The Days Forward

West Point Class of 1969

Suzanne Rice

10th Anniversary Renewing Friendships – Unexpected Contact From Old Friends

The stories from our class family the past 10 years have been amusing, amazing and informative. Personally, two patients, both cadets at the time have contacted me. One, a retired Marine Corps aviator, touched base as he was retiring and another just contacted me through the Days Forward after 34 years! Catching up with patients after so many years is quite meaningful and rewarding.

As we all remember, we would bet parkas and b-robes on Army-Navy and I won an RMC parka sailing in Kingston, Ontario in 1969. I thought that my cadet parka was lost in 1967 when Navy beat Army – their only win in our four years! Over 50 years later, a girl that I dated contacted me through the Days Forward and told me she had something for me. Her mother and mine has been close since first grade. What a surprise when the box appeared with my cadet parka. It still fits!

A grad faculty member who I had met at West Point at a hospital function with his wife, one of our nurses at Keller, found we both had a connection to the US modern pentathlon team years later. So, stories can lead to other connections. I’m looking forward to many more stories in the next ten years. Thank you, Chris and Suzanne.

10th Anniversary Diversity – Learning About the Unique Paths We Took

     It hardly seems possible that 10 years have passed since the DaysForward emerged. I think the aspect I appreciate most is hearing the many diverse stories of what my classmates have done since graduation. While a good number of 69’ers served together in various assignments, I had a very limited experience working with classmates after graduation. That is why their stories are so interesting and show the many ways and paths that they have enjoyed since graduation, to include activities in civilian life.

     I was particularly impressed with the stories that dealt with assignments in Vietnam, since that conflict was the subject of much focus during our years at the Academy. With nearly 63% of our class having tours in Vietnam, our combat experiences were numerous. I’m sure what we took away from the war impacted the rest of our lives.

     I also found stories that were humorous in nature to be most enjoyable.

The job that the team at TheDaysForward has done is not only incredible but extremely magnificent. Keep up the great work.

10th Anniversary Gift – Enriching Our Friendships

Congratulations to The Days Forward for 10 years of memories! I could not have anticipated the gift this website has been to all of us associated with the Class of ‘69—and beyond, to others who found the site. It has been a reservoir of stories perhaps otherwise missed because we don’t share experiences in a narrative format. We have had the opportunity to get to know so many in the class we would not have known except through their stories. Thank you for enriching many friendships and capturing the many ways 800-plus newly-minted lieutenants from the Class of ‘69, their wives, and families have impacted the American scene these past 55 years.

10th Anniversary Sharing – Precious Recovery

 I’m very happy the class has thedaysforward.com.  When I had a stroke in July of 2013, I couldn’t read or write.  Public speaking was out of the question.  Now I can read well in public again as a church lector.  That came back in about six months.  My speech therapist told me to write, and many of my stories published in thedaysforward.com several years later were already written by then but had to be edited.  I look forward to every article written by classmates.  We have such an amazing class, with a variety of experiences. 

     I joined the Military Officers Association of America and they have a program where officers speak to 5th or 6th graders about their military service.  I am now able to do that.  The highlight is the story of my first parachute jump, which always brings smiles.  Bob Hope less so, because the kids don’t know him, but the teachers do.  I always ask the kids to read all my stories in thedaysforward.com, and many of them do.  Several groups went of their way and made game boards of my adventures.  Usually, I have forty minutes to speak, but several times, I’ve been asked to speak for an hour and a half.  So, I carry a list of my stories to fill up the time.  It comes in handy. 

     Most of my stories are light, but when I wrote the story about Combat Related Special Compensation, I had heard that many classmates who had been in Vietnam and had VA compensation for wounds, or disabilities related to Agent Orange exposure, had not known CRSC could make part of their military retirement tax-free.  I’d really like to know if anyone applied after reading the story.  

10th Anniversary Memories – Music Chronicling Our Lives

     My appreciation and “Thank You” to the TDF team on the occasion of their 10th anniversary will be a little unique! Unique in the sense that I am including referrals to music that I think will resonate with the class and thus remind us of past stories that we each have that can be written for TDF.

     The music came about as my wife, Kathryn, and I relocated from CA to Nashville area in 2019 where we discovered county music. Each Country Music song is supposed to be a chronicle of a life event. I found this to be true when I started writing articles for the TDF. Initially I was not sure of what or how to write. With a little help, I joined the other USAF guys and wrote a short AF story. Much to my amazement I really enjoyed writing the article and resurrecting those long-ago memories. Those memories covered the spectrum from painful to thoughtful to wild times in the O Club. The attached country music recommendations coupled with the memories so vividly that I ended up writing more stories for TDF. Each new story became more meaningful and enjoyable to me personally. They reflected not only my past but truly helped me prepare for The Days Forward. If you listen to the words in the 3 attached songs, I am sure you will find some passage that resonates with you and reminds you of our graduation into an Army and Air Force at War. I can still remember storing my ‘69 Olds Cutlass in a friend’s garage under a tarp.  (listen to the song- you will understand).

     The Days Forward has been a comforting inspiration to me. My special thanks to our Rice Class Son who conceived The Days Forward Idea and the

TDF team for its successful implementation.

Happy 10th Anniversary!

You can find these songs on YouTube. They are mostly bittersweet.

-David Ball: “Riding with Private Malone”

-The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks):  “Travelin’ Soldier” 

 -Trace Adkins: “Arlington”