Current News & Information

2008 Dark Ages Party - Founders Day Celebration a Great Time!

On Saturday evening, February 16, 2008 the eighth annual Atlanta Chapter Dark Ages/Founders Day Party was held at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia.   This year’s party was again in celebration of the founding of the United States Naval Academy on October 10, 1845, and in honor of the Brigade of Midshipmen.

On that date, through the efforts of then Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft, the “Naval School” was established on a 10-acre tract of land that was previously an Army base named Fort Severn.  Just seven professors and 50 Midshipmen comprised the entire faculty and student body.  Today the Brigade is over 4,000 strong with an academic staff of nearly 600.

The party was a formal, black tie optional, event for Atlanta Chapter members and Georgia Parents Club members only.  The majority of the men arrived dressed in tuxedos, with their escorted ladies in equally formal attire.  It was a great looking room full of alumni, spouses, and dates!

Alumni present at the event represented a six decade span of classes.  The junior alumnus in attendance was Kenneth Graves, class of 1994.  The senior alumnus in attendance was CAPT George O’Connell, USN (retired), class of 1935!  George was escorting Ms. Aline Cofield.  Both alumni received a bottle of Naval Academy signature wine in recognition.

Attendees included Jon & Jan Barton '66, Sterling & Mary Jane Bennett '66, Art & Dee Butler '61, Stew & Ann Caldwell '65, Harvey & Lois Cybul '62, Bill & Sue Donges '71, John & Lenae Duran '85, Joe & Marilyn Frazar '65, Steve & Karen Frederick '72, Kenneth & Angeline Graves '94, Paul & Nancy Hurst '62, Capt. Margaret Klein '81 & Frank Klein '79, Pete & Sue Knoetgen '77, Alan & Kathy Lane '69, Mark & Linda Lethbridge '80, Jerry & Connie Mackey '54, Mario & Michelle Maddox '85 & '13, Carl & Marilyn McCallum '60, Alan & June Miller '61, George O'Connell '35 & Aline Cofield, Don Patterson '74 & Jo Anne, Bill & Sue Rentz '55 and guest Fern Johnson, Win & Joan Rorabaugh '70, Mitch & Carole Rowland '71, Bob & Linda Schultz '71, Ted & Sandy Verdery '67, Nick & Jean Ward '74, Rich & Martha Wilson '64, Will & Catherine Wood '66, Michael & Donna Hill '77, Rick & Carolyn Wilson '74, Terry & Mary McElroy '86 & '87, and Mary Vachon.   Incoming plebes Jim Brigham '12 and parents Bill & Amber, Dan Perme '12 and father Chuck, Nick Tessmer '12 and father Tom.  Parent club members Karen & Daniel Benson, Joan & Bill Johnson, Patrick & Cindy Chauncey, Glenn & Betsy Rix, and guest Don Kentopp, Sheryl Richards.

After dinner Chapter President Mitch Rowland '71, addressed the crowd and reminded us of the purpose of our gathering.  He then introduced our guest of honor for the event, Captain Margaret Klein, USN, Commandant of Midshipman.

Captain Klein related how her early love of flying lead her to the Naval Academy and some tales of her travels and duty assignments, including a tour in the White House.  She then talked at length about the current Brigade of Midshipmen, and the changes she and the Superintendent have made over the recent past.  Seems things have been slackened up a bit since many of us attended "boat school", including liberty outside of the gates five nights a week!  What!?!  Also, surprising to many, was that the Mids were only required to eat together in King Hall as a Brigade a few times a week!  They are now required to do so fifteen times a week, which sounds more like the Academy that most of us knew.  A return to personal responsibility as well as responsibility for those in your charge, are the concepts that she and the Academy intend to instill in the Midshipmen, Brigade wide.  She spent some time debunking a few myths that have been floating around in on-line blogs recently, and then opened the floor to questions from the alumni in attendance.

Dancing followed dinner, with music provided by the Russ Starrett Trio.  The usual suspects appeared on the dance floor!

Many thanks to Carole and Mitch Rowland '71 and Karen and Steve Frederick ‘72 for organizing this event for us this year.  Great party, and a good time was had by all!

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The Bill & Sue Rentz family with Steve & Karen Frederick.	Linda Schultz and the Cybuls.
Butlers, Mario Maddox, and two new Mids (including Mario's daughter).	T. McElroy, Hursts.
(Please help your webmaster ID these folks!  I need names.  Email me if you know.)	Woods, Jan Barton.
Parents Club members.	(l-to-r) Mary Vachon (wife of Reggie '58, George's nephew), senior Chapter member George O'Connell, Class of '35, and his date Ailene Cofield.
Wards, Pattersons, Wilsons.	McElroys & Marilyn McCallum.
Chowin' down.	More chowin' down.
Chapter President Mitch Rowland '71, makes his opening remarks.	Commandant Klein starts her presentation.
Mitch presents Capt Klein and her husband Frank with their personalized Atlanta Chapter aprons and associated invitation to the LobsterFest in June.	Posed shot for the record!
After dinner dancing begins.	The McCallums hit the floor.
Duty webmaster and photographer, Bob Schultz '71 and wife Linda finally get in a shot together!

Chapter 2007 Christmas Party was a Great Time

The Chapter Christmas Party was held on Sunday December 9th at the home of Mitch and Carole Rowland '71 in Peachtree City.  The Rowland home was festively decorated for the holidays, including an automated Santa who greeted people at the door!

