1933

We have been asked this month to dedicate our column to the contributions which our class has made to the common welfare, and we do so with pride. Our first acknowledgment should be to those who made the gift of their lives in combat in WW II. They are: Denny Fowler, killed in infantry combat in Tunisia in 1943; Julien Goell, killed in infantry service in France in 1944; George Metzger killed on a carrier in the Pacific in 1944; Fordie Sayre, killed in an AAF bomber collision over Spokane, Wash., in 1944; and Clark Schmidt, killed in an AAF crash in India in 1944.

The fields of activity in which classmates made major contributions are highly diverse, and judgment as to their inclusion is admittedly personal, but hereafter follow a few we consider worthy of praise and nomination.

Two clergymen have made major contributions to society: Bob James, a Congregational minister, for his service to youth as a college chaplain and his work with inner-city minority students; and Ted Purcell, a Jesuit priest, for his counseling of individuals and his pioneer work in developing the study of corporate ethics.

Pete Hart has served our country as a Foreign Service officer in a governmental career of 31 years, acting with distinction as ambassador to Jordan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, as assistant secretary of state for Near East and South Asian Affairs, and later as president of the Middle East Institute.

Hal Smith, starting with a storefront office and one employee in 1935, developed the Webster Financial Corporation and its First Federal Bank of Waterbury into an institution with $2.5 billion assets, serving the citizens of Connecticut with vital financial assistance in 32 banking offices throughout the state.

Hank Smith served for 13 years as local mayor, county judge, member of Congress, and later as a member of the U.S.-Canadian Joint International Commission.

In education, Martin Uebel may serve as a representative of other classmate educators through his service of 30 years of teaching and counseling boys at Culver Academy.

Paul Weston deserves inclusion for composing some of the best popular music of our time and for continuing his creative work in tone poems and program music.

Justin Stanley capped a distinguished career with his election as president of the American Bar Association.

Paul Zamecnik, our most distinguished classmate, pioneered in the fields of protein biosynthesis and genetic coding mechanisms. He conducted experiments which led to the breaking of the DNA code, all of which gained him the National Medal of Science.

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