~~Greenbrier Military School Alumni Association (GMSAA Official)
Forwarded by Brock Townsend
Doug (Douglas Miller) asked me (Brock) to post this for him as he was unable to do so. What a story!

I wish I could make it to the reunion ....this might be one of the last ones where those of us of the same age.... I'm 78 now ...will be able to recognize each other...lol.... Unfortunately I am sort of tied down here in Ann arbor Michigan, as I am a live in caregiver for an 86 year old woman. For the past 10 to 12 years I have been a live-in caregiver for several elderly people and one infant baby girl. Before that I was involved a lot with volunteering at animal shelters and owning 14 pets over the years.

I don't know if you remember that Ballantyne was my Company Commander... I always thought he was a reasonable officer, although perhaps a little dramatic in style ..LOL.. And I was saddened to read that he had passed away had a relatively early age...especially when I read that as an adult he had also been involved with animal shelters etc. I now wish that I could have known him as an adult. Personally, I always thought that you (Brock) and Beamon and Aaron Wood were solid officers... demanding when necessary but not overbearing...... My two least favorite officers were Dave Fulton and Eichelberger...lol

Sorry if I'm talking your ear off but this is the first chance I have had in 60 some years now, to speak to anyone that was at Greenbrier when I was there. I have extremely vivid memories of various cadets and also of a number of the faculty officers.

I have often wondered what fellow cadets thought of me and perhaps what some faculty officers thought of me.

I spent my last two and a half years at Greenbrier almost as a mute, as a result of a cataclysmic event that occurred on my way home for Christmas vacation, on a bus to Richmond Virginia, in late December of 1960.... When a man with seriously bad intentions attempted to kidnap me at gunpoint in a snowstorm at 4:00 a.m. outside the Greyhound bus station in Richmond Virginia, as I waited for the city bus to start coming by at about 5:00 a.m. which was going to take me home. ..... It ended in a violent struggle to the death. There were never any legal ramifications as it was very clear to the authorities what had occurred and that I had acted in self-defense.... Although they were very curious as to what had happened to his handgun....

When I came back to Greenbrier 10 days later, in January, I was literally carrying his now partially loaded 38 caliber revolver which I kept with me for the next 20 years including my subsequent time there at Greenbrier.

Ballantyne was the only person to ever realize this, as he found it during an inspection in my room. To his credit , after I took it back from him and put it back in its hidey hole... with a sort of respectful but very clear stare down on my part... he never brought it up to me and apparently never mentioned it to anybody in the administration.
I always felt that I was a bit of a loner at Greenbrier....because of that event ....

It literally took me decades to get over the unrecognized psychological trauma of that night.

The irony of it all .....and speaking to the randomness of life.... was that after my first year at Greenbrier when I walked the beat a little bit, I came back in the fall for my second year in 1960, and was determined to get no demerits.... I succeeded.... And was able to use that record to get out early for that Christmas vacation, fully intending to surprise my parents by getting home early and showing them what a good boy I had been, only to realize that the bus got in at 4:00 a.m. in the morning in the middle of a snowstorm in Richmond Virginia and left me standing outside on main Street shivering with my grey suitcase .... And realizing at that moment that I could not wake my parents up at 4:00 a.m. in the morning so I just had to wait for the city bus to start its rounds....and that's when he offered me a ride.

I will spare you the gory details of the next 30 minutes.... Although it is a hell of a story ....Suffice it to say I would not submit to his sexual intentions... and in a struggle reminiscent of a scene in the movie Pulp Fiction.... I was able to eventually exit the car.... bloodied but unbowed.... Then I had to go back to Greenbrier in January and pretend as if nothing had happened.

Two and a half years later I graduated and went off to Wooster College in Wooster Ohio.

I guess I hold one likely to be unbroken record at Greenbrier..... As the only sophomore cadet to have killed a man and returned to school.... If I may be permitted a moment of dark humor.

