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The Days Forward

West Point Class of 1969

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Suzanne Rice

Oct 26 2024

10th Anniversary Reminders – Tremendous Friends

Days Forward has enabled me to stay in contact with West Point, the class of ’69 and all the memories I cherish and garnered during the years I dated Mike (Taylor) and after we were married. The highlights of his 11 years of active service (followed by reserves) were three years in Europe and four years back on faculty. The experiences and people we encountered were incredible and only other classmates can appreciate the magnitude of that life. We continued to travel with the class years later and I’ll never forget these tremendous friends. When Mike passed in 2013 after a 5-year battle with cancer, I felt part of my world left with him but Days Forward has reminded me of the grandeur of West Point and the character and amazing feats of the Long Grey Line – especially the class of 1969.

Written by Suzanne Rice · Categorized: By Janie Taylor, The Days Forward 10th Anniversary

Oct 26 2024

10th Anniversary Benefit – Our Place in History

I have been reflecting on what the days forward has meant to all of us. Not only has the website given everyone in our class the chance to read and enjoy memories of the experiences we have shared, but it has developed into an important archive of the collective experiences of our class during our unique point in history. Many people have written of the West Point experience and have had to do significant research to support their work. You are putting it all in one place, not only for our benefit but also for anyone who comes after us and wants to know what it was like and all the places we went. At the 55th reunion I just happened to be sitting with a classmate for dinner and realized that we had a common experience with the same general officer in two separate places, halfway around the world from each other. Those experiences should not be forgotten. Some of us made big contributions to history, others of us made small ones. All of them should be remembered. I appreciate your efforts to draw them out and memorialize them.

Written by Suzanne Rice · Categorized: By Cary Gaylord, The Days Forward 10th Anniversary

Oct 26 2024

10th Anniversary Musings – Military Families

When I first heard about the concept for “The Days Forward”, I could actually feel the potential. I was raised in a Military family, one surrounded by relocations, separations, and the risks of flying. I knew my life was different from most kids and the feelings that came with it were different. I expected to be reintroduced to some of those feelings through “The Days Forward”, and I was not disappointed.

Not surprising for me, it was the classmate’s wife who talked about the beauty and importance of her friendships with other class wives, especially when their husbands were TDY or out in the field for days. Or worse. The wives knew there was danger, and we could feel it in the house. The bonds created by the wives were so important for all of us, regardless of our age. The friendships that carried over through the classmates, their spouses, and their children were real. They had our backs. We had theirs. It was real and it was a gift.

So, what seemed like the most tepid story was actually the memory that meant the most to me in my “Days Forward” readings.”

Written by Suzanne Rice · Categorized: By Dick Jarman, The Days Forward 10th Anniversary

Oct 26 2024

10th Anniversary Chronicle – West Point to the Air Force

“The Days Forward” has been a great way to understand what my Army classmates experienced in their military journey.  I went into the Air Force and saw only one classmate, who also went into the Air Force, during my military journey. I did not have the opportunity to re-connect directly with my classmates until I moved to Maryland in 1978. The Days Forward was a welcome journal of my classmates’ experiences once it was opened.  It has also provided a vehicle for me to share with my classmates’ snippets of my Air Force Journey.    We have a great class, and The Days Forward is an excellent vehicle to chronicle our accomplishments and experiences for classmates and our loved ones now and into the future.

Written by Suzanne Rice · Categorized: By John Champagne, The Days Forward 10th Anniversary

Sep 24 2024

Nardotti – Some Sadness, Some Surprises, Many Smiles – 2024

Reflections on a Trip to Cambodia and Vietnam – 50 Years After the War

     Cambodia and Vietnam are beautiful countries.  Both are fascinating.  Both are well worth the visit. 