The following alumni and friends were in attendance to celebrate the holidays:  Steve & Karen Frederick, Paul & Jody Borer, Jack & Patricia Clay, Win & Joan Rorabaugh, Bob & Linda Schultz, Joe & Marilyn Frazar, Nick & Jean Ward, Rick & Carolyn Wilson, Paul & Nancy Horst, Dick Holloway, Stewart & Ann Caldwell and Marilyn McCallum. (Carl McCallum was in Annapolis for the Board of Trustees meeting.)

This year we had the party on the south side of Atlanta, trying to get some of those pilots from Peachtree City to join with us. I am happy to report that Nick and Jean Ward came from Cumming, over 70 miles north and Rick and Carolyn Wilson came from Millidgeville, over 70 miles to the south.

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Mitch & Carole Rowland's home in Peachtree City.  (Linda Schultz posing in the driveway having safely arrived thanks to Santa's new Christmas gift -  a Garmin GPS portable navigation system!)	Guests arriving!  Jack and Patricia Clay, with Nick Ward in the middle!  Marilyn McCallum and Stew Caldwell, and Paul Borer visible in background.
Guests start to gather around the buffet table!  Linda Schultz, Jody Borer (behind Linda), Ann Caldwell, Joan Rorabaugh, Joe Frazer, Paul Hurst, and Steve Frederick.	Santa - Babe Magnet!  Santa stood in for Jim Hatch '47 our usual babe magnet.  Santa attracted Jody Borer, Marilyn McCallum, Karen Frederick, and Linda Schultz.

PS)  There were more pictures, but many were out of focus.  Me thinks that my battery was going dead and the auto-focus was suffering as a result.  No excuse, sir!

Ron Terwilliger '63 Speaks at Chapter December Luncheon

Ron became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Trammell Crow Residential in 1986.  Trammell Crow Residential is a national residential real estate company and is the largest developer of multi-family housing in the United States.

Ron is responsible for all residential development and operations conducted by Trammell Crow Residential in 23 offices throughout the United States.  He is a strong advocate for affordable workforce housing and has established a fund to help develop 2,000 affordable homes a year.

Ron is also a director of the USNA Foundation and chairs its athletic committee.  He has recently purchased a WNBA franchise for Atlanta.

Ron touched on a number of subjects.  He discussed the new WNBA franchise that he purchased for Atlanta.  As CEO of a real estate corporation, he was certainly qualified to discuss the current mortgage crisis and the housing slowdown.  Ron has been a leading advocate for affordable housing.  With people increasingly shut out of decent housing close to their jobs, he discussed the need to have mixed income housing and the problems with zoning for that type of housing.  He has committed to building 2000 mixed income houses each year.  He has also just taken over as Chairman for Habitat for Humanity.

NAVY WINS
108th Army-Navy
Football Game!

Navy 38 - Army 3

Navy wins Commander-in-Chief's Trophy outright, and it stays
in Annapolis for fifth straight year!

Naval Academy Alumni and friends gathered at the Fox Sports Grill in Atlantic Station on December 1st to out-cheer the attending West Pointers and watch Navy win the 108th meeting of Navy and Army on the gridiron.  Navy has now won eight out of the last nine games, and a record six in a row!  This win extends Navy's lead in the overall series record which now stands at Navy 52, Army 49, ties 7.

Navy fans had and early scare when Army marched down the field on their first possession with little defense evident from the Navy team.  Not to worry, Army couldn't get the ball into the end zone, had to try a field goal, and missed that as well.  Running backs Singleton and Campbell ruled the day, moving Navy steadily down the field.

Many thanks to Ples Bruce '77 for organizing the event this year and to his wife Kameelah for working check-in!

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Atlantic Station park with Christmas tree and the wrong end of a deer!	Another of the park deer, from his better side!
Fox Sports Grill.	The crowd gathers for the game.
Filling the place up!	Chow line opens!
Chow line stayed open nearly the entire game!	Jeff Lewis '70, with his Navy Cheerleader granddaugher!

In case you missed it, here's an article recapping the game that appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

     ----------------------------------------------------------------

A milestone afternoon for Navy ended with the sweetest accomplishment of all: an unprecedented sixth straight win over Army.

Reggie Campbell had a school-record 98-yard kickoff return, and Navy defeated mistake-prone Army 38-3 Saturday to put a lopsided slant on college football's biggest rivalry.

The Midshipmen improved to 52-49-7 against Army, their biggest lead in a series that began in 1890. No team had ever won six in a row, though the Black Knights once registered eight successive wins around a pair of ties.

Navy (8-4), which earlier this year ended a 44-game losing streak to Notre Dame, capped a memorable regular season with another blowout against Army (3-9). The Midshipmen have outscored the Black Knights by 169 points during their six-game streak.

Campbell accounted for 227 yards, including 73 on punt returns, and scored two touchdowns. His 12-yard run made it 31-3 with 10:18 left.  Although Navy's potent offense was limited to a 294 yards, the Midshipmen set a school record for points in a season (479), breaking the mark of 442 set in 1917.

Campbell's kickoff return gave the Midshipmen a 14-3 lead in the second quarter. It was 21-3 when he took a punt 46 yards to set up a 51-yard field goal by Joey Bullen on the last play of the half, giving Navy a 21-point cushion.

That was more than enough to beat an Army team that dropped several passes, fumbled three times, missed a short field goal and had a punt blocked.  The Black Knights had a chance to cut into a 21-point deficit in the third quarter, but Mike Viti lost a fumble on the Navy 1.

Army junior Tony Dace set career marks with 28 carries for 104 yards. But the run-oriented Knights couldn't rally behind sophomore Carson Williams, who went 12-for-21 for 117 yards before being replaced midway through the fourth quarter.

It was the fewest points scored by Army in the series since 1991.  Dace and Williams will have another chance to beat Navy, but Army's seniors will graduate without ever having experienced the feeling.

