Success Stories, January 2014

Success Stories Fork Union Military Academy Admissions Magazine

Volume 1, Issue 1 • January 2014

In This Issue: What Sets FUMA Apart?

The One Subject Plan CQ - Mandatory Study Period A Day in the Life of a Middle School Cadet History of Our Campus Alumni Profiles

• Ah Fong Yeung • The Lomong Brothers • Kevin Plank • • George Retan • David Huddleston • Shammond Williams • • William Knox Martin • John Alexander •

Success Stories This magazine is jointly produced by a team from the FUMA Admissions Department including: COL Steve Macek Director of Admissions maceks@fuma.org

LTC Tripp Billingsley Associate Director of Admissions billingsleyt@fuma.org

SUCCESS STORIES is a publication of Fork Union Military Academy.

Mission Statement

The mission of this publication is to tell the stories of this Academy, its features and distinguishing characteristics, its rich history, and its outstanding alumni in such a way that prospective student families will feel a connection to our FUMA family and a desire to become a part of this community of learning, adding their own success stories to ours.

Statement on Non-Discrimination

CPT Spencer Percy Admissions Counselor percys@fuma.org

Mrs. Cindi McIlnay Director of International Enrollment mcilnayc@fuma.org

Applications are accepted with the understanding that the applicant is willing to abide by FUMA’s regulations should they be admitted. Fork Union Military Academy accepts qualified applicants regardless of race, religion, or national origin, and does not discriminate unlawfully in the administration of its educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, or other school programs.

Mrs. Kim Shaver Admissions Office Coordinator shaverk@fuma.org

Mrs. Nicole Adams Admissions Office Assistant adamsn@fuma.org

Dan Thompson Director of Communications & Marketing thompsod@fuma.org

Fork Union Military Academy Post Office Box 278 4744 James Madison Highway Fork Union, Virginia 23055 phone: 434-842-4200 fax: 434-842-4300 for information on admissions, call: 1-800-GO-2-FUMA http://www.forkunion.com

From Our Director of Admissions COL Stephen M. Macek

One of the questions I am asked by families interested in Fork Union Military Academy is, “What types of students typically apply to Fork Union?” It is a question for which I wish there was a simple answer.

Suffice it to say, the backgrounds of our applicants are varied and diverse.

Each young man comes with a unique set of goals that they feel can most effectively meet here. It is also true, however, that despite their diversity on the front end, cadets completing their high school (and post graduate) careers at FUMA, come to share many special bonds as they move forward from this place, truly becoming brothers for life.

It is a challenge to get to the heart of what any institution is. Our hope is that “Success Stories” gives you a window into the history of the school and the people who have been shaped by it. From its initial years as a dream of Dr. William E. Hatcher, a Baptist minister, and the community of Fork Union, to the exceptional college preparatory school that it is today, Fork Union is a place where success through hard work is realized daily.

“Success Stories” is not a typical admissions brochure. You will not find information about our tuition or a sample of our daily schedule. Instead, you will get a sense of the history of our campus. You will learn why we have used the “One Subject Plan” in our upper school since the 1950’s and why our CQ period (study hall) is so important. You will meet some of our alumni. Men who were “typical teenagers,” who achieved outstanding results, in part, because they spent time as cadets on this campus.

You will meet actor David Huddleston, aviation pioneer William Knox Martin, Under Armour founder Kevin Plank and NBA player Shammond Williams. You will also meet Peter and Alex Lomong, two Sudanese students who came to Fork Union Middle School as well as John Alexander, a recent graduate who recounts his time at Fork Union and how it prepared him for college.

As you read these pages, we hope you become more curious about this special place and find time to visit with us.

Sincerely,

Stephen M. Macek Director of Admissions

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What sets FUMA apart as

a Special Place

Wicker Chapel stands at the heart of the campus and cadets attend chapel services here three times a week.

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Success Stories

F

ork Union Military Academy was founded in 1898 by a renowned Baptist minister, Dr. William E. Hatcher.

He was the longtime pastor of Grace Street Baptist Church in Richmond and traveled widely throughout the country as a popular guest preacher at revivals and special events. Dr. Hatcher built a summer home, Careby Hall, in Fork Union and soon became very involved in the local community.

Dr. Hatcher was a graduate of the University of Richmond (then known as Richmond College), and was elected a trustee of the college in 1870, serving in that role for the next forty-two years.

He also served as president of the Education Board of the Baptist General Association of Virginia from 1875–1901. Providing young people access to a college education had long been a significant part of his life’s work.

He noted that in this rural part of Virginia, while the girls might be sent away to one of the sixty private high schools then operating in Virginia, the boys were generally kept at home, busy working on the farm. Public high schools were almost non-existent in Virginia at that time. Dr. Hatcher thought that Fork Union would be the ideal location for a college preparatory academy that could provide an opportunity for both boys and girls to go on to college. He soon had organized a group of supporters in the community and his new Fork Union Academy opened in October of 1898 with nineteen boys and girls enrolled.

College Preparatory School

Dr. Hatcher’s school was first and foremost a college preparatory school, designed from the very beginning to provide young people a pathway to the college of their choice. That emphasis on academic excellence remains in full force today, and every student is expected to apply to, and be accepted by, one or more colleges during their junior and senior years. One hundred percent of our graduating seniors have been successful in meeting this expectation in recent years, and college readiness continues to be our top goal as a school. In addition to our regular high school level courses, we offer a number of Advanced Placement and Honors classes, as well as dualenrollment courses that provide college credit.

Our academic curriculum remains challenging, and our admissions standards are equally high. www.forkunion.com

Christian Environment

Just as our founder viewed the education of young people as part of his life’s Christian mission, we today are dedicated to cultivating a community of Christian love on our campus.

Upon Dr. Hatcher’s passing in 1912, the Baptist General Association of Virginia stepped forward to assist the Academy and help fund its continued growth, and that relationship with the BGAV remains strong to this day. Each school day begins with a morning devotion, and students attend chapel services three times each week. Our staff, faculty, and administration are expected to emulate Christian character and charity (love), while respecting the freedom for our students to choose and follow the faith of their choice.

Military Structure

By 1902, school leaders decided to incorporate aspects of military structure into campus life, and the school’s name was changed to Fork Union Military Academy. Their purpose was to promote discipline, physical conditioning, and build the confidence and “bearing” of the students.

The goal was not to build soldiers, but to develop solid citizens. We remain an “independent military school” and do not offer the JROTC model. There is no training in military tactics, techniques, or doctrine. We are not a “boot camp” program, nor do we cater to troubled teens in need of a therapeutic school environment. Our military structure provides outstanding opportunities for leadership development and reinforces self-discipline, respect for others, and personal accountability.

Boys-Only Education

Early school leaders decided to phase out coed education and become a boys-only school by about 1911. The value of single-gender education is widely recognized today as a way to reduce distractions and allow students to concentrate on achieving a quality education. Test results often demonstrate the advantage of learning in a single-gender environment, and the Academy continues to provide a safe, distraction-free, boysonly sanctuary for learning.

For over a century, these distinguishing characteristics have continued to set Fork Union Military Academy apart as an outstanding educational environment and a very special place.

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The

One Subject

Plan

ForkMilitary UnionAcademy 4

Success stories begin here.

Success Stories

W Innovation

hen you think about innovation in high school education, the image of a traditional Virginia military school is not likely to pop into your head. Military schools are oldfashioned, traditional, and narrow-minded.

Aren’t they?

In fact, one of the most innovative and effective ideas in secondary education can be found today in the unique curriculum schedule used at Fork Union Military Academy in Fork Union, Virginia. It’s called the One Subject Plan, and it has proven effective in increasing the academic achievement of young men for many years at this historic boys’ military school.

Punch Line or Problem?

A joke making the rounds in recent years suggests, “You know our education system has problems when Hallmark comes out with a new line of ‘Easy-To-Read’ graduation cards.”

Poking fun at the American school system is a national pastime nearly as popular as football but even older. Nineteenth-century humorist Mark Twain once wrote, “Many public-school children seem to know only two dates – 1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don’t know what happened on either occasion.”

It wasn’t a laughing matter in 1957, however, when the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite into orbit. Suddenly, America found itself in a “Space Race” with the communists.

Federal money began pouring into math and science education. Programs were set up to identify gifted students and put them into upper-level classes. Language labs and educational toys proliferated, as America tried to win this global competition through education.

The Soviet Union’s launch of the first satellite, Sputnik, in 1957 inspired new funding and innovation in the public education system of the United States...seven years after Fork Union had already implemented its own education innovation -- the One Subject Plan.

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Reform...and more reform

In the half-century since Sputnik, America has seen its educational system reformed, reinvented, and reborn dozens of times. We’ve put our faith in various new acronyms, from the NDEA (National Defense Act of 1958), to the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress, born in 1969), to NCLB (the No Child Left Behind initiative begun in 2002). We’ve tried merging small schools into larger schools to provide greater learning resources; now we’re breaking large schools into smaller schools.

We’ve gone from holding back pupils who fail their grade, to social promotion, and then back again to retaining struggling students. We’ve tried phonics, then “whole language,” and then back once more to phonics. We’ve gone from traditional schedules to open scheduling to block scheduling. We’ve seen any number of new programs: magnet schools, open schools, charter schools, standards of learning, and national testing and assessment schemes.

A Nation at Risk

America was deemed “a nation at risk” in a 1983 report by that name, written by the National Commission on Excellence in Education. This blue-ribbon panel of experts was commissioned by the Secretary of Education to address what he called “the widespread public perception that something is seriously remiss in our educational system. The experts made their investigation and found what they called “a rising tide of mediocrity.”

In its landmark report, the Commission said, “If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves. We have even squandered the gains in student achievement made in the wake of the Sputnik challenge.

Moreover, we have dismantled essential support systems which helped make those gains possible. We have, in effect, been committing an act of unthinking, unilateral educational disarmament.”

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Findings on Course Content, Expectations, and Use of Time

The Commission warned that school curricula were not preparing students for college.

“Secondary school curricula have been homogenized, diluted, and diffused to the point that they no longer have a central purpose,” the Commission reported. “In effect, we have a cafeteria style curriculum in which the appetizers and desserts can easily be mistaken for the main courses.”

The report found that twenty-five percent of the credits earned by high school students were in areas such as “physical and health education, work experience outside the school, remedial English and mathematics, and personal service and development courses, such as training for adulthood and marriage.”

The Commission found that expectations for student performance were declining, noting that “The amount of homework for high school seniors has decreased (two-thirds report less than 1 hour a night) and grades have risen as average student achievement has been declining.”

The use of time was another area the Commission examined, and the results were equally alarming: “(1) compared to other nations, American students spend much less time on school work; (2) time spent in the classroom and on homework is often used ineffectively; and (3) schools are not doing enough to help students develop either the study skills required to use time well or the willingness to spend more time on school work.”

Prisoners of Time

A decade later, in 1994, another panel of experts known as the National Education Commission on Time and Learning took a look at what’s wrong with American education and concluded that “Learning in America is a prisoner of time.”

“For the past 150 years,” their report notes, “American public schools have held time con-

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stant and let learning vary. The rule, only rarely voiced, is simple: learn what you can in the time we make available. It should surprise no one that some bright, hard-working students do reasonably well. Everyone else -- from the typical student to the dropout -- runs into trouble.”

Carnegie Unit

The Commission found that schools, on average, offered a six-period day with 5.6 hours of “instructional time.” They noted that, “No matter how complex or simple the school subject -- literature, shop, physics, gym, or algebra -- the schedule assigns each an impartial national average of 51 minutes per class period, no matter how well or poorly students comprehend the material.”

This adherence to a 51-minute period on average was based in part on the concept of the Carnegie Unit. The Carnegie Unit was developed in 1906 as a measurement of the time a high school student has spent studying a subject.

According to the original definition, completing 120 hours (4 or 5 classes per week, 40 to 60 minutes per class, for 36 to 40 weeks per year) would earn the student one “unit” of high school credit; fourteen units of credit were deemed the minimum requirement for a four-year high school education.

The Carnegie Unit measures only “seat time” and not “knowledge learned,” but the Commission noted that secondary school graduation requirements were universally based on Carnegie Units.

“Instructional Time” vs.

“Academic Time”

The Commission found that the American concept of instructional time was far different than that of other developed countries. In countries like Germany, Japan, and France, many more hours are spent on core academic subjects.

The Commission discovered that the typical American school day, while originally intended for core academic learning, “must now fit in a

Success Stories

whole set of requirements for what has been called ‘the new work of the schools’ -- education about personal safety, consumer affairs, AIDS, conservation and energy, family life, driver’s training -- as well as traditional nonacademic activities, such as counseling, gym, study halls, homeroom, lunch and pep rallies.”

Not a New Concern

The Commission’s concern about the use of time was not new, however. A previous report from the past U. S. Commissioner of Education, William Torrey Harris, made clear his concerns about “the constant tendency toward a reduction of time.”

“First, the Saturday morning session was discontinued; then the summer vacations were lengthened; the morning sessions were shortened; the afternoon sessions were curtailed; new holidays were introduced; provisions were made for a single session on stormy days, and for closing the schools.

U. S. Commissioner of Education, William Torrey Harris raised concerns about the use of time in schools as early as 1894.

“The boy of today must attend school 11.1 years in order to receive as much instruction, quantitatively, as the boy of fifty years ago received in 8 years... It is scarcely necessary to look further than this for the explanation for the greater amount of work accomplished...in the German and French than in the American schools.”

Commissioner Harris’ remarks were made in a report published in 1894. He was criticizing the reduction of the school year from 193.5 days to 191 days. A century later, the 1994 Commission noted that the school year ranged, on average, from 175 to 180 days.

The National Education Commission on Time and Learning recommended that “new uses of time should ensure that schools rely much less on the 51-minute period, after which teachers and students drop everything to rush off to the next class.” Further, they noted that “greater flexibility in the schedule will also make it easier for schools to take advantage of instructional

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resources in the community - workplaces, libraries, community-workplaces, librarchurches, andand youth groups - youth and togroups-and work effecies, churches, community tively with emerging technologies.” to work effectively with emerging technologies.”

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Block Scheduling

n the past decade, the vast majority of public high schools have moved to a system known as block scheduling. In a typical block schedule, students attend 90-minute class periods, instead of 50-minute classes. In the 4x4 block system, students take four courses per semester for a total of eight courses in the year.

In the A/B block system, students rotate eight courses throughout the year, four classes each on alternating days.

The advantages offered by this block schedule include less time spent each day roaming the halls for class changes, less time lost to class administration (it takes less time to call the roll and collect homework for four classes per day than for six), and more time for instructional flexibility. Teachers can use a wider variety of instructional methods, hold longer discussions, encourage interactive learning, and engage in extended lab times in the 90-minute period.

The benefits of the block schedule are lost, however, if the time is not used effectively.

Block scheduling does not permit the same number of instructional hours as the traditional schedule (180 days x 50 minutes = 9,000 minutes; 90 days x 90 minutes = 8,100 minutes). Much of that difference is made up in fewer minutes lost to class administration, but the teacher must still make a careful use of time each day.

The block schedule provides for somewhat longer class periods, but adds complexity to a student’s daily and weekly schedule.

Lecture continues to be the most widely used instructional method in high schools today, even under the block schedule. With added pressures to improve test scores and meet mandated curriculum standards, many teachers resort to lecturing for the entire available time in order

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to “cover the curriculum” for state-mandated tests. While it is possible to lecture for most of a 90-minute period, zipping through the required content, it is not very effective for students to sit through four classes of 80-minute lectures. The promise of instructional flexibility offered by block scheduling is not becoming the reality in most American schools.

Fifty Years after Sputnik

It is now more than fifty years after Sputnik, and twenty-five years after the publication of “A Nation at Risk.”

So where do we stand today?

» In 1970, a greater percentage of American students finished high school than did their peers in any other country. By a decade ago, America had fallen behind Japan, Germany, Korea, France, Ireland, and others. » On the recent Third International Mathematics and Science Tests, American 17-year-olds ranked fourth from the bottom of the 38 countries participating, just above South Africa, Cyprus, and Lithuania. » Students do no more homework today than they did in 1982 – less than an hour a day on average. » Corrected for inflation, we are spending three times more per student than we did in 1960, but we are seeing less return on our public education investment.