     For me, though, there was a unique sadness in the visit to Cambodia.  The Cambodians we met were wonderful – without exception warm and friendly.  All the more reason to be shocked and saddened by the experience of the people of that country almost fifty years ago after the US left Vietnam.  Those gentle souls were subjected to the worst genocide of the second half of the Twentieth Century – through the unspeakable evil of the Communist government of Pol Pot – the Khmer Rouge – which took control of the country in 1975.  We saw the evidence of that tragedy when we visited the “Genocidal Center” near Phnom Penh – one of the better known of the approximately three hundred “Killing Fields” in Cambodia.

The bodies of almost 9,000 victims were exhumed at this site – a fraction of the estimated one and one-half to three million Cambodians who died at the hands of Pol Pot’s regime. 

Memorial to Those Who Died in the Killing Fields

That was about twenty-five percent of the population at the time.   One of our local guides was personally touched by that tragedy.  He never knew his grandparents who were murdered by the Khmer Rouge.

Local Guide who Lost His Grandparents

     The sadness of that visit, however, did not overtake our trip.  When we traveled north, we visited several extraordinary historical sites.  The most impressive of these to me was Angkor Wat – the astonishing Hindu-Buddhist temple complex.  I still have difficulty conceiving how – eight hundred years ago – well before the age of machines – those Cambodian ancestors were able to lift, move, and assemble millions of tons of sandstone blocks (from 25 miles away) into such remarkable structures.  We were told it took six thousand slaves and three thousand elephants.  Even that doesn’t seem enough!  The walls include meticulously carved reliefs illustrating scenes for Indian literature.  Truly extraordinary – well beyond a surprise!

Angkor Wat

     Cambodia today, though, is “on the way” to thriving.  I say “on the way” because its neighbor, Vietnam, is clearly thriving.  Cambodia is working hard to catch up.  The population today is close to 17 million.  They are clearly on the upswing. 

     Vietnam was a different story economically – and a surprise.  The socialist/communist government tried collectivization for a number of years following the end of the war with the US.  Ultimately, they jettisoned that approach in favor of a market economy.  Saigon (I still can’t bring myself to say “Ho Chi Minh City”) and Hanoi are booming! 

Hanoi (HO Chi Min City) Today

     Given the regional challenges posed by a bullying China, Vietnam has wisely sought to develop better relations with the US.  That is certainly evident in their approach to tourism.  It seemed to me that our Vietnamese tour guides were exceptionally attentive to US sensibilities.   When we toured war museums, we were politely cautioned that the displays were from the Vietnamese perspectives on the “American” War – just one of a number that the Vietnamese have fought against outsiders.  Even during our visit to the “Hanoi Hilton”, where the late Senator and Presidential Candidate John McCain was imprisoned, we saw evident changes.  Previously, his cell as a prisoner had been preserved as an exhibit.  Although there are photos of then-Lieutenant Commander McCain as a POW, the cell exhibit is gone.  Perhaps, Vietnamese officials felt that the photos alone were sufficient.   There was no reason – given the improving relations with the US – to “put a finger in the eye of the US” with the cell exhibit. 

     Two other surprises to note.  I expected to see at least some subtle government effort to suppress religion – particularly Catholicism.  While there are clearly limits, it appears that the Church in Vietnam is healthy and perhaps even growing.  The Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon, established by French colonists in the nineteenth century – now officially known as the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception – is currently undergoing renovations unimpeded.  That was an unexpected surprise.

Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
Statue of Our Lady, Queen of Peace

     One final unexpected surprise was a humorous and honest observation about politics by one of our guides.  He said, “We have elections every five years – just for laughs – forty candidates – no choices”! 

     Finally – the smiles – there were plenty of them!  While the Cambodians seemed to be a bit shy about being photographed, the Vietnamese seemed to enjoy the opportunities, especially when we asked to be photographed with them.  My only regret is not getting some email or other addresses to send the photos to them.  I’m sure they would produce even more smiles!

Smiles of the Vietnamese People

      In all respects, it is was a truly worthwhile experience.

Written by Suzanne Rice · Categorized: By Mike Nardotti

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