Army took the opening kickoff and launched an impressive drive that included a successful fourth-and-1 gamble at the Navy 11. But on third down Corey Anderson dropped a pass in the end zone, and Owen Tolson missed a 28-yard field goal try.

Another misplay by the Army special teams set up the game's first score. A 23-yard punt into the wind gave Navy the ball near midfield, and four plays later Zerbin Singleton took off around end on a 38-yard touchdown run.

Tolson got Army to 7-3 with a 28-yard field goal midway through the second quarter, but Campbell took the ensuing kickoff the distance. Campbell, who also returned a kickoff for a touchdown against North Texas, became the first Navy player to score twice on kickoff returns in a single season.

On the next play from scrimmage, Wesley McMahand lost a fumble at the Army 6. On third down, Shun White scored from the 1 to make it 21-3.

By David Ginsburg
AP Sports Writer

Helen Denton, WWII WAC, Speaks at Chapter November Luncheon

Helen joined the WACS during WWII and had a very interesting job!

Helen was raised on a farm in South Dakota with eight brothers and sisters. In 1942, as the war escalated, she joined the WACS. She was called up and sent to Des Moines, Iowa for six weeks of basic training. After basic training, she was sent to Kansas City to do recruiting. In 1944 she was sent to Ft. Crook in Omaha, NB. She was selected to be the secretary for the Post Commandant. One day he told her she had been picked to be part of a staff assigned to General Eisenhower in London.

Once selected for her post with Ike, she was given a long weekend and sent to GA to be trained for her new assignment. The FBI told her she would be doing top secret work for General Eisenhower. The impression the FBI made on her was so great that she never told anyone what she did, not her family, her husband, son or even the girls she roomed with on base. On the 50th anniversary of D-Day, she told her story for the first time.

In March of 1944, she arrived in London. When she reported for duty, she was put in a small room with a manual typewriter, carbon paper and paper on which to type. Everything she worked on was stamped TOP SECRET. The name of the project she was working on was "OVERLORD."

For eight hours a day, five days a week, she typed the plans for the invasion of France. When she had finished typing, the officers came in with a book three inches thick and asked if she would like to go upstairs to present the plans to General Eisenhower. The General asked her if she knew what she had typed. She answered that "these are the plans you will use for the invasion of France." Ike then asked her if she knew her brother was in London. She was impressed that someone of Ike's stature would know about her brother. He gave her a pass to see her brother whom she had not seen in three years.

When the announcement came about D-Day, she knew exactly what was happening.

Russ Breault, Shroud of Turin Expert, Speaks at September Luncheon

Russ Breault has been researching and lecturing on the Shroud of Turin for over 20 years.  He has been a guest lecturer at numerous universities and a guest presenter at scientific societies, including the American Chemical Society.  Russ co-produced and appeared on the nationally televised documentary “Behold a Mystery” and has appeared on “Mysteries of the Ancient World”.

He has also attended both recent public exhibitions of the Shroud in 1998 and 2000 in Turin, Italy and is the founder and President of the Shroud of Turin Education Project Inc.  Their official website is www.shroud2000.com

Russ came to our September Luncheon and gave an in-depth slide presentation of the long history of the shroud, which he called “CSI – Jerusalem”.  He said the name was fitting since this was really a crime scene investigation.  He presented information on chemical analysis, blood and pollen analysis, and textile analysis, as well as the erroneous 1988 carbon dating analysis that “dated” the shroud to a period from 1260 to 1390.  It was later determined that the small piece from one corner of the shroud that was carbon dated was, in fact, not a piece of the original shroud, but from an area that had been repaired!  While the carbon dating story made headline news across the globe, the story about that test being completely invalid was not widely disseminated.

The depth of information on the Shroud is quite impressive and cannot be captured here even in abridged form.  So, for much more complete information visit www.shroud2000.com 

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Chapter Alumni gather for lunch.	Bob Bush '65 and his daughter. Bob and wife Nancy are sailing around the word and left their sailboat in Signapore to come back and visit!
Russ Breault starts his presentation.	Chapter President Mitch Rowland '71 presents Russ with a personalized USNA apron

Bob Snelling '65 Speaks at Chapter August Luncheon

Bob’s talk centered on his efforts with the Community Character Coalition of Douglas County.  He then related that to the need for, and composition of, the character, ethics, and leadership curriculum at the Naval Academy.

The following two quotes were written by Douglas County High School students as they applied to win our annual Exceptional Character Student scholarships, which are awarded by the coalition every year.

“Changing society and making our world a better place begins with the individual.  If individuals begin to change themselves and demonstrate moral character traits, it will eventually have an effect on others around them.”

“When we, individually, govern our lives with character and morality, the nation as a whole behaves with integrity, and individuals enjoy more and more freedom.  When we ignore the founding concepts of freedom and the character behind self-government, we are headed down a sure road to ultimate personal and national destruction.”

Many thanks to Bob for his continued leadership in the community and for taking time to visit with us again!

Ben Malcom, Army Special Forces During Korean and Vietnam Wars, Speaks at Chapter July Luncheon

Our guest speaker for the July Luncheon was Ben Malcom who was in the special forces during the Korean and Vietnam wars.  He authored a book about his year behind enemy lines in North Korea titled “White Tigers: My Secret War in North Korea”.  (Amazon.com has it!)

The book is the untold story of the U.S. Army's role in unconventional warfare in the Korean War.  An Army first Lieutenant, Ben Malcom was handpicked to go behind enemy lines to recruit, train and lead North Korean partisans in their war against Chinese and North Korean forces.  He recounts how he won the guerrillas' trust and, with a minimum of support from Far East Command, mounted a series of operations that combined sabotage with intelligence-gathering.  (His 4th Partisan Infantry Battalion provided the framework for establishing the Army's Special Forces in 1952.)

