The Blue Guidon The Newsletter of Andover and the Military
180 Main Street Andover MA 01810-4161
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Andover & the Great War: The Early Years
Andover’s Military History Project is an ongoing effort to document the long history of service to the country by Andover students, faculty, alumni, and the school itself. If you are an alumnus or alumna who would like to contribute to this project by researching and writing, please contact Jenny Savino at jsavino@andover.edu. We would love to hear your story!
by David Chase
Andover Top General to Speak on Campus
Operation Red Wings Remembered
Gen. Barry McCaffrey ‘60 will be the evening’s speaker on Thursday, November 6, 2014, at Phillips Academy’s annual Veterans Day Dinner in Paresky Commons. PA’s highest ranking military graduate, McCaffrey served a distinguished career in the U.S. Army, as well as in the federal government as the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) from 1996 to 2001. Following graduation from Andover, McCaffrey attended West Point before deploying to Vietnam, where he earned three Purple Heart medals and two Silver Star medals for valor. After serving in multiple levels of command and staff throughout the Army, McCaffrey commanded the 24th Infantry Division in the Gulf War during the famous Left Hook. McCaffrey’s final command was the United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), with responsibility for all U.S. military activities in Central America and South America.
April 25, 2014
We hope you can join us for this special event. Registration information will be forthcoming this fall.
Spring 2014
Praise, tribute, and non sibi were the order of the day on a crisp, clear April evening when the Andover community gathered to honor the memory of Lt. Cmdr. Erik Kristensen ‘91. Kristensen was killed while leading a rescue operation for four members of U.S. Navy SEAL Team 10 as part of Operation Red Wings in the Hindu Kush mountain range of Afghanistan, the events of which were chronicled in the film Lone Survivor. Erik’s parents, Adm. Edward and Mrs. Suzanne Kristensen, were on hand for a solemn service at Memorial Place, a Admiral Edward K. Kristensen festive dinner at Paresky Commons, and a screening of Lone Survivor at Cochran Chapel.
World War I began in June 1914. At the outset, President Wilson declared the United States neutral, and Wilson won reelection in 1916 cloaked in the mantle of peace, “He Kept Us Out of War” his campaign mantra. Despite widespread support for Wilson’s policy, a small but vocal contingent led by men associated with former presidents Taft and Roosevelt insisted America should prepare for war. Among the prime movers of the preparedness movement were Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood and former Secretary of War Henry Stimson, under whom Wood had served as army chief of staff from 1911 to 1913. Stimson was a member of Phillips Academy’s Class of 1883 and an Andover trustee since 1905. Stimson and Wood—in league with headmaster Al Stearns (Class of 1890)—shaped the military aspects of how the Academy addressed the First World War. Wood and Stimson made widely reported speeches calling for increased military spending and voluntary basic training of civilians. On November 12, 1914, Stimson brought Wood to Andover to address the student body; it was a required event. Wood addressed the necessity of preparation for war and the value of military training for civilians, including schoolboys. As The Phillipian reported, “Mr. Stimson then gave a brief talk urging that the fellows think over what [General] Wood had said, in order that they might put themselves in a position for doing their duty toward their country…” In February 1915, students were informed that, “in accordance with the recommendation of the Trustees,” Andover
would have a rifle club open to seniors and upper middlers. On February 24, The Phillipian editorialized on the merits of military training and announced that Stimson had obtained army rifles for the club. Almost every senior and upper joined the rifle club: 215 students organized into 21 squads. From 1914 through 1916, Headmaster Stearns brought speakers to campus who reported on conditions in Europe. History instructor Archibald Freeman lectured on the causes of the war. Chaplain Markham Stackpole described the “fighting spirit” in English prep schools. The Philomathean Society presented weekly discussions of current events. The Phillipian published letters from alumni and faculty involved in the war and editorialized on the need for students to become engaged in the wider world. In December 1914, students, trustees, and faculty purchased an ambulance to send to the front. Andover’s ambulance, number 127, was assigned to American volunteer ambulance drivers. It continued in service until 1917. Retired and beyond repair, its “127” tag was delivered to the Academy with thanks as “a priceless relic of war.” Students raised funds to send to the Red Cross, to Belgian and Polish relief organizations, and to support British prisoners in German hands. Andover boys responded generously to an appeal from Dr. Howard Beal (Class of 1890), serving in a hospital for Allied wounded in England. Beal’s patients—many victims of German poison gas attacks—would never fight again. They needed civilian clothing, including neckties. Seven hundred arrived at Beal’s hospital in the fall of 1915.