As a report issued by the Koret Foundation concludes, “The tide of mediocrity remains high.”

Schools in America simply have not found the right solution.

Perhaps they haven’t been looking in the right place for their answers! Maybe they should check out what’s been going on for more almostthan sixty years in the small village of Fork Union, Virginia.

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Colonel J. Caldwell Wicker (left), FUMA’s president from 1945-1968, and Harry M. Waldon, FUMA’s headmaster from 1948-1967, could be considered the fathers of FUMA’s famed One Subject Plan.

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One ‘R at a Time

ong before Sputnik broke the grip of earth’s gravity, a new education innovation was brewing at Fork Union Military Academy. In the days after World War II, the campus was bustling with students and returning soldiers back to finish their education at the Academy. The school’s president, Colonel J. Caldwell Wicker, was always on the lookout for a good idea and spotted one that interested him in an article published in the March, 1949 issue of Reader’s Digest.

Titled “One ‘R at a Time,” the article by J. D. Ratcliff (condensed and republished from Pageant in December, 1948) described a curriculum plan that was tried briefly at two different schools: Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio and the Kiskiminetas Springs School for Boys in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania. Each school was independently experimenting with a program where one subject was taught at a time.

Instead of students going from class to class, taking courses like English, algebra, biology, and French all at the same time, students would spend up to eight weeks in a single course before moving on to the next.

Success Stories

Fork Union Military Academy was in quite good shape in 1949. Enrollment was good, students were doing well, and the school was financially sound. But Colonel Wicker was not one to let the status quo stand in the way of something that might make his school even better.

He asked the school’s headmaster, Harry M. Waldron, to look into implementing this new One Subject Plan in the 1950-51 academic year.

Although this curriculum plan, like many other educational reforms, was tried and soon abandoned by at least ten schools, the idea took root at Fork Union. The first couple of years were difficult as faculty, students, and administration adjusted to the new plan, but, under the leadership of Colonel Wicker and Headmaster Waldron, the concept was patiently developed. The plan has undergone some minor tinkering since those first days, but the overall outline of the program has remained largely unchanged from that first concept.

From September of 1950 until the present day, the One Subject Plan has been the cornerstone of Fork Union Military Academy’s Upper School academic program.

The One Subject Plan

The academic year for students in grades 9 through 12 is divided into five grading periods of about seven weeks each. A student is assigned one course each grading period, for a total of five courses in the regular academic year.

The normal school day is divided into eight periods of 45 minutes each. Five of those periods are class periods, one is a mid-morning break period for all students, one period is for lunch, and one period during the day is a planning period.

During planning period, students can receive additional help from their classroom teacher, or have free time to take care of other assignments. Classes meet every day, Monday through Friday, and some class periods are scheduled for Saturday mornings each grading period to provide additional academic instruction time.

The academic school day lasts from 8am to 2pm and is devoted to core academic studies.

Extracurricular activities such as band, choir, athletics, drama, and art classes meet before or after this academic school day.

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The student attends the same class, with the same group of fellow students and the same instructor, for a total of 3 hours and 45 minutes every school day, for the entire seven-week grading period. Class size is usually in the 12 to 15 student range, but never more than 20 in the largest class. The teacher is responsible for teaching only one class of students for that sevenweek grading period.

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Benefits of the One Subject Plan

ork Union Military Academy has found a number of specific benefits resulting from this unique program.

Focus

Students are able to focus on a single subject, without the distractions inherent when shifting from class to class. They never have to mentally shift gears like they would when moving from English to physics. It becomes almost like a total immersion program in that one subject. This focus helps student and teacher both stay engaged with each other and in the learning.

Students are freed from the obligation to meet the demands of several different teachers at the same time. They never have to prioritize homework assignments, deciding whether to spend more time studying math or do their history homework instead. They are able to focus their energy and attention in one direction, yielding more rapid progress and deeper understanding.

Accountability

A typical high school teacher must track at least 80 to 120 students at a time, even with block scheduling. Under the One Subject Plan, the teacher is responsible for only 12 to 20 students at a maximum. Teachers can check homework every day if they wish. They can check student notebooks and journals on a regular basis. It’s nearly impossible for a student to “slip through the cracks” within the One Subject Plan.

In the same way, the One Subject Plan requires the teacher to be accountable to the students.

Under a normal high school schedule, if an underprepared teacher has only 50 to 90 minutes to spend with four or five different classes, they might slip by with just a test and a video for that day. In the One Subject Plan, however, the

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teacher is responsible for nearly four hours of class time each day and this schedule, by its very nature, requires that teachers be fully prepared to teach each day when they enter the classroom.

Individualized Instruction

With markedly fewer students to track, a teacher can really get to know each student as an individual. The teacher can determine what styles of learning work best for each student, and use different instructional methods to reach the various visual, auditory, tactile and kinesthetic learners in the class. For example, a traditional lecture method might work for auditory learners, while hands on group activities might be needed to effectively teach the kinesthetic learners in the class.

Teachers don’t need to worry about coordinating their schedules with other classes. They have the whole school day to use as they need. This means that government classes can schedule field trips to the state capitol to witness the legislature in action. A chemistry teacher can use more time for a lab experiment if needed. A history teacher can take the entire class to the library to work on research for a term paper, supervising the process from start to finish.

This flexibility in scheduling special activities means that the needs of the student can drive the learning process, not the need to be finished with class within 50 or 90 minutes. Learning is no longer held prisoner by time.

In fact, the nature of the One Subject Plan forces a teacher to use a variety of instructional methods throughout the class day. While a teacher might be able to simply lecture for 90 minutes every day under a block schedule, that kind of educational filibuster is nearly impossible to maintain for almost four hours a day. The teacher must use different techniques to keep students engaged throughout the course of the day. This naturally provides the kind of individualized instructional variety that proves effective for learning.

Class Scheduling

Mentoring

“It felt good when I started getting good grades,” said Andy Hodak, a recent graduate of Fork Union Military Academy. “I made Honor Roll twice and Dean’s List once this past year. I made Honor Roll twice last year. FUMA kind of brings out an inner strength that normal high school teachers don’t demand from you. FUMA teachers expect that to come out. They expect you to do your homework. They expect that extra 10% effort.”

The teacher spends hours each day with a small group of students. Student and teacher get to know each other very well, warts and all. This means they must work through any conflicts, learn how to deal with each other effectively and positively, and look beyond surface impressions to find points of connection and shared interests.

A strong bond can develop between student and teacher in this environment.

This is how effective learning has developed for centuries, between mentor and protégé. Plato was a disciple of Socrates. Aristotle was a disciple of Plato. Learning from a respected teacher among a small group of students has a long, productive tradition. A teacher can be more than a mere functionary delivering 50-minute lectures; a teacher can become a role model, trusted and respected, helping develop a young person’s character in addition to his knowledge of algebra.

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Special Learning Activities

The One Subject Plan offers benefits in class scheduling as well. Students can take sequential courses like Algebra I and Algebra II consecutively within the same year. This is recommended as well for students taking a foreign language, so they might take Spanish I and Spanish II in back-to-back grading periods and gain the benefit of concentrated study in the language.

Students can also repeat a course within the same year if needed to improve a low grade.

Success Stories Begin Here

fifty years More than sixty years ago, ago,educational educational innovainnovation was nurtured in the small village of Fork Union, Virginia. Generations of students since 1950 have found this unique program to have a transformative effect on their academic lives. At Fork Union Military Academy, the One Subject Plan is one educational reform that’s here to stay.

Success Stories

Frequently Asked Questions About the

One Subject Plan

Because the One Subject Plan, while simple, is so different from what most school systems follow, people express a lot of interest in the program. They frequently ask questions like these: Don’t the students get bored?

The short answer is no, not any more than normal. “Interest comes with mastery,” said the late E. H. “Gus” Lacy, a former teacher and administrator at Fork Union Military Academy, writing about the One Subject Plan in 1955. “This new plan has given us a method of doing a better job of teaching. The boys learn more, and, consequently, they devote their energies toward the subject because they understand more about the subject being taught.” This observation continues to be true more than sixty fifty years years later. later. Students Students get a lot of genuine satisfaction from really learning a subject instead of just coasting their way through a 50- or 90-minute class period.

Those who doubt the concentration ability and attention span of a teenager have never seen a young man working to master something like Madden on his video game console. When it is something that engages and interests them, young people can stay amazingly focused. The One Subject Plan helps channel that kind of dedicated effort into the academic realm, helping a young man post his name on the Honor Roll instead of just climbing the leader board for Halo Call of3.Duty.

On a related note, most students have favorite subjects, and subjects they don’t enjoy. In those cases where a student finds a particular subject to be dull and tedious, the One Subject Plan offers the promise that with just seven weeks of effort, the course can be successfully completed.

What about college, where students have to take multiple classes?

Academically, students who have followed the One Subject Plan are as prepared, or better

prepared than their peers to handle college level work. The college acceptance rate of Fork Union Military Academy graduates is 100%. Although not all graduates proceed directly on to college, the One Subject Plan successfully offers them the opportunity to make that choice – a fact that can’t be said for all high school programs.

Moving from high school to college is a major adjustment for any student. Students spend about half the time in class at college compared to the time spent in high school. More of the burden of learning is placed on the student rather than on the instructor. They are in class an average of 16 or 17 hours each week, instead of 30 to 35 hours a week in high school.

The One Subject Plan helps the student develop the individual study skills to learn in a concentrated fashion and explore a subject in depth. This ability to focus and concentrate on a course of study will help the student accomplish the kind of independent study required by the college schedule. Students must learn to handle newfound freedoms in a responsible manner and manage their own time effectively for independent study, but this is a challenge that faces all college freshmen.

Do students get better grades?

Within the first five years of implementing the One Subject Plan, Fork Union Military Academy saw its Honor Roll double in size. This kind of academic success continues today. The vast majority of students who transfer to Fork Union Military Academy from another school see their GPA improve, even though FUMA uses a grading scale (A = 95 and above, F = 75 and below) that may be tougher than their previous school. These increased grades are matched by improvements in scores on tests such as the PSAT and SAT.

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CQ

The Amazing Truth About

(It Really Works!)

By COL Dennis Brown & COL Fred Hardy

Cadet Dylan McCormick studies in his Jacobson Hall barracks room during evening CQ.

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Success Stories

T

he success that FUMA has in producing successful alumni reflects its motto of “Body, Mind, and Spirit.” This motto dates back to the earliest days of the Academy and reflects the school’s emphasis on holistic education of “the whole boy” since the school’s founding in 1898.

Growth in Body

Physical improvements are a result of not only FUMA’s nationally recognized athletic program but also the daily regimen and dining hall menu that stress and promote physical fitness. The Estes Athletic Center is a busy hub on campus, and its weight room and facilities are in constant use. Rarely does a student leave FUMA without having made significant physical improvements. FUMA students become stronger and healthier in this salubrious environment.

Spiritual Development

Most FUMA students experience spiritual growth or awakening under the guidance of the chaplain and the faculty’s emphasis on Christian values. In the past couple of years, for example, more than a dozen students by their request were baptized during Sunday chapel services in the chapel’s baptismal, and hundreds of students have expressed the value of being exposed to the word of God in thrice weekly chapel attendance.

Cadet Spencer Cavotti recently said, “At home, regular visits to church and Sunday School became difficult as I grew more attached to my sports teams and their weekend obligations. As a young Christian, it was hard to cultivate my faith having been unable to attend church, but with the regular chapel sessions at FUMA, I have been able to connect with my spiritual self more often and rediscover myself as a Christian.”

Every class day begins with a short devotional. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a vital force on campus. Several other on-campus organizations require and encourage community service, and more than a few students spend summers doing mission work. Spiritual growth at FUMA is almost a given.

Feeding the Mind

To achieve academic growth depends on multiple factors such as a student’s motivation, the dedication of faculty and staff, and a school-wide emphasis on the importance of academics.

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In public schools, high academic achievers are often looked down upon by their peers – “A” students are deemed nerds; at FUMA, they are looked up to by their peers and rewarded publicly by being inducted into the National Honor Society in front of the Corps, named to Dean’s List and Honor Roll every term, and recognized as Honor Graduates at the end of the school year.

Mr. Larry McIlnay, Director of Food Services at FUMA, heads up the Renaissance Program that also recognizes achievement. Attaining Honor Roll for two terms qualifies students for an extra leave. Academic achievers become student leaders and find value in learning. At FUMA, academics are of paramount importance, and the military and athletic departments complement and support the academic mission.

The Importance of CQ

Cadet Dylan McCormick hard at work on his studies during CQ.

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Of the elements that contribute to academic success, however, none is more important than CQ, FUMA’s mandatory study time in the Upper School. The term “CQ” comes from the

traditional military bugle call, “Call to Quarters,” signaling that all personnel are to return to their quarters for the night. The CQ period is such a central and unique part of a student’s experience at the Academy that our magazine for alumni, families, and friends is named Call To Quarters.

In the Middle School, due to the developmental differences and needs of the younger students in grades six through eight, students engage in a multi-class curriculum and attend an ageappropriate study hall together in the academic building designed to reinforce study habits.

Because of the uniqueness of the Upper School’s One-Subject Plan and the barracks CQ, the focus of this article will be on grades nine through postgraduate.

How CQ Works

In the Upper School, every Sunday through Thursday evening after Retreat (and Fridays preceding Saturday classes), the Corps is required to observe CQ from 7:55 till 9:40. Each student studies at his desk, and the CQ period is free of distractions, with no television, radio, iPods,

Success Stories

talking, texting, tweeting, eating or drinking allowed. Reading for pleasure is allowed at the discretion of a cadet’s teacher only after completion of assigned homework or preparation for tests or exams. Laptop computers are allowed for use in completing specific assignments for which students receive written permission from their teachers. A violation of CQ policy can result in ten demerits and loss of leave, a serious penalty that indicates the importance FUMA attaches to students’ preparation for class. A small number of students who may benefit from peer tutoring are allowed to be at faculty-supervised Peer Study during CQ period, again at the discretion of teachers.

Essentially, for five or six nights every week, every boarding student will be under faculty supervision to prepare for classes. The Academy is committed to providing a quiet, distractionfree, supervised environment as an effective means of assuring adequate at worst or thorough at best academic preparation, and most Academy personnel who teach or administer are assigned OC duties at night to supervise this vital program. These personnel are invested, not merely involved, in students’ academic progress.

Staying on Task

Providing the environment does not, of course, guarantee that all students will take advantage of it. Realistically, no student utilizes every minute of every CQ in the pursuit of academic preparedness. On any given night, an officer in charge will see a few students struggling to concentrate because of homesickness or missing a girlfriend; fretting because they had received demerits that day and lost their leave; fighting to stay awake because of either fatigue or minor illness; or sometimes just trying to beat the system and get by with not studying. The officer in charge may either write up a CQ violation or make a correction without demerits attached.

Regardless of the method of censure, the goal is to keep the student on task. The system does not claim to be a panacea, but it is highly successful for most students. The “here” in FUMA’s claim that “Success stories begin here” could very well be synonymous with “in CQ.”

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Studying: A Daily Routine

Although no student, including valedictorians, salutatorians, and Honor Graduates, takes advantage of CQ every minute of study time, most students come to the realization that studying every night significantly improves grades, and once they have experienced earning high grades, most students strive to continue their academic success. To that end, they complete their homework and prepare for quizzes, tests, and exams during CQ; studying becomes almost habitual. It is as much a part of their daily routine as brushing their teeth or eating meals.

So important does FUMA consider CQ that in honors and AP classes that often require extra study time, CQ can be extended with a teacher’s permission. Too, all students who wish to extend CQ on the nights before semester and final exams may do so.

Few students enter FUMA having studied under supervised conditions. It is the learned attitude that places value on learning that generates enthusiasm for learning.

Tommy Noble, a recent FUMA graduate, exemplifies that attitude. “While I was in public school, my study habits were unsatisfactory, and my grades reflected inadequate practices.

