1958

Our classmate Ron Zwart was extremely fortunate on September 11. His newly renovated office in the Pentagon was to be ready for him to move in on August 15, but construction delays pushed back the date. Since there was work to be done in Europe on behalf of the secretary of defense, Ron was sent abroad. On the fatal day, instead of sitting in his office on the west side of the Pentagon, precisely where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building, he was working on behalf of the secretary in Brussels.

The "Education Life" section of The New YorkTimes on November 11 cited the work of John Voll, professor at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. The article contrasted the approach of Milton Kramer, senior fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University, who hopes the attacks of September 11 will shake up those who have downplayed the threat of Islamic fundamentalism, with those who believe the fundamentalists are unrepresentative and marginal. Johns course introduces students to Islamic scholars who view Islam as a divinely revealed code of life, yet embrace ideas assumed to be irreconcilable with Islamic fundamentalism. John's position is that introducing students to such scholars does not distort the true nature of Islamic fundamen talism but helps break down the assumption that Islam and modernism are inherently incompatible.

Another classmate quoted in the papers here in the North Country was Tom Chomentowski, a retired TWA pilot who flew commercial jets for 31 years, as well as Marine aircraft for 12. Tom had experience in both 757s and 767s from all three of the airports involved in the attacks and was drilled on security measures on an annual basis. But he noted that the premise of the training had always been that the pilot would continue to use the plane, not that a terrorist had taken training on a flight simulator in order to turn the plane into a bomb.Tom pointed out the need for more secure cockpits, to permit time to make an emergency landing and more 24-hour "hot pads" from which to scramble military fighters. Talk about the new reality.

There are two very sad items to report that those with Internet access already know, but which bear repeating. John Whiteley lost his 20 year battle with parotid cancer on November 26. John faced many surgeries and countless courses of chemotherapy and served as a courageous inspiration to all that knew him. Our sympathies go to Kim and sons Andrew, Steven '82 and Paul '86. An obituary will appear in a future issue. Also, our devoted servant, newsletter editor John Murphy lost his wife Johanna to a cerebral hemorrhage on December 5. Those at the 40th reunion will recall her spectacular paintings on class exhibit. Johanna was a true community leader in the city of Hartford and involved in fields as diverse as nonprofit administration, politics, art therapy, fundraising, education, and foundations. Several '58s joined literally hundreds of Hartford and Connecticut citizens at the funeral. To John and daughters Tara and Heather are extended our deepest condolences.

4 Willow Spring Circle, Hanover,NH 03755; ralph.n.manuel@valley.net