“When I come up from D.C., I normally bring snow, but today I bring sunshine,” said Cmdr. Robert Patrick ’88. “Erik demonstrated the profound impact one person can have on so many.” Head of School John Palfrey presented letters from Presidents George H.W. Bush ’42 and George W. Bush ’64. The Kristensens themselves then took the podium, reading excerpts from letters written by Erik’s classmates and SEAL teammates. Bayonet practice, 1918
Andover Athlete Turns Army Attack Helicopter Pilot
History of Honor:
The Civil War
As he leafed with fascination through a book on West Point in Methuen’s Central Elementary School library, little did 9-year-old Hanson Causbie know that one day he would be an aviator in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, piloting an AH-64D Apache attack helicopter. From elementary school onward, Hanson remembered the images from that library book and set a goal to become a West Point cadet. His parents were satisfied that his focus would change to other schools and careers as the years passed.
(excerpts from The History of Andover in the Military, by David Chase); edited by George Rider and Charlie Dean Hundreds of Andover alumni took part in the Civil War, serving on both sides of the conflict. At least 65 alumni died of wounds, disease, or as prisoners, and many others were injured. When hostilities commenced in April 1861, Andover students mobilized, organizing their own militia company called the “Ellsworth Guards.” Some new students who arrived after the war were veterans, including the great baseball player Archie Bush (Class of 1867). Andover started losing graduates early. Sullivan Ballou (Class of 1848), a Rhode Island politician, was killed at Bull Run in July 1861. His last letter home became part of Ken Burns’s PBS documentary The Civil War. John William “Willie” Grout (Class of 1859) was 17 when he enlisted. He was killed carrying his unit’s colors at Ball’s Bluff in October 1861, where his unit suffered 500 casualties in one day. Henry Washburn wrote the poem “The Vacant Chair” in honor of Grout. The poem was later set to music by George Root and became a popular ballad of the time.
Isaac Ingalls Stevens (Class of 1838), a West Pointer and the first governor of the Washington Territory, reentered the Army as a major general and was killed at the Battle of Chantilly in September 1862. Francis Holt (Class of 1853) died at Georgia’s Andersonville Prison in 1864. William Chase (Class of 1816), a long-serving Army engineer, declined appointment as commandant of West Point, resigned his commission, and joined the Confederates. Thaddeus Robinson (Class of 1861) from Alabama became a Confederate colonel and was captured at Chattanooga, only to be discovered in a prisoner stockade by his former Andover roommate Union Major Horace Tarr (Class of 1863), who had quit school in 1862 to enlist at the age of 17.
The Blue Guidon will undertake a number of projects over the coming years to honor our students and faculty who served in uniform over the past two-plus centuries. Not only is our nation currently recognizing the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, but 2014 marks the sad centennial of the beginning of World War I. One such project that we hope you will enjoy is a series of World War I articles appearing in alternating newsletters, starting with this issue and continuing through 2018. The first article presents the early engagement of Phillips Academy in war-related activities (1914–1916) before the United States entered the war. Future articles will cover the Andover Ambulance Unit; the on-campus cadet corps and summer military training camp (1917–1918); Andover students and alumni under arms during World War I; and, finally, a commemoration of Andover’s engagement during World War I and the construction of the Memorial Bell Tower. World War I is unique in that no other war has seen such a massive outpouring of participation by Phillips Academy and its students. By war’s end, 2,222 Andover men are known to have served in uniform both in the military and in the American Ambulance Service. Any of our articles on Andover in World War I will draw heavily on former PA headmaster Claude Moore Fuess’s 1919 book, Phillips Academy, Andover, in the Great War, an amazing book that can be found for sale at Amazon and can be read online at https://archive.org/details/phillipsacademya00fues. Non Sibi
Charlie Dean ’79 Editor 2
Jake Bean ’08
Matt Riehl ’99
Hanson Causbie ’08
Samantha Samora ’99
Ben Kagan ’08
Grancis Santana ’99
Walker Washburn ’08
Ali Ghaffari ’98
Karl Novick ’07
Philipp Risseeuw ’98
Alex Ryan ’07
Luis Gonzalez ’97
Lauren Johnson ’07
Ian Stephenson ’96
Young Fei ’06
Kenny Weiner ’96
Connor Flynn ’06
Laurie Coffey ’95
Jenn Bales ’04
Jesse Ehrenfeld ’96
Livy Coe ’04
Robert Crevey ’95
Tom Barron ’04
James Mok ’94
Vol. 1, Number 3
Matt Fram ’04
Ryan Shann ’93
Published biannually by the Office of Academy Resources, Phillips Academy
Aaron Stroble ’04
Robert Bolton ’92
Nicholas Ksiazek ’03
Kenneth Jambor ’91
Catherine Reppert ’02
John Orsmond ’91
Marc Ward ’02
David King ’90
Corbin Butcher ’01
Robert Patrick ’88
Aaron deVos ’01
Julian Facer ’85
Gilman Barndollar ’00
Jonathan Leete ’85
Carl Dietz ’00
Graeme Henderson ’83
Jarreau Jones ’00
Alexander Cochran ’82
Matthew Sullivan ’00
James Donnelly ’82
Hunter Washburn ’00
Ruben Alvero ’76
Other remarkable veterans include William Dawson (Class of 1875), a slave in Hillsboro, Va., whose master was forced to provide him, at age 15, to the Confederate Army as a teamster. Dawson later was captured by the Union Army, freed, then volunteered to serve with the Federals as a waiter. Years later he came to Andover and graduated in 1875 at the age of 28.