A further irony of this is that there are over a dozen adult friends of mine that have known the story for years.... but you are the first person from Greenbrier that I have ever had the chance to tell it to...
~~Doug

I just read over a statement from your President regarding what happened to some of the non graduates that attended Greenbrier in it's last year of existence. So, I thought I'd pass on my experience and several others that followed a similar path.

First, my hope was to return for the next two years and graduate in 1974 but that was not to be. I truly liked Greenbrier and have fond memories during my short time there. I could see even at 15 years old that the school was struggling and of course the impact of a very unpopular war at the time did not help. I thought a great deal of Rod Weikle, Ellsworth Buck, COL Turley and COL McGuire. (I hated math but Rod Weikle's inspiration helped me get through Algebra 2!) COL McGuire was a strong mentor and significant presence and I truly appreciated the example he set.

Greenbrier shared a lot with many military schools that would shut down within just a few years. Today there are approximately 40 that are left not counting day schools with a military format. It was a shame to see the end of Greenbrier and I think that last day many felt a sadness throughout the graduation of the Class of 1972. I am sure there are many reasons for the school's inability to continue and certainly all of you know more of the story. I can only speculate. Greenbrier had been a rock solid school for so many years and I hope the graduates that are still living maintain a sense of pride.

So, my plan was to initially return to high school. COL McGuire asked me several times about considering Linsley Military Institute in Wheeling where he was heading as the new Commandant. There were at least 6-12 non graduates including two of my closest friends that ended up at Riverside Military Academy. I decided after an admission visit to attend Culver Military Academy in Northern Indiana. It was tough academically, had a challenging plebe system and is today one of the best college preparatory schools in the country. It has some of the finest educators, an impressive facility that continues expansion and an endowment that exceeds over a half billion dollars. All that said, although I am very connected to Culver, I always felt comfortable at "The Brier."

I went on to college, was commissioned in the Army in 1979 serving a full career retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel and worked in the Defense Industry for a number of years. Although I attended Greenbrier for one very short year it did have a positive impact on my life and I'll always be grateful. I wish the best for whatever the future holds for the Association and it's graduates.

Dan Johnson

Daniel Holliday Pennington LCdr.(ret.) USCGR
Band Company
Greenbrier Military School Class of 1969

I was living in Thailand with my family in 1966 while my father was in Viet Nam with the Department of State (DoS). As the school year ended my father was anticipating being assigned to Laos with the DoS and knew there was no school above the Ninth grade there at the time. Having once thought of sending my older brother to GMS for boarding school, for basically the same reason, my parents thought again of GMS. Incidentally, my brother did not attend GMS because my grandfather thought it was going to be too much of a hardship for him being away from family. Seeing that Mom and Dad were originally from Fayetteville, WVa., my grandfather having passed away and I still had a maternal grandmother and many cousins in the area my attending GMS turned into a no-brainer.

This was not a really new happening – when we lived in Sri Lanka or what used to be Ceylon – we lived in the jungle “up country” and there was no English speaking school for my brother and I to attend so we were boarded at the Kodiakanal Missionary Boarding School in southern India. Due to seasonal weather and the hold over from the British, we attended school for three months and then had a month off and again attended for three months with a month off. That was the normal cycle so you were off the coldest, the wettest and the hottest months of the year. Those two years of school were my 3rd and 4th grades in school, so I was understanding of what going to boarding school was going to be like.

The family returned to WVa. for leave and DoS training prior to my father's transfer and I was dropped off at GMS for the 1966-67 school year. My father being an old Navy man from WWII helped me make my bunk the first time so the sheets and blanket were “quarter bouncing tight” with crisp hospital corners. They called for formation and my parents had to say good bye. After formation I returned to my room on “A” stoop in the Band and found my rack completely undone by someone who said it “wasn't done like GMS wanted it done”. Such is life and you live and learn and learn I did.