Ben’s presentation at the luncheon included charts and maps and a plethora of information and statistics that he recalled from memory faster than I could possibly take notes!  None-the-less, I did my best, and here’s what I was able to capture.

He described his topic as special forces and CIA operations.  He said that hundreds of agents were dropped into North Korea during the war.  His “White Tiger” group had about 800 at the beginning.  That group’s operations and others were classified top secret back then.  In 1990 his group’s operations were unclassified, allowing him to author his book and speak on his experiences.  He was actually behind enemy lines in 1952 for a 12-month period.  During 1950 to 1953 about 36,500 U.S. troops were killed in action in North Korea.  He compared that to the approximately 58,000 that were killed in action in Vietnam from 1955 to 1975.  Actually, the U.S. entered Vietnam as early as 1952 to support the French.

One particularly amusing story about the partisan forces that he was training was the attempted use of homing pigeons to deliver messages.  The gave the men the pigeons in cages with instructions to write messages on small slips of paper and put them in the little tubes attached to the pigeon’s legs.  Ben said that none of the pigeons ever made it back with a message!  He later came to find out the reason was that the partisans cooked and ate the birds!

A key strategic piece of land for the U.S. was Paengnyong-Do Island, which was only 120 miles off the coast and just below the 38^th parallel, which later marked the DMZ (demilitarized zone).  The island had very hard sandy ground that allowed some of our planes to land and take off.  We still have control of that island today.

In recent years there have been four major tunnels found dug under the DMZ by North Korean forces.  They were found and collapsed.  Over the years there have been over 50 other digging sites discovered!

Ben reviewed with us the CIA’s clandestine airline operations back in those years.  There was a need for pilots and planes to deliver troops and supplies to support the special forces operations during those wars.  As such, the CIA founded and funded over 30 corporations to do just that, many of which were airline companies.  At the peak of their operations they had over 400 planes and 20,000 pilots and other support personnel.  About 262 pilots and passengers were shot down!  By 1973 all of those airlines were phased out.  The most famous of these was probably Air-America, about which movies have been made.  On a local note, Southern Air, right here in Atlanta was a CIA funded and operated airline!

Ben mentioned a disturbing fact about those who served our country in this capacity.  None of them ever got any sort of government benefits for their service.  One man in particular that Ben mentioned was Jack Stiles.  He flew for Civil Air Transport (a CIA airline) for over 20 years.  He served for a total of 28 years and has never received a single benefit for that service.

Korea was ultimately divided with Russian placed in charge of North Korea and the U.S. placed in charge of South Korea.  Russia installed a dictatorship that survives still today.

In 1990, Russia stopped supporting North Korea with food and supplies.  From 1990 to 1993 an estimated 2 million North Koreans starved to death.  China now supports North Korea.  Ben said that this is most likely because if North Korea fell to South Korea, they (China) would have a bordering state with a Democratic government, something they would like to avoid at all costs.

The U.S. still has over 8,000 troops MIA in North Korea.  Ben outlined some of the deals that have been made to go back in and try to find and recover more of them.

Regarding current problems with nuclear proliferation in North Korea, Ben mentioned that our best and most effective bargaining tool to date has been banking sanctions.  An inside Korean man (forgot his name  - sorry) has been providing intelligence for us on a number of fronts.  He provided all of the banking information that has allowed us to freeze many of North Korea’s financial assets.  This is the main reason that we have been able to force them back into negotiations.

After Ben’s presentation during a Q&A session, a question was asked about the condition of the North Korean army.  Ben said that at nearly 4 million strong it was the fourth largest in the world.  However, it was poorly trained and equipped with WWII weapons.  North Korea, on the other hand, has an approximately 800,000 man military force that is very well trained and equipped.  It could easily defeat the North Korean army in his estimation.

Ben still teaches at the Special Forces School in Fort Bragg and consults with the U.S. military on special operations.  You can tell by listening to him that what he shared with us today is just the tip of the iceberg of his knowledge and experience in this field.

Many thanks to Colonel Malcom for taking time to share his experiences with the Atlanta Chapter.

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Ben Malcom starts his presentation.	Mitch assists with visual aids!
Chapter President Mitch Rowland '71 presents Ben with a personalized USNA apron.	Ben signs books for Chapter alumni.

Bruce Latta, USNA Dean of Admissions, Speaks at Chapter June Luncheon, Plus New Slate of Chapter Board Officers Elected to Serve Next Term

USNA Dean of Admissions Bruce Latta ’78 was our guest speaker at the Chapter June luncheon.

Bruce presented a summary of admissions statistics, issues, and challenges to the approximately 40 alumni in attendance.

He started by reporting that in the 90's applications were relatively low, but increased a good bit in '98 and '99.  A bug surge occurred after the 9-11-2001 attack on America.

We received over 12,000 applications this year, which was the same as the post 9-11 class of 2006.  We currently have an acceptance rate of about 85% (meaning that 85% of those applicants to whom the Academy makes an official offer of admission, end up accepting the offer).  Interestingly, while the decade of the 70's saw only about 65% of in incoming class making it through to graduation day, current classes have been graduating with about 80% of their starting Plebe year numbers.  That, even while our academic attrition rate is the highest of all the service academies.

The incoming class of 2011 included 86 prior enlisted personnel.  This was quite good considering that the Academy path is a hard one for enlisted people considering the NROTC alternatives.  Many are already married, and can stay so in the NROTC program.  Also, there is no equivalent of another “boot camp” to go through, let alone an entire Plebe year!