Coming to Fork Union Military Academy changed my study routine drastically. The onesubject plan forced me to focus on one class at a time, and study CQ helped me achieve the grades that eluded me in public school. At home I did not spend half the time studying and reviewing class work that I do while at FUMA. Every night before class, I would participate in a mandatory CQ that allowed me to concentrate on my school work in a quiet environment. That, in addition to the extra help available after class, differentiated my public school experience from my experience at FUMA. The change in my study habits at Fork Union improved my grades and has gave me more college options.”

Tommy’s assessment is not atypical. Effecting change in attitude and learning practices is crucial to many FUMA cadets, and CQ is a powerful conductor of that change.

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Studying Makes Sense

Certainly there will be the occasional lapse, but contrasting the amount of time they spend on task during CQ with how they approached studying prior to enrolling at FUMA, it usually becomes clear to students that taking advantage of the time dedicated to studying makes sense; staring out a window, sneaking in a nap, surreptitiously watching television, or calling a friend on an illegal cell phone do not.

An officer in charge cannot realistically prevent all infractions of the CQ rules. The students themselves must police themselves to derive maximum benefit from CQ.

Cadet LTC Dallas Bonner, a student at FUMA for five years, held a GPA of 4.4 and the position of Battalion Commander during his senior year. He graduated as the Valedictorian of his class. He offers this perspective on CQ: “CQ is crucial to one’s success at Fork Union. If a cadet takes full advantage of it, then there are no limits to his success here. There simply is no reason for a cadet not to rack up all kinds of academic achievements during his time at FUMA. Every cadet is required to take part in almost two hours of mandatory study time every school night.

During this time, he cannot get up from his seat, eat, drink, or talk to his roommate. If a cadet is not making noticeable improvements in his academics, it is probably because he is not trying hard enough or not taking advantage of the opportunities given to him. This is what separates Fork Union from the rest of the field of college preparatory schools.”

Clearly, Dallas learned the importance of CQ early in his tenure at FUMA and, like most other successful cadets, tries to pass along that learned lesson to other cadets. Accepting the system leads to self-motivation and success; fighting it leads to continued lack of success.

Those FUMA graduates who take this practice with them to college soon find out that routinely setting aside study time almost always guarantees success at the postsecondary level, too.

Remarkable Pattern of Improvement

Any faculty officer who has spent more than a few years at FUMA cannot help noticing the remarkable pattern of improvement that most 16

cadets make.

While it is impossible – and inadvisable – to separate the influences of athletics or time in the weight room, learning to lead and follow in the military program, or growing spiritually and developing wholesome values, it is patently clear that every student benefits immensely from CQ. It is the foundation of his academic progress, and when a student makes progress in the classroom, he often improves how he lives outside the classroom.

The cliché that success begets success is true.

The successful student becomes a better person, a better athlete, a better father, son, brother, husband, or friend, a better employee or boss.

It Really Works

Some years ago when FUMA was undergoing its ten-year evaluation and accreditation by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools, a visiting team charged with the task of determining whether the school’s mission and programs were being carried out was skeptical that CQ was actually what FUMA claimed it to be, and a few of the team voiced an opinion that perhaps the CQ that seemed so effective was staged for their benefit. To them, it seemed too good to be true.

To see if the CQ actually operated as stated, they came to campus unannounced one night and sneaked around during CQ, peering in windows and tiptoeing down halls. To their surprise and amazement, even when students were unaware of the presence of the visitors, they were quietly engaged in doing homework and studying.

Naysayers became believers. Visiting college coaches have often made similar observations.

The seemingly simple part of the FUMA system called CQ is carefully implemented and assiduously reinforced. It is difficult to overestimate its importance in building successful young men.

Cadet LTC Dallas Bonner receives his academic honors ribbon from RADM J. Scott Burhoe.

Success Stories

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A Day in the Life of a

Middle School Cadet

By LTC Rob Feathers Headmaster, Middle School

J

ust as the sun’s rays begin to reach over the horizon, “Reveille” blasts over the loudspeaker, letting the boys know that it’s time to rise and shine. Shaking off the vestiges of their eight hour shut-eye, the boys crawl out of their beds to begin their morning routine. They trudge down the hall to take care of business. Teeth are brushed, faces are washed, some have the beginnings of a mustache that needs to be shaved. Then, it’s back to their rooms to begin the process of cleaning their quarters.

Roommates work together to sweep the floor, empty the trash can, straighten their belongings, and make their beds. In almost robotic fashion, these duties are accomplished in preparation for the room inspection that they know will be coming later in the morning as they are sitting in their classes. The Middle School Commandant of Cadets expects everything to be in its rightful place.

With rooms clean, the cadets form up outside on 18

the Middle School Circle at attention and in formation. Upon an accounting for each and every cadet, the Middle School Battalion Commander, an eighth grade top-of-the-line leader, marches his charges to the dining hall for breakfast.

The cadets then move en masse to the Middle School’s Study Hall, a large assembly room filled with desks that fits the entire Cadet Corps… and then some. The Middle School Headmaster, mustering as much enthusiasm as possible, does his best to rally the cadets behind the upcoming events of the day, and throws in a mini-character lesson along with the morning announcements.

Called to attention, the boys pledge their allegiance to the United States of America, and then they march dutifully off to their 1st period classes, but first stop off at their hallway lockers to get their books and necessary school supplies.

First period always begins with the reading of a devotional and a morning prayer to get the day started on a positive note.

Success Stories

English, math, science, social studies, and health and physical education fill a cadet’s academic day. The schedule might also include art, drama, foreign language, and perhaps even a resource or ESL class. Class sizes for academic courses rarely rise above fifteen; most hover around ten. Cadets get to know their teachers well, and vice versa.

Relationships are built which provide cadets the freedom to ask questions, explore thoughts and ideas, and to even engage in good hearted banter.

Teachers pepper the class period with a blend of lecture, group work, hands-on projects, seat work, and, of course, the occasional quiz or test.

Afternoons hold a variety of activities for the boys. Twice a week they practice marching during drill sessions with the Commandant.

Leadership classes are held during this time, as well, during colder, inclement weather days.

Twice a week after the academic day, cadets attend chapel services to help them understand and, hopefully, embrace the Christian faith on which the Academy was founded. Also twice a week, cadets have the opportunity to avail themselves to Extra Help sessions with their teachers.

For some, this isn’t an option but a requirement.

Mondays through Thursdays, from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m., all cadets are involved in supervised athletics. Most participate on organized athletic teams; some participate in a less rigorous intramural program. But all receive a good dose of physical activity through their afternoon activities. Shower time is followed by dinner time. Having worked up a good appetite, the cadets again line up in formation, offer a prayer of thanksgiving, and march off to the dining hall for a full-course dinner.

After dinner, cadets enjoy a bit of free time until the bell for mandatory Study Hall sounds.

The mad rush of cadets enters the Study Hall a minute or so before 7:00 p.m., with books, school supplies, and assignments in tow. They take their assigned desk and proceed to get to work. The sound of pencils on paper, books opening and closing, and the stifled cough are the only sounds heard…though the occasional ill-timed whisper, followed immediately by the Study Hall monitor’s admonishment, sometimes disrupts the flow of information from book to brain.

As Study Hall nears to its end, eyes make contact with the clock on the wall at the front of www.forkunion.com

the room with increasing frequency. A cadet clears his throat in a bit of an exaggerated manner, alerting the Study Hall monitor that he and his fellow cadets are ready to be let free. Upon the order for dismissal, the cadets file out of the Study Hall, put their books away in their lockers, and head back to the Middle School Barracks to enjoy a brief moment of free time before bedtime.

After a bit of visiting friends on the hallway, teeth are brushed, uniforms are hung up, and the boys get ready for bed. “Taps” wafts through the Barracks over the loudspeaker, signifying that the day is done. Eyes close, and sleep overtakes the cadets until the familiar sound of “Reveille” springs them yet again into a new day.

Very few teenage boys can begin to relate to the schedule followed by the Middle School cadet at Fork Union Military Academy. Every day is filled with activity…from sun up until sundown. And with each activity, attention is paid to helping cadets in their development of “Body, Mind, and Spirit”, the Academy’s motto. In following such a rigorous schedule, the boys learn self-reliance but also benefit from a program that stresses the value of working together as a team.

The teaching, coaching, and mentoring provided to these young men by the adults in their midst provide much needed support and help them to more fully realize their potential…and build on the foundation already laid by their parents. By the time a cadet completes his eighth grade year at the Middle School, he stands proudly ready to take on the rigors of high school.

A parent sent the following testimonial regarding his son at the end of this past school year: “The amount of character, self-discipline and maturity FUMA has given my son is an immeasurable gift. This is not possible in most schools! His self-image, confidence and goal-oriented focus are 360 degree turnarounds from the day he first set foot on campus. No matter what a kid’s potential is - whether athletic ability, intelligence, or charisma - they can stumble, fall or completely fail if they do not learn the life skills that FUMA instills. Thank you for giving my son what was hidden so deep inside him...a confident, personable, bright, ambitious ‘success story!’ I can’t wait to ‘read’ the next chapter of his promising future at FUMA and beyond!”

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The Changing Face of the

Academy Campus F

rom little more than an idea in the mind of Dr. William Hatcher, the campus of Fork Union Military Academy has grown to more than 1,000 acres and dozens of buildings.

1898

Dr. William Hatcher eyes a patch of woods and suggests to a friend, “Wouldn’t that beautiful oak grove be a splendid place for a school?”

Dr. Hatcher’s Fork Union Academy opens that same fall in a modest wood frame house in the village of Fork Union, the rooms rented for $5 a month.

1900

Snead Hall was the first Academy building, started in 1900 and completed in 1902. Originally called Academy Hall it was renamed in honor of Charles Goodall Snead.

Mr. and Mrs. W. P. Snead, two of the Academy’s Original Guarantors, donate six acres of land to the school, and construction of Academy Hall, later renamed Snead Hall, begins. The construction was carried out slowly, as money was available. The interior of the building was not completed until 1902.

The Armory was built between 1902 and 1905 and was a multi-purpose building with classrooms and drill space.

1902 An additional eleven acres of land is donated by Mr. and Mrs. W. P. Snead, and construction begins on the Armory, which is completed in 1905.

1912 The Academy’s first president, Dr. William Hatcher, dies August 24, 1912. His son, Dr. Eldridge B. Hatcher is selected to succeed him as the school’s second president.

1914 Col. Clayton E. Crosland is named the Academy’s third president.

1916 Hatcher Hall begins construction.

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Success Stories

Seen here in this photo from the 1910 Skirmisher, Snead Hall (at left) and the Armory were located on the outside edges of the current Fraley Circle, near the current Middle School Gym and Snead Hall barracks, respectively.

Hatcher Hall, shown here under construction in a 1916 photograph, was designed by President Crosland to be the picture postcard image of the Academy. It was completed over several years as money was available.

The photo at right is one of the few showing the location of the Academy’s original three buildings in relation to each other. This campus configuration was short-lived, as Snead Hall and the Armory were destroyed by fire in January of 1923.

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1917 Col. Nathaniel J. Perkins is named acting president. He is named the Academy’s fourth president in 1918.

1923 In January 1923, two separate fires destroy Snead Hall and the Armory. Arson is suspected. The only building standing on campus is Hatcher Hall.

The Armory burned to the ground in January 1923.

The decision is made to rebuild rather than close the school.

Construction begins on a new barracks building to be named Snead Hall, and the Alumni Gymnasium, now known as the Middle School Gymnasium. Both buildings are completed in time for the 1923-1924 academic year.

1926 The original Snead Hall was destroyed by fire in January 1923 within days of the Armory burning.

Arson was suspected. In the photo below, the woman in the foreground is believed to be Mrs. W. P. Snead.

Hatcher Hall is visible behind her.

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A well is sunk near the campus, adjacent to Careby Hall, and strikes a stream of artesian water at 306 feet. The Academy became one of the few boarding schools at the time to boast of having hot and cold water in the barracks drawn from pure artesian well waters. The well remains today, and was tapped during a recent drought year to provide additional fresh water for the Fork Union community at large.

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Snead Hall barracks (above) and the Alumni Gymnasium (below, now called the Middle School Gym), shown in these photographs from 1924, were completed between January 1923 and the opening of the 1923-1924 school year in the fall of 1923.

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This 1927 photograph shows the view from the main gate looking toward the Alumni Gymnasium, Hatcher Hall, and Snead Hall barracks. The entrance road is lined with young saplings that would become the towering oaks we see today.

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Success Stories

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The familiar layout of the Fork Union Military Academy campus began to take shape in this aerial photograph from the mid-1930s.

In the lower left foreground can be seen the residence that now serves as the Alumni House Museum. Fraley Circle began to take its modern form and accommodates the motor vehicles that can be seen parked on its perimeter. At left can be seen the Alumni Gymnasium with the junior school building located directly behind it. Behind that can be seen the D Annex barracks. Just visible between the Gym and Hatcher Hall is the Junior School recitation hall. Hatcher Hall commands the center of the campus, with Snead Hall barracks dominating the right side of the circle.

The D Annex barracks (below) was added in 1935 in the space behind the Alumni Gymasium now occupied by the Sabre Shop. D Annex housed approximately 100 students and the quartermaster.

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The Junior School building (above) was added in about 1930 directly behind the Alumni Gymasium and provided classrooms, activity space, and faculty lounge area for the new junior school. This building was later used for faculty apartments before being demolished in recent years. The Bronson Commons now occupies this area of campus.

Success Stories

1930 Dr. John J. Wicker becomes the school’s fifth president and leads the school during a period of remarkable growth.

Dr. Wicker founds the junior school of the Academy. A new building is constructed for the junior school directly behind the Alumni Gymnasium.

1935 A new barracks, D Annex, is built in time for the 1935-1936 academic year to house about 100 students, as well as two faculty members, a lounge, and the quartermaster’s shop. The building is located behind the Alumni Gymnasium.

1937 The John J. Wicker Chapel is built and dedicated on November 6, 1937.

The Social Center Building was added in 1938 and has served a number of functions through the years. Initially a center of student activities, the building known as Vaughan Hall later housed the Commandant’s Office before being restored as the Social Center in 2013.

1938 The Social Center Building is constructed, later used as the Commandant’s Office.

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Wicker Chapel (below) was dedicated in 1937 and has been the heart of the campus ever since, as thousands of cadets have occupied its rows of wooden seats. The building was recently restored to near original condition.

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1940 The late 1930s and 1940s was a time of tremendous growth on campus as burgeoning student enrollment had FUMA facilities nearly bursting at the seams.

Perkins Hall is built beside Hatcher Hall. Originally used for science classrooms and labs, Perkins Hall now houses the Academy’s technology center.

This 1941 photograph shows Perkins Hall, built in 1940.

The Junior School Barracks is also built in 1940, but is originally constructed with only one wing of dorm rooms on three floors.

The building is expanded in 1942 to its current size, adding the B Company wing.

1941 Memorial Barracks is built to house additional Upper School students.

1942 The President’s House is built on campus just off the front of Fraley Circle. The home is now the Chaplain’s Residence.

The infirmary is moved out of Hatcher Hall and into a structure known as The Maples south of Snead Hall.

1943 The Junior School Barracks is expanded to its current size.

Memorial Hall, shown here in a 1945 photograph, was built in 1941 to provide barracks space for Upper School cadets.

The Junior School Academic Building is constructed.

1944 Annexes are completed at the back of Snead Hall for each company to provide extra housing space

1945 Col. James C. Wicker is named the Academy’s sixth president, replacing his father upon the elder Wicker’s retirement.

The Stadium is built to provide permanent seating for the football field and parade grounds.

1946 The President’s House was built in the early part of the 1940s. This photograph was taken in 1945.

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The Central Heating Plant with its distinctive brick smokestack is built.

Success Stories

The 1940s saw the expansion of the Junior School, with the construction of the barracks in 1940. The building was originally built with just a single threestory wing of dorm rooms.

By 1943, the Junior School barracks had been expanded to its current size with the addition of another wing, doubling the capacity of the building.

The Junior School academic building was added in 1943 to provide classrooms, study hall, and administrative offices for the growing Junior School program.

By 1942, the infirmary had been moved from inside Hatcher Hall to the wooden structure south of Snead Hall known as The Maples.

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Success Stories

An aerial view of the Academy in 1948.

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The Retan Library was built in 19461947 and dedicated in 1947 in honor of George Owen Retan, a FUMA alumnus who was killed in World War II. This building is now known as Flag Hall and provides space for the band and music programs of the Academy.

The M. C. Thomas Gymnasium was completed in 1949.

The Sabre Shop was built in 1955 in the area behind the Alumni Gymnasium formerly occupied by D Annex.

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Success Stories

1947 The Retan Library is dedicated in the fall of 1947 in memory of a FUMA alumnus, George Owen Retan, killed in World War II. This former library building is now also known as Flag Hall and serves as the band room.

1949 The M. C. Thomas Gymnasium is completed.

1953 D Annex is destroyed by fire.

1955 The Sabre Shop is built in the area of the destroyed D Annex.

The main entrance gate and arch were built in 1962.

1958 The swimming pool is added behind the Thomas Gymnasium.

1962 The campus Entrance Gate and Arch are built.

The Fork Union Motor Lodge and Restaurant are completed.

1966 Underground tunnels are constructed connecting most of the central campus’ main buildings to the central heating plant.

The swimming pool was added to the Thomas Gymnasium in 1958.

The Fork Union Motor Lodge was built in 1962. Still in use as a motel facility owned by the Academy, the restaurant is currently named The Cadet Diner and is privately owned and operated.

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1968 Col. Kenneth T. Whitescarver becomes the Academy’s seventh president.

1969 The illuminated fountain is built at the southwest corner of the grounds.

The fountain was added in 1969 and Wicker Science Building followed in 1970.

1970 The J. Caldwell Wicker Science Building is completed and dedicated in October of 1970, housing one of the only planetariums in a Virginia private school.

1974 Hoffman Supply Center and the Rifle Range are constructed.

1978 Yeatman Infirmary is built.

Yeatman Infirmary was built in 1978.

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An aerial view of the campus in 1978 showing the back side of the campus. Hoffman Supply Center is at lower left, between the smokestack and a storage building.

Success Stories

1982 Memorial Hall addition is completed.

1983 Beatty Library is constructed beginning in the spring of 1983, and completed in January, 1984.

1989 The Estes Athletic Center is completed and opens on October 27, 1989.

Beatty Library was added in 1983.

1991 Renovations are made to Snead Hall barracks in the summer of 1991.

Col. Charles T. Clanton is named the Academy’s eighth president.

1992 Moretz Academic Center, a second-story addition to the Wicker Science Building containing twelve classrooms, is completed.

The Estes Athletic Center opened in 1989.

In 1992, the Moretz Academic Center was added atop the Wicker Science Building.

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1994 Lt. Gen. John E. Jackson, Jr. becomes the Academy’s ninth president.

Construction of the dining hall gets underway.

1995 Pruitt Lake and Pavilion are completed and dedicated.

1998 The Veterans Memorial is constructed near the main entrance to the campus.

General Jackson began to oversee construction of the dining hall soon after his arrival as president.

The Dorothy Thomasson Estes Dining Hall is dedicated on May, 1, 1998.

1999 The Academic Center, a complete renovation and transformation of the lower levels of Hatcher Hall, is completed.

2000 The E. H. Lacy Track is completed.

The Veterans Memorial was completed in 1998.

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The Pruitt Lake and Pavilion facility was among the first campus improvements made by General Jackson.

Success Stories

General Jackson and Chairman Bill Vakos look on as Ed Estes and members of his family cut the ribbon opening the Dorothy Thomasson Estes Dining Hall in May 1998.

The Academic Center, opened in 1998, added more classroom space to the lower levels of Hatcher Hall.

The Gus Lacy Track has hosted many top track athletes in major meets since its opening in 2000.

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2003 The Sarah Alice Bronson Commons is dedicated in May 2003, offering a quiet spot on campus for relaxation and reflection.

2004 A new wastewater treatment plant is constructed, a vital part of the Academy’s infrastructure, though unlikely to appear on picture postcards.

Bronson Commons was dedicated in May 2003.

2006 A major addition to the Beatty Library is finished, nearly doubling the size of the library and adding classrooms, a computer lab, and meeting space.

The Caruthers Tennis Courts are completed.

The Aquatic Center is constructed at the back side of the Estes Athletic Center.

2008 Major renovations are completed on the John J. Wicker Chapel, restoring the building to its original interior appearance.

2009 The watewater treatment plant was added in 2004 providing a critically-needed infrastructure improvement.

A new press box is constructed at the football stadium. The twostory building has a third level observation deck and facilities for a snack bar.

A major addition to the Beatty Library doubled its size in 2006 and added classroom and meeting space.

The new tennis courts were opened in 2006.

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Success Stories

The Aquatic Center was completed in 2006. Since then, FUMA’s swim team has become a nationally-ranked powerhouse, winning the state championship the past two years.

Major renovations to the exterior and interior of Wicker Chapel were made in 2008, restoring and improving the chapel facility.

A new press box, a two-story structure with two balconies and a third-level observation deck, was added in 2009 atop the football stadium. The ground floor houses facilities for a snack bar.

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2010 The Academy breaks ground on the new barracks building, Jacobson Hall.

2011 RADM J. Scott Burhoe, recently retired from the U. S. Coast Guard where he served as the Superintendant of the U. S. Coast Guard Academy, becomes the Academy’s 10th President and takes up residence in historic Careby Hall, the home of the Academy’s first President, Dr. William Hatcher, at the time of the school’s founding.

2012 The Academy’s new Upper School Barracks, Jacobson Hall, opens in August, 2012.

Snead Hall is demolished, opening up green space beside the Chapel.

2013 Memorial Hall Barracks and the Fork Union Motor Lodge are demolished.

Vaughan Hall is renovated and reopens as cadet Social Center with games and recreational amenities.

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The groundbreaking ceremony for Jacobson Hall was held in October, 2010 during Parents Weekend.

Dr. William Hatcher’s Fork Union home, Careby Hall, was purchased by the parents of a FUMA cadet and donated to the Academy where it now once again serves as the President’s Residence.

Success Stories

Snead Hall was reduced to rubble in the summer of 2012, as Jacobson Hall, seen in the background, neared completion.

Vaughan Hall was renovated and restored to its original role as Social Center for cadets to use for recreation and relaxation.

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Jacobson Hall, the Academy’s state-of-the-art barracks facility, opened in August 2012 for use by Upper School cadets.

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4744 James Madison Highway Fork Union, VA 23055 | USA www.forkunion.com

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1-800-GO-2-FUMA (1-800-462-3862) 1-434-842-3212

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Hatcher Hall (Admissions Office / Classrooms) Perkins Technology Center Hoffman Supply Center (Quartermaster) Retan Flag Hall / Band Room John J. Wicker Chapel Yeatman Infirmary Jacobson Hall Vaughan Hall (Social Center) J. C. Wicker Science Hall & Planetarium (Lower Level)

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Moretz Learning Center (Upper Level) Fountain Veterans Memorial Marsh Alumni House and Museum Success Stories

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Football Stadium / Parade Field Baseball Field Baseball Field Soccer Practice Field Athletic Field Tennis Courts Intramural Field Gus Lacy Outdoor Track and Rightmyer Athletic Field (Soccer, Lacrosse, Track & Field)

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Chaplain’s House Guy E. Beatty Library Dorothy Thomasson Estes Dining Hall Faculty Row Middle School Academic Building www.forkunion.com

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Middle School Barracks Sabre Shop (Snack Bar) M. C. Thomas Gymnasium Estes Athletic Center Aquatic Center / Pool Pruitt Pond and Pavilion Faculty Housing 45

The Legacya of Useful Man

Ah Fong Yeung arrived from China in 1900 to become the Academy’s first international student.

I

n 1900, a 15-year-old boy named Ah Fong Yeung arrived in Fork Union from Canton, China (now known as Guangzhou, China).

His father was an assistant to the longtime Baptist missionary in the Guangdong Province, Dr. Rosewell Graves, and he had attended English school in China for three years. His hope was to attend Richmond College (now known as the University of Richmond).

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Ah Fong Yeung arrived in the company of Robert Chambers, the head of the China-America Baptist Publishing Society in Guangzhou. Mr. Chambers introduced the young Chinese boy to Dr. William Hatcher at the Grace Street Baptist Church where Dr. Hatcher was pastor. It was apparent that Yeung would not yet be ready to college level work, so Dr. Hatcher suggested that he be enrolled in Dr. Hatcher’s new academy in Success Stories

Fork Union, as the school’s very first international student. His brother, Ah Ping Yeung, joined him at Fork Union in the early 1900s.

Be Useful Men

Dr. Hatcher took a personal interest in Ah Fong Yeung and even gave him room and board in his own family’s home, Careby Hall. Yueng learned quickly and soon became known for his oratorical skills. Dr. Hatcher asked Yeung to speak of his experiences before many and varied audiences, beginning with Dr. Hatcher’s afternoon Boys Meetings at Grace Street Baptist.

Yeung spoke of the differences between his life growing up in China and the life he found in America. He urged the boys, “When you grow up, be useful men in this world”

with his wife Ling, receiving a full scholarship to attend Ah Fong Yeung’s alma mater, the University of Richmond. Like his grandfather before him, Wu finished his graduate studies in New York. John and Ling Wu became U. S. citizens and continued to travel between their home in Maryland, work in Beijing, and visits with family in Shanghai.

A little more than a century after Ah Fong Yeung became the Academy’s first international student from China, his great grandon, Daniel Wu, the son of John and Ling, enrolled at Fork Union Military Academy.

Within his first months at FUMA, Daniel Wu as promoted to Sergeant and, like his great-grandfather before him, was called upon to make a speech by the school’s president. This time the audience was the Academy’s Board of Trustees. The trustees were well-impressed with the young man’s ability and confidence - a legacy received from Ah Fong Yeung, no doubt.

“When you grow up, be useful men in this world”

Yueng continued to speak before larger and larger audiences, serving as a commencement speaker alongside William Heth Witsitt, the former president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, addressing First Baptist Church in Richmond, and even sharing the speaker’s platform with the renowned Baptist missionary to China, Lottie Moon.

On to College and Career in China

Daniel Wu graduated with his fellow students in the Class of 2005, stepping out to become, as his great-grandfather urged, “useful men in this world.”

Daniel Wu, the great grandson of Ah Fong Yeung, graduated from Fork Union Military Academy in 2005.

After graduating from Fork Union, Yeung did go to attend Richmond College, graduating in 1909.

He then moved to New York to complete his graduate studies at Columbia University.

In 1911, Yeung returned home to China just as that country was transforming from the imperial rule of the Qing Dynasty into the Republic of China. In 1913, Yeung was recruited to serve as an official in the fledgling government in a position as the Director of Foreign Affairs on the island of Hainam. By 1915, Ah Fong Yeung had left government service and was a professor at the Baptist Theological Seminary and also the head of a Baptist Academy in China. Yeung continued to serve as an educator and editor of religious publications in China.

A Legacy Continued

Ah Fong Yueng’s grandson, John Wu, came to the United States from Shanghai in the 1980s www.forkunion.com

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Peter Lomong (second from left) gets off the starting line at a recent relay race at FUMA.

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Success Stories

It’s the kind of remarkable success story that always seems to happen at that one special place...

Only at FUMA!

By MAJ Winston Brown

T

his story starts with one name – Lopez Lomong. The Sudanese lost boy turned American Olympian is a story big enough to fill this publication. So for brevity’s sake, I’ll give you the abridged edition.

A Lost Boy of Sudan Runs for His Life

Lomong was captured as a six-year-old and forced into the rebel army in South Sudan. His likely assignment would have been as a “human shield” in this bitter civil war, but he and two other boys daringly escaped through a hole in the camp’s fence and ran for three days and nights. They thought they were headed back home to Kimotong but were, in fact, going in the other direction. They ended up in Kenya where they were captured and sent to the Kakuma Refugee Camp. Lopez lived there for ten long years before a mission program led to his being adopted by a couple in upstate New York.

In the meantime, Lomong’s family back home in Sudan had performed a funeral for him years earlier, assuming he was dead.

In America, the athletic Lopez would become a track and field star in high school. That would

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be the easy part. Lomong came to America with no formal education whatsoever. In just three years he would learn a new language, learn how to read, and manage to successfully fulfill the requirements to graduate from high school.

Enter HBO’s “Real Sports”

After a year at Norfolk State University, Lomong headed west to Northern Arizona University and the thin air of Flagstaff. After winning a couple of NCAA track titles, his story caught the eye of HBO’s Real Sports and the show decided to take him back to Africa to find his family. The emotional fifteen-minute segment chronicled Lopez’s return to Sudan and the reunion with his parents and siblings.

While in Africa with the film crew, Lopez met two younger brothers he never knew he had – Peter and Alex Lomong. The broadcast segment ended with Lomong stating he wanted to give his two young brothers the opportunity to someday come to America and attend school as he had.

And this is where the FUMA side of the story begins...

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I remember thinking that October night that maybe FUMA could be the place for the young Lomong brothers. I looked at my wife Beth who was finishing up a good cry. We had recently moved into a decent-sized home off campus, we had no children and I personally had hit a point in my career at FUMA where I was asking what next? We knew instantly what we wanted to do.

Using the FUMA Network

Friends and family of Lopez Lomong in his home village of Kimotong in South Sudan.

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Fortunately, we had a connection to Lopez through the always reliable “FUMA Family.”

Within fifteen minutes of the segment I was in contact with FUMA alumnus and track standout David Fleenor (class of 1988). David had become a close friend during an incredible run of FUMA track teams in recent years. He gave a great deal of time to the program through the lens of his camera. His pictures told the story of the super successful times we were in, winning 21 state track titles in a row, having a National

Champion runner, winning 20 consecutive championship meets in the three running sports.

Fleenor had been a teammate of Lopez’s coach, John Hayes, while running in college for the University of Georgia. David was as quick to the draw as we were and in the same evening that we saw the incredible piece on Lopez, we were already in contact with him. Those are the kind of track network connections you wouldn’t find at most high schools today - only at FUMA! Hurdles to Cross

As fast as the contact came, there were still many obstacles ahead and much to do. Lomong was now a professional athlete and in the middle of trying to make his first Olympic team. FUMA ran the table for one more year, becoming state champions once again behind the exploits of Jeremy Haney, Brian Zitterkopf and Austin Ofoma.

Success Stories

To celebrate our fourth anniversary, my wife and I embarked on a cross country journey to Oregon to watch the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials at historic Hayward Field in Eugene. We had talked several times with Lopez about bringing his brothers over but we had never met him in person. By chance I bumped into him in the festival area of the trials. He was surprised to see me and obviously preoccupied by the daunting task ahead. Lomong would run in the now famous 800 meter final and finish 5th behind the Oregonian sweep. He had one more event and one more chance to go to Beijing. On the final day of the trials, Lomong had the intensity of a prize fighter as the finalists of the 1500 toed the line. With a ferocious last 400, he punched his ticket to the Olympics and, little did he know, an even bigger honor.

Lomong’s job that much tougher.

We didn’t hear from him for several months, and our once eager anticipation of this undertaking soon turned to worry. We heard from Lopez in November, and he informed us it would take another trip to get all the paperwork finished.

After Christmas of 2008, he returned to Kenya in hopes of bringing back his brothers. To finish the process, he had to take the boys from Kenya back to Sudan to obtain passports, a difficult and dangerous task. Though he was successful, one more hurdle remained in the process - the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. After telling the Embassy worker to take his credit card and ”swipe it as many times as you need,” the final approval was granted and we got the call that they’d been successful.

We met Lopez at the fence along the edge of the track. The victory lap taken by all three qualifiers has become a ceremony in itself. Lopez was trembling when we briefly spoke, “Coach, I’ll get the boys when the Olympics are over!”

