Shipmate Column
January-February 2025
CLASS OF 1963
Pres: CAPT W. Spencer Johnson IV, USN (Ret.)
Sec'y: Michael H. Shelley
27 Cambridge DR, Brevard, NC 28712
h: 828-506-2201 e: nstar@citcom.net
Web site: http://www.usna63.org.
For any classmate you can go to the Classmates Page and enter his name to read his current biography if available.
I am saddened to begin this column by informing you of the deaths of several of our classmates and a '63 wife. To respect and learn more about them, I urge you to visit the Last Call section of our web site by clicking Here. There you will find full obituaries for most of these men, often together with other information about their full and remarkable lives. When available, obituaries of spouses are linked to the husband's information.
James H. Stewart passed away on 27 August. His widow, Linda, can be contacted at P.O. Box 338, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32004-0338.
Donald E. Jacobs died on 4 October. Don's widow, Charlotte, can be contacted at 5 Good Hope Court, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971.
Larry M. Hopkins passed away on 5 October. We do not have contact information for his next of kin.
George R. Guest passed away on 8 October. His widow, Ellen, can be contacted at 16417 Silver Saddle Court, Poway, CA 92064.
Roger W. Mehle, Jr. died on 10 October. Roger's widow, Colette, can be contacted at 3219-B Sutton Place, N.W., Washington, DC 20016.
Russell E. McKenna, Jr. passed away on 18 October. We do not have contact information for his next of kin.
Thomas J. Smith passed away on 26 October. Tom's widow, Carolyn, can be contacted at 685 Alcott Drive, Mount Joy, PA 17552.
Neil A. Smart died on 31 October. Neil's widow, Georgia, can be contacted at P.O. Box 159, Mollusk, VA 22517.
Brian F. Campbell passed away on 31 October. Brian's widow, Carol, can be contacted at 361 Speedwell Avenue, Apt. A-12 Morris Plains, NJ 07950.
Anthony J. Nargi passed away on 4 November. Tony's widow, Joanne, can be contacted at Via Verbano 12, Ghiffa, VB-28823, Italy.
Gary R. Adams died on 12 November. His widow, Amy, can be contacted at 421 Idlebrook Court, Galloway, OH 43119.
Donald W. Christiansen passed away on 13 November. We do not have contact information for his next of kin.
We also learned that Nick Nerangis' wife, Kathy, passed away on 15 November. Nick can be contacted at 290 Deer Haven Place, Winchester, VA 22602.
The inevitable loss of our classmates and others in our lives is cause for reflection and gratitude for having shared both time and experiences with them.
Bill Anderson, the 2nd Company Webmaster, forwarded to me an email he had received from his companymate, Shelby Alcott. Here are some parts of it for your enjoyment.
Back around the first of June, Bonnie and I attended a family reunion of Bonnie's side of the family near Chattanooga, TN. It dawned on me that Ben Harris was from this area. I remember that as a plebe, when delivering mail, Ben received the Grundy County (TN) Herald, a weekly community newspaper similar to the Todd County (KY) Standard that I, courtesy of my parents, received all four years.
The upshot was that on Sunday June 2, Ben and Judy, and Bonnie and I, had lunch/brunch at a nice mountaintop restaurant in Kimball, TN. Ben and Judy insisted that the brunch was "on them." We made sure to get these pictures to record our time together.
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Ben Harris, Shelby Alcott, Bonnie Alcott, Judy Harris. |
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Ben and Judy Harris (note the license plate) |
Coordinated by Mario Fiori, members of the 12th Company met via Zoom on 14 November. Shown in this screenshot, left to right, top to bottom, are Mario and Susan Fiori, Mike Shelley (guest), Randy Orlowski, Charlie Musitano, Ron Wills, Jerry Mazetis, Al Griggs, John Detweiler, Fred and Klara Kaiser, Bob Bennett, Jim Czerwonky, Sandy and Jim Stageman, and Dave Meyers.
Dick Anderson sent a note saying that he and Helen had enjoyed seeing classmates in late summer.
Helen and I hosted a Navy Day at our home in Castine, ME. Stopping in were Bunny and Sandy Stoddard, who were making an East Coast swing to see friends and family, and Bob Harper, who drove down from Winter Harbor. A few stories were told, enlivened by the passage of time. John Peterson had made a surprise visit earlier in the summer.
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Dick Anderson, Bob Harper, Sandy Stoddard |
Zimm Zimmerman sent this photograph showing George Emery and his partner and their opponents after George and his partner won the 80-year-old bracket in the Edgcomb Tennis Club championship in Kennebