vol49no2 116

Field: Social Sciences (Social Sciences)

This was a superbly fitting ceremonial\nsendoff for a great off, a true professional\nand a good friend.\nA little more than 24 his later, on the\nparade ground on the quad at historic Ft\nMcNair, and virtually in his own front\nyard, Don Hilbert was ret from the Army\nand his post as cmdr of the Mil District of\nWash. Army Ch of Staff, GEN Carl\nVuono, hosted the ceremony, which in-cluded\nall elements of the unit with\nwhich Don & Chickie had served 3 tours\nof duty in their 35 yrs, the 3rd Inf, Old\nGuard Regt. If rich and meaningful cer-emony\nwas to be found, it was on the\nparade ground that day. There was a full\nsoundoff, trooping the line, presenta-tion\nof colors, retreat ceremony and\naward of the DSM to Don for his great\nwork as MDW CG. Carl Vuono's praise\nof Don and his record was a very moving\nstatement from a man who has been a\nclose friend and professional colleague\nof Don for yrs. The performance of the\nOld Guard and the music to which they\nparaded were truly a fitting ceremony\nwith which to watch the virtual last\nvestiges of a proud and talented USMA\nClass pass from the active force. Fol-lowing\nthe ceremony, a reception was\nheld in the Rotunda of the Natl War Col,\nand attending that event was an entire\nphalanx of classmates—virtually all\nthose living in the DC area who could\nattend. I am on the trail of some of the\nmultitude of photos that were taken at\nthat event. Will use them in the future.\nAs I rep last issue, Don & Chickie are\nnow settling into their quarters at the\nSoldiers' and Airmen's Home here in\nDC, where Don has taken up his duties\nas the new gov of that institution. What\na great progression from a long and\ndistinguished mil career.\nI have to pass many thanks to Carl\nMcNair, who wrote me a very fine resu-me\nof the next ret, which occurred on 25\nJun near the Forces Cmd Hq at Ft\nMcPherson in Atl, where Bob Wiegand\n& his lovely lady Jill were, with due and\nappropriate ceremony, ret from his post\nas ch of staff of Forces Cmd. Carl had\nattended Don Hilbert's ceremony on\nFri and had flown to Atl to join Bob &\nJill at theirs. Bob's long and superb\ncareer included extensive service with\nour Special Forces elements and com-mands,\nand his vision and profound\ncontributions to strengthening that very\ncritical aspect of our natl security force\nposture will shape those forces for dec-ades\nto come. Carl notes that Bob re-ceived\na very warm congratulatory ltr\nfrom Pres Bush on his ret, which is a\nrichly deserved testimony to his great\ncontributions. Joining Carl at the cere-mony\nand reception was Roy Dunaway,\nwho makes his home in Stone Mtn, GA.\nThus it was that within days of ea other,\nthree very great men left our mil.\nCarl McNair also rep that he has re-\n1955: Carl McNair, Bob Wiegand and Roy\nDunaway at Bob's ret\n1955: Carl McNair and Jill & Bob Wiegand\nfollowing Bob's ret\ncently left his position as VP at Burde-shaw\nAssoc and become the pres of the\nSupport Services Div of Dynacorp, a\nReston-VA based Fortune 500 Co. with\nalmost worldwide contracts. Knowing\nCarl's penchant for hard work, he's sure-ly\ngiving this new challenge a full 150%.\nWe wish him & Jo Ann fullest success.\nAnd so, on 1 Jul, as the old play used\nto announce, now there was one. Tom\nWilkinson, in his tenured position as\nregistrar of the AF Academy in CO\nSprings, could have remained in his blue\nsuit until Mar 97, but the winds of\nchange seemed to have reached the CO\nramparts as well; on 18 Jul, Tom advised\nin a ltr that he had been "lured away by\na challenge no '55'er could duck." He\naccepted a position as the Asst Exec Dir\nof the US Olympic Comm in CO Springs,\nand so, on Fri, 27 Jul, in a ceremony held\nin the Off Club at USAFA, Tom & Helen\nwere ret by the USAFA Supe after 14 yrs\nat USAFA, where Tom had watched\nquite a few young men and women pass\nthrough their academy experiences.\nThey will continue to make their home\nin scenic nearby Monument as they un-dertake\nanother challenge that watches\nthe youth of America rise to new levels of\nexcellence. So that closes the book on '55\nas a serving Class in the US mil active\nforce estab. We can all look back on\nindividual contributions and achieve-ments\nwith a great deal of pride and\nsatisfaction, no matter how long we may\nhave served; and surely the same zeal\nand drive that marked us as a Class of\nhigh achievers at USMA have been re-applied\nand have resurfaced in countless\nprofessional and individual forms over\nthe yrs. Now as we all cluster around the\n60 yrs-plus plateau, it is clearly time to\nhue to the cry of the old poet who\nimplores:\n"Come along grow old with me, the\nbest of life is yet to be;\nThe second half of life, for which the\nfirst is lived!"\nNot a bad idea, is it? Take care.\n1955: The Hilberts at their ret, with a phalanx of '55'ers\n114 ASSEMBLY\nFrom the collection of the U.S. Military Academy Library