That first year I learned that smart mouthing to those who outranked you, to establish who you were, got you more demerits than a single set of soles on your half boots could out last on the “beat”– point of fact more than two sets. During breaks my Grandmother would come up and pick me up or I would take the bus towards Charleston and get off at “Chimney Corners” where she would pick me up. She still worked as the Postmistress in the community where she lived and being the only employee in the Post Office she couldn't take off as she pleased. I always returned to school with goodies she baked for me and those I cared to share with --- and sometimes those who just heard about the goodies in the “Care Package” shared in that bounty. I detested the first year and did not look fondly at having to return for my Junior year but knew that it was inevitable due to circumstances. I knew that with conditions as they were my parents were doing the best for me they could. I still believe that, am so appreciative of what they did for me.

That first summer vacation I flew to Laos to be with my family and my brother coaxed me into getting dressed in my GMS uniform in the restroom of the Pan American 707 from Hong Kong to Bangkok to meet my parents at the airport – this was the first time I had seen them in 10 months and I had grown from 5'5” at 105 pounds to 5'11” and 145 pounds. Bangkok in the summer is hot and humid and I was in our wool uniform – not the most comfortable environment for wool, but Mom and Dad were beaming with pride as I perspired, just glad to be home again. I enjoyed the summer at home and headed back for my Junior year.

My junior year I was promoted to “Buck” Sargent and I had learned to not smart mouth as much, so life at school was better. Again breaks were spent with my grandmother and cousins in Fayeteville – now the site of the New River Gorge Bridge and the annual “Bridge Day”. The summer of my second year at GMS came and due to budgetary constraints I spent the summer in WVa. and returned to the “Brier” for my senior year, this time as a Sargent First Class for Band Company.

During that Senior year my roommate from my first year, Gary Woody, came back from a date at the girls school, GCW, and asked if I knew a girl by the name of Mary Pappas from Thailand. I said yes and how did he know that name. He said she was at GCW and wanted to see me. One thing led to another and we dated for my last year of GMS.

I looked forward to graduation for a number of reasons – of course graduating high school and starting college, looking forward to joining NROTC and serving in the Navy but most importantly seeing my parents again – I had not seen them from the summer of 1967 till the couple of days before graduation on June 06, 1969. It was a very happy reunion to say the least.

People ask me time and again why I go back to the “Brier” every year and I always answer that the people I see there yearly are as close to me almost as my own family – we shared the same teachers, mentors, values and ethics. We shared our meals, our triumphs and acted as brothers to one another in confidences and commiserations about how “bad” it was. Our instructors taught us the meaning of integrity and at the same time allowed us to “slide” when it really wasn't important. We were taught to give it our best , win or lose, give it your best.

When I didn't make it in Engineering School when I first attended college (Party school with what was purported to be the shortest mini-skirts in the nation) I enlisted in the US Navy as a recruit in the Nuclear Power Training Program. I attended Nuclear Power School and Prototype and was assigned to the USS Enterprise and served on her through the final evacuation of Viet Nam. Upon return to CONUS in San Francisco I requested and received transfer to the pre-commissioning unit of the USS Eisenhower. My last 2+ years active duty was spent ensuring she was built and accepted, as per specification, and I became a “Plank Owner”. Upon Honorable Discharge as an E6 First Class Machinist Mate, I joined the US Coast Guard Reserve to augment the GI Bill and was now better prepared to study. While I completed my Mechanical Engineering Degree I was Commissioned as an Ensign in the USCGR. I retired from the USCGR in 1999 as a Lieutenant Commander after a total of 27 ½ years Active Duty and Reserve service. I credit those things taught to me by my parents and GMS for enabling me to progress from an E1 (Seaman Recruit) to an O4-E (Lieutenant Commander) and a Systems Engineering Manager for the PF-4 Plutonium Production Facility at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Doing your best, striving to better yourself and the world around you, being true to your integrity and helping others – I feel that is the embodiment of the Creed we were instilled with as Truth, Duty and Honor. Those qualities instilled in us at GMS did much to enable me to excel as I did in my life.

Thread began with Randy McKee's Facebook post. Thank you Randy for this story. The two letters he refers to are at the end of this lengthy post.

