Dear Classmates and Friends,

The Brigade of Midshipmen are in the midst of exams. For our link in the chain class, 2013, there will soon be "no more rivers to cross" and they are ready! They have some administrative work days next week before a short leave period before returning for commissioning week (aka June Week in the old days). You may even see some of them in your neighborhood or areas close to you.

A number of items of class interest:

Adrienne Haslet-Davis is the daughter of our classmate Bill Haslet. She and her husband Air Force Captain Adam Davis were only a short distance from the Boston Marathon finish line when the two bombs were set off. Adrienne suffered severe wounds to her legs and had to have one foot amputated. Her husband was wounded with shrapnel in both legs that required multiple surgical procedures to debride. Adrienne is now in a rehab facility. Her husband may still be hospitalized. You may have seen Adrienne on TV programs including Anderson Cooper. Her fantastic up beat spirit is infectious. A ball room dance instructor, she is determined to return to the dance floor and to run a marathon. She will do it. There is a fund set up for Adrienne on our class website if you want to donate to her recovery needs(See article below). Alternatively, Bill suggests donating to the Semper Fi Fund (semperfifund.org) in Adrienne's name. Bill said they, and the Air Force, were terrific in the days after the incident. Almost immediately the Semper Fi Fund dispatched five wounded Marine veterans, all of whom are amputees, to the Boston hospitals to lend support and inspiration to those who were new amputees. Their effect was enormous. Bill noted that Semper Fi gave Adrienne a check for $1000.00 for immediate needs before more substantial assistance materialized. Bill could not praise the Semper Fi Fund people and organization enough.

Commissioning Week Activities There are number of activities during Commissioning Week. The Jewish Baccalaureate service will be held on Friday evening May 17th in the Levy Chapel. Spencer Johnson has been asked to speak on behalf of the Link in the Chain Class.

On Sunday, the Catholic Baccalaureate service will be held in the main chapel from 0830 to 1000 followed by the Protestant Baccalaureate service at 1030.

On Tuesday May 21st, the Marine Corps Family Orientation and Awards ceremony will be held in Alumni Hall from 1000 to 1145.Doug Davidson will donate his Marine Mameluke sword to a graduating first classman destined for service in the Marine Corps. Doug's sword will be the Class of 1963 heritage sword, and indeed it will be a heritage sword.

On Wednesday evening our class has been invited to attend the Graduation Ball in Dahlgren Hall from 1930 to 2300. There will be a DJ playing a wide variety of music, light refreshments and a cash bar for wine and spirits. Dress for the midshipmen will be Dinner Dress White and formal wear for others (tuxedo and formal wear for the ladies) but a dark suit and cocktail dresses are also acceptable. For those who didn't get enough at last year's ring dance or may have missed it, here's another chance to dance under the roof in Dahlgren Hall.

The Color Parade is on Wordon Field on Thursday at 1100. We will have reserved seating for our class. Please let Ron Klemick (rjklemick@gmail.com) know if you are planning to attend so the we have ample seating reserved.

The big event, graduation, in in Navy-Marine Corps Stadium on Friday morning at 1000. The President will be the speaker. Again a block of seats will be reserved for our class. Please let Ron Klemick know if you plan to attend to ensure tickets and seating are allocated. The stadium parking will open at 0600 ant the stadium seating at 0700. It would behoove (haven't used that word in a long time11) you to arrive early given the extra security expected. Don't forget sun screen and hats for everyone if you do not want to take a sunburn home along with your memories.

We will have twelve classmates distributing new ensign and second lieutenant bars engraved with our class and theirs on the underside along with a coin featuring our class crest and theirs to each new graduate as they come down the ramp from the stage. It is hard to imagine that it has been fifty years since we were commissioned, but it has been--the flicker of an eye.