Olympic Flag Bearer

Lopez arrived in Beijing to learn that he had been chosen by his teammates to carry the American flag in the Opening Cermony, a huge honor not handed out lightly. For the former “lost boy” who once subsisted on one meal a day, how big was it to be carrying the flag for the most powerful nation on earth on the world’s biggest stage? It has been said in Ancient times that Olympians are chosen by the gods. Lopez Lomong is living proof of that.

Lomong finished out the Olympiad by making the semifinals of the 1500. At a time when most Olympians are attending parades and parties in their honor, he made good on his promise in Eugene and left immediately for Africa. Armed with all the paperwork we thought he would need, he was met with a sea of red tape.

Wading Through Red Tape

Life for the Sudanese often requires them to move at a moment’s notice due to the ongoing war. The Lomong family spends a great deal of time living apart. For Rita Lomong, Lopez’s mother, that means living in Kenya when things get dangerous. The split residency only made www.forkunion.com

A Red Letter Day

In my time at FUMA, I have had the privilege to help several international students come here to school. One of the perks is waiting for them at the International Terminal at Dulles Airport.

There is an energy there that I imagine isn’t much different than the old days at Ellis Island.

Peter, Lopez, and Alex Lomong (left to right) attend the Penn Relays in 2009, shortly after the boys’ arrival in the U.S.

On February 13, 2009, my father-in-law and I made the trip to the airport and waited for that magic moment when Peter, Alex and Lopez would come through the double doors of customs and begin their time in America. In the late afternoon on a chilly day far different from those in Sub-Saharan Africa, they arrived. It was a moment that none of us will ever forget!

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The next few months would be filled with adjustment and assimilation. Peter and Alex did a fantastic job of learning a new language and a new way of life. Beth and I were often given a glimpse into the harsh realities of life in a ThirdWorld country. Not long after they arrived, the younger brother, Alex, was diagnosed with tuberculosis. In Africa, tuberculosis is often a deadly disease but thanks to both the Infirmary staff and the local Health Department, Alex was successfully treated and is no longer at risk.

There were many wonderful times as well, times of discovery of things that many of us take for granted: things like warm water, amusement parks, toys, the basic joys of childhood. On their second day in America, the two brothers with swift precision and wonderful economy of motion successfully treed a squirrel – on the Downtown Mall of Charlottesville.

Peter, Jonah, Lopez, and Alex enjoy a moment together before Lopez competed in the 2012 Olympic Trials to earn his spot on the U. S. Olympic Team for the second time.

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Peter and Alex also brought a bit of luck to our home. In the early weeks after their arrival, my wife seemed tired and overwhelmed by the experience. Not long after a clumsy pep talk on my part, we discovered that our family would grow by one more. On November 19th of that year we welcomed Jonah Kiptoo Purcell Brown into the world. His arrival made for a wonderful conclusion to a year of massive change.

The track team lost the state title for the first time in twenty-one years, my mother nearly died three times, and Beth and I went from zero to three children.

The Brothers Blossom

Though Peter and Alex are brothers, their time in Africa was very different. Alex went with his mother to Kenya, where he more than likely contracted TB. He and Peter did not see one another for three years. Peter, like so many young boys in Africa, was left to help with the farm and specifically the cattle. His days in Kimotong consisted of taking the cows out to pasture early in the morning and returning just before sundown with hopefully all the cows in tow.

Though both boys had an uphill climb academically, it was obvious from early on that Peter would do whatever it took to succeed. In his first Fork Union Invitational, he claimed a coveted Top-Five t-shirt, and without hesitation he tossed it to a friend and teammate. It was an extraordinary act of kindness for a boy of thirteen.

Both have overcome huge obstacles to become local heroes and productive cadets. After finishing his treatment for tuberculosis, Alex began to slowly improve his English and blossom as more than just a little brother. Both possess a boatload of God-given talent for running, just like their big brother Lopez.

While Peter and Alex worked their way through the often awkward middle school years, Lopez began to fully realize the American dream. In 2009, he finished the track season with a world top-ten ranking. His story was put to paper with the release of his autobiography, Running For My Life. He also started a foundation to help those in his village in South Sudan. The endorsement frenzy that comes with every Olympic year has been good to Lopez as well, with deals coming from Proctor and Gamble, VISA, and Nike. In June 2012, he made his second Olympic team and ran his way to the final in London where he placed tenth in the world.

In mid-September, we all celebrated Lopez’s return from the 2012 Olympics with his arrival at our home. On the Sunday before he left to finish his book signing tour, the three Lomong brothers headed out to the woods of our home to play with airsoft rifles. At that moment it Success Stories

occurred to me just how much their lives had changed. Laughing and rolling around on the ground while dodging little pellets is a far cry from the way life used to be. For Lopez it was a brief piece of childhood that he never had the opportunity to have. It was a lesson in how good we all have it in America.

One of the great aspects of these years with the Lomong brothers has been the tremendous outpouring of help from not just the “FUMA Family” but the local community as well. Though I have taught and coached here since 1997, I have now learned what a great school we really have from the parent’s side.

I don’t know if this could happen at any other school. Is there another school that could take two boys from such a different background and make it work so well? Would another community be as good as this one is to Peter and Alex?

How many professional athletes are as selfless as Lopez Lomong? How lucky was FUMA to happen upon three wonderful young men? Only at FUMA!

Alex and Peter flank Lopez as they join him for his victory lap in Eugene, OR after he won his spot on the U. S. Olympic Team running the 5,000 meter event.

Peter and Alex Lomong at FUMA.

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“For those who have nothing and nobody...”

Our Founder’s Thoughts on “Access”

Dr. William E. Hatcher’s biography, written by his son Eldridge Hatcher, is full of tales of the sacrifices he made to provide for the boys who attended his school. Even in the last year of his life, as he traveled throughout South Carolina preaching for revival services, one of his traveling companions suggested he take a sleeper car so he could rest on the train overnight. Dr. Hatcher refused, saying, “I curtail every expense possible; for you know there are several boys looking to me for help.” At seventy-eight years of age, he would still sit up all night on a train so his money could go to help the poor students at his Academy.

In one of his letters to a fellow pastor, Dr. Hatcher wrote:

“The school at Fork Union, supposed to be a mine of gold to me, has never yielded me one copper of income though it has offered it to me several times, but the school has needed my help so much that I felt it was more necessary, if not more blessed, to give than receive, and much of what little comes my way goes into the life of that school in the way of helping very gifted and ambitious, needy boys.”

His son writes:

“He took pride in the thought that the Academy was a giver rather than a recipient....

Yea, he rejoiced that he had done far more, he had made it a fountain of blessing in the aid and training that it had given to many a poor ambitious boy and in the sending out of wellequipped young men into the denomination to fill its pulpits, its professor’s chairs and other positions of influence. It was this fact that cheered him and nerved him to his sacrifices and activities.”

“The regnant principle of the Academy,” Eldridge Hatcher wrote, “was to help the fellow at the bottom.” He records his father’s words: “Fork Union has a way of finding gifted and aspiring boys and helping them to get their

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education - those of them at least which need help. This constitutes one feature of the school in which my heart is most deeply interested.

It has come to pass that Fork Union is known to be a place where bright and clever boys love to come because it is known that we try to make it easier for those who have nothing and nobody to help them in starting.”

In the last weeks of his life, his health declining, Dr. Hatcher worried whether the Academy would even continue to exist after his death. As he considered this, he said to his wife, “Well, even though it should die, it has at least given me the opportunity of helping many a poor boy get an education.”

Dr. Hatcher’s school did not die with him, though his vision of this Academy as a place that tries to “make it easier for those who have nothing and nobody to help them in starting” is becoming more of a challenge in these economic times with rising costs.

This school now falls to our collective stewardship to keep Dr. Hatcher’s concept of “access” to the Academy alive and strong., and our donors continue to give generously to provide scholarships.

Dr. William E. Hatcher was a well-known Baptist minister who founded the Academy in 1898.

Success Stories

Peer Pressure

Young men in today’s world face some hard choices.

Here are some choices these young men made: Sitting, left to right: Zachary Edwards, Arizona State University Mark Graham, North Carolina State University Stephen Joslyn, James Madison University Dai Xu Yang, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Dai Ru Yang, University of Illinois Conlan Cassidy, Indiana State University Miles Willard, The Citadel Jordan Corrie, Washington and Lee University Obiero Okeyo, University of Tampa

Standing, left to right: Adrian Gamble, University of Virginia John Alexander, North Carolina State University Daniel Chae, University of Notre Dame Kordell Strauss, Hampden-Sydney College Christian Keuper, Texas A & M Luke Doub, University of Colorado Jin Jang, Boston University

Typical kids, outstanding results. www.forkunion.com

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Kevin Plank

Under Armour Founder Honored as Distinguished Alumnus

Kevin Plank addresses the alumni and guests at the dinner where Plank was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus of the Academy.

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Success Stories

“A

ll roads lead back to Fork Union, Virginia,” said Kevin Plank, founder and CEO of Under Armour addressing alumni and friends during a recent Alumni Weekend. Plank, a member of the Class of 1991, was being honored as a Distinguished Alumnus during the Alumni Dinner.

“I honestly can say that much of my success is attributed to my time spent at the Academy,” Plank explained. “The relationships I formed while I was there will be ones that I continue to carry in both my personal life and professional career.”

Plank, the founder and CEO of Under Armour Apparel, played on Coach John Shuman’s varsity football team as a postgraduate and went on to become special teams captain at the University of Maryland.

Plank said that when he was playing football he began to grow weary of the sweat-soaked cotton t-shirt. “I had a great product concept to create the ultimate t-shirt – one that would not absorb moisture.”

The idea, however, would not become successful unless it was launched with the help of the right people.

Twenty-three of Plank’s teammates at Fork Union went on to play football at Division I colleges and universities. One of his friends, Eddie George, won the Heisman Trophy at Ohio State University. Thirteen of his FUMA buddies ended up in the NFL. “I have to give credit to those friends from FUMA that helped me get the product out to the general public,” he says. “The network of guys that I met at FUMA, including Eddie George and other NFL draft picks, were the people I needed to try the product and attest to its quality.” www.forkunion.com

In a 2012 interview with the Harvard Business Review, Plank explained further, saying, “This is a piece of the Under Armour story that most people don’t appreciate. They focus on the innovative product. But I wasn’t just a guy who created a new kind of athletic wear. I had friends inside the locker rooms of more than a dozen professional football teams. Although Under Armour has become a $1 billion brand by selling to consumers, I created it as a product for elite athletes.

And when I was laying plans for the business, my contacts among these NFL players were a vital part of my strategy.”

Plank was a member of the 1990-91 Varsity Football Team and a postgraduate in the Class of 1991 at Fork Union Military Academy.

Plank has turned his synthetic fiber concept into an apparel revolution. Under Plank’s direction, Under Armour has grown exponentially and is now available in more than 8,000 retail locations worldwide. Under Armour apparel is worldwide and is now the official supplier of performance apparel to Major League Lacrosse, the National Hockey League, USA Baseball and the U.S. Ski Team. It is also worn by every collegiate and professional team.

Among his accomplishments, Plank has been named to the Sports Business Journal “Forty under 40” top young executive list three years in a row and has been featured in USA Today, ESPN the Magazine, Inc. Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company and more.

Plank’s business success was aided by his friendship with teammates such as Eddie George (center), seen here with Tyrone Davis (left) who played a number of years with the Jets and Packers, and Warren Forney (right), who was an All-ACC player at Clemson.

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One of our favorite recent photographs of the Retan Rifles on parade, taken in May, 2005.

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Success Stories

The Retan Rifles

T

he drill team of Fork Union Military Academy was first established in 1956 and became known as The Hatcher Rifles. In 1961, the unit was renamed The Retan Rifles, to honor the memory of George Owen Retan, a former cadet who was killed in action during World War II. As we celebrate the history of The Retan Rifles, it seems appropriate to tell the story of the young man in whose memory they are named.

We invite you to read “Remembering Retan� on the following pages.

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The Hatcher Rifles, seen here in 1957, were formed in the mid-1950s and were the forerunners of the Retan Rifles.

The drill team was renamed the Retan Rifles in 1961, and can be seen here performing on the Academy’s parade grounds in that year.

Through the years the Retan Rifles became known for putting on elaborate and deathdefying performances spinning and throwing heavy military rifles with sharp bayonets affixed, as in this photo from 2005.

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Success Stories

It is fair to say that the Retan Rifle units of the mid-1980s were legendary for their precision and skill. The unit is seen here in about 1982, marching in a community parade.

The Retan Rifles have regularly appeared at the Dogwood Festival and Apple Blossom Parades, often taking home awards.

Led by Constantine Wilson in 1982, the Retan Rifles traveled to Massanutten for a competition against rival teams on the east coast and won every single trophy to be awarded that day.

Wilson continues to be involved in drill teams as founder of the New Guard America, performing exhibitions, competing, and training drill teams. Check him out at newguardusa.com The Retan Rifles would travel to Orlando in 1984 to compete in Nationals, where they placed third in the nation.

Even the Silent Drill Team of the U. S. Marine Corps showed the Retan Rifles a high level of respect, seen here stopping by their quarters to ask Cadet R. C. Schrom to teach them some of his tricks.

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Remembering Retan

by Dan Thompson

“A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it remembers, the men it honors.�

John F. Kennedy

The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment jumped into Holland on September 17, 1944 as part of the largest airborne invasion ever made to that time.

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Success Stories

H

e stood erect and strong, his posture and sure step belying his age of almost eighty-nine years.

“Can we stop here a moment?” he’d asked. “I’d like to see that up close.” He remained for a long quiet minute or two, just reading the words of the plaque, taking it all in.

IN HONORED MEMORY OF LT. GEORGE OWEN RETAN GRADUATED FORK UNION MILITARY ACADEMY JUNE 2, 1941 KILLED IN ACTION HOLLAND SEPTEMBER 17, 1944

Colonel Ed Shames walked slowly back to the golf cart and sat down heavily. Not a word was spoken as we rolled away to our next stop. For the first time during his visit on May 20, 2011, the open and engaging Colonel Shames seemed at a loss for words.

“That really makes you think, “ Shames said finally. “Why him? Why not me? Why did I make it through and not George?”

It’s a Boy

On February 1, 1923, a son was born to Dr. George Matthew Retan and his wife Emilie.

After fathering two daughters, Geraldine and Lucille, there’s no doubt that Dr. Retan was proud to have a son, but he was not to be named George Matthew Retan, Jr. It seems that Dr. Retan, an avid outdoorsman but very poor swimmer, had been on a fishing trip in the Adirondacks when he somehow managed to fall out of his canoe and found himself in deep trouble. His friend and fishing companion, a man named Owen, saved Dr. Retan’s life that day. And so it was decided that Dr. Retan’s son would carry the name George Owen Retan.

Dr. Retan served as a professor of pediatrics at Syracuse University, and he maintained a private practice out of the family’s home on James Street in Syracuse, New York. Dr. Retan was something of a pioneer and researcher in medicine and his name remains a footnote in today’s medical journals. He owned one of the first x-ray www.forkunion.com

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machines in private practice in New York. His early research on the treatment of a dangerous type of childhood intestinal blockage (known as intussusception) using a barium enema while observing the process by x-ray fluoroscopy was published and helped popularize this form of treatment. He also researched innovative treatments for childhood polio, and a chapter is dedicated to his efforts in a 1939 book entitled “Modern Miracle Men.” His controversial treatment methods became outdated, however, once the polio vaccine was developed.

Cadet Retan

George Owen Retan seemed to have inherited his father’s intelligence, and he began to distinguish himself as a student when he enrolled as a freshman at Fork Union Military Academy in September of 1937 and was assigned to C Company.

His freshman year he earned a report card filled with mostly A’s and only the occasional grade of B.

The society pages of the Syracuse newspapers often carried news of Dr. George Retan, the wellknown physician, and his family.

Dr. Retan and his wife earned frequent mentions in the local George Owen Retan press for their participation in various cultural entered FUMA in 1937 and charitable activities in Syracuse, so when as a freshman. young George Owen Retan made the honor roll at Fork Union Military Academy, that news was prominently reported in the hometown newspaper.

