Memorial Day

Memorial Day comes at high spring and for many Americans is the beginning of summer. It's also a day for us to remember our family members, neighbors, and friends who served in the armed forces, whether in war or peacetime, in the defense of our nation and our freedoms. I asked Bob Shewmaker about our classmates who had served, and here are his thoughts:

"Yes, it would be interesting to have a list of '58s who served in the armed forces, since we were in the Cold War era and the runup into Southeast Asia, trying to learn how to conduct a different type of warfare--which we still don't know how to execute.

"I remember after being commissioned and in grad school in October of '62, when the Cuban Missile Crisis came along, we all thought that we would be lucky to finish the semester. Those in the military formed strong bonds, since we spent a lot of time together, often in isolated circumstances, and we had some life changing, once in-a-lifetime experiences together. I still keep up with some of the close friends from those days and remember the ones who gave their lives.

"Last March, I was on the way to Williamsburg and exited off I-95 to stop at Quantico Marine Cemetery to visit the grave of Bob Willis. Now his site is surrounded by more of his Marine comrades."

In coming days, I will feature stories about classmates who had military careers, starting with Bob Shewmaker. Please send your thoughts and stories to me, or make a comment.

Update: today an Illinois National Guard unit returned after a year in Iraq. Check out the video. Thanks to Judi Dunkel Headrick for the link.