Swords We have so far donated about forty Navy and Marine swords to graduates in the class of 2013. The transfers have been made all around the country and here at the Naval Academy. Four or five more swords will be transferred before or during Commissioning Week The receiving Midshipmen are both honored and grateful to receive a sword from a member of our class--a sword with a history of service and a standard to uphold. In watching the donors and recipients interact during the sword transfers, I know that friendships and mentorships are being made that will go far beyond graduation--a true link- in- the- chain relationship.

I have had a special request for a sword from a Midshipman who is an exchange student from Lebanon. He would like to have a sword more than anything because it would symbolize all the positive things that he is taking back to Lebanon from his years in the United States. He will perhaps prove our best ambassador and a future leader in that nation under increasing stress from all that is happening in bordering countries in the region. If you have a sword or would like to donate a sword to this soon to be graduated Lebanese Midshipman, please let me know as soon as possible.

Class Foundation Neckwear Beautiful striped four-in-hand neckties, bow ties and ladies scarves are still available for purchase. The beautiful striped pattern was designed for our class alone and executed by the Ben Silver company of Charleston, South Carolina. each tie or scarf is $63.00 or any three items for $123.00. There are no cummerbunds currently available. To order, make checks out to the Class of 1963 Foundation and send to Ms. Dawn Storm, Lowe Enterprises Inc., PO Box 12393, Aspen, Colorado,81612-9207.

The Class of '63 Center for Academic Excellence is a hive of activity as Midshipmen get that last minute help with understanding a key concept or a lingering problem before walking into an exam. Please consider a pledge that will put us closer to our goal of raising $6.3 million for the continuing operating expenses of the 63 CAE. The federal government pays about sixty percent of the operating expenses and our class contributions make up the difference--and oh, what a difference in the lives of so many Midshipmen. The '63 CAE is the embodiment of our class motto--Quality--and a legacy to the future that no other class can emulate. With your help we can make goal.

That's all the news from here in Crabtown, where everything and everybody is above average Quality.

Spencer Johnson

You'd best remember I put out a DVD with about 500 photos of our years at the Academy for the mid-term reunion. I've added about another 100 photos. We don't plan on distributing copies at the 50th Reunion, but it may be playing at one of our events. If you have found any more photos that you haven't already sent me from our four years you can send them to me and I'll include them in the new DVD. Send to: scoester@cfl.rr.com.

"In Their Own Words: A New Look at the Naval War of 1812"

The emotions captured by the War of 1812: patriotic fervor, anxiety, the immediacy of the moment, the joy of peace… all and more abound in In Their Own Words. Whether encouraging peers, issuing orders to subordinates, lamenting a hero’s death or reporting a glorious frigate action, these emotions spring from the stirring contemporary letters, newspapers and broadsides of the War of 1812 assiduously assembled and presented by Vice Admiral George W. Emery, USN (Retired).

See Naval Historical Foundation.

Adrianne Haslet-Davis, daughter of our classmate Bill Haslet, and her husband Air Force Capt. Adam Davis were injured in the Boston bomb blast and she has lost one of her legs. She is a professional dance instructor.Today she has been on several of the news shows on TV and is showing a wonderful feisty spirit.You can read all about it by googling her name.

A fund has been established in Adrianne’s name with the help of friends and her employer at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio Boston. It can be accessed by going to www.gofundme.com/AdrianneFund. As Webmaster I suggest we all go to that site and contribute $63 or more to help out our classmate's daughter and her husband.

Here's a link to an interview film clip: Click Here.

On Wednesday April 10, Eli was one mile from his home on the Maryland Eastern Shore when a car with four teenagers came around a curve at high speed, lost control and ran head on into Eli. The four boys were killed in the accident.

Eli suffered 5 broken ribs, broken left ankle, cracked sternum, a left arm that had part of the door handle in it, and damage to his replaced left hip. Bumps and bruises were numerous. Amazingly Eli is already home from the hospital but in pain and having difficulty walking.

If you would like to write to Eli send it to me at scoester@cfl.rr.com and I'll forward to Eli.

