Tersina DiPietro, Editor Winter 2013

President's Message:

On behalf of the entire Executive Board, I hope that this issue of THE SKIRMISHER finds you all in good health and enjoying preparations for the holidays that are now upon us.

We are at ten months and counting until BMI Reunion 2014. Board members are diligently at work planning for another spectacular event on Friday and Saturday, October 17 and 18, 2014. The Friday night reception will be held at the Bordentown Yacht Club at 1 Farnsworth Avenue, Bordentown. The banquet on Saturday night will be at the Scottish Rite facility on Dunn’s Mill Road in Bordentown Township.

At ten months, it is not too early to start on your travel arrangements and reservations. In the meantime, you may want to go to our bmicadets.org website and peruse the pictures from the 2012 Reunion. There is also plenty of time to pull out your yearbook, find some of those long-lost classmates, and encourage them to attend BMI Reunion 2014. Keep your eye out for upcoming issues of THE SKIRMISHER for registration details.

We look forward to seeing all of you in October 2014.

Respectfully,

Jack Harkins ‘67

P.S. Did you live in the "White House" when you were a cadet at BMI? If so, Arlene Bice, writer-lecturer-artist, would like to hear from you. She is writing a book and would like to include any memories that BMI cadets have of their experiences while a resident in the house. You may send your comments to our e-mail/snail-mail address and we will forward the information to

Ms. Bice. Thanks.

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IN MEMORIAM

The officers and members of the Executive Board join with the entire membership of the BMI ALUMNI ASSOCIATION in extending sincere sympathy to the families of:

FRANCIS J. DOYLE, JR. '28

ABRAHAM YOUNG '38

DONALD STEWART '45

SYDNEY WESLEY FINER '48

JOHN KARL SILBERMAN '48

BLAIR W. TYLER, JR. '51

MURRAY SHULMAN '58

THOMAS P. MURRAY '64

JAY P. LIPMAN '71

CHARLES WHILDEN, JR. (FACULTY)

Note: Several of the above alumni died many years ago but we just learned of their passing and believe they deserve a place in this column. For a complete list of deceased alumni, please refer to our Web site: bmicadets.org. Click on the Subject Page and then on In Memoriam.

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CLASS NOTES

'40 JONATHAN GLASBY remembers BMI as a "no nonsense" school but there was no hazing. Jonathan remembers the serial number of his rifle: 969332. (Ed. Note: I wonder how many other former cadets remember their rifle serial number.)

'48 EDWARD BAPTISTE sent an e-mail stating, "I keep in touch with RICK MEMMOLI. Our mutual good friend all these years, EDWIN BITTER, passed away a couple of years ago. I went to his funeral in Long Island."

DUKE DUCLO moved back to Louisiana from Florida. He wrote, "Half of my family lives in Baton Rouge and the other half in Houston. I am glad we relocated because we missed them when we lived in Florida." He added, "Something always prevented our attending reunions during the past ten years but we hope to attend in the future."

JOE LYNCH and his wife, Rosemarie, are "snowbirds," spending the winter months in Florida. They recently returned to this area to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends.

JOHN SODERBERG said he finds THE SKIRMISHER very interesting reading although almost every name is unknown to him. He rereads every issue several times. He added, "For some reason, a peek into the lives of other people strikes a sentimental spot within me." John injected a bit of humor stating, "I promise to attend the next reunion that BMI has in Doylestown."

'49 PAUL EDMAN sent a note stating, "I hope that I can get to the 2014 Reunion."

From JOHN SODERBERG '48 we learned that BILL MEREDITH, who serves as President of the Bucks County Chapter, Korean War Veterans Association, was on the program at the Korean War Armistice Day Ceremony commemorating the 60^th anniversary of the Armistice in Korea. (Thanks, John, for sending us the program.)

'52 We welcome JACK CLEARY as a new member of our Alumni Association.

FRED HUBER found us on the Internet. He attended BMI from 1945-1947 as part of Company D – the Junior School. Fred wrote, "I roomed in Durland House next to Norman Schwarzkopf. Lots of memories!" Fred resides in Merrimack, NH. He graduated from high school in 1952 and returned for a visit to BMI in 1954 after receiving a nice congratulatory note from BMI upon his engagement to his high school sweetheart. He added, "The only fellow cadet I have encountered over the years is KEITH VASKELIONIS '47. I 'bumped' into him while running at the YMCA when I relocated to Nashua, NH, in 1967." In a later e-mail, Fred wrote, "In church today, the closing hymn was 'Faith of our Fathers' which was our school (BMI) hymn. Imagine, a school hymn! Sang it at chapel on Wednesdays; marched to the church of our choice in platoons on Sundays. My, how times have changed! For the better? I think not."

