1960

Howie Frankel sent me a photo of the Dartmouth contingent who attended the wedding of his daughter Alison '85 to Dan Fagin '85 on August 21. Even with a note of explanation and detailed scorecard, I was dazzled by the complexity of the Dartmouth generations in attendance. Alison's sister Valerie '87, and brother Jon '89 were there, as was their uncle Ken Weg, whose sister Judy (Dartmouth Alumni College '86) married Howie some years back. If and when Alison and Dan have a child, Tony Roisman will share grandfather duties with Howie, because he married Dan's mother. The ceremony was performed by Rabbi Michael Paley, head chaplain at Columbia, who was formerly a rabbi at Dartmouth. All this began to make sense when I learned that Dan's brother is an assistant professor at the Thayer School.

Also attending the fete were four consultants. Hank Greer was there in search of the ultimate solution to artificial intelligence. Bill Lum was psychoanalyzing anyonewho couldn't grasp any of the above. Jim Adler came to acquire the secrets of this paramount in brand loyalty. Naturally, Gene Kohn wanted to franchise the operation and go national.

In the Beta House, we simply called him "T." In those days that appellation was sufficient. Nowadays, however, he responds only to "sir" or the more formal "general." Hard to believe, isn't it? Tom Travis, the slim swimmer from Long Branch, N.J., is a major general in the U.S. Army. Not only that, but he serves as commanding officer of the 7th Medical Command in Heidelberg, West Germany. Like most people in the military, Tom has had a myriad of addresses since 1964 when he entered the army fresh out of Marquette University Medical School. Currently, his official mail address is: Maj. Gen. Richard T. Travis, HQ, 7th Medical Command, APO (New York) 09102-3304.

Along the way, he served his internship at Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco and his residency in orthopedics at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. His Uncle Sam also sent him to Command and General Staff College as well as the U.S. Army War College. The rungs up his ladder have taken him on overseas tours to the Canal Zone and Korea, where his responsibilities expanded both medically and administratively. Domestically, he's spent time in Tacoma, Wash., where he was chief of orthopedic service at Madigan Army Medical Center. Later, he moved his wife, Judith, and three daughters east to Fort Campbell, Ky., where he observed and probably repaired the broken bones that occur when grown men jump out of airplanes shouting "Airborne." Then, it was on to the Pentagon where he held a staff position in the Surgeon General's office. Since last summer, home has been that famous university town of Heidelberg.

Judging from his photograph I deduce that Tom must still be swimming competitively. His head is clean shaven! Seriously though, while the smile is still the same, Tom's current responsibilities are awesome. I find myself feeling proud that a classmate sits behind that desk. With two stars on his shoulders, Tom has served his country well. Who knows, perhaps he will become the second Dartmouth alumnus to hold the position of Surgeon General.

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