Randy McKee '66: “Moon Platoon” Memories

My first year at GMS was the 1963-64 school year - the infamous year of the Moon Platoon. It was exciting to learn that Band Company participated each spring in the Cherry Blossom Parade. We all eagerly anticipated the multi-day trip to Winchester, Virginia.
Before long though the conversations about mooning from the bus began-it was going to happen. It seemed funny during those seemingly endless discussions. So, mooning was not a spur of the moment event, but had been thought about and planned for many months.

On the day of departure for Winchester, Band Company loaded into two buses. Though I didn’t see it, there was apparently a “you’ve just been mooned by a bus” sign on bus one that was forcibly removed before leaving campus. Maybe someone else can provide verification.
Most members of the “Moon Platoon were on bus one. In fact, the only two participants on bus two were me and Bob Holley.

Returning to my seat after exposing my rump in the window, I saw the abhorrent expression on another Cadet’s face. My unbelievably poor behavior clearly disgusted him. That caused me to reconsider my actions and I remained in my seat with my pants firmly fastened for the remaining trip.

Our buses were shortly stopped by the Virginia State Police. We were ordered to return to GMS immediately. As Don Meredith famously said – “turn out the lights-the party is over”. My overwhelming feeling was guilt and fear of punishment.

Back at GMS, all the blame fell on those participants from bus one. They had already met and received the “fear of God” from Colonel W.J. Moore. Momentarily, it appeared that Bob Holley and I might escape detection and punishment.

But Captain Hamrick, our band director told us our only choice was to turn ourselves in.

We fearfully walked to Colonel W.J. Moore’s office and confessed. He looked stunned, then threw his arms up as though avoiding a punch. Then growled in the most troubled voice I’ve ever heard “what kind of people are you any way”? “Why would you do something like this”? Bob, who later told me he wanted to be expelled said “Because he wanted to”. Then Colonel John. threw us out of his office.

Now, for the real consequences-the call to my parents. You can only imagine the shame! Our parents were informed that we could complete the remainder of the school year but could not under any circumstances return the next year.

GMS leadership could and probably should have expelled us immediately. But…they didn’t. I certainly admire them for that. The school year was nearly over, and completion elsewhere would have been difficult.

We were young and stupid kids. This event forced us to grow up. We were not yet men, but we did take our consequences like men. Our punishment was 200 demerits requiring endless hours “marching the beat” during our free time.

We marched in the Quadrangle until we were totally bored, then marched out back of the school laundry building. We were a tight-knit group, but of course had many arguments and even a fight or two. Two of our merry band of brothers bloodied each other’s lips before we could pull them apart. But for the most part, we were mutually supportive.

So, what did we learn?
· Consequences always follow actions
· Stand tall and face your punishment like men
· You can learn from even horrible decisions
· Make better mistakes the next time
I hope to share some further thoughts and observations soon.
Recollections from other participants may differ and are welcome.

Randy McKee '66: As a follow up to my last post, here is the first letter (See Letter 1 below) my parents received from Colonel John about the Mooning incident. Again, not proud of my participation, but appreciate the hard-earned life lessons it taught.

Randy McKee'66: My last post about the aborted April, 1964 Band trip to the Cherry Blossom Parade contained Colonel John's letter to my parents. It stated that under NO CIRCUMSTANCES would "Moon Platoon" participants' be allowed to return the following year.
That letter demonstrated his ability to demand justice and deliver appropriate punishment.

This second letter (See Letter 2 below) permitting us to return showed that he could deliver MERCY as well as justice. I'm forever grateful for the mercy shown and regret that I never told him so.

Hope you enjoy his letter.

Rebecca Moore Howard: Okay, I’ve been thinking about Randy’s post. My brother and I were talking about it this evening, and neither one of us could remember who in the heck the faculty member was who was on that bus. Was he asleep? Complicit? Visiting his Aunt Mildred in Minneapolis? Please tell me somebody remembers who it was and whether his employment survived that little escapade! Because Mike and I do recall that our father was mad as a hornet!

