The month of May will be memorable for the Class. Sunday about 40 of us will board the paddlewheeler Empress of the North for the Class Mini up the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Later in the month classmates will gather at West Point to see Dick Trefry receive the AOG Distinguished Graduate Award.

This is a tough column to start. As most of you know Laura Walker'03 was killed in Afghanistan on 18 August. She was the granddaughter of Volney & Janice Warner and the daughter of Valerie & Keith Walker '76. She is the first class grandchild to die in the Middle East war.

She was a Lt. Of Engrs., helping build a 75 mile highway fromKandahar to Tarin Kot, a job she was so proud of, when an Improvised Explosive Device went off, killing her and another soldier. Her roommate was Jennifer Austin, Tom Austin'sgranddaughter, and she was with her at the time. After services in the Cadet Chapel, she was buried at West Point on 25 August. Her parents, Col.& Mrs. Keith Walker, live at 2788 Thaxton Ln.,Oakton, VA 22124

It was a wonderful reunion. We had 160 classmates (including some who showed up only for the company parties), 13 widows, and 166 wives, children, grandchildren and friends. We added an extra day this time, but it still was a busy time. The picture shows the men in their hats and blazers during the Alumni Parade.

While the BOG is still madly finalizing arrangements for the 55th Reunion in May, by the time you get this it will be just memories.

Meanwhile there is still news to pass on, like Uzal Ent still playing soldier, as you can see in this picture of him as a Civil War colonel. He was chosen to speak to the 28th ID Assn. At the Indiantown Gap Military Cemetery. The 28th is the oldest division in the Armed Forces, being formed in March 1879.

As you read this, the 55th Reunion will be just days away. We will have a great group there. As most of you know, John Wickham is our latest classmate to be selected as a Distinguished Graduate. He will receive the award at the Alumni Parade on Tuesday and join us for lunch in Washington Hall.

As I got out my notes for this column, I found stuck away in the back of the cubbyhole a Jan 04 note from Dick Newton with a lovely picture taken at a gathering for the 03 Army/Navy game. While it is a little late, the picture was too good to pass up, so here are Dick & Ruth Newton, Bill & Lois Slavins, and Rowland & Emmett Lee. With all those smiles, it must have been taken before the game.

Planning for the 55th is going well. We should have a nice group and lots to do. If you have not yet made your reservations, time is growing very short, since this column should arrive only a few weeks before the reunion. Contact Win Skelton NOW. 

For Veterans’ Day the Dillon, SC paper ran an interesting article on three generations of soldiers, starting with a Confederate Cavalryman, then his nephew from WWII, whose son was Joe Griffin. Nice pictures of all three. Joe, by the way, reports that he is slowing down but still very busy, mostly taking pills. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday period. I suspect the next two or three columns will be filled with Christmas news.

There has been a lot of interest in the return of the remains of our classmate Ted Lilly, who was killed in Korea on 3 Sept. 1950. His were one of only a handful so far that have been identified through DNA. On 21 Oct. the interment was held in old Fayetteville, NC at the Episcopal Church there. Then the procession was lead by about 50 of the Rolling Thunder motorcycles from the church to the cemetery. Members of the 504th Abn. Inf. gave him military honors. Alma Lilly Hodes, Ted’s widow, now married to Jack Hodes ‘49, received both the American Flag and a POW-MIA flag. Ted’s two sisters, Tori MacMillan and Betty Ann Barrett were there along with Sam & Tillie Smithers, Al Paulger, and Bill Baxley.

Classmates, as I have said before, continue to make news. Most of you have heard that Dave Hughes was selected as a Distinguished Graduate this year. Many of his activities over the years contributed to his selection, I am sure; but certainly his work with remote education and wireless communications played an important role. Watch to see which hat he wears at the ceremony.

Meanwhile up in Maine, Biddeford elected Wally Nutting as its first Republican mayor in forty years. Interestingly his father was elected mayor four times in nearby Saco.

The rush of Christmas is over. Now it is time to digest all those letters for the first column of ‘04. With such a stack I will have to push some of them and some pictures over into the second column.

The Class continues to get honored. Thanks to Fran Pick Dillard and her husband Bill the new Veterans Memorial in Auburn, AL has pavers honoring the Class of 1950, Andy Pick, and his two sons

Got a lot of nice pictures, too many to use in this column. Some I have saved for a future one. Others I will send to Sandy Sanderson to include in the class webpage (see above). By the way I have not had good luck with digital pictures, so please send me hard copies to use.

Also recently I have gotten a number of questions on why people have not gotten emails about classmate deaths. I use the AOG server to send out class-wide messages. If you do not have a correct email address filed with the AOG, you probably will not get such messages. Just go to send an email to “Address@aogusma.org” to sign up.