I have an extra 1963 Lucky Bag in new condition, from my father's estate. I will donate it to the class or someone who lost theirs. Please contact me if anyone would be blessed by this gift.
617 538 9411 reomo@msn.com

Dear Classmates and Friends, The Dark Ages still linger here in Annapolis. We had snow on Monday followed by a dark and raw, windy week with temperatures well below normal for this time of year. We hope to break into the 50's for the Easter weekend. Otherwise I expect to see Easter bonnets with ear flaps.

Below are items of class interest:

SWORDS. Classmates have responded well to the suggestion that swords and mamelukes residing in closets might serve again if donated to a member of our Link class--2013. A number of swords have been donated in informal ceremonies across the country to midshipmen chosen by their proximity to the donor, family affiliation, or other criteria. The midshipman recipients are deeply honored and moved. They are humbled at the thought of carrying the sword of one who came fifty years before. Many of the swords donated will find their way into the hands of a graduate in 2063.

But time is growing short to donate your sword if you desire to do so. We are planning a sword turnover ceremony for sometime the weekend of 11-13 April here in Annapolis. If you would like to donate a sword, please let me know as soon as possible by e-mail wsjohnson63@gmail.com or by phone at 410-626-7934. If you can come to Annapolis, great. If not, we can arrange to match you up with a midshipman with a home address near you. A third option is to send your sword to me at 1604 Trawler Lane, Annapolis, MD, 21401 and I will arrange to have it presented here. If you chose this option, please send me a letter for the recipient with a brief biography of the donor and his service and a message for the recipient so that he or she forms a connection with you and your service to our country.

Reunion Book. The class has decided not to try to produce an expensive reunion book or Lucky Bag Fifty Years Out.. Rather we would like to have every one send an updated biographical note to Steve Coester at Steve.Coester@1963.USNA.com. The biographical updates will be added to your Lucky Bag entry on our class website. Pictures of you and your family can also be part of your update. Our class website which Steve superbly oversees is the history of our class and classmates. We are looking to archive our website with an organization like the Library of Congress where it will become a research asset for families and scholars for many years to come. Please up date your Lucky Bag entry as soon as you can.

Reunion Packets. Reunion packets with all relevant data on our reunion were mailed out two weeks ago. If you did not receive one, Please let me or Bill Earner know and we will get one out to you ASAP. Please include your new or corrected mailing address.

Reunion Gear You can order a wide range of apparel and other items for our upcoming reunion from the Alumni Shop at US Naval Academy Alumni Association.org or from Wedekind Brothers at wedekind@comcast.net. Our class crest can be embroidered on any item you order from either vendor. Wedeking Brothers also have our class crest in silver and gold or multicolored version as blazer badges in either clip on or convenient magnetic attachment versions for about $35.00.

That is all the news at present.

My very best wishes for a Happy Easter and a blessed Passover to you and yours.

Quality '63
Spencer Johnson

I was a member of the class of 63. Never quite graduated and went back into the Navy and served aboard the USS Tusk (SS-426). After I served my remaining enlistment (I came in through NAPS), I attended and graduated from Johns Hopkins in Engineering. I am now retired and am a member of the SubVets in Severn Maryland.

I am the Vice-Commander. We are looking to have speakers at our monthly meetings. We meet the third Saturday of each month. We don't meet in the summer months.

If someone from our class or other years that live in the Annapolis/Baltimore area would be interested in speaking please contact me. Of course having a sub background would be very interesting. We are all submarine veterans having served on subs from WW2 to the Nautilus and other more modern nuclear subs. But other areas of Naval service with a good story would be great also.

