Alumni Updates Page 2

Posted 09 February 2008 Hi all, I would like to echo the sentiments of others in thanking John Chatelain for getting this up and going. I have long lamented the sad loss of my brothers and sisters from those days, and now rejoice in their rediscovery thanks to John's efforts. My wife, Wanda, and I are still together and living in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. We just celebrated our 33rd anniversary in June, '07. We have one daughter, Cathy, and two grandsons, Douglas (9) and Jake (7). She is a single parent and does well. Wanda and I are both working in public education. She is a speech language pathologist in the Glendale Elementary School District. She does a lot of work with autistic kids and loves it. I've had kind of an interesting and varied career. I entered the Army in July, '74 with the full intention of making it a career. Did the whole "Benning School for Boys" bit and came out a distinguished graduate. I did see Cpt. Pat Sullivan at the Infantry school - he was one of my instructors. And then the army sent me to Ft. Riley and the Big Red One. I got a line platoon immediately and did very well with that, but I found that the "peacetime" army of the 70's wasn't what I had hoped for - one can only paint so many rocks white. Being assigned to a mechanized division during the oil embargoes of the 70's probably contributed to this perception. I was fortunate, though, to be selected as a 2LT into a captain's slot as an organizational development consultant in the (then) brand new Army Organizational Effectiveness program out of Ft. Ord and Pepperdine University. This, in turn, opened up the whole field of organizational psychology and counseling psychology to me. Turns out that I was actually pretty good at this - who knew? So, I started working at Brigade and Division level on detached duty from my line unit. Somewhere in my files, I have an OER as a 1LT with a rater of BG Johns, Asst Div CO; an endorser of MG Fuller, 1st Division CO; and a reviewer of Gen Bernard Rogers, CO - FORSCOM. This occured when my boss, a CPT, was TDY and his boss (a Maj) was on leave, leaving his boss, Gen Johns, as my next-in-line superior. By the way, being a 1LT and telling a full bull brigade commander that one of his BN CO's needs to be relieved for command incompetence is an interesting experience. It turns out that life really is what happens while you're busy making other plans. Anyway, I finished one master's degree at KSU through the Ft. Riley program. Then, I ETS'd in '77 and returned to grad school at K-State, finishing a second master's (in counseling) and a doctorate (in counseling psychology) in 1980. Who'd a thunk it??? An undergrad gpa of 2.008 for 120 hours and a graduate gpa of 3.99 for 126 hours (I really should not have pissed off that one professor). Somewhere between those points, I seem to have found my stride academically. I do think that it's barely possible that playing bridge in the Union, "socializing" in Aggieville, and P/R parties may have exerted a "slight impact" on my study habits as an undergrad. From '77 - '80, we were living in Clay Center. Having completed her Master's, Wanda was working for the school district and I was going to KSU on the GI bill. After that, we relocated to Arizona in 1980. We lived in the White Mountains (elev: 6500 ft) of northeastern Arizona in a national forest in a little town called Pinetop for the next 18 years. I took a job with the White Mountain Apache Tribe in Whiteriver as their director of children's services initially and, later, as the director of mental health services. I moved to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in '82 and worked on the White Mountain Apache, Hopi, and Navajo reservations as a school psychologist until 1984. In '84, I went into private practice, mostly still doing itinerant school psychology services to reservation schools as an independent contractor with the BIA, but also doing some forensic work in the courts. Reservation work involved a lot of miles (the Navajo reservation is a VERY big place), so in 1990, I took a job as the special education director of a small rural school district in St. Johns, Arizona. I also continued my therapy practice in Pinetop on the side and began to work more in the area of forensic psychology. In '94, I became the department psychologist for a local police department. Now that's interesting work. At one point I got to work with an FBI profiler. They are as good or better than they are portrayed on TV. Fascinating. In '98, we relocated to Glendale, Arizona to be closer to Cathy and the grandkids, and to get away from the 140" of snow we got in Pinetop every year (I don't have to shovel 110 degrees in Phoenix and my air conditioner works great). We live about four miles from the stadium where they just finished the super bowl. In '98, I took a job as a school psychologist with the Deer Valley Unified School District and have been with them ever since. We are the third largest district in the state by population and it is huge; we have 36 schools with 37,000 students. Within a couple of years in the District, I was asked to develop a threat assessment system for the district and my title was changed to "forensic psychologist." I continue to serve as the threat manager for the district and, so far, nobody's been killed on