Cadet Retan earned officer’s rank during his four years of high school at the Academy and served as part of the editorial staff for the “Skirmisher” (the Academy’s yearbook) and as an officer in the Athenian Literary Society.

Retan graduated as a senior in 1941.

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His senior photograph shows a clear-eyed young man in an officer’s coatee with two stars at his collar. These stars were worn on the uniform at that

time as “academic stars” indicating outstanding performance in the classroom, and the officer’s rank was worn on the sleeve. Retan’s academic achievement earned him admission to one of the nation’s top Ivy League institutions. He enrolled in the prestigious Cornell University following his graduation from Fork Union Military Academy on June 2, 1941.

Winds of War

As George Owen Retan embarked on his college career as a freshman at Cornell, the United States was facing the likelihood of greater involvement in the war that had been building on the European continent and stretching into Africa and Asia. Hitler in Germany and Hirohito in Japan were spreading turmoil across much of the world and the Americans would not be able to stand on the sidelines much longer.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise raid on Pearl Harbor, sinking many ships of the U. S. Navy and guaranteeing the Americans’ entry into World War II. The very next day, George Retan left the campus of Cornell University to visit his father in the office of his medical practice. He declared to his father his intention to leave college and join the military.

Retan finished out his freshman year, even joining the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, but he made good on his plans to join the war effort in the summer of 1942.

You’re In the Army Now

On August 25, 1942, George Owen Retan enlisted in the United States Army. When he asked the recruiter where they needed men the most, he was told they needed paratroopers, so that’s where Retan volunteered to serve.

The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was to be a new “super unit” of elite fighters, kind of a precursor to today’s Delta Force or Seal Team Six. The 506th PIR recruited only men of better than average intelligence and physical condition, and sent them to Camp Toccoa in a remote part of Georgia to undergo the most rigorous training schedule any military unit to that time had been required to complete.

Ed Shames recalls that he and Retan must have arrived at Camp Toccoa on the same train,

Success Stories

as they ultimately were assigned together to Company I in the Third Battalion of the 506th.

Shames describes the training they went through as “almost inhumane” as the men were winnowed from almost 7,000 recruits down to about 2,500 tough, hardened fighting men. Anyone who stopped running on the regular morning runs 3-1/2 miles up (and 3-1/2 miles down) Currahee Mountain was removed from the unit. Anyone who was unable to qualify at the “expert” level with their rifle, machine gun, or mortar was eliminated. When the regiment was sent to the large rifle ranges at Clemson University to finish perfecting their marksmanship skills, no trucks were on hand to transport them. They marched the 48 miles from Toccoa to Clemson. Anyone who fell out during the long march was removed from the unit.

During this arduous training, a strong bond was formed between five friends in I Company, Shames reports. Joe Madona, Joe Beyerle, James

Japhet, Ed Shames, and George Retan became fast friends, with George as kind of their leader.

Retan seemed to know the ropes and helped them all through the training regimen, Shames recalls, displaying a level of leadership and experience that Shames now credits to Retan’s background as a FUMA cadet. “He must have learned that here,” Shames says. “I just tried to follow his lead.”

Retan’s leadership abilities were noticed by his commanding officers, and Retan was soon promoted to Sergeant and placed in charge of a squad.

In December of 1942, the regiment was to travel to Fort Benning for parachute jump school.

First Battalion traveled by train from Toccoa to Benning.

Second Battalion marched 102 miles to Atlanta in three days and then took a train to Benning. Third Battalion, Retan’s battalion, took the train to Atlanta, and then marched 136 miles in four days to arrive at Fort Benning, smashing a record for long distance marching previously set by the Imperial Japanese Army. The 506th PIR was attracting attention as an elite airborne unit like none before.

Retan was promoted to Sergeant within months of his enlistment in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

More specialized training continued for the regiment and by February of 1943, Ed Shames had also been promoted to Staff Sergeant and moved to Headquarters Staff, but he still remained close with his buddies in I Company.

Recruiting posters like this one encouraged men between the ages of 18 and 32 to join the Army paratroopers.

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On September 5, 1943, the regiment boarded the troop ship Samaria and sailed for England.

The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was soon to become one of the most renowned units of the 101st Airborne Division. George Retan and his buddies were going to war.

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D-Day: The Normandy Invasion

As the landing craft hit the beaches at Omaha Beach and Utah Beach at dawn on June 6, 1944, George Retan and his comrades had already been in combat for several hours.

The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was one of a number of airborne units that jumped into German-held territory in the hours past midnight. The Third Battalion of the 506th was to secure two bridges across the Douve River east of the town of Carentan, France. The Germans had built these bridges in recent months so they could quickly move reinforcements to the beach to meet the expected invasion. It was critical that these bridges be seized and controlled if the beach landings were to succeed.

In the darkness, amid a hail of anti-aircraft fire, the transport planes bucked and swerved, trying to find their drop zones. Paratroopers jumped into uncertainty on that black night, very few landing anywhere close to their targets, most landing miles away from their objective.

Retan’s buddy, James Japhet, never made it into the fight. His plane was hit and the right engine and wing caught on fire. The paratroopers were unable to jump and the plane crashed, killing all aboard.

Joe Beyerle landed on a church in Saint-Cômedu-Mont and slid down the roof to the ground below. Alone, Beyerle tried to make his way toward his objective but was captured by the Germans and spent months in POW camps before escaping and joining up with Soviet Army forces with whom he fought through the remainder of the war.

Joe Madona’s plane dropped him far from his intended drop zone and into the area of operations for the 82nd Airborne. He landed in a field flooded by the Germans to hinder paratroopers and had to act quickly to save himself and a nearby comrade from drowning on landing.

Madona would survive Normandy but was killed in action at Bastogne in January of 1945.

Ed Shames landed on the grounds of the Carnation Milk factory near Carentan, all alone.

He quickly set about finding other paratroopers and leading the way, many miles, to the bridges that were their objective.

Like his buddies, George Retan was dropped

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far away from his intended target, and within the first five minutes was wounded in the leg by shrapnel. He met up with Colonel Sink’s headquarters outfit and continued fighting for the next three days despite his wounds, until units from Utah Beach broke through and joined with them in the days following D-Day. Retan was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, though he evidently never spoke of the deeds that earned his medal for valor with his good friend Ed Shames. Shames recalls that Retan didn’t talk much about his injury or D-Day experiences, just wearing a patch on his leg. But then, most of the paratroopers landing behind enemy lines, including Shames, had wounds to show for their first experience in combat.

In the weeks following the Normandy Invasion, Retan’s wounds were treated but not all the shrapnel could be removed. He was offered the oppportunity to return to the United States for further treatment, but he elected to remain with his unit.

In the confusion and fog of war, Retan and Shames had each, separately, distinguished themselves in combat and demonstrated the special kind of leadership needed to command fighting men. They were both selected to receive battlefield commissions following Normandy and were promoted from Staff Sergeant to 2nd Lieutenant rank, two of only three men in the regiment to receive this recognition.

Ed Shames was transferred to E Company in the 2nd Battalion of the 506th and placed in command of the company’s “patrol platoon.”

George Retan was moved to A Company in the 1st Battalion of the 506th as the Assistant Platoon Leader of the 2nd Platoon.

A Quiet and Humble Leader

Bill Chivvis was a young soldier assigned to I Company as a replacement in the days following Normandy. As the Normandy veterans began returning to Ramsbury, England, Bill Chivvis and his fellow replacements got to see Retan in action.

“After a time we became aware of Retan visiting the Company ‘I’ area to greet his returning friends. On each visit he would stop and talk to the ‘know nothing’ replacements and try to

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answer our stupid questions. There is no greater gulf than that which exists between combatants and non-combatants but this did not affect Retan.”

Retan’s behavior made an impact on this fresh young recruit. “From these brief visits, I learned a lesson which would follow me through the Holland and Belgium campaigns: I always took the time to talk to incoming replacements.”

These few encounters with George Retan made a lifelong impression on Chivvis, who spoke of Retan in a 1995 letter to researcher and author Peter Hendrikx. “I will describe Retan as a quiet, humble young man, but very intelligent, very alert, and very focused. He was a natural leader who inspired confidence without even trying. He was a man of the highest character.”

Operation Market Garden

In just a few short weeks, the 506th was headed back into combat, part of the largest airborne invasion ever undertaken to that time. The plan was for American and British forces to capture a number of bridges in Holland, giving the Allies an access route into Germany around the Siegfried Line defenses.

guarding the bridge opened fire into the trees.

Sgt. Joe Powers of 2nd Platoon was hit by shrapnel and wounded almost immediately. Soon the other two large 88mm guns had lowered their barrels and begun firing into the woods. The 88mm gun is designed to shoot planes from the sky, but the Germans had found it to be a terrible and terrifying anti-infantry gun as well. The 88s were soon joined by the thump of 81mm mortars.

“Men were being killed,” recalls Donald R. Burgett, a soldier in A Company. “We had to do something.”

Company A faced only one choice. They had to attack headlong into the massed fire of three fearsome cannons.

The soldiers raced through the woods and then across the grass straight into the muzzle blasts of the massive artillery pieces. After overwhelming the Germans at the guns and silencing the

Retan and A Company of the 506th PIR led the attack on the bridge at Son, into the face of three 88mm artillery guns.

The 506th jumped in clear skies on the afternoon of September 17, 1944 into a large field near the town of Son. The daylight jump, made possible by Allied air superiority, was a big improvement on the confusion seen at Normandy.

The regiment landed almost in formation and met little resistance as they left the drop zone.

Company A was to capture the main bridge across the Wilhelmina Canal at Son. Almost half of 1st Platoon had been dropped some distance from the rest of the company, so 2nd Platoon was placed in the lead. Platoon Leader 1st Lieutenant Galarneau had broken his ankle on the jump, so it was up to 2nd Lieutenant George Retan to lead the regiment through the Son Forest toward their target.

About 400 yards into their advance, the company engaged a number of German riflemen, suppressing their fire and continuing to push toward the bridge.

When the company reached a point in the woods about 200 yards from the bridge, all of a sudden one of the three 88mm artillery pieces

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In this remarkable photo taken near the Son bridge on that afternoon of September 17, 1944, an American trooper stands at one of the 88mm gun emplacements captured by the Americans, one of the three guns that killed Retan and killed or wounded so many of his men, its barrel still lowered toward the woods..

artillery, the paratroopers then stormed the remaining yards toward the bridge to seize their objective, but the Germans set off pre-placed explosives just before the Americans set foot on the structure, blowing it up in their faces.

As the smoke cleared and A Company regrouped, the costs of the short fierce battle were plain to see.

“Our company lost nearly 30 percent of our officers and men in the Son Forest. Lieutenant Retan was among the first of our men to be killed in the woods,” recalls Don Burgett.

“Within hours of our landing in Holland, A Company had been battered in battle and bathed in blood.”

‘Til the Boys Come Home

Don Burgett would continue fighting through Europe with A Company of the 506th and return home from the war to write several gripping books about his experiences, each widely hailed for their first-person vividness.

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Ed Shames (who was just a quarter-mile or so away at Son and learned quickly of his close friend’s death) would continue to lead his platoon of Easy Company soldiers on through Belgium, Bastogne, Berlin, and into the pages of history as Stephen Ambrose’s famed “Band of Brothers.” Shames earned the distinction of returning more soldiers home, safe and alive, than any other platoon leader in the 101st Airborne Division. This despite the fact that his platoon was often called on to undertake dangerous patrols and assignments.

For George Owen Retan, however, his war ended on September 17, 1944 in the Son Forest of Holland. He lies in Plot A, Row 4, Grave 8 of the Netherlands American Cemetery at Margraten. His resting place is attended to regularly by citizens of that country who have adopted the graves of the American fallen. His bright white headstone is cleaned regularly and flowers placed by these grateful citizens who insure that the sacrifice for freedom he made on their soil will not be soon forgotten.

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FUMA Remembers

Recalling a Fallen Friend

George Retan was not forgotten on the campus of Fork Union Military Academy. As a four-year cadet and a high-performing student, Retan had made quite an impression on the staff and faculty as well. It is clear that the affection was mutual, as George Retan had expressly requested, before heading overseas, that if anything happened to him, his savings should be donated to Fork Union Military Academy.

Standing beside the brass plaque on the wall dedicating the building to the memory of his friend, Ed Shames felt the memories come flooding back, these decades years later.

Dr. George M. Retan was devastated by his son’s death. He closed his private practice and spent much of his time building a log lodge on a remote lake in Canada, a kind of refuge for him. But Dr. Retan and his wife honored their son’s wishes, and his savings were donated to the Academy, where they helped fund the construction of the school’s new library.

On October 11, 1949, Dr. and Mrs. George M. Retan came to the campus of Fork Union Military Academy for the dedication of the Retan Library.

The Retan Rifles

In the fall of 1960, another young freshman entered the Academy, the son of Lucille Retan Ramseyer, George Retan’s beloved sister.

“From the moment I was born, I was destined to be a cadet at Fork Union Military Academy,” jokes George Owen Ramseyer.

The arrival of George Retan’s nephew and namesake on campus apparently awakened fond memories among the faculty and staff who recalled his uncle’s arrival more than twenty years earlier. Early in 1961 it was decided that the Academy’s crack drill team, then called the Hatcher Rifles, would be renamed to honor George Owen Retan. In a special ceremony, a Retan Rifles banner was presented to young George Owen Ramseyer.

The Retan Rifles carry that name to this day, and each year, a number of outstanding young cadets carry his name on their sleeves, a living memorial to honor his service and sacrifice.

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“It’s incredible,” he said, of learning that his young comrade was one of FUMA’s most honored alumni. “It’s just indescribable.”

Now a Colonel, though retired from his service to the nation, Shames had volunteered to come to FUMA to talk to cadets about his fallen friend.

Standing in front of the entire upper school Corps of Cadets, Shames wore a bright yellow jacket covered in patches honoring the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, the 101st Airborne Division of which they were a part, and Easy Company, his own band of brothers.

The jacket was a gift from the HBO producers of the mini-series about his famed unit. “They made $190 million telling our story, “ quipped Shames. “All I got was this jacket.”

Shames shared stories of the training that he and George Retan had endured together at Currahee Mountain. He answered questions about Bastogne, the daring rescue of British paratroopers across the Rhine River, and many other exploits with Easy Company. Current members of the Retan Rifles crowded around after his talk, and Shames autographed copies of the book “Tonight We Die As Men” for which he had authored the foreward. Shames had brought the books, which tell the story of the Third Battalion of the 506th, as a special gift to the Retan cadets and the school’s library.

Although he only lived a short twenty-one years, the lessons to draw from Retan’s life seem clear.

Study hard, volunteer where you are needed, do your best, accept responsibility, lead from the front, be kind and gracious to all.

When asked how the young men of FUMA could best honor the memory of George Owen Retan, Shames offered the following simple advice: “Work hard. Try to be great at something.

If you can’t be great, be good. If you can’t be a good leader, be a good follower. But be good.

George was no angel, but he was good hearted.

George Retan was a good man.”

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Colonel Ed Shames visited the campus to speak with cadets about Retan and World War II. After his talk he signed books as gifts for current Retan Rifle members.

Donald Burgett returned to Holland a few years ago to revisit the ground where he and his comrades in A Company had battled in 1944. He took time to visit Margraten Cemetery and take this photo beside the grave of George O. Retan, one of the lieutenants in his company.

Recommended Reading Tonight We Die As Men: The Untold Story of the Third Battalion 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment from Toccoa to D-Day

By Ian Gardner and Roger Day Foreward by Ed Shames

Currahee!

The Road to Arnhem

By Donald R. Burgett

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David

David Huddleston plays a scene with John Wayne in the 1974 film McQ.

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Huddleston

From FUMA to Film

H

e’s “That Guy.” The actor whose face and voice you recognize, but whose name you just might not be able to call to mind. He’s an actor’s actor, one of Hollywood’s best character actors whose work spans the spectrum from memorable big screen roles, to hundreds of television guest appearances, familiar commercials, and even the Broadway stage.