Please let me know what ideas you may have or who you could recommend. Many thanks. Richard Brooke Lynch
443-518-8269 c
410-531-3220
3102 Evergreen Way
Ellicott City, Md 21042
rblynch@comcast.net

Dear Classmates and Friends,

On Friday 22 March, our classmate Roger E. Tetrault will be honored along with three others ( VAdm John S. Redd '66; Amb. Richard Armitage '67 and Adm. Tom Fargo '70) as a Distinguished Graduate of the Naval Academy. Roger will be our second Distinguished Graduate, Ron Terwilliger being our first to be selected for this great honor. Roger's astonishing record of achievement and service to the Navy, the Nation and the Naval Academy can be found on our class website as detailed in his nomination package. I speak for us all when i say that we can all be proud to call Roger our classmate and our friend.

We will have reserved class seating at the ceremony in Alumni Hall on the 22nd of March . We are asked to be seated in our class section by 1615 with the ceremony attended by the Superintendent and the entire Brigade beginning at 1630. Dress is civilian informal (coat and tie).I hope that you and yours will be able to attend to lend our cheers and well wishes to Roger for his many accomplishments in positions of great responsibility, calling for the utmost in leadership skills.

In order to ensure we have enough reserved seats in our class section you are asked to RSVP by 18 March using the link https://www.usna.com/ssipage.aspx?pid=845&erid=1679955&trid=03754d9b-dc67-4532-9d7f-c62684b58326 (log in required).

This should also open the gates vat Ft Knox. If you have any difficulty, please call me at 410-626-7934 or e-mail me at wsjohnson63@gmail.com

Parking is available at Navy-Marine Corps stadium for a $5.00 fee and shuttle bus service provided.

Hope to see you on Friday the 22nd.
Quality '63
Spencer Johnson

Items of Ongoing Interest

Click Here for the letter to the Class from Mario regarding Bill's situation and the status of his clemency effort. MS Word required.

The basic colors are blue and gold for the colors of the Naval Academy. We also added red for the Marine Corps, pale blue (sock-bag blue) for the Air Force and a small black stripe between the red and pale blue for the Army. This was done to recognize members of the Class of 1963 who upon commissioning served in the sister branches of the armed services. The main blue and gold stripes are six units wide and each of the three smaller stripes is one unit wide. That way you get a combination of 6 and 3, for the Class of 1963. There is then a 12-unit drop in Navy blue and the pattern repeats itself.

Class ties, both four-in-hand and bow, are available as well as scarves and cummerbunds. The price of each item is $63 or if you order any three items the discounted price is $163 and if you order all four the price is $200.

Orders can be placed with Ms Dawn Strom, % Lowe Enterprises, PO Box 12393, Aspen, CO 81812.

Here are photos of Cynthia DeFrancia and June and Chuck
modeling the items.

I added a brief note concerning the death of classmate Dick Bryant who died in an accident prior to graduation. Click here.

If you look at Last Call you'll note that we have no obituary or other remembrance for over half of our deceased classmates.

If you have any formal information for any of these classmates or just want to express your memories of them drop me a line at Steve C. and I'll publish a page for them.

It is a good time to check your entry for accuracy and to update it in the "My Profile" section. Also remember to keep Mike Shelley and Steve Coester informed of any changes >

Put on a catered meal on weekday or weekend.. They will provide a room and tables. The rest is provided by the party putting on the catered meal including silverware. They would invite family members. Could be for 30 wounded and family members.

Provide funds

Semper Fi Fund. Provides every family with money to help them while here. Designated for Marines and NavyCorpsman. http://www.SemperFiFund.org

Yellow Ribbon Fund - Provides family members free taxis, rental cars. http://www.yellowribbonfund.com/yellowribbonfund/

USO - USO hires caterers to provide catered meals. http://www.uso.org/

Armed Forces Foundation - Meets the family members when they arrive in town. http://www.armedforcesfoundation.org/

Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society - Pay bills of family members while here. http://www.nmcrs.org/index.html

I have had two types of cancer presumed to have been caused by Agent Orange from my in-country service in Vietnam. It would appear that the VA is now honoring claims for compensation from veterans who also served at sea in the areas near Vietnam. For example, the claim is successfully being made that water sprayed with the poison made its way into the ship's purification systems and into the drinking water.