Russell Palmer '66: I was on bus 1. I thought Capt Hamrick was on our bus but was sitting 1st row up front seat.

It happened so fast he was unaware it was happening. He was furious when he did find out what happened. Just my memory.

James Burns '64: There were two buses. The first bus had CPT Hemrick and fist year cadets on it. The second bus had mostly juniors and seniors on it and NO supervision... We got as far as Ronceverte when the state police pulled us over informing Cpt Hemrick to return to GMS. From this second bus group came the "Moon Platoon”.

Ed Haynes '66: as I recall, it reduced the band to a skeleton of people whose morale had been broken and who knew little about instruments - in 1st platoon, "A" company we fell in next to them - they seemed a shattered bunch and, as I recall, sounded like one on parade - poor Capt. Hamrick - I'm surprised the Moores didn't fire him - memories fade after all these decades.

Randy McKee '66: Ed Haynes comments seem a little harsh - but perhaps well deserved. I have letters to my parents about the event from Colonel John. One says we cannot return the next year - the second offering the ability to return. (and his reasons for reconsidering) I hope to post those letters but have not yet found a way that provides good visibility. Best regards.

Frank Frashier '69: My first year at GMS was '64-'65. I had joined the band my second year, '65-66.
But... I had heard of the "Moon Platoon" back in Charleston, WV while I attended 7th grade at Lincoln Jr. High.
It was a major "joke" then whenever The Cherry Blossom Festival was mentioned.

Jim Fink '68: Lots of crazy stuff happened that never was found out. The morning of the 68 graduation there was a “riot” with chests and various items thrown over the stoops into the Courtyard. However the mess was cleaned up before the parents showed up. Col Johnny saw the carnage and pleaded for the mess to be cleaned up.

The Letters:

Letter #1 (Goodbye Randy)

1 May 1964
Mr. Darrell D. McKee
Route 2, Box-573
South Point, Ohio 45680

Dear Mr. McKee:

While Randy may have already given you his version of the story some recent actions on his part make it very necessary that we also con­tact you with some information that we find most difficult to handle. Yesterday our Band left for the two day Winchester trip and within a few minutes after their departure we commenced to receive telephone calls from police officers in the towns through which they passed and also from private citizens living in those towns and in the countryside in between towns. The reports were that some of the cadets were removing the clothing from the waist down and were riding in the bus with their bare buttocks projecting from the windows of the bus. We were able to contact the police in Clifton Forge, Virginia, a town approximately forty miles from here, and they stopped the busses and passed on to the faculty officer in charge our request that he immediately contact us by telephone. He was told to return immediately and not continue the trip. Had we not given him those instructions I feel that the Virginia State Police, who had also called by that time, would have refused to permit any further travel on the part of those particular busses.

Since your boy was one of those who was involved and one of those who was exposing himself we feel that a letter to you about the matter becomes absolutely essential. It is my personal feeling that expulsion from school is entirely justified and this is also the opinion of the majority of the remainder of our administrative group. The fact that they are not being immediately expelled is largely my own decision and I quite frankly do not feel that I can explain my reasons for not doing so. It has been decided that the boys will be permitted to remain in school until the end of this year but there is no possibility whatsoever that any of the group involved would ever be permitted to attend in the future. We would prefer that they be withdrawn at this time even though we are not making this a definite requirement.

I personally cannot conceive of a student wishing to remain in a school when his feelings about it would permit him to behave in this manner. The injury to the reputation, the embarrassment, and the other effects of this nature which are inflicted upon the remainder of the individuals in the student body, the individual faculty members, the individual members of the school administration and the school as an intangible entity indicate a complete disrespect and an utter contempt for those beings enumerated above and the things for which they are attempting to stand. Under these circumstances we fail to see how the individual concerned could wish to remain here or how you, as a parent, could wish your boy in an institution or in a group with him feeling this way about that institution or group. In the event he does remain, he will be given the most severe punishment at our disposal and will be very closely restricted throughout the remainder of this school year. He will not only not be permitted to make any visits to town, he will not be permitted off of the school grounds even with you, his parents, for the remaining time. He will be given a large number of demerits and he will be restricted in other ways. Any indication whatsoever of any lack of cooperation with the requirements and restrictions which are placed upon them will necessarily result in immediate expulsion regardless of the time of year at which this incident may occur. In the event there is any such evidence Randy will be placed upon the next available means of commercial transpor­tation leaving this community.