He is David Huddleston, and he’s a member of the Fork Union Military Academy Class of 1949.

A Small-Town Virginia Boy

David William Huddleston was born on September 17, 1930 in Vinton, Virginia to Lewis Melvin and Ismay Hope Huddleston.

Vinton is a small town near Roanoke in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

As a child, Huddleston performed on stage and on the radio, but there did not seem to be a path available for him to pursue acting. “We were relatively poor people,” Huddleston explains.

Football at FUMA

Huddleston was an all-state talent in football at Montvale High School. He was also a relative of sorts of COL H. M. Waldron, a longtime teacher at Fork Union Military Academy who became the school’s Headmaster. Huddleston’s uncle was married to Waldron’s sister, so it was Waldron who helped steer Huddleston’s path to Fork Union Military Academy with a football scholarship to play for Coach Rosie Thomas on the postgraduate football team.

Huddleston played alongside such familiar FUMA faces as Bill Blair and Charles Fuller on the ‘48-’49 football team.

Now Huddleston will once again join Blair and Fuller on a different sort of FUMA team.

Huddleston’s name is being added to the roll of Distinguished Alumni of Fork Union Military Academy. www.forkunion.com

Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame

In a ceremony that took place during the annual Alumni Association Dinner in May of 2012, David Huddleston’s name was added to the Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame.

Huddleston and his wife, Sarah Koeppe, were in attendance to accept the honor.

Huddleston stayed through the full Alumni Weekend to get reaquainted with his classmates and the campus. “I enjoyed being a member of the Corps,” he said. “I enjoyed marching and listening to the band.”

Cadet David W. Huddleston

In a recent phone interview, Huddleston recalled fondly his days of playing for Coach Rosie Thomas and Coach Gus Lacy on the football team. He also remembered his days in math class with longtime FUMA teacher E. J. Snead. “He was a wonderful, wonderful math teacher,” Huddleston recalls.

“Fork Union taught you about discipline, and about doing good work,” Huddleston says.

He laughed as he remembered the introduction Dr. Wicker gave for the commencement speaker at his graduation. “The speaker was William Tuck, the governor of Virginia at that time,” Huddleston relates. “Dr. Wicker got up there and said, ‘Virginia is the mother of states and the mother of presidents. Watch Bill Tuck.’”

“That was it,” Huddleston says, chuckling at the memory.

Edwin J. Snead was a longtime teacher at the Academy. This photo is from the 1949 Skirmisher.

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Into the Wild Blue Yonder

Following his year at Fork Union Military Academy, Huddleston joined the U. S. Air Force.

Because of his FUMA background and training, Huddleston was assigned to the Training Command for his first tours of duty in the Air Force. “I was in charge of helping train the new guys who came in,” he explains.

He later was sent to Wichita Falls to be trained as an aircraft and engine mechanic, and served out his remaining time in the Air Force in that job.

His four years of service in the military offered Huddleston the opportunity to further his education with funding from the G. I. Bill. The path to the career in acting he had long hoped for had finally opened.

American Academy of Dramatic Arts

With his G. I. Bill funding, Huddleston entered the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, the distinguished private conservatory for actors in Manhattan that had produced such talents as Cecil B. DeMille, Edward G. Robinson, and Spencer Tracy.

Upon his graduation in 1957, Huddleston made his professional theatrical debut and became a working actor, the career he had always wanted.

In 1976, David Huddleston played the evil sheriff in the fourth episode of the first season of Charlie’s Angels, provocatively entitled “Angels in Chains.”

Huddleston played Sheriff Ep Bridges in The Homecoming: A Christmas Story, the 1971 television movie that gave birth to the long-running series The Waltons. Earl Hamner, Jr., the show’s creator, wrote the role of A. J. Covington especially for his friend and fellow Virginian in the 1972 episode of The Waltons entitled “The Literary Man.” He has also had recurring roles in The Gilmore Girls, The West Wing, and Jericho. His recurring role as Grandpa Arnold in The Wonder Years earned Huddleston an Emmy nomination.

He had featured parts in the national touring companies of The Music Man, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Mame. He also picked up bit parts in films including Black Like Me, All the Way Home, and A Lovely Way to Die. Television

Beginning in the late 1960s, David Huddleston began to pop up in guest appearances in a wide variety of television shows from sitcoms to dramas. He was seen on Adam-12, Then Came Bronson, Room 222, Sarge, Bewitched, McMillan and Wife, Cannon, Medical Center, Bonanza, Ironside, The Rookies, Emergency!, Hawaii Five-O, Sanford and Son, and Charlie’s Angels, just to name a few.

He also had roles as a series regular on Tenafly, Petrocelli, as well as Hizzoner, a sitcom he created and produced.

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In 1990, David Huddleston earned an Emmy nomination for his performance as Grandpa Arnold in The Wonder Years episode entitled “The Powers That Be.”

Film

Huddleston began to make inroads into the movie business in the 1970s, supporting John Wayne in the 1971 movie Rio Lobo, in which he played the town dentist, Dr. Ivor Jones. He had supporting roles with a variety of stars including Jimmy Stewart in Fools’ Parade, Bette Davis in Family Reunion, and Gregory Peck in Billy Two Hats.

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David Huddleston as Dr. Ivor Jones, the town dentist, seen here playing opposite John Wayne in the 1971 movie Rio Lobo.

David Huddleston (left) appeared with Gregory Peck (right) in the film Billy Two Hats in 1974.

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Huddleston’s breakthrough role was the vicious gang leader with a sense of humor, Big Joe, in the Robert Benton film, Bad Company. Acting with a young Jeff Bridges in this Civil War period Western, Huddleston’s portrayal was one that earned him much critical praise.

His appearances in more than 60 films have included such memorable roles as Mayor Olsen Johnson in Mel Brooks’ infamous Blazing Saddles, the title roles of both Santa in Santa Claus, the Movie and Jeffrey Lebowski in the more recent cult classic, The Big Lebowski, by directors Joel and Ethan Coen. David was the wheelchair-bound millionaire known as The Big Lebowski.

Huddleston (seen here with Jim Davis) received critical acclaim for his performance as “Big Joe” in the 1972 film Bad Company. This was the first movie pairing of Huddleston with a young Jeff Bridges.

The 1998 film The Big Lebowski would once again pair Huddleston with Jeff Bridges, as Huddleston plays the wheelchair-bound title character, Jeffrey Lebowski.

Huddleston played the title role in Santa Claus, the Movie with Dudley Moore.

Theatre

Throughout his acting career, Huddleston has from time to time returned to the theatre stage.

Some notable roles include his 1981 turn on the Broadway stage in the musical The First, based on the Jackie Robinson story. In 1984, he costarred with Dustin Hoffman in the Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman, earning a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. He replaced Pat Hingle in the role of Benjamin Franklin in the 1998 Broadway production of 1776. He reprised the role of 76

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Mayor Olsen Johnson welcomes the new Sheriff to town in the infamous Mel Brooks film Blazing Saddles.

Franklin in the Ford’s Theatre production of 1776 in Washington DC in 2003.

Not Just an Alumnus

David Huddleston returns to the campus in Fork Union not just as an alumnus, but as a former FUMA parent as well.

Michael Huddleston, David’s son, attended Fork Union Military Academy for his sophomore year of high school in the 1968-69 academic year.

Michael followed his father into the acting field and both Huddlestons appeared together in the 1977 film The World’s Greatest Lover starring Gene Wilder. Michael added a number of credits to his acting resume over the next twenty years, before leaving show business for the food business. Michael is now the chef at the historic (and reportedly haunted) St. James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico.

David and his wife Sarah, live not too far away at a ranch in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico - when he’s not in Hollywood or on location somewhere performing under the bright lights. www.forkunion.com

Benjamin Franklin is brought to life in the stage performance by David Huddleston in 1776.

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Shammond Williams

Copyright 2007 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

Shammond Williams goes for the basket in Game #4 of the 2007 Western Conference Playoffs between the Lakers and the Suns.

Former NBA Lakers’ Shammond Williams Never Forgets His Fork Union Roots

S Shammond Williams as a FUMA Cadet in 1994 Williams takes it to the hoop against Mount Zion, completing the dunk and backboard slap in front of the Cadet Corps in the Thomas Gymnasium.

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hammond Williams is one of those well-grounded individuals who doesn’t forget his roots. When asked to recount the basketball accomplishments that bring him pride, this NBA veteran doesn’t start by telling stories of playing with his friend and teammate Kobe Bryant, he points to when he helped his Southside High School team in Greenville, South Carolina win the 1992 South Carolina AA Championship.

Williams still returns regularly to South Carolina to host basketball camps for area youth.

Williams has also been a frequent visitor to the annual Fork Union Basketball Camp founded

by Coach Fletcher Arritt, where he dazzles the young players with his ball-handling skills and flawless shooting technique, a technique honed by thousands of hours of individual practice.

As captain of Coach Arritt’s PG basketball team in 1993-94, Shammond Williams left his mark on FUMA both on and off the court. Not only did he win the Thomas PG Athlete Award and Frank A. Crockett Captain’s Award, he also received zero demerits and won the competition for Best Drilled Cadet.

His outstanding performance continued at the University of North Carolina where he played for Coach Dean Smith and helped lead the Tar Heels to the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four three out of his four years there.

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Williams set career and season records that stand to this day, including Most 3-Point Goals Made in a Season (95); Most 3-Point Goals Made in a Career (233); Highest Free Throw Percentage in a Season (91.1%); and Highest Free Throw Percentage in a Career (84.9%). He was selected the Most Valuable Player of the 1997 ACC Tournament.

Drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1998, Williams played in the NBA for more than seven years and played in Europe for an additional four years before retiring as a player in 2011.

Williams continues to share his knowledge and love of the game with young players, having traded his player’s shoes for the whistle and clipboard of a coach. After a stint on the basketball staff at at Furman University, he now serves as an assistant coach at Tulane University.

Humble and unassuming, Williams’ loyalty to Coach Arritt and Fork Union was apparent on one recent summer visit to basketball camp, as he stayed through the evening to speak to students then attending Summer School at Fork Union.

Williams told the students that during his time as a cadet, he sat and listened to the alumni who came back to campus to speak to the cadets and he always hoped that one day he would ac-

complish something good enough that he would be given the honor of sharing his story with students at Fork Union.

As a high school student, Shammond Williams never really dreamed of playing basketball in the NBA. His plans were to earn his bachelor’s degree at the University of North Carolina in Industrial Relations and become a financial broker. Getting drafted into the NBA after college was just a bonus.

Williams spends some time interacting with young players attending the summer Fork Union Basketball Camp.

It was his discipline and willingness to put in the extra time and effort required to excel that made Williams stand out from his peers, here in the Cadet Corps, on the basketball court, and throughout his life and career. He is a role model for success that is built not just on big dreams, but on hard work and commitment to excellence.

FUMA alumnus and NBA player Shammond Williams awed summer campers with his shooting and ball handling skills.

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FUMA’s Aviation Pioneer...

William Knox 80

Martin

El aviador americano intrépido!

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Shown here in a postage stamp issued in his honor

by Colombia, and at left in the first Boeing airplane, William Knox Martin was an international aviation pioneer.

R

omantic. Pioneer. Visionary. These are the words used to describe William Knox Martin by his granddaughter, Olivia Korringa of Old Tappan, New Jersey.

Journalists in South America proclaimed the young Knox Martin “El aviador americano intrépido!”

This intrepid American aviator lived a life short on years but long on adventure and accomplishment. Even an abbreviated list of some of his notable “firsts” is impressive:

First test pilot for William Boeing.

First pilot to fly across the Colombian Andes.

First pilot to fly airmail delivery in Colombia.

First Fork Union cadet to appear on a postage stamp!

William Knox Martin, a cadet at Fork Union until 1908, went on from our campus to become one of America’s pioneer aviators.

That’s right, whenever you travel in one of those big Boeing 747 airliners, you have a Fork Union cadet to thank for helping make that flight possible. www.forkunion.com

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Knox Martin (center) stands between cadets identified in the photo’s margin as cadets Hague and Wilshire.

At first his story seems hard to believe. How could one man do so much in so few years?

William Knox Martin was born in Salem, Virginia on October 30, 1892. Or, perhaps he was born on October 31, 1891. Or maybe 1894.

Sources vary.

Like many events in this adventurer’s whirlwind life, exact dates and places are hard to pin down. It’s as if he lived his life faster and bolder than could be recorded. But while some of the details of his life may remain sketchy, there is enough hard evidence to back up his many accomplishments.

Known as Fork Union Academy in those days, the school was still co-educational and like many of his classmates, Martin was a member of the Ciceronian Literary Society. While Martin was himself a poet and an artist, it was no secret that the membership rolls of the Literary Society were well-populated primarily because it was one of the only social clubs on campus that allowed both the cadets and the coeds to be members.

Fork Union, 1908

A slight boy in his early to mid teens, his peers towering head and shoulders above him, Knox Martin stares at the camera lens with an obvious intensity in an early family photograph taken on Fork Union’s parade grounds with two fellow cadets.

Martin left his imprint on the very first yearbook published by Fork Union in 1908. The premier issue of The Skirmisher features a cartoon signed “W. K. Martin - 08 -” on page 74.

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Knox Martin cartoon from the 1908 Skirmisher

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Perhaps in keeping with his artistic interests, Martin was also a member of the much smaller “Kodak Club” on campus. It should be noted, however, that according to its listing in The Skirmisher the club’s “favorite occupation” was listed as “taking pictures of the co-eds.”

Aerial Club

The yearbook also features a photo of the members of the Academy’s “Aerial Club” in 1907-1908 and there in the very center of the group was the pint-sized Knox Martin, the same intense look on his face.

While not much is known about this early Aerial Club, (Their favorite occupation? It’s listed as “singing after C.Q.”) it is likely that kites, ballooning, and gliders were primarily what interested these young cadets. The Wright Brothers had made their first flights at Kitty Hawk less than five years earlier in December 1903, and their public exhibitions and flying demonstrations did not really begin worldwide until 1908. Powered flight by airplanes was still in its infancy in 1908.

But, clearly, Knox Martin’s love of poetry, his skill as an artist, and his interest in flight were all on display as early as 1908 in the pages of the Academy’s yearbook.

Art Education

At age 16, Knox Martin went to the University of Maryland in Baltimore to study art and paint-

ing. But still his eyes were drawn to the skies.

In November 1910, The Baltimore Sun offered a prize of $5,000 to French aviator Hubert Latham to intice him to bring his Antoinette monoplane to the Aero Meet being held at Halethorpe Field (today covered by an industrial park) in Baltimore and fly over the city as a demonstration.

Crowds of city residents watched the plane’s flight across the region, some even climbing the Washington Monument in DC to seek a glimpse of this feat. As Knox Martin watched Latham’s flight from Druid Hill Park, he decided that he wanted to become an aviator.

Hubert Latham’s 1910 flight over Baltimore inspired Knox Martin to become an aviator.

Martin declared his intention to his uncle, the man who was serving as his sponsor. His uncle encouraged Martin to continue his art studies instead, even paying for his travel to Paris, France to continue his studies in the European art center the following summer.

While in France, though, young Martin was drawn to the Hendon Aerodrome near London where he met English aviator Claude GrahameWhite and was further encouraged to pursue his dream of flying.

Knox Martin stands at the very heart of the Aerial Club in this photo from the 1908 Skirmisher.

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Flight Education

When Martin returned to the States, he moved to Bath, New York to study flying at the Thomas Aviation School.

In late 1912, Martin joined the aviation school of the Sloane Airplane Company as that school was preparing to move from New York to Los Angeles during the winter months.

Martin participated in the annual flying meet at the Dominguez Flying Field with others from the school, and then continued his flying lessons, piloting a French-made Deperdussin monoplane owned by the school.

Knox Martin sits in the cockpit of the Deperdussin monoplane he learned to fly in California.

The airplane was a single-seater, so students received instruction from a teacher on the ground and learned to fly the airplane using a “progressive hop” method.

with two passengers, flying from the Mineola airfield on Long Island to an altitude of 2,600 feet. It is believed that Knox Martin in these months was the first aviator to carry a woman as a passenger in a plane.