Bruce reported that the Academy is required to bring in candidates from every congressional district.  While this promotes diversity, it also creates some problems while trying to accomplish that goal.  About 24% of the incoming class comes from diverse backgrounds.  One of his current projects is New York City.  That area is lacking in alumni support and Blue and Gold Officer support.  There are many alumni who work there, but most don’t live there.  There are only four BGOs and not one minority among them.  The result is that we don’t attract enough candidates from that area.

We also have a problem with our aging BGO ranks.  About 25% of our BGOs are over 60 years old.  A younger force would be better received by the young men and women we are trying to attract.

On diversity, Bruce mentioned that our enlisted force is now about 40% minority.  By approximately 2040 the Asian, Hispanic, and African-American populations will have grown sufficiently to remove white males from the ranks of the majority.

Recruiting efforts are currently targeting the top ten cities, of which Atlanta is one.  According to Bruce, more work with the area Boards of Education and superintendents of schools needs to be done.  The “branding” of USNA only goes so far and more needs to be done to further the awareness of the Naval Academy in the minds of high school students and their parents.

The Gospel Choir visits, like those to the Atlanta area the last few Januaries, were cited as one of the top recruiting tools that we have.  The choir is made up of a diverse mix of Midshipmen and shines a great light on our Alma Matter.

Bruce mentioned also some of the networking connections that have been made through Academy alumni that have turned out to be an invaluable asset in gaining a foothold in some of the hot recruiting areas around the country.  Ideas and assistance from alumni is relied upon and needed for successful recruiting.

Many thanks to Bruce for making time in his schedule to bring Atlanta area alumni up to date on the make up and quality of the young people comprising the incoming classes.

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Bruce Latta starts his presentation.	Bruce assists with the Naval Academy signature wine raffle.
Chapter President Mitch Rowland '71 presents Bruce with a personalized USNA jacket.

New Slate of Chapter Board Officers Elected to Serve Next Term

The following slate of nominated Chapter Board officers was unanimously voted into office to serve the next term from June '07 to June '08:

• President – Mitch Rowland ’71 (first term)
• Vice President – Erik Busko '88 (first term)
• Treasurer – Pete Knoetgen ’77 (second term)
• Secretary – Ples Bruce '77 (first term)
• Directors (General) – Jim Slemenda ’66 (first term), Jay Wicklund '97 (first term)

Our board members are the "inner workings and hidden mechanisms" that keep our Chapter going and growing!

33^rd Annual LobsterFest - A Great Time!

The Chapter's 33nd Annual LobsterFest cookout was held on Saturday, June 9th, at Red Top Mountain State Park in North Georgia.  The event was attended by 239 alumni, family, and friends, who consumed 343 lobsters and loads of mussels!

Also in attendance at this year’s event were eleven Georgia high school students who have been accepted to the Naval Academy as part of the incoming Class of 2011.  The Chapter extended invitations to them and their parents to join us at the LobsterFest!  Thanks to Cindy Miller ’90 our Area Blue and Gold Coordinator for coordinating this effort.

The live Maine lobsters were brought in the day of the event and cooked on the spot in "lobster pot row".  Also available on the serving line was a terrific home-made salad prepared by our "kitchen queens" from fresh vegetables they sliced and diced earlier in the day.  Hundreds of ears of corn were also consumed by day’s end!  Of course, Marilyn McCallum brought her secret recipe special sauce for the mussels.

Our kitchen queens were:  Marilyn McCallum (wife of Carl '60), Sue Rentz (wife of Bill '55), Karen Frederick (wife of Steve '72), Ann Caldwell (wife of Stewart ’65), Carole Rowland (wife of Mitch ’71), and Jody Borer (wife of Paul '70).

Volunteers started arriving shortly after 12:00 noon to make preparations for the 4:00pm lobster dinner.  Check-in setup, bar setup, cooking equipment setup, corn shucking , salad making, table setup, decorations, and various other duties were handled by a team of dedicated folks who all put in a full 8-hour day's work on their feet to put on the year's favorite event.

Our check-in crew was headed by Chapter Treasurer Pete Knoetgen '77, with help from Jim Ravenel '45, Margaret Frederick.  Mary McElroy '87, husband Terry '86, and sons handled the decorations including a big gold N-Star that went up on the wall!

Thanks to all of the volunteers who worked so hard to make this event possible!  It’s an 8-hour day before everything is set up, cooked, served, cleaned up, and put away...  most of it spent on your feet and moving!

Our trusty Chapter Webmaster Bob Schultz ’71 and his wife Linda could not attend this year, so the following pictures were provided by roving photographers Paul and Jody Borer.

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CAKE ! ! !	Check-In Crew!
Early Arrivals.	Home-made Salad!
Jody Borer - Kitchen Queen.	Steve Frederick puts illegal choke hold on wife Karen!
Lobster Bibs!	Lobster Pot Row.
Lobsters - before.	Lobsters - after!
Margaret Frederick.	Marilyn's Mussels.
Marily & Steve.  Call for ??	McElroy family putin' up the gold Navy N Star.
Mitch Rowland '71, incoming Chapter President.	Mitch with Steve '72, outgoing Chapter President.
Mussels!!!	Nina Schwelm... cutest gal at the party!
Paul Borer '70.	Pete Knoetgen '77, corn shucker.
Rowlands and Fredericks.	Serving line opens!
Steve... shucking!	Stu Caldwell '65.
Sue & Bill Rentz '55.	Tables, ready to go!

