CLASS NOTES actually spent weeks tracing down graves all willing to place the flag set (U.S., Virginia and over eastern Virginia, as did John Lee in the area VMI New Market Battle flag) at his grave markbetween Staunton and Lynchburg with his wife, er, let me know. I have the miniature flags and Sandy, and Jack Thompson’s assistance. Mike can mail them, if so. Cadet Philip Nelson Page and Marci Bagnulo drove over much of Georgia ’866, (private, Company C) is in the Protestant and made a connection with BR Jim Hannah Cemetery in Concordia, Entre Rios, Argentina. for their first visit in nearly 50 years, as a cadet His bio says he was a cattle dealer who never grave is close to Jamie near Rome, Georgia. Phil married, and he died Jan. 4, 1941. Gioia found that his assigned cadets were victims of a combination of the 1906 San Francisco Tom Hickey earthquake that required some combination of removals or other events, meaning the remains were lost or otherwise misplaced. One of these was Cadet Oliver Evans ’865, VMI color bearer. Several cadets were discovered not to be where old records showed them to be. Some I’m going to start with a something that hapwere in different cities or had been moved to pened in May 2014. When Rosemary and I refamily cemeteries or plots around the country. turned from a trip to Los Angeles, California, to Their removals did not catch up with original visit our son, I found a message on my answerrecords of burials, so honors were sometimes ing machine from retired U.S. Army Col. Ken at the suspected cemetery entrance, the local Dickinson ’57. He wanted to verify that Ben church or just near the place they should have Clark ’931 was our class adviser and to get a been or were thought to be, but where there was phone number for Tom Province (Madison, no stone marker. Virginia). When I returned the call and heard I think this quote from Mike Bagnulo exem- his voice, it was like being back in Company plifies the spirit of the effort by so many to honor F ranks outside of Washington Arch at Friday the New Market cadets and VMI participants. Evening Inspection. There I was in my four-year “This quest to honor VMI cadets that fought at private “spit-shined, polished brass glory” (at the Battle of New Market is the gift that keeps least as much glory as I could muster) again with on giving. Seeing just the effort that was made to him inspecting my M1. I almost assumed a positry to locate the grave of Cadet Jacob Imboden tion of attention while speaking with him. I told ’867 in Honduras, I am again awed and inspired him that I had felt his tender ministrations when by the lengths to which people have gone to honor he was the Company F TAC officer, and that we these Cadets. The things that Tripp Meador did, a had hoped for some relief after Maj. Drudik, Louisiana State University grad (business associ- the TAC officer our 4th Class year. We were ate for a VMI grad on a business trip to Honduras) disappointed. Dickinson, as a relatively recent were, as they say, ‘above and beyond the call of graduate, knew all of the tricks. He responded by duty.’ As the father of three University of Geor- telling the story that one night after taps, he congia grads, I will never look at LSU the same way cealed himself in main sinks near what is now again! I guess the words from the ‘Doxology’ are Daniels Arch by standing on the commode so his correct. ‘The Institute will never die.’ Mike.” feet/legs couldn’t be seen. When he heard some What is next for these New Market men? There is an effort to have Civil War veteran grave markers placed at all the graves. The SCV has expressed an interest assisting with this. Some have said they will annually mark the graves they honored with a memorial visit. It is possible that recognition will become an annual or other interval event. Scott Shipp, Dr. Madison and several New Market men are in the Rockbridge Cemetery (downtown Lexington), and there has been some talk of having an annual service there that might include a cadet honor guard. If you have suggestions, please send them to me. I close by saying that there is one Class of 1967: Tom and Lucy Gritzmacher at New Market cadet grave in Argentina. State Park outside Rapid City, South Dakota. If you know of anyone who might be
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unnamed cadets on their way out the arch after taps, he suddenly burst out of the stall with the flashlight under his chin yelling, “Halt! You’re under arrest!” He said the sound of feet scurrying away was priceless. In a later email exchange, Dickinson wrote, “As I explained to you, Mr. Ben Clark of the VMI faculty was honored by your class and he was also my adviser when I was a cadet. When I returned to VMI as a TAC, we renewed our close friendship (I called him my “godfather”). Our friendship lasted until he died in 1999 and continued with his wife, Roberta, until she died two years later. Now, this year, I am making a contribution to VMI in the Benjamin S. Clark Scholarship Fund in honor of the Class of l968. I want all of you good men in the Class of 1968 to know it was a great honor and privilege to have known and worked with so many of you.” Terry Emerson (Port Austin, Michigan) forwarded an article from the Air Force Link website that honored his service on the occasion of his retirement as the principal at Alconbury Elementary School in the U.K. The article quotes Terry describing his career as an educator: “I stayed with it. I liked what I did. Every single day I liked coming to work. Forty-two years, and it was all great. I feel like I’m going out happy. I’m going out healthy, and I’m ready and prepared to hand this all over to the future.” Dick Rankin (Honolulu, Hawaii) sent a link to his school’s website where I found, “This year’s annual is dedicated to Col. Richard Rankin, who is retiring at the end of the school year, closing the book on two decades as the leader of ‘Iolani School’s exceptional economics program.” In his email, Dick wrote, “I haven’t felt this honored since my brother rats elected me to the Rat Disciplinary Committee!” About the Economics Challenge that many in the class supported by voting on the students’ videos, Dick wrote, “We won first in the video and third (out of 3,500 schools) in the nation in the Economics Challenge! I wish it were the other way around, but it is what is!” Phil Pauls (Alexandria, Virginia): “I retired from the U.S. Government with 43 years of service – the last 38 with the Office of Naval Intelligence – and was awarded the Department of Navy Superior Civilian Service medal. My wife and I just had breakfast with our brother rat and my VMI roommate, Craig Smith (Roswell, Georgia) and his wife.” Paul Chamberlin (Woodbridge, Virginia): “I retired in January 2012. Custer My wife, Kay, retired last May, and we have enjoyed life (family with three adult children, five grandchildren and
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