'53 We received a note from BOB STUART who wrote, "Bev and I have moved to Florida. At 78 and 75, it was the most difficult move we have made but well worth the effort to be near two of our sons and our two-year-old granddaughter, Emma. We are settled in at Crane Lakes in Port Orange. Life is good with a pool, golf course, activities, and 7 miles to the ocean." He added, "Good, Better, Best – We finally get to rest." Bob would like to hear from alumni in the Port Orange area.

'54 From BILL DENT we received the following message: "I would like to honor URBAN SALTUS who was our Battalion Commander the year I entered BMI as an 8^th grader. He was inspiring and encouraging to this little kid. I was more than a little impressed by his stories of service on the USS Missouri before he came to BMI to complete his college preparation. I would also like to honor

HERMAN KUCK. While I was very serious as to my duties, probably as a squad leader on the occasion I have in mind, Herman had a sense of humor that I have grown to appreciate over the years. I am thinking especially of the time I reported him for having had his hair cut so that it was duly shortened on top but left hanging distinctly over his ears. He had the courage to march to a different drum."

'56 BILL KELLY lives in Brant Beach, NJ, but his daughter lives in Bordentown so he passes by the BMI site several times a year.

BURTON WACHTEL sent an e-mail stating he was glad to read in the last SKIRMISHER that JOHN BERISH remembered him. He wrote, "It really does me good to hear about former classmates. I never realized how much BMI meant to me. I went there many years and did the PG course. I wish that I was back in those days again. The best days of my life were at BMI."

'57 MIKE CANDELORI has moved a little farther south to The Villages, Florida. The Villages is in central Florida about 12 miles south of Ocala. Mike invites alumni to stop by for a visit.

KEN SMITH sent the following note, "Earned my favorite 3 PT's at an outside 2^nd mess formation for all to hear. I was rooming on Main III in the front and I really liked 'Bye, Bye Love' by the Everly Brothers. I put my record player in the open window, put on the record, set it to 'repeat play,' cranked it up, and went to formation. SETO did not like it as much as I did so he arranged some marching practice for me. Ha, such fun!"

'61 RON MALCZYNSKI found us and was added to our directory. Ron lives in San Marcos, CA.

'63 ROBERT CHISHOLM is a Certified Compeer Professional, Founding Program Director, Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Rob has been in the field of mental health since 1974. He invites fellow veterans to share friendship by volunteering with "CompeerCORPS Vet2Vet," which matches veterans with veterans. Rob wrote, "Twenty-two veterans take their own lives every day and 69% are over age 50. Compeer friendships are proven to prevent suicidal thoughts. You may be able to give a fellow vet a reason to want to go on living." You may reach Rob at 610-436-4445 if you have questions. Rob asks that you please visit www.compeer.org. JIM TANTUM has a new address. He now resides in Lake Mary, FL.

'64 ANTHONY LEONARD sent a note with his dues. He wrote, "My wife, Kathleen, and I have moved to Raleigh, NC, to be closer to our sons, Anthony and David, and my 23-month-old granddaughter. Our best to all our BMI friends."

'65 CURTIS BOWER wrote, "I received a scholarship to attend BMI for the 1961-62 school year. I would have loved to have stayed at BMI but it was financially difficult for my parents so I returned to public school. Academically, I competed with STEVE SETO all year and I think he ended up ranking ahead of me for our class. It was a wonderful and maturing time for me and BMI was a haven. In 1967, I enlisted in the Marine Corps and found what an advantage the discipline, the close order drill, and the manual of arms learned in Bordentown were to me. I remember that on the day we left BMI at the end of the spring semester, my father tried to carry my trunk with all my belongings. He struggled. FLOYD LITTLE '63 noticed the incident. He picked up the trunk as though it weighed nothing and carried it down to the parade ground in front of Old Main. My father was impressed."