I do not feel that it is possible for us to express our regrets concerning the entire matter or the difficulty with which this letter is written.

Yours very sincerely,
W. J. Moore Colonel,
GMS Superintendent

Letter 2. Welcome Back (sort of)

1 June 1964

Mr. Darrell D. McKee
Route 2, Box 573
South Point, Ohio 45680

Dear Mr. McKee:

In the time which has elapsed since our rather disastrous band trip to Winchester we have given a great deal of thought to the matter and have examined the situation rather closely. In view of the apparent motives, thoughts, and basic intentions of the individuals involved it does not appear that the entire situation is quite as bad as it might have appeared at first glance.

We have also carefully observed the individuals concerned through­out the remainder of the year and I have talked personally with each of them at length during the last few days of the school year. In view of all of the factors involved we have decided that we will permit their return next year if it is your desire that they do so. In doing this there will be no prejudice against the boys nor any further punishment for their past actions unless there is a repetition of something of a serious nature. In the event any serious breach of regulations should occur during the coming year then we will consider this past event and will find it necessary to send the boy home. As a result of my talk with him I do not feel that there is any possibility that this will be necessary.

Since it is our understanding that you wish your boy to return we will definitely hold a place for him and will include him in our thinking for next year. In the event you do not wish him to return we would appreciate hearing from you to that effect.

Yours very sincerely,
W. J. Moore Colonel,
GMS Superintendent

(And so Ends the Moon Platoon Saga. Thanks to all for your contributions.)

The late spring and summer of 1961 I worked on my uncle's farm in Paschall, NC, just as I had done the previous 2 summers. My father, a school principal in a rural WV town, came to collect me in August as had been the routine. My uncle approached my dad and offered that I was energetic and a good worker and could likely benefit from a more structured secondary school experience than could be had at the local high school. As we drove back to WV, my dad broached the topic to me to gauge my interest. I was interested, sort of. Somehow my dad found out about GMS. By the end of August we were sitting in the office of Colonel C.A. Richardson, Headmaster at the 'Brier participating in an admission interview and exam. I was administered an admission exam after which he explained that the yearly allowance for admitting new students was nearly full but he might favorably consider my application if I just by chance played a musical instrument. I explained that I knew how to play a trumpet. On that note (pun intended) I was accepted for admission in the soon to start 1961-62 school year And, that, my friends is how I came to be a GMS Fighting Cadet!

I have attended many of our reunions since 1972 when the School closed down. I have made many friends from other ckasses going clear back to 1955. Some have passed on.
I have to mention Jack Denny. He was such a great person. I always enjoyed spending time with him and Lois. He had to be a very Honorable Cadet.

Also John Todd, who was Band Company Commander and graduated in 1958. Last year (2022), we somehow got on the subject of sabers. He said that his had hung on the wall
for all those years. After talking for a while, he said that he would like to give it to me because he was sure I would take good care of it. My wife and I traveled to his home in Wytheville Virginia, and met with him and his wife. They showed me all of their chesterdrawers and other wooded furniture that John had made. They were all beautifully handcrafted. Before we left he told me he had cancer and was moving to Peach Tree Georgia, and would probably not being able to attend any more reunions.
This is one of the reasons I attend reunions. May The Greenbrier Spirit Live On !

Let's go back to Sept 1956 when postage stamps were .03, gasoline was .30 a gallon. Loaf of bread was .18 and the minimum age was 1.00 an hour . Our country was 10 years out of the second world war .. Employment was good , spirits were high and the economy was ready to roll... Your saying, what's this got to do with anything... That's the year my mother dropped me off at a little military school in the middle of nowhere West Virginia....