my watch, so I guess I'm doing an OK job. My other role is that of one of three "assistant special education directors" in the district. I have become something of an expert on special education law, so I act as the compliance officer for the District. Essentially, I'm the district troubleshooter. Other than "60 Minutes" or the IRS, I'm the guy that principals least want to have show up at their door. When I do, they know they've got a problem. I'm still about 6 years from retirement due to all those years in private practice, but I'm still having fun doing this, so that's OK. Interestingly, we hired a new special education director a couple of years ago. I was on the interview committee and I'm reading this guy's resume and it looks like I'm reading my own. His name is Michael Remus. He is a K-Stater and was one year behind me in both undergrad and grad school. We both drank at K's, the Dark Horse, and Brothers; we even had the same profs in grad school. Small world. But it's nice to have someone to reminisce with and who understands just how important it is to BEAT KU!!! Since John contacted me and as I have followed the progress of the reunion and the website, I've sort of been walking down memory lane as the names and the stories come in. So many images - meeting my DI's (Paul Scott and Tom Schnepp), pledging, and meeting my pledge brothers for the first time (little suspecting that we were forming relationships that would last a lifetime), becoming a drill sgt in my second year (Jay, I find it strangely and curiously satisfying to know that you can still recite "how is the cow" and "Thumper's oration") - those were the days. Playing "touch" football in the snow, actives vs. pledges games at the MS bldg, carrying a brother (who shall remain nameless, but whose initials are … uh, never mind) from bar to bar in Aggieville after he'd passed out (because, of course, we leave no one behind). Uncle Hunk singing at a PR party at Papa Dave's trailer, drill practice in the "cow palace," drill team competitions and trips, Woodall's Hudson Hornet, and, of course, THE "staff car." Seven brothers spending ˝ hour trying to throw Wolfley into Tuttle puddle (and failing). Parking duty and my first lot commander, "big" Ron Seery. My pledge brother, Alex Moulakis, not letting Cotton Fitzsimmons into the VIP Parking lot. The drill competitions. Cheering on the girl's team and being cheered in return. Aggressing against the cadets on Ft. Riley FTX's … and, if memory serves, CPT (ROTC COL) Fred reminding us that we were there to teach them, not to kick their a**** to the curb. Initiation night - enough said. Military Ball on post. The ORIGINAL tactics team at the tactics competition in the Mark Twain National Forest: Steve Heywood, Jeff Woodall, Al Marrieta, our fearless commander, Paul Scott, our advisor CPT Lightfoot, and myself (please forgive me, I think I forgot someone). What a day that was - taking 2nd place in our first try … and what a party that night. The Arch of Sabres at weddings, group haircuts at Pop Haynes' shop, and, of course, our beloved "Baby Huey" (can I be thrown into the stockade for referring to such an august personage as MG Jacka for such irreverence??? Way to go, Don! Oh, and of course, all of the people that supported us in our growth: Major G, SFC Arnold, "SMAJ" Reed, CPT Lightfoot, MSG Edwards on the range, and Bob (or was it Bill?) in the supply room, who always made sure that, if we needed something, we had it. So many memories, each one deeply etched into my memories like fine crystal, and all so important to my life. I would not have had the success I have had in my life without those experiences. We may not have had a jacket with greek letters on it, but if the test of a fraternity is the strength and longevity of the bonds you form with your brothers, then P/R Co. G-7 defines the word "fraternity." Blue and White Forever, Rich Gray "Editor's Note": The "Staff Car" Rich is referring to was my early 1960's Volkswagon Beetle with a canvas roll top that had a major rip in it. We would pull back the remnants and cruise through Aggieviille, the KSU campus, or all of Manhattan with P/R's standing up like George Scott in the movie "Patton". Because G-7 worked with the KSU security and Manhattan Police to control traffic at football and basketball games, having a P/R decal on your car seemed to be almost the equal of having a "Get-Out-of-Jail-Free" card. There were obviously no seat belt laws at that time. This behavior is definately not to be condoned for anyone reading this today. I would also like to add CPT George Kish and COL Archie Hyle to the list of advisors and friends who added so much to our experience. John Chatelain