Based on clinical research, the following diseases are on VA's Agent Orange list of presumptive disabilities: chloracne, Hodgkin's disease, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, porphyria cutanea tarda, respiratory cancers (lung, bronchus, larynx and trachea), soft-tissue sarcoma, acute and subacute peripheral neuropathy, and prostate cancer. A regulation is being developed to add diabetes mellitus.

In addition, monetary benefits, health care, and vocational rehabilitation services are provided to Vietnam veterans' offspring with spina bifida, a congenital birth defect of the spine. A new law authorizes health care and monetary benefits to children of female veterans who served in Vietnam for certain additional birth defects.

My advice, if you contract one of these diseases, is to work with an outside service organization, such as the American Legion. They will help with the paperwork and get you your compensation. Be patient - it takes forever. . The VA needs proof of service in Vietnam (DD214, etc) and proof that you have one of these diseases from your doctor or medical facility. My claim for the prostate cancer took six months. My claim for lung cancer was submitted in December and as of the end of March was just approved. I still have another hearing in June before it is considered permanent.

Be sure to also take advantage of the VA health care system. Although I have used my civilian doctors for the major procedures (more for convenience only), the VA doctors are real pro's and the benefit of zero co-pay for prescriptions is worth a lot. For example, after my latest surgery I was still losing weight. My doctor was concerned and told me to drink two cans of Ensure daily, costing about $2 per day. I called the VA and I now receive Ensure at no cost.
Regards,
From Mike Cronin:

Until recently it was true that VA compensation was used as an offset to military retired pay. A retired vet who later received VA disability compensation had his military retired pay reduced by the amount of the VA compensation. Since VA compensation is not taxed, the veteran did receive a tax benefit, but the dollar amount of monthly income before taxes did not change.

That has now changed. Several years ago Congress agreed to phase out that offset provision over ten years. Bottom line: if you have any disability that might be service connected you should apply to the VA and let them decide if you are entitled to compensation. If they decide you are at least partially disabled you will come out dollars ahead even before taxes are considered. Apply now. Compensation is dated from the day you apply even though the VA decision process can take years.

One final note. Military retirees can use VA medical facilities without risking their military retired health care (Tricare) benefits.

From Ken Sanger:

Some who receive disability compensation can double dip.

The following is from the VA website at http://www.dod.mil/prhome/mppcrsc.html

"The Department of Defense has two programs designed to reduce the reduction in retired pay due to receipt of Veteran Administration compensation, for certain disabled retirees.

Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payments (CRDP) provides a 10-year phase-out of the offset to military retired pay due to receipt of VA disability compensation for members whose combined disability rating is 50% or greater . Members retired under disability provisions must have 20 years of service.

Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) pays added benefits to retirees who receive VA disability compensation for combat-related disabilities and have 20 years of service ."

And this from a 2006 document found on the above site:

"The Department of Defense is currently receiving and processing applications for the Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) program. The CRSC program became effective May 31, 2003, for qualified retirees with combat-related disabilities. Payments are retroactive to June 1, 2003, for otherwise qualified members. The criteria of eligibility to receive CRSC payments have been expanded effective January 1, 2004, to include members with any percentage combat-related disability compensated by the VA.C"

Irish Pennants
   Irish Pennants are loose threads that invite attention, or may need to be tied up or cut off.  For the purpose of  this web site, they represent miscellaneous thoughts, threads of discussion and points of view by classmates and colleagues.  To submit [or respond] to Irish Pennants, just send an e-mail to  webmaster@usna63.org without objection from the Class Secretary, they will be published on this site, invite rebuttal or response, and eventually [perhaps] fade away.

Carry On!
Class of 1963 facts and lore, Cannonball recipe, satire, humor

Humorous Thoughts for the 40th

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