For First Time Navy Suffers Second Defeat in a Row in Annual Army-Navy Golf Classic

By event coordinator Will Wood '66

On May 7, 2007, members of the Naval Academy Alumni Association of Atlanta (Navy) valiantly battled the Whoops only to suffer Navy’s third loss in eleven such outings against the West Point Society of Atlanta (Army) in the 11th annual Army-Navy Golf Classic, an annual spring competition that was begun in 1997.  As before, the golf competition and awards dinner that followed took place at the Golfers Club at Fort McPherson.  Proceeds from the event went to provide tuition for needy youngsters in the Atlanta area to attend the SummerScape math, science, and computer camp at Georgia Tech this summer.

Despite a second consecutive year in which a batch of injuries sidelined Navy regulars, the event enjoyed strong participation.  Using the modified Stableford scoring system, the final score was Army at +50 to Navy’s +45.  Once again, with the number of new folks participating this year and our regulars back next year, we hope to have a really tremendous event next year with record attendance as well as record support for our charity (and Navy’s 9^th victory in the series).

Despite the defeat, everyone enjoyed the golf and camaraderie on a gorgeous spring day in Georgia as well as a very fine dinner with prizes.  Prizes this year included engraved cocktail glasses, many golf shirts, other golf paraphernalia, a $160 dinner, and more.

Participating in the 2006 Army-Navy Golf Classic were the following:  Bill Wright ’50; Jack Clay ’56; Ken Strahm ’57; Carl McCallum ’60; Hal Morrison ’61; Harvey Cybul ’62; John Johnson ’65; Will Wood ’66 Reb Hester ’67 and wife Lynda and guests Ray and Becky Bordelon; Larry Harton ’68; Steve Dmetruk ’71; Tom Galloway ’71; Richard Richardson ’71; Mitch Rowland ’71; Lee Whitfield ’71 and guests Alan Shaul, Terence Stein, and Cole Van Houten; Steve Frederick ’72; Bill Schenzel ’75; Brad Jones ’83; Bayly Taft ’84; Greg Reppar ’90; Chad Chatlos ’93; Greg Rivera ’93; Jason Van Matre ’94; Chris Hart ’95; Jay Wicklund ’97; John Chavous ’02; and Karlton Holston ’02.  Navy again brought more players to the field of honor than Army.

Despite the overall score, Navy dominated in taking home the door prizes as well as those involving skill. Ken Strahm ’57 had the closest to the pin on Hole No. 7, winning a $30 gift certificate.  Tom Galloway took home the same prize for closest to the pin on Hole No. 12.  In the Stableford competition, and winning increasingly bigger gift certificates, were Karlton Holston ‘02 in 5^th place; Chad Chatlos ’93 in 4^th; Mitch Rowland ’71 in 3^rd; and Cole Van Houten, guest of Lee Whitfield ’71, in 2^nd.  Steve Dmetruk ’71 took first place for Navy and won a $100 gift certificate as well as the traditional set of engraved cocktail glasses.  Robert Richardson ’71 took home the top door prize of a $160 gift certificate for dinner at Toni’s Casa Napoli in Dunwoody.  As a resident of Peachtree Corners, he has dined before at this fine restaurant.  When his name was announced as the winner, he unselfishly proclaimed, “My wife is going to love this!”

We look forward to the 12^th renewal of the classic on May 5, 2008.  This date of Cinco de Mayo should be easy to remember.  All golfing USNAAAA members in the Atlanta area are invited to put this date on their calendars now and to join us for the competition and camaraderie.  It’s always a fun time for all.

WWII Veteran Janice M. Benario Speaks at Chapter April Luncheon.

Janice M. Benario is Associate Professor Emerita, Foreign Languages (Latin and Greek) at Georgia State University.  She was a LTjg during WWII and handled the decoded and translated German Naval ENIGMA messages, passing the material directly to CNO and COMINCH, Admiral Ernest J. King.  Janice had a fascinating and inspiring story to tell.

I can tell you from listening to her presentation that Janice is still sharp as a whip and you’ll have to get up pretty early in the morning to get ahead of her!  She related her experiences during the war to us as if they had happened just yesterday.  Her recollection of the details of those days seems undiminished by time.

The "Battle of the Atlantic" as it was called lasted from September of 1939 when the Germans invaded Poland to May of 1945 when the Germans surrendered.  Janice said that the Enigma code breaking played a major role in the winning of that battle by dealing effectively with the German U-boat vs allied supply ship conflict.

Surprisingly, the Germans were never told until 1974 that the Enigma code was ever broken!  Nearly 30 years after the war!  When that happened, people involved in the “Ultra” project as it was called, were finally free to relate some of the details of that effort.  Several books on the project have since been published.  Janice published her own book on the subject titled "Top Secret Ultra: The Allies: Secret Weapon in the Battle of the Atlantic".

You may wonder how Janice managed to get into such an envious and significant position during the war.  She said that the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) had been founded in order to allow patriotic women to serve in the Navy at that time.  She was actually attending Goucher College near DC and was approached and asked if she would be interested in attending a cryptology course.  Little explanation of the need was offered at the time.  She decided it would be interesting and signed up for the course, which she said ran for about twelve weeks.  Once the women had completed the course they were offered a choice of a civil service position or a commission in the WAVES.

Janice was commissioned, and after an eight-week indoctrination at Mt. Holyoke College, was given a Top Secret clearance and was one of four women assigned to the Naval Communications Annex in Washington, DC.  This was the headquarters for the project to break the German Enigma code.  There were 35 people working in that office, designated OP20-GI-2A.  This included a combination of officers and enlisted personnel, most of whom were professors or mathematicians and the like.  The office came to be affectionately called “The Office of College Professors” and no one knew much of anything about them other than that!

