of some very nice memorabilia. Two footballs, one autographed by Mack Brown, Treasurer and one by Colt McCoy & Mack Brown, brought in $8,000. Several other items, including an Robert W. "Bob" Looney (1962) old Crows Nest sign and a number of historical photographs of University past, brought in Editor/Publisher James D. Brotherton (1968) another approximately $4,000. With other contributions/pledges, the total contributions Historian brought in during the weekend for the Midshipman's Foundation was over $23,000. Later, over Alumni Foundation 40 Alumni and family gathered together at Memorial Stadium to watch the Longhorns play Board of Directors Kansas State. James D. Brotherton (1968) W. Robert Brown (1952) R.Glenn Looney (1961) Turn to the center section of this month's newsletter to see photographs of this year's Reunion Robert W. "Bob" Looney (1962) activities. Want to see more? Go to our website at utnrotcalum.org. Edwin W. "Ed" Mergele (1975) Fred Moon (1970) Dennis Olson (1969) Dan O'Neil (1980) September Reunion General Business Meeting Highlights Spencer Smith (Secretary) (1973) Michael Waldron (1967) David Wells (1969) The meeting was called to order in Welch Hall 2.304. The color guard presented the colors and the assemblage recited the pledge of allegiance. Ex-Officio Members 1 The meeting opened with the introduction of UT President, William Powers. A former line CAPT Gabriel R. Salazar, USN (1979) officer in the U.S. Navy, President Powers spoke about how his time in the service trans Professor of Naval Science formed his life - he got to see the world and see the importance of leadership and ethics. Jack Ritter (1955) Navy League Liaison President Powers gave a brief overview of the main initiatives in process at UT. He closed by affirming his support for the UT NROTC and the men and women in the armed services. Regional Directors ■ Introductions included the World War II Alumni, Class of '57 attendees, and attending flag Ray Adams (1980) DFW (H) 972-596-7188 officers, LtGen Howell and RADM Koenig. Keys Curry (1958) ■ The Alumni Foundation Board members, the Midshipman's Foundation Board members Houston (H) 713-783-8185 Robert Hancock (1967) and their Advisory Directors, and Gifts Committee Chairman were recognized by the West (H) 619-586-0036 Alumni Foundation President for their dedicated service. K.J. Moore (1964) ■ Alumni Foundation Board members Bob Brown, Jim Brotherton, Glenn Looney, and Ed Eastern (H) 703-759-3327 Rudy Kruger (1963) Mergele were approved by the general membership for another term of continued service. Central (H) 402-331-6557 1 The Alumni in attendance individually recounted their UT NROTC experiences, military Henry Harper (1965) Mountain (H) 208-522-7776 service, subsequent civilian life careers and provided lessons learned for all to consider. ■■Following an overview of the planned reunion activities, the following reports were Midshipman Foundation Directors presented: Clay W.G. Fulcher (1955) - Dan O'Neil provided the Treasurer's Report. Robert L.Gartner (1965) - Max Miller and Weldon Koenig presented the Midshipman's Foundation Report. John Hitchcock (1965) J. Weldon Koenig (1958) - Bob Brown provided the Gifts Committee report. Max Miller (1957) - Ed Mergele provided an update on the Active Membership Campaign. - Dave Wells provided an update on the Crow's Nest Initiative. Midshipman Foundation Advisory Directors - Fred Moon gave an update on the Unit History Project and the ongoing effort by Donald S. Inbody the UT Center for American History Institute for Military History to capture the Jefferson D. Howell (1961) stories of our World War II Alumni. Chairman, Gifts Committee ■ CAPT Salazar and Midshipman Barber gave a status report on the UT NROTC program and W. Robert Brown (1952) Battalion activities. 1 The presentation of 10 scholarships and 2 swords to members of the Battalion was made by Printing of the UT NROTC various individuals. Alumni Log generously donated 1 The date for next year's Reunion was announced - 8 November 2008 (Baylor game) by Raytheon Company McKinney, Texas V o l u m e 1 2 , I s s u e 4 D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 7 President's Corner Fred Moon (1970) If you didn't make the Reunion this year, you missed a great one! Well, except for the game... but a number of us die-hard fans did weather the storm to the end! The Reunion article provides a good recap of all of the activities that took place during the Reunion. We were very fortunate to have the President of the University, Bill Powers, speak to us at the General Membership Business meeting. We plan to continue to frequently provide an opportunity for him to get together with fellow former naval service officers. Class of '58 - now is the time to start planning your 50th Reunion activities. Contact Ed Mergele or myself for any assistance. I can't tell you how rewarding it has been working with the WWII Alumni/widows and Dr, Tom Hatfield, Echo Uribe, and David Zepeda of the Institute for Military History Studies of the UT Center for American History on the oral histories project. Check out their new website feature "The University of Texas Naval ROTC Oral History Collection, Navy Veterans in World War II" at http://www.cah.utexas.edu/museums/military_reference.php?ref=navalrotc_intro. The best part is we're not done yet - the Institute and your Alumni Foundation are endeavoring to continue the project by building on the interviews in Austin and other major locations. But we will need some financial support. If you can contribute to this great effort, please, contact me at [email protected] or if you don't have email, call and leave a message at 817-681-1471. If you are interested in working on the project, please, contact me also. Please, pay particular attention to your Vice-President's column. He's working hard to get our membership better networked - both to reconnect Alumni to revive social and professional friendships, and to collectively and individually support the Battalion. We've made big steps under his leadership of the Membership Campaign - it's your opportunity now to join the party. To those who have benefited from the Foundations in the past - all we ask is for you to help get your classmates get reconnected with the alumni membership. It's always a great time catching up with fellow UT NROTC Alumni.