'66 PAUL MOXLEY is with Durham Jones & Pinegar in Salt Lake City, UT. JEFF NISSIM and his wife, Phoebe, took a computer refresher course recently. Jeff thought he recognized the last name of the instructor – Gontowicz. Jeff learned that it was JOHN GONTOWICZ, a BMI graduate of 1972, the son of Miron and the late Anna Gontowicz who ran the BMI kitchen for many years. Jeff said, "It seems that BMI grads are everywhere."

'68 In an e-mail from JIM ESPIN we learned that several football players from his era, 1967-68, got together in 2011 in Pennsylvania. STEVE CIPOT, STAN WALTERS, ANDY MICHAELIAN, WALT SAPP, BOB CABRELLI, ALEX BUGDA, and PAUL BOUDREAU were in attendance. The group hopes to meet again in 2014 and they hope that Coaches Libro and Stroble will be able to join them. Walt Sapp has a summer home in that area that sleeps quite a few people so they just pay a couple of bucks for food and that is all. Jim adds, "It is a stag affair and not coed. We all LOVE women but not that weekend. We usually golf both Saturday afternoon and then on Sunday morning before leaving for home."

'69 MICHAEL MILLER lives in Montage, NJ. He would like to communicate with other football players from his era. Michael can be reached at 973-552-9126.

'70 JOSEPH COLBY and his wife, Pat, have moved to Saint Marys, GA.

'73 PATRICK MURPHY found us on our Web site. He wrote, "I went to BMI for only one year. That was my junior year. I would have gone for my senior year but the school moved to Massachusetts. I went back to Red Bank and graduated in 1973. I now live in Cookstown, NJ. I still have my BMI yearbook. I was in the same class as JAMES LYNCH."

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First Lt. John Bradman ('64) remembered

The Crosswicks (NJ) Community Association, with the participation of Boy Scout Troop 55 and the Trenton Detachment of the Marine Corps League, raised a flag recently in memory of FIRST LT. JOHN BRADMAN (BMI '64) who gave his life for his country in Vietnam. He was only 23 years old at the time. A light was installed to illuminate the flagpole at night. John was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star for valor with three oak leaf clusters and the Purple Heart. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery alongside his parents, Lt. Col. JOHN BRADMAN '39 and Mrs. Susan Bradman, BMI Librarian. John's sister, Sparkle Leidemer, said, "Johnny was so patriotic. He was everything that flag stands for."

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MEMBERSHIP DUES

If you have not paid dues for 2013, it is not too late. Please make check for $20 payable to BMI Alumni Association and mail to P. O. Box 91, Bordentown, NJ 08505. Please note: Dues and other contributions, although much appreciated, are not tax deductible. Thank you for your support.

WEB SITE AND FACEBOOK

Be sure to visit our Web site - bmicadets.org. BOB FRISBIE '61 continues to update that site with pictures, etc. Also, BMI is on Facebook. BOB SOOWAL '67 maintains that site and welcomes your participation.

JIM BRENDLE '62 REMEMBERS.

When Jim learned that the BMI Alumni Association was planning a trip to West Point (which, unfortunately, had to be scrapped because there was not enough interest from alumni), he sent the following e-mail:

"Your proposal of an alumni trip brought back some awesome memories of the trip BMI Class of '62 made to West Point. I understand that a significant number of BMI alumni distinguished themselves at West Point and in service to our country. I think a number of BMI cadets making the trip that year were interested in going to the United States Military Academy. I signed up primarily to see their spring football game. Paul Dietzel, the much-touted coach at LSU who invented the 'Chinese Bandits,' had recently been appointed head coach.

"When our bus arrived, we were informed there would be a formal review of the Corps of Cadets on the parade field. When the Corps had formed at attention, there appeared a jeep carrying the General of the Army Douglas MacArthur. At lunch, the General addressed the Corps of Cadets upon acceptance of the Thayer Award for distinguished service to his nation. I have a picture from that day of the General reviewing the troops. It is titled DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY.

"At the designated time, the spring practice and game began. I have never seen or been involved in a practice of that precision or timing - well-orchestrated mayhem. I do not remember the game at all. What a meaningful experience the trip to West Point was so many years ago!"

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REUNION 2014

OCTOBER 17 & 18, 2014

Contact your classmates and make some more great memories.

If we can help with contact information, let us know.

Happy Holidays to all and may 2014 be especially good to you.

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