Janice started in office OP20-GI-2A in September of 1943.  She lived in a local boarding house and had a roommate from whom she had to keep secret her real job.  Janice claimed that her roommate told her that she tried to get the information out of her in her sleep at night, but couldn’t!  Just name, rank, and service number!

There were several versions of the Enigma machine itself, of which the German Navy’s was the most complex.  The later versions had three to four rotor wheels that could be set to 26 different positions each.  The front panel also contained 26 plugs that could be set in random patterns as well.  The main part of the machine had a standard looking typewriter keyboard with a set of lights above that matched each available letter on the key board.  Pressing one key on the keyboard would randomly light up one of the letters, depending on the setting of the aforementioned parts. Initially the Germans changed the settings, and thus the code, every month.  Later on they changed them every week.  Toward the end of the war they changed them every day.

Janice reported that Poland had somehow managed to gain possession of an early version of the Enigma machine.  From that discovery began the efforts to reverse engineer and clone the machine to work on decrypting the messages that were created by using it.  This was at first a combined British/U.S. effort, but shortly after it became a U.S. only project, based on our successes.  A machine called the “Bombe” was invented that tested for possible Enigma solutions at a greatly accelerated rate than could any human mathematicians.  This machine stood several feet tall and easily filled the entire wall of a room.  (It looks to me like a precursor of the ENIAC, which was built to calculate artillery firing tables.  It too was a room-sized device bristling with cables and plugs and lights.)

The US built “Bombe” machine, she said, was several times faster than the British version, which was one reason why the entire project was turned over to us rather quickly.  Another reason was that National Cash Register was recruited to build clones of the Enigma machines for the Navy’s use.  NCR was never told what they really were.  Hey just some strange looking typewriters with lots of wires inside.

Their office’s reports containing the decrypted messages were sent via courier/car to the submarine tracking facility headed by Admiral King.  These reports were used for various military planning purposes including convoy routing, etc..  As a result of code breaking, in late 1943 to early 1944 the tide starting turning in the German U-boat vs supply ship war.  The decrypted Enigma traffic also played a huge role in the planning for D-Day on June 6, 1944.

After the war effort, Janice served out the remaining six months of her tour of duty at the Bureau of Medicine.  This, she reported, was considerably less interesting than her stint at OP20-GI-2A!

The cracking of the Enigma code was called one of the greatest allied intelligence successes of WWII.  Without it, the war might have gone on for another one or two years, or possibly resulted in the atomic bomb being dropped on Berlin.

Click on the following link for a picture of LTjg Benario in 1943, plus pictures of an Enigma machine and a Bombe machine.

Janice - Enigma - Bombe

The Chapter extends it gratitude to Janice for her service to her country and her time to relate this incredible experience to us all.

Click on a thumbnail image to view a full sized picture.

Chapter President Steve Frederick '72 welcomes Janice Benario to the luncheon.	Janice begins her presentation.
Steve thanks Janice for her service during WWII and for sharing her story with us.	Steve presents Janice with her personalized Atlanta Chapter apron.

Dr. Lori Salierno, President and CEO of Celebrate Life International Speaks at Chapter March Luncheon.

The March Luncheon was held at the National Museum of Patriotism at 1405 Spring Street in midtown Atlanta.  It’s one of Atlanta's best kept secrets, with many patriotic and educational military displays.

Celebrate Life International is an organization dedicated to transforming at-risk youth into responsible citizens.  Dr. Salierno made a wonderful presentation.  The main points of her presentation were:

• Problems with youth today are much more serious than 20-40 years ago.

• 38 million youth are vulnerable and need help - need positive role models.

• It costs the US economy $17,000,000 for each youth who drops out of school.

• CLI strives to change youth culture by teaching and modeling universal principles: Integrity, Healthy living, Healthy relationships between youth and adult mentors, Humility, and Enthusiasm.

• They have about 2500 youth in the “Teach One to Lead One” program - staffed with about 350 volunteer mentors.

• In the late ‘80’s, Lori met with Mother Teresa in Calcutta - Mother Teresa told Lori to try to shine her light in the darkest place in America - the troubled youth in America.  Thus CLI was founded in 1996.

• Moral authority is the greatest legacy we can leave to the next generation.

For more about Dr. Salierno and CLI, click on...

Dr Salierno Bio

Click on a thumbnail image to view a full sized picture.

National Museum of Patriotism, Navy display.	A few of the luncheon attendees:  (l-r) Bill Rentz '55, Mike Lores '74, Mario Maddox '85, Pete Knoetgen '77 & his wife Sue.
Dr. Lori Salierno starts her presentation.	Chapter VP Mitch Rowland '71, presents Lori with her personalized Atlanta Chapter apron.

Bob Barr Speaks at Chapter February Luncheon

We have Jim Ravenel ’45 to thank for arranging for Bob Barr to visit our Chapter again.  When introducing Bob, Jim offered us a long, 8-page, version or an abbreviated one.  Not surprisingly, the assembled alumni chose the short version.

Bob started his remarks by recounting his attendance at Congressman Charles Norwood’s funeral.  Congressman Norwood recently passed away after a fight with lung disease and cancer.  Bob was struck by how these types of things bring Republicans and Democrats together in a non-partisan way that is far too often lacking in the halls of government.

The most recent elections, he said, indicate that the country is relatively evenly split between the Republicans and Democrats.  It is unfortunate that too few people who occupy the political “middle ground” are actively involved in politics.  This lack of a broad cross-section of people involved in the political process leaves the agenda, by default, to the two extremes.  This, says Bob, is a bad thing for the American people.

He also said that over the past five years, the Republican administration grew complacent and failed to actively engage the American public to promote their agenda.  As a result, the party lost big in the recent elections.

