1945

Get aboard here for a minute. This will not be new news when you read it, but it's new and good as I write, and I can't let it go by. Head agent Ted Safford has written you about the splendid achievement of '45 in the '98 Alumni Fund. Exceeded the dollar goal by 18 percent. And even more important, produced a participation rate of 62 percent, well above the College's total of 50.8 percent. Congratulations to Ted and his class agents and appreciation to all who responded. The best news is that '45 is continuing the same loyal generosity of spirit of which we were the beneficiaries a half century

Another class officer deserving of commendation is necrologist Bud Elder. Bud has been busier in this role than he'd like to be, but you will agree that his obituaries are especially well researched and composed. This column does not chronicle the losses of classmates because they appear elsewhere where in this magazine and in Mail Call, but your secretary feels each one deeply. You should know, too, that Trudie (Mrs. William S.) Butler and Sylvia (Mrs. John D.) Reed both write recent widows, expressing our condolences and encouraging them to stay in touch with the class, of which they are indeed recognized and valued ued members.

September notes mentioned the Mighty 8th Air Force Heritage Museum that HankBarker helped get off the ground. More about it has appeared in, of all places, the Elderhostel catalog. Courses at Armstrong Atlantic State University, West Savannah, Ga., include lectures, videos, and tours of the museum and "introduce the cause and effects the flying warriors played in WWI and beyond." Other military history courses are offered as well. Order the catalog from Elderhostel 75 Federal St., Boston, MA 02110.

Going from air force to navy, EliotMover ran the 1998 reunion of his 7th Fleet Destroyer Escort (Chas, Kimmel—DE 584) in Boston. Two dozen shipmates came, from as far away as Guam and from as near as Worcester. You know that Ellie would put on a grand gathering. Especially satisfying for him was his ability, through his business as an independent travel agent, to get his friends some airline and hotel bargains for the trip.

Ellie says that the many Dartmouth men who served on DES will be interested to know that there is exactly one left afloat (in Albany, N.Y., decommissioned, of course), and one on dry ground in Texas. These remain to symbolize the more than 500 DES built from WWII at least into the 19605.

And finally, to give the marines their due, old Col. Steve Hull is exuberant in telling about a different kind of reunion that he and Jean managed—a gathering on Cape Cod of 26 Hulls, 14 adults and 12 kids, ranging from 18 to 2. These included the families of Steve and Jean's two sons and of the four sons of brother Larry '38. Through the Internet Jean found a nine-bedroom house to accommodate them all. The owner turned out to be a friend of Moe Frye and Bud Street.

Be ye thankful.

P.O. Box 1317, New London, NH 03257; (603) 526-6749 (h); (603) 526-4292 (fax);

Hank Barker helped get the Mighty Bth Air Force Heritage Museum off the ground. DON SISSON '45