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2008 May 79 9th Company
Plaque Dedication Newport, RI The Aftermath |
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I had the great honor
and pleasure of promoting classmate and friend, Dan
"Traps" Cloyd, to Rear Admiral last Thursday in my
office. Thought you'd appreciate a couple of
photos from the event. A small ceremony with only family
and a close family friend in attendance. My folks in the
WH Mess (all Navy, I might add) made him a pretty sweet
cake to commemorate the occasion. Another 79er in the
flag ranks - I predict he'll go far! Trust all's well
with you and family. All the best, Ray Spicer |
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2008 May 79 9th Company
Plaque Dedication Newport, RI The Aftermath |
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Dear Class of ’79:
Beginning last winter, our classmates
undertook to fund the restoration of an old sign in the
yard of the Newport Rhode Island Elks Lodge, in
partnership with the Elks. 15 June was the culmination
of that project, with several of us from 9th Company
traveling to Newport to celebrate Flag Day and the
unveiling of the new sign with our new friends at Elks
Lodge 104. In attendance were Doug Patton, Gary Stahl,
Don Brummett, Scott Pursley and Jeff Lemmons.
As background, USNA was moved to this location in 1861,
the former site of the Atlantic House Hotel, in central
Newport. The reason for the move was that the Union
feared the Rebs might capture the Naval Academy in
Annapolis, MD. The USS Constitution boarded all the mids
then sailed to Newport to relocate them at the Atlantic
House Hotel. Once they arrived, all the upperclassmen
were immediately drafted into the wartime Navy. The
plebes remained. USNA operated here until the war was
over. The Atlantic House Hotel was torn down and
replaced with a beautiful Victorian home, which is now
the domain of the Elks Lodge 104. Our mission was to
replace the sign commemorating the site, since it was in
very poor condition.
What was most rewarding was the seriousness with which
these local citizens treated Flag Day and the
partnership with us. There were emotional speeches about
the history of the American Flag, a color guard
presentation by local Sea Cadets, a Flag presentation by
a Boy Scout Troop, a very professional "retiring" of the
Flag by high school kids in Sea Cadet uniform, the
singing of old patriotic songs. (I'm embarrassed to
admit that I didn't remember all of the words).
Our classmate, and my former roommate Admiral Jeff
Lemmons, spoke of the special naval heritage of USNA and
Newport. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse spoke of the
maritime heritage of Rhode Island. It was truly a
Rockwellian experience, and one that filled us with
appreciation not only for our country's history, but
also for the good people of Newport.
I suspect you may feel all this sounds corny, but the
whole experience was very moving and totally rewarding.
It was also a great excuse for us 79ers to get together
once again.
Annie and I are looking forward to next year’s 30th
reunion!
Regards, Greg Costello ‘79
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2008 May 79 9th Company
Plaque Dedication Newport, RI |
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Our own Greg Costello has been very
busy with an interesting project that is coming to
fruition this June. As many of you know, Greg is an
avid sailor. A while back, when on a sailing trip to
Newport, RI, Greg and Annie came across a sign in front
of the Newport Elks Lodge that commemorated it as the
location for USNA during the Civil War. As you can see
in the photo, the sign is kind of worn down. Greg has
taken a collection from our classmates, and has
coordinated with the Elk's Lodge to craft a new sign
that will be installed in a ceremony on 15 June 2008.
There will be a plaque on the sign that says "Sponsored
by 9th Company, USNA class of 1979 Omnes Viri."
All '79ers are welcome to the event on 15 June. |
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Viva Las Vegas 9th Company Reunion
Scott Pursley, Anne Marie and Mike Marciano, Teresa and Bill Corkill, Beth Pursley |
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'79ers in Miami
Scott Pursley, Chet Wong, John Joliffe, Jon Bayless, Fernando Ruiz and Ron Kim.
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2008 Apr 79 Space
Cowboys |
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We had a
great flight and here is a good pic of two '79 guys,
Mike Foreman and I right after landing at KSC and a
few others. Mike did great, did 3 spacewalks of the
5 we performed! It was a challenging mission- the
busiest of the 4 I've had. We had a night launch and
night landing, 5 EVAs, more robotics than any flight
and it was the longest to the ISS so far at 16 days.
It took a couple weeks to catch up on our sleep! It
was also the most rewarding flight I could imagine
with a super crew.
Wendy says I'm done after this one! Our son Andrew
is heading to USNA in July so we will be there to
drop him off and then return to a quiet house. Wendy
just became the Exec. Director of our local Habitat
for Humanity organization so she is busy and our
daughter, Kim is finishing her junior year at
Davidson College. I actually called Kim from the
space station while Davidson was beating Georgetown
in the NCAA tournament- I think she was more excited
about the game than getting a call from space!
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Sean,
Thanks for asking. To say that singing at the
Papal Mass was a "moving" experience is sort of like
calling the Sistine Chapel ceiling a "painting" - it
doesn't even begin to describe it. I was with over
500 other Catholics from the Archdiocese of Washington,
all of them active in their own parish music ministries.
To sing with so many "great" voices was truly an honor.
A group of us down here in Southern MD regularly
carpooled up to Hyattsville for our rehearsals - by the
time we got home it was usually pretty late, but since
we always traveled as a group, even the commute was fun.
On the day of the Mass we arrived at the stadium at
about 6:00AM, got warmed up and commenced singing at
about 8:30. The Pope arrived at about 9:40 and made the
big tour of the stadium. We were singing with trumpet
fanfare - reminded me of those movies when the King
makes his entrance. But the moment that it all
became "real" was when the Pope spoke his first words -
we were all thinking, "This is it. He's really here!"
I'm not usually gushy, but the whole Mass was a very
spiritual experience, and I'm so very grateful to have
been a part of it. Karen snapped the attached
photo of the Jumbotron - wearing the bow tie, of course!
O/V,
Wiz... |
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2008 Apr Space
Shuttle Endeavour launch reception in Cape Canaveral, FL |
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Andy Brower waiting for the 0228 launch!
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79 Space
Shuttle Endeavour Launch Party (l-r): Al Steel,
Cory Brower (son of Andy), Peggy Feldmann '80 (aka Mrs.
Andy Brower) , "Flat Mike Foreman" (cardboard cut-out,
as Mike was in quarantine before the launch), Nels
Frostenson '80, Bob Graham, Lorrie Foreman (Mike's
wife). Missing from photo - Andy Brower (photographer),
Art O'Hanion |
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2007 Nov
Army-Navy Football Game Activities |
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Half Time show
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After game tailgatter
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Jim & Veronic Rubin at their house in Alexandria
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Pre-game dinner in Alexandria
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Frank Dombrowski, Stan Clark and Jim Rubin at dinner
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2007 Nov
Navy-Notre Dame Football Game pre game activities |
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L-R: Dale & Mary Nees '79, Anna Pursley (ND NROTC '08) & friend Matt Barcus, and Scott & Beth Pursley '79
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L-R: Scott Pursley '79, Anna Pursley (ND NROTC '08), and Dale Nees '79 (Photo taken by Jeff Fowler '78)
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L-R: Jeff Fowler '78, Anna Pursley ND NROTC '08) and Dale Nees '79
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L - R: Scott & Beth Pursley '79, Doug & Terry Patton '79, and Sean & Terry Stackley '79
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