Those in attendance were interested in Bob’s take on the 2008 Presidential elections.  Bob believes that Senator Hilary Clinton will be on the Democratic ticket.  He believes this primarily because the Clinton camp has the single biggest fund raising machine by far.  On the Republican side, he sees the race for the nomination as a two-man race between former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Senator John McCain.  Each man, he says, will have some substantive issues to overcome on the way.  Giuliani, for example, is a gun control advocate.  McCain’s stance on the Iraq war may require attention.

During the Q&A after his prepared remarks, Bob fielded a couple of interesting questions.  Paul Hurst ’62, asked about his stance on privacy vs security in today’s world.  Bob said that his stance on this always starts from the base of the provisions of the 4^th Amendment to the Constitution, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.  This, he says, was drafted in times that are just as volatile and dangerous as the present day world.  Only those who forget this county’s history at that time try to make a case to bend the rules because we are facing more dangerous times today.  That said, he believes that the Presidents assertion that he can authorize the surveillance of citizen’s phone conversations and emails without any cause troubles him greatly.  He considers that policy a violation of our rights under the 4^th Amendment.

The next question solicited his stance on illegal immigration.  Bob’s response was that he views this as strictly a security issue, not really a purely immigration issue.  If people want to immigrate to this country to live and work, that’s fine.  However, we need to know who those people are for security reasons.  There needs to be an accounting.  He does not see the construction of a wall on the Mexican border, for instance, as a good idea at all.  He does, however, view the use of the military to secure our borders as a proper use of our armed forces in protecting the security of our country.

Many thanks to Mr. Barr for visiting our Chapter again.  He always has an interesting and educational perspective on our country’s political scene.

For more info on Bob Barr's recent involvements and activities click the link below:

Bob Barr's Web Site

Click on a thumbnail image to view a full sized picture.

Crowd gathers before lunch.	Bob Barr starts his prepared remarks.
Chapter President Steve Frederick '72 presents Bob with his personalized Atlanta Chapter apron.

USNA Gospel Choir in Atlanta for Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Celebration

The U.S. Naval Academy Gospel Choir was in Atlanta for three days to visit local high schools and churches, and to participate in the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday celebration by giving a concert at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church.

On Saturday, January 13^th, just before the concert, the Atlanta Chapter sponsored a lunch for the choir members and Chapter alumni in the basement of the church.

The choir's singing was energetic and uplifting as usual.  They are a talented group of Mids and a great showcase for the Academy!  (Kind of humbles those of us who can't carry a tune in a bucket, however.)

Many thanks to Stewart Caldwell '65, our Chapter Director for Brigade Support, who spent the many hours necessary to coordinate this event for us again.  Many thanks to Bill Rentz '55, our Eastern Regional Trustee, and his wife Sue who took it upon herself to make the entire BBQ meal for the luncheon.  Stew Caldwell reports that her brunswick stew got rave reviews!  Sue cooked for over 100 and actually served about 80 including the choir members, the visiting Chapter alumni and parents club members, plus the Park Rangers that manage the facility.  Others helping on the serving line were Jody Borer, wife of Paul '70, and Anne Caldwell, wife of Stew.  Thanks also to the Georgia Parents Club and their members for helping serve and for providing the outstanding desserts including cookies, brownies, banana pudding, and chocolate cream pudding.

Bill Rentz received some feedback from the Head Park Ranger, who gave Chapter VP Mitch Rowland '71 and Stew Caldwell a supreme compliment. She said the reason she enjoys having us come to Ebenezer so much, compared to other groups, is that every year we show up when we say we'll show up, set up like we said we'd set up, get the stuff organized, get the job done, and get out with a minimum of worry and mess on their part.  She said they also really enjoy the music, the Mids, and the food!

Bravo Zulu to all involved this year for another great event!

Click on a thumbnail image to view a full sized picture.

Jody Borer, Anne Caldwell, and Sue Rentz make ready to serve.	Hungry Mid surveys the chow line.
First Mid exits the chow line.	More Mids start gathering for lunch.

The Atlanta Chapter has an Important New Communications Method

This new communications method is commonly called a "List Server".  A list server is basically an automated group e-mail list to which the list "members" subscribe to, and unsubscribe from, themselves.

Your Chapter Board of Directors hopes to keep all of our members better informed about Chapter events and activities by using this new service.

YOU MUST SUBSCRIBE to start getting Chapter communications through this service.  (We are not allowed to just sign you up.)

Click on USNAAAAMAIL List Server to go to the sign up page NOW!

Football Trivia Question of the Day:

Q. What was the first recorded use of the instant replay in football?

A. The 1936 Army-Navy Game!  Instant replay was used one time in that game.  When the replay was broadcast, the announcer reminded the TV audience repeatedly that what they were seeing was in fact a replay of a play that actually occurred several minutes ago!  Ain't technology grand!?

November 28, 1908 Army Navy Game Panoramic Picture!

The Library of Congress "American Memory" Digital Photo Archives contains historical pictures of all types.  For a panoramic photo of the November 28, 1908 Army-Navy game click HERE to go to the Library of Congress American Memory home page.

From the home page, go to Collection Finder, and then to Prints & Photographs.  On the Prints & Photographs page, enter the search string "Army Navy Game"  and click the Search button.  (The first match you get will be the 1908 Army Navy game.  Click on it to see the picture!  Once there, click on the picture to go to a full size image of the shot.)

Hey, isn't that Jim Ravenel in the bottom right-hand corner with the top hat on looking back at the camera man?  I thought he said he was class of '45!

Hint: Put in the search string "United States Naval Academy" and you'll get tons of old photos of the "boat school" and some really old Mids!)

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