On September 3, 1913, he narrowly escaped injury when his biplane crashed into the Maplewood cemetery in Norwich, Connecticutt.

Martin was on his fifth flight from the New London county fair when the mishap occurred.

The biplane he was piloting was built by Joseph Stevenson who designed, built, and flew the airplane for the first time at the fairgrounds in Birmingham, Alabama in 1912. On that first flight, the “Stevenson Biplane” climbed to a height of thirty to forty feet but would climb no higher. The plane stayed aloft for about two minutes before pitching to the left, to the right, and then plummeting straight into the ground.

Stevenson tried unsuccessfully to jump from the aircraft, but suffered multiple injuries and died the next morning.

The fact that Martin’s plane had already caused the death of one pilot caused him “no worries,” he told a newspaper reporter in Norwich following his own crash. The reporter, who described Martin as “cool and collected in the machine as out,” reported that Martin was “undaunted” and already making plans to repair the damaged parts and fly the biplane out of the cemetery that very afternoon. He wanted to test the plane by ascending several thousand feet in altitude and flying over the city of Norwich, stating he would “give an exhibition such as the residents here have not seen before.”

On March 29, 1913, Martin flew his license tests and received his aviation certificate on April 23, 1913, the 224th issued by the Aero Club of America, and given a rating of “expert aviator” by the International Aeronautical Federation.

Early Flying Career

Knox Martin remained with the Sloane Airplane Company as a pilot and flight instructor, returning to New York and doing some exhibition flying over the summer of 1913.

He established an altitude record for a plane 84

Martin stands with his downed biplane in a Norwich cemetery in September, 1913. Martin repaired the plane and flew away.

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Not only did Martin get his biplane back into the air, but by December 1913 he was flying it in Venezuela as part of an expedition up the Orinoco River. The expedition was cut short 200 miles upriver, reportedly, by encounters with unfriendly local natives and alligators, but Martin found time to get in some flying demonstrations in Caracas to the amazement of the city’s population. Knox Martin was the first aviator to bring a plane to Venezuela. Martin vowed to return to South America, convinced that the airplane would open up borders between North and South America.

Flying Boats and Mexican Generals

Seemingly unstoppable despite two life-threatening crashes already in his career, Martin’s world travels and adventures continued through the following months.

Martin joined the Jannus brothers, Tony and Roger, in their Baltimore-based plane manufacturing facility.

Jannus Brothers built “flying boats” for carrying passengers and had, the previous year, opened the first scheduled passenger airline, ferrying passengers from Tampa to St. Petersburg in Florida.

Did you know?

Other prominent FUMA aviators include Tom Davis, Class of 1934, founder of Piedmont Airlines, and General John T. Chain, Jr., Class of 1952, former commander in chief of the Strategic Air Command and chairman of the board of Northrop Grumman.

With the help of his Uncle Will, Martin bought one of these flying boats and painted his name on the nose.

Martin traveled to San Diego, California with the Jannus’ where they put on demonstrations and ferried passengers at the big Pan-American Exposition. They did a big business in January

Martin back at the controls of his biplane in Venezuela in December, 1913.

Another Close Call

On June 8, 1914 while flying over the airfield at Mineola, Long Island, a control wire on his biplane snapped and the plane began rolling over and over again while plummeting toward the ground. Martin was able to get the plane righted and the local newspaper reported it flew “lamely but gamely for half a mile.” Again came another “topsy-turvey drop” and again Martin righted the aircraft and continued to descend. Several times these drops and recoveries were repeated while Martin fought for control.

Fifty feet from the ground, the plane rolled over one last time and hit the ground, knocking the engine off its mounts and catching on fire. Dazed from a blow to the head, Martin was pulled from the burning wreckage by passing motorists. Amazingly, he was not seriously injured and returned to his room at the McLaughlin’s Hotel in Mineola sharing stories of his adventure and the fall of his “wounded bird.” www.forkunion.com

Martin’s new plane was a flying boat, and the first to bear his name on the fuselage.

Martin’s flying boat was similar to the plane shown flying at right.

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and February of 1915, until one of the other Jannus pilots crashed the plane into the San Diego Bay. The Jannus Brothers headed back east, and Knox Martin struck out on yet more adventures.

Just south of San Diego, things were heating up in the Mexican Revolution. General Pancho Villa was known for using horse-mounted cavalry to great advantage, but he and his ally, General Emiliano Zapata, were also among the first military leaders to make use of the airplane in battle.

Pancho Villa, the Mexican revolutionary, was among the world’s first military leaders to see the value of airplanes in combat. Knox Martin was one of his pilots in 1915.

Villa had established a small squadron of planes with a handful of pilots from the U. S. and France and used the planes for reconnaissance and bombing missions. Knox Martin found his way to Mexico and enlisted in Pancho Villa’s small air force.

The story goes that Martin carried cargo and delivered bombs. The bombs he dropped consisted of long-fused sticks of dynamite which he lit from a glowing cigar tip and dropped over the side on various government fortifications. Between flights he was not above taking part in some of Pancho Villa’s cavalry raids as well.

1915 and 1916 as the young Martin moved from one adventure to the next around the world. But by the summer of 1916, there is clear evidence where Knox Martin was.

He was in Seattle, Washington.

First Test Pilot for Boeing

Washington State businessman William E. Boeing went for his first plane ride in 1915 with barnstorming aviator Terah Maroney and became hooked on airplanes. He signed up for flying lessons and built a hangar facility on Lake Union in Seattle. Boeing began to build his first airplane, a biplane with aerodynamic pontoons for water take-offs and landings.

On June 15, 1916, Boeing’s first plane was ready for testing and Boeing himself taxied it out onto the waters of Lake Union and soon was airborne.

While no records were kept of that maiden flight, two weeks later formal testing of the plane began in earnest.

The first test pilot to put the new Boeing aircraft through its paces? William Knox Martin.

Martin flew more than forty test flights of the new Boeing B&W #1, so-called for the initials of Boeing and his partner Conrad Westerveld, between June and September of 1916.

As Pancho Villa’s revolution turned into a lost cause, Knox Martin apparently headed out for other worlds and wars.

He traveled first to Australia to join up with the Anzac flying forces and help train their pilots.

He moved on to China to help train pilots for Sun Yat-Sen. At some point during these months, he reportedly stopped in Japan and put on a flying exhibition for the Emperor.

It is difficult to separate reality from legend during the years 86

Knox Martin on the shores of Lake Union in Seattle, Washington with the first plane manufactured by William E. Boeing. Martin was Boeing’s test pilot.

Photo: The Boeing Company

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Knox Martin stands aboard the pontoon of Boeing’s B&W #1 inside the hangar at Lake Union in Seattle, Washington in the summer of 1916. Photo: The Boeing Company

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The test logs of Boeing’s first airplane describe the initial test flights made by Knox Martin.

The test logs from those flights detail what must have been some exciting moments (such as “landed with dead motor in Lake Union,” or “radiator plate tore off while flying,” and “oil pump broke”) in calm, block letters.

Martin served as Boeing’s chief pilot and flight instructor throughout 1916 before moving on once again, this time to Vancouver, Canada to become the chief flight instructor for Hoffar Aircraft Company, a Canadian manufacturer of seaplanes that was later purchased by Boeing.

World War I

World War I was in full fury in 1917 and Knox Martin joined the Imperial Royal Flying Corps while still in Canada. Once the United States joined the war effort, Martin obtained his release from the Canadian government and returned to the States where he served as a flight instructor and aviator in Texas and Florida. Martin also served briefly with the United States Aerial Mail 88

Service during 1918. The War Department supplied the planes and pilots for the first air mail service in the U. S. beginning May 15, 1918 until the civilian Post Office Department took over the entire operation in August, 1918.

Knox Martin received his discharge from the military in March 1919 and soon was on his way to keep a promise he’d made back in 1913.

Back to South America

The citizens of Barranquilla, Colombia looked up on June 14, 1919 to see an aviator performing hair-raising aerial spins and loops in the skies overhead. William Knox Martin had returned to South America.

Martin had arrived earlier in the year in Cartagena on the Atlantic coast, a mysterious young foreigner with a large crate of goods.

Martin opened his boxes and began to assemble his Curtisss “Jenny” airplane in the town square.

Most of the curious onlookers had never seen Success Stories

an automobile or a train, let alone an airplane. As Martin finished his plane’s assembly, he passed out leaflets offering to accept paying passengers for flights over the Crowds in Colombia gathered to town, as well as watch the 1919 flights of El aviadseeking interor americano intrépido in the skies ested business- above, just as young Knox Martin men to finance himself had been awed by Hubert Latham’s flight in Baltimore. a passenger and airmail service in Colombia.

Drumming up publicity by aerial exhibitions over a number of Colombian cities and villages in the following weeks, Martin caught the imagination of the country. On one occasion, the railroad was forced to add special train service for the multitudes who came to see the spectacle.

obstacle to a successful flight.

Across the Andes

Crossing the mountain range in the thin atmosphere at an altitude of 18,000 feet could easily prove fatal from the dangers of hypoxia. In today’s modern aircraft, oxygen is required by regulation for pilots operating above 10,000 feet.

Knox Martin planned to make this flight in an open cockpit biplane with a hand-held compass as his only navigational aid.

Martin flew up the Magdalena River to the small village of Honda about 75 miles from Bogota. From there, he intended to fly over the mountain village of Facatativa high on the Andean peak, following the railroad tracks that climbed to that small hamlet.

His rigging iced from low hanging clouds, and suffering a nose bleed, headache, and sputtering engine from the lack of oxygen, Martin found his way through the Facatativa Pass and down to Bogota on the plateau below at 8,600 feet.

First Airmail Flight in Colombia

Carrying local businessman Mario Santo Domingo and a sack of 60 pieces of mail in his plane, Martin flew from Barranquilla to Puerto, a distance of forty miles. This was the first passenger flight and the first airmail flight in Colombia.

This airmail demonstration was impressive to the locals, but Martin had even bigger ambitions.

Colombia’s capital, Bogota, was rather isolated inland from the other major Colombian cities located along the coast. A vast mountain range, the Andes, rose as high as 18,000 feet between the capital and the coast. Fewer than 75 miles of roads then existed in Colombia, a country larger than California. Mail sent from the coast took a month or so to arrive in Bogota, traveling by boat up the Magdalena River and then across the mountains on pack mules.

Martin proposed to fly this route and deliver mail in less than six hours.

He attracted interested investors, but the cautious businessmen wanted proof that such an airmail flight could be made successfully. The imposing Andes mountains were a formidable www.forkunion.com

Epilogue: Knox Martin married a Colombian woman in 1923 and settled down to a life as a journalist and artist, raising three children.

He returned to the United States with his family in 1926 and began flying again as a corporate pilot.

Martin arrives in Bogota, Colombia after crossing the northern Andes mountain range in August 1919.

Martin’s arrival in the isolated capital marked the first aerial crossing of the northern Andes and forever placed the name of William Knox Martin in the history of Colombia as the father of aviation in that part of South America.

In the next four years Martin would make frequent flights from Bogota to the coast, often accompanied in the cockpit by his pet ocelot. He formed the Bogotanian Airlines (later absorbed

by Aviana in 1940) and continued training pilots and adding aircraft to the skies of Colombia.

Today, you can book a ticket from Barranquilla to Bogota on Avianca for less than $400 and board a Boeing aircraft for a flight of about 85 minutes. And former Fork Union cadet William Knox Martin helped make all of that possible.

He died in 1927 from injuries sustained in a crash - an automobile crash - just weeks after Lindbergh made his historic flight to Paris.

His son, William Knox Martin, Jr., took up his father’s passion for painting and is a renowned painter, sculptor, and muralist. His art hangs in museums and galleries worldwide.

In 1994, Colombia issued a postage stamp in his honor, marking the 75th anniversary of his first airmail flight.

In 2005, Martin was inducted into the Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame.

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Success Stories

Life Beyond FUMA? How is

By John Alexander Valedictorian, Class of 2012

H

ow has Fork Union Military Academy prepared me for college? Was my experience as worthwhile as it was advertised to be? As a proud and grateful graduate, I can honestly say that Fork Union provided me with the means necessary to turn my potential into success. It allowed me to capitalize on my strengths and improve my weaknesses. The Academy has opportunities for people of different personalities and walks of life to grow and succeed, which is the quality I think makes it unique.

I came to a realization at the end of my freshman year in public high school that I was not performing to my ability. Early the following summer, I was introduced to Fork Union by my middle school basketball coach and FUMA alumnus, Chad Percy.

After much debate, I arrived at Fork Union as a sophomore, still a bit confused about who I was and what I could become. My

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John Alexander (right) and John Tu’uta (left) celebrate their graduation day at FUMA in May of 2012.

John Tu’uta and John Alexander are now at North Carolina State .

first year was definitely an adjustment. I took some advice and involved myself in everything I could find. Through academics, sports, music, and military leadership, with the help of teachers and coaches, I began to recognize my potential.

Fork Union pushed me to put forth my best effort into these things individually, but there was a drastically more important lesson lying underneath. Intertwined into the Academy’s drive for a cadet’s success is the importance of selfdiscipline. Among many other valuable things I learned, this has been the most influential in my transformation from a boy to a man.

Trying to balance my busy schedule at Fork Union was a shock to me at the beginning.

Between practices, school, and military life, I felt overwhelmed for a period of time. But Fork Union did something that I know other schools would not. FUMA provided me with every opportunity to succeed. It was there to guide me through the process of becoming responsible and to help me when I struggled. But most importantly, it did not hold my hand or baby me; it forced me to respond to adversity and to fight my way through difficulties. I learned to work my way through problems, not around them.

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As I write this, I am in my first year at college.

Comparing myself to my friends, I can safely say that Fork Union, as far as academics go, is easily equal or superior to other high schools. However, it is overwhelmingly apparent that Fork Union prepares a cadet for college in respect to good habits and self-discipline better than any other high school I have mutually been exposed to via other students. After three years of its being ingrained in me, tasks of studying and managing time seem almost trivial, compared to my friends, who are constantly pulling out their hair.

Fork Union’s mission is to prepare cadets for life’s challenges, to provide the means of success through honest guidance and preparation. For that I am extremely grateful. One may ask how I have changed since I graduated. Could I drop a quarter on my bed to make it bounce? Probably not. How many times have I worn shoes and socks to class this fall? I could count them with my fingers. Is my haircut to regulation? Not so much. But the values I acquired at Fork Union will be with me always, and I owe it an irreplaceable debt. Finally, to answer the question, I honestly believe that Fork Union prepared me for college as, or better than, advertised.

Success Stories

Do You Want to

Learn More?

We encourage you to learn more about Fork Union Military Academy by checking out our various online and social media sites. You can watch videos, interact with other parents and alumni of the Academy, and find answers to many of the questions you might have as you consider our school for your son. Below are three of our most popular resources: Website

Our website at http://www.forkunion.com is very thorough and contains much of the information you need and want. You can apply online for admissions on our site, and can even apply online for financial aid, in the Admissions section. You can subscribe to our President’s Blog to receive it in your inbox weekly, and you can keep up to date with school news in our News & Blogs section. To get a sense of life on campus, you can browse through our Photos section - we post 10,000 to 25,000 pictures each year from our Upper School and Middle School. You can read online copies of our Call To Quarters magazine, our newsletters, and other publications in the Newsletters section of the website, and much more.

Learn more at http://www.forkunion.com/admissions YouTube Channel

You can watch dozens of videos on our YouTube channel.

Interviews with our staff and cadets, family testimonials, stories about our alumni, background on our generous benefactors - you can learn much about our Academy, its history, and its impact on the lives of others just by viewing these videos. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified of new videos as we post them each month!

Go to http://www.youtube.com/forkunionmilitary

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Join together with over 8,000 parents, alumni, and FUMA friends on our Facebook page to receive photos and updates on your news feed, network and interact with others, and ask for feedback and advice from other parents and alumni. Facebook is a great place to learn more about the Academy experience, and to share your stories and questions with others. Very few schools our size have such a large and active audience on Facebook, and we encourage you to join the conversation there!

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