When I first met my chubby little clarinet playing roomate he had already moved into the room and he advised me that he had the bottom bunk and mine was the top.. I noticed the radiator was closer to the bottom bunk . That was ok cause while he was hugging the radiator at night to keep warm I was looking out the window to see what was going on.

We were so alike , I liked country and pop music , he liked jazz... I liked a fresh airy room, he liked shades over the windows and windows closed.. I popped out of bed in the morning and he was still in the sack... he studied every night and got good grades , I played around and spent
2 extra years there... We never got too excited when it came to room inspections because that meant work... good thing he was first sergeant of our company cause our room never got inspected.

We got allowances each week .. mine was 4 dollars , I think he got the same... That 4 bucks got us lunch at Clingmans market downtown Lewisburg and the movies on Saturday, nite, sodas, candy bars, and smokes for the week. Life was simple , no TV... no car to drive , no text, internet... no nasty facebook .etc.. How did we ever survive without all of todays luxuries ? Simple, we listened to records, the local radio station, wrote letters back home, went downtown to the movies and sandwich shop or just stayed in the barracks and relaxed.

One Homecoming weekend we decided to have an early morning party before the corps of cadets got out of the sack for reville formation. Our menu was simple, sodas, candy, cookies and anything else we could find to eat. Oh and don't forget the Hormel sausages eaten straight out of the can.. We all ( 10 or so) got together quietly in the Band room and had ourselves a good time, not knowing that we were reported for the illegal gathering and all of us lost our stripes. Duane had the most stripes to loose as he was the Co. first sgt, I was a sgt first class.

Over the last 10 years we talked by phone almost every morning as I drove to work... He always answered the phone" Good Morning Roomie". Our conversations consisted of computer problems, music festivals and old times at the "Brier". One thing we both agreed upon was that if either one of us hit the Lotto, we would build a military school back in Lewisburg , W.Va . Of course that never happened but it was fun dreaming..

Many happy memories , many good times , I'm glad Duane Parsons and I crossed paths.

Happy Trails Roomie
Bink Wilson '61

Homecoming 1958 ....
Colonel John made it clear that he would tolerate no after-hour parties, but the boys in the band had collected a lot of money from a "cuss box" and by the time homecoming came around so much money was collected that it was spent on a foot locker full of food.
So in our infinite wisdom, despite being warned, we decided to have a feast at 4 AM in the band room.
As I recall, it consisted mostly of potato chips, donuts, and soft cider. (What could be better at 4 AM?)
Unfortunately, Colonel Turley saw the whole thing and submitted the names to Colonel John.
And even more unfortunately, Colonel John was not in a good mood that afternoon because Staunton kicked our butts in football, something like 34-0.
After the game came an announcement that most of the cadets in the band were to report to Colonel John's office. We did so, and while we were standing at attention, the first thing he said was, "Everyone in here who isn't already a private, is now!) He then dismissed us and told us to report for walking the beat.
After the first half hour, roll was called and the first guy answered, "Here sir, how many sir?"
The answer: "Ninety-nine and a half." We had each received 200 demerits, the most you could get without being expelled from school.
We spent the rest of that autumn walking the beat, but five weeks later everyone's rank was restored.
Everyone, that is, except one cadet who shall remain nameless, but he had been my assistant squad leader and was not seen or reported during that 4 AM party, so he got promoted above me to platoon guide.
No one turned him in, but during formations when he was inspecting me and my appearance wasn't up to snuff, he would observe that my belt buckle wasn't properly shined, or I didn't have a "spiffy" in my shirt collar. To which I replied, "Uh-huh, so what are you going to do about it?" And he would get this defeated look and say, "Well, now that I think about it, you actually look okay, so I guess you're getting a merit for excellent appearance."
They say there's a silver lining behind every cloud. All I can say about that is that I had a whole bunch of merit privileges that year :)