An Opportunity to Share

Ray Dupere  – An Opportunity to Share

In one of my Days Forward stories, I opened by saying that today’s candidates are far better qualified for West Point than I ever was.  So, I have always looked back on the opportunity I had to attend the Academy as a gift from God.  With that being said, it follows then that the life I have been allowed to live ever since attending West Point has been a gift as well.  And The Days Forward is as much a part of that gift as many other parts.

Any perusal of The Days Forward will quickly reveal that it is indeed exactly what it purports to be … a collection of “the extraordinary stories of those ordinary Americans” that were fortunate enough to be members of the West Point Class of 1969 … otherwise known as the “Best of the Line”.  And because it is a collection of extraordinary stories, The Days Forward is also, then, extraordinary, as well.

It is extraordinary because it would probably never have come into being if not for the premature death of Bill Rice, G-3.  It probably also would not have come into being if Bill & Suzanne were not the proud parents of Chris Rice, Class of 2010.  And of course it would not have come into being without Suzanne Rice herself.  The Days Forward exists because of these three, and those of us who have been privileged to become the authors of some of those stories.

And if truth be told, without The Days Forward most of those stories would probably never have been written.  I know that is certainly true in my case.  When I wrote my first story that was all it was … one story.  I had only one story I really wanted to tell and The Days Forward give me the opportunity to tell it.  Without that opportunity I would never have been motivated to write it down.  But once the first one was written, other stories followed much more easily.  So, for me, The Days Forward gave me the forum I needed to record some of the things that God has allowed me to do.  So, for that I truly want to say thank you to Chris and to Suzanne and to say, “Happy 10^th Anniversary” to The Days Forward!  May the stories keep on coming until there are no more stories to tell.