******************** Submitted 27 February 2008 The Legend of the Midnight Machine Gun Drill No G-7 web site would be complete if it did not record the story of the three-man machine gun team that decided to have a final practice run in an Arkansas motel hallway in the middle of the night. The story was told and retold for years. The mental image of a Southern hotel maid flinging an armload of linens into the air and running off screaming through the motel hallways at midnight is just too hilarious to be forgotten. An e-mail from Richard Wilms started a series of communications that probably described the events best: *** "The story when I was in school was that there was at one time a machine gun competition at Regimental Assembly. The story talked about guys practicing in the halls of the motel/hotel in the middle of the night. They would run down the hall, set up and fire three rounds. If it is true, weapons policies have really become more strict over the years. Of course, you didn't see articles about people walking into classrooms and killing fellow students in that era either!" Richard Wilms *** "I too have heard the story about the machine gun drill in the hotel hall way. I was told it occurred in Arkansas - Fayetteville or Little Rock. Don't recall hearing about firing the weapon, but that the sight of it scared the hell out of some poor hotel maid. Maybe Fred or Bud know more of the details. Great story." John Chatelain *** "Well, yes, there was that story. It was an M-60 setup and breakdown competition, and we did very well - I think we took first place that year. Except for firing rounds, Rich's recounting is pretty accurate. Regarding the hotel/ motel legend, I will only say that, no, the restrictions on weapons were not more lax then, but PR's are known for stretching the rules. I wouldn't be surprised if Al Marrieta couldn't do a really good retelling of this urban legend, perhaps in the first person - he was always a great storyteller. (;-))) Richard L. Gray, Ph.D. *** "John, It's definitely true. I was the number 3 man - the ammo runner. I don't have a clear memory of who else was on the team but believe Joel Schulz was the number one man - the gunner, but it may have been Fred Martin. Or was Fred the number two man - the assistant gunner? Paul Scott was also there. Maybe they can help. What great memories! Maybe Fred, Paul, or Joel can remember. It was in Fayetteville in 1968. Can you imagine an M60 machine gun set up in the hallway of a hotel today. There was no PC in our group in 1968." Bud Allen *** "Great memories. Have a picture in a buried scrap book of Fred (had a .30 cal) and I (M60) in a hotel hallway. Pretty sure it was in Fayetteville. Will dig it out and scan it for distribution." Paul R. Scott *** "I was never in any machine gun drill. They did not have machine guns while I attended K State." Joel Schultz *** "Thanks to some help from some of my friends (exposing my faulty memory) here is what I now believe to be the team members and the weapon used. It was not an M60, it was a WWII era 30 cal ( I can't remember the designation). Fred Martin was the number one man (gunner), was the strongest man in the G7 and also the smartest. Doug Rudig was the number 2 man (assistant gunner). The last time I saw Doug was after I got out of the Army and was probably in 1975 or 1976. Betty and I met him for dinner in Salina. Unfortunately she doesn't remember (Great---more cloudy memories. Why can't anyone remember things after 40 years?). I was the number three man (ammo runner). I clearly remember drilling in the hallway of the hotel with other team members. My apologies to Joel for dragging him into the incident. He was a Jr. and much more mature than us Sophomores. The incident was prior to the Seventh Regimental Drill Meet held in Fayetteville, Arkansas in the Spring of 1968. Garry Dalby was the G7 CO, Bill Vigneron was the XO and Larry Abel was the Exhibition Drill Team Leader. The floor is now open for further corrections/additions/deletions/changes. What great fun it has been trying to remember more of the fantastically wonderful times that we had back then." Bud Allen *** "One note concerning the "legend" from my collection is that there was just a lot of horseplay in the hallway, not a real practice (since there wasnt room in that dump), but more importantly there was never any firing of rounds either in the hotel or at the crew drill competition. As I recall all we had was some linked expended blank rounds that had to be loaded into the weapons as part of the crew drill exercise. Nevertheless, I am sure that if a group of young warriors tried this today, they would most likely make the acquaintance of the local SWAT teams and magistrate. Paul R. Scott *** "OK, Guys, Mission failure. I spent Sunday afternoon going through about a half ton of containers and looking through albums trying to find a validation picture of "machine gun drill" in a hotel hallway to no avail; however, I have not given up yet. In my growing senile minds eye, I can still see the picture I am looking for. Paul R. Scott *** "I remember that night as vividly as if it was last night – even though it was FORTY YEARS ago!! I don’t think anyone took pictures, but I remember hearing a commotion in the hall and walking out of my room to see what was going on. At the end of the hall were three PRs with the machine gun all set up, pointing the barrel back down the hall toward me! As I remember, they were in full combat gear. The PR in the middle, with his hands on the handles and a stern look on his face was none other than --- Beckwith! I shook my head and went back into the room. To this day I can still see it, just like I can still see and feel 16 of us turn and jab our saw tooth bayonets at Tom Schnepp’s throat in “Kill the Commander.” Wish I could travel back in time and do it all again!! For those of you who remember that I used to do magic, I still do! You can check it out on my website: www.hankthemagician.com All my best to all of you! Hank Vlcek