The Days Forward

West Point Class of 1969

Suzanne Rice

10th Anniversary Musings – Pleasantly Surprised

Happy Tenth Birthday, Days Forward!

When Chris Rice (USMA ’10) and Suzanne (widow of Bill, C-3 and G-3) launched this endeavor, I was not optimistic that it would gain the traction needed for success.  Our classmates had recently completed compiling the terrific Legacy book, and my sense was that for many it was an arm twist to get those essays done.  We’re soldiers, not authors, right?  So, not many would rise to this new opportunity to write yet more autobiography.

As often happens, I was yet again wrong, wrong.  The Days Forward has blossomed into a uniquely valuable collection of reminiscences about the lives we of ‘69 have lived.  No great surprise, many of us have done some really amazing stuff, way beyond anything we might have imagined, or that West Point might have imagined for us, on 4 June 1969. 

Among the surprises, to me at least:

  • Lots of us have stepped up and contributed an essay, or several. 
  • Virtually all are well worth reading, for a wide range of reasons.
  • Many of the things we have done are truly amazing, way beyond the Army envelope, but all consistent with the Duty, Honor, Country ideal
  • These essays have become a destination Web site for many who have no ostensible connection to West Point.  Who’d have thunk it?
  • Collectively, these essays represent a worthy body of literature, short stories that share with the world the experiences of a group of friends who together experienced good and hard times, knew and loved one another and their country through a unique historical time, and will soon pass into that history themselves.

Nice work, Suzanne and Chris!  Pop it up!  And thanks for your unique contribution to the ‘Best of the Line’ and to West Point more broadly.  Your husband and dad, our classmate Bill Rice, would be so proud of you both.

10th Anniversary Experience – Rich Legacy for the Best of the Line

Class of 1979 West Point Reunion 2019

     I first became a TDF author after the 2019 reunion. It was quite by coincidence that while standing in some sort of signup line at the reunion, standing right behind me in line was a lady I didn’t know, nor her role regarding TDF. We chatted briefly and she encouraged me to submit an article for the TDF website. After the reunion, her encouragement at the reunion was in the back of my mind, but it took until late 2019 for me to finally decide to write and submit an article.

     Reading the TDF articles illuminates well the great breadth of variety in the life events, experiences and accomplishments of classmates after graduation. Some of the Authors I knew well during cadet years, others somewhat, and some not at all. Yet, with each story, I am intrigued to learn what each of us has done, experienced or dealt with. I feel each story colors in a bit more of the author’s personality/character, both for those I knew as well as those I did not know. The cumulative collection of TDF stories provides a rich legacy of the post-graduation lives of the USMA Class of 1969. This repository furthers not only our classmates knowledge of each other, but may be of historical interest to future generations.

     A final comment – I and Frank Finch are the only two TDF authors of our Cadet Company (C1). So, I encourage all C1ers reading this – consider writing an article for TDF and sharing with the class something about your experiences in the last 55 years!

10th Anniversary Opportunity – Unexpected Project

“Make new friends but keep the old; one is silver, the other gold.”  I sang this song thousands of times as a young Brownie and Girl Scout in the 1950’s. My experiences with thedaysforward epitomizes that old jingle. It has been a way to meet for the first time some of Bill’s cadet friends, but also to renew friendships of over 50 years. A couple of years ago, a comment came on one of my Korea stories from a soldier who had been a medic attached to A Battery 1-15 Field Artillery in 1972-73 when they were serving near the DMZ every six weeks or so. Years later, the medic earned his PhD and was a college professor. When he retired, he decided to write the story of his year in Korea. Because of thedaysforward, he got in touch with me and asked my help in his effort to write the story. I was even able to put him in touch with another classmate that had also served at Camp Stanley who was able to clear up a question the medic/PhD couldn’t find an answer to. Stay tuned for On the Edge Along Freedom’s Frontier: The Untold Story of an American Army’s Ordeal in the 1970’s Cold War Korea.What a delight to make a new friend and participate a bit in his project!

10th Anniversary – 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 10th Anniversary” to The Days Forward!  May the stories keep on coming until there are no more stories to tell.

10th Anniversary Connections – Marching Back with Cadets

     Almost 10 years ago, the Class of 1969 celebrated its reunion and commemorated its 45years of service through a Legacy Book, thanks to the hard work and creativity of Jim McDonough and his editing Team.

This project sparked the creative mind of one of our Class Sons, Chris Rice (USMA ’10) and his mother Suzanne, dear friend and widow of our classmate Bill Rice, who started and have tirelessly worked these past 10 years to establish and maintain The Days Forward (TDF) website (www.thedaysforward.com) as a labor of love highlighting stories of our Class.

     As I listened to Chris first describe the concept of the website, my mind went back to my experience at the March-Back from Camp Buckner of our 50-Year Affiliation Class of 2019 on 10 August 2015, at the end of their Beast.  As I labored then to keep up with those youngsters, I heard again and again their interest in my stories of our “old days” as cadets and officers on active duty.  When Chris Rice then suggested this new project, I was reminded of the simple fact that our time left in this life is fleeting and that our stories would be lost and forgotten if we did not share them.

    I am thankful for Chris, Suzanne, the TDF Team, and all who have contributed to this wonderful treasury, and continue to be amazed at the stories generated by the Best of The Line Class of 1969, accessible to anyone, anywhere, and at any time.  Well done!