From the Editor
ALUMNI CURRENTLY ON ACTIVE DUTY*
THE BLUE GUIDON The Newsletter of Andover and the Military
EDITOR Charlie Dean ’79 ASSOCIATE EDITOR George S.K. Rider ’51 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Seth Moulton ’97, chair Christine Balling ’86 Tom Barron ’04 Tom Beaton ’73 Charlie Dean ’79 Harrison Flynn ’75 Johnson Lightfoote ’69 Karl Andrew Novick ’07 Robert Patrick ’88 George Rider ’51 Dana Seero ’71 Don Way ’63
*We recognize this list may be incomplete; it is based on data we have received from alumni updates. If you, or someone you know, is not on this list, please e-mail Jenny Savino at jsavino@andover.edu.
Today, Hanson is a member of the elite 82nd Airborne Division. He is assigned to the 1st Battalion, 82nd Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, and leads a helicopter Maintenance Platoon in Delta Company. “I chose the Maintenance Platoon so that
Lt. Hanson Causbie ’08 graduated from West Point in 2012. His time on the Hudson was preceded by four years at Andover, where he rowed crew and captained the boys’ cross-country team. Service to others was ingrained in Hanson while at Andover. “Non sibi was central to my Andover experience,” he says. “It taught me to embrace the idea and run with it as a fundamental concept of my life. “My four years at Andover were some of the best of my life so far; the school challenged me and the teachers motivated me, especially such wonderful role models as Coach Dale Hurley [rowing, Navy veteran] and my faculty advisor, Mark Efinger [Army veteran]. My first chance to lead was on the athletic fields. Those early experiences of being a member of a close-knit team, working with others, pulling in synchronization, and having responsibility made me look to the service academies for continued challenges after graduation.” Hanson excelled at West Point and, due to his class standing, earned the opportunity to receive his commission as an Army aviator. After basic flight school at Fort Rucker in Alabama, he was selected to move into attack helicopters. “I had never flown an aircraft before I arrived at Fort Rucker,” he says, “but my father and my grandfather had both been civilian pilots, which inspired me to fly ever since I was a kid.” Hanson’s dad pinned the silver wings onto his son’s Army uniform.
1st Lt. Hanson Causbie ’08
I could interact with enlisted soldiers,” he says. “In the AH-64 community, maintenance is a place to excel. We fly as much as in the line platoons and have the added responsibility to keep the aircraft fleet ready for immediate deployment.” The 82nd is required to move within 18 hours of a national emergency to fight anywhere in the world. “We were all taught non sibi at Andover and recognized that there are lots of different ways to serve our fellow man. The military is not for all Andover graduates,” says Hanson, “but those who choose this lifestyle make exceptional soldiers and leaders.” Hanson’s unit deploys to Afghanistan this year. —Charlie Dean ’79
Non Sibi in Niger Far from Andover, U.S. Army Special Operations Combat Medic Sergeant Matt Fram ’04 is busily providing health care to the native people of Niger. Matt’s service is clearly focused on helping others, and he couples his commitment with a strong sense of adventure and respect for his grandfather’s service as a U.S. Marine. After graduating from Clark University, where he played lacrosse, Matt joined the Army and saw combat service in Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division as a medic. Not one to choose the easy route, he then volunteered for Special Operations training and assignment. When Matt returns home, he looks forward to attending Army Ranger School, an intense combat leadership course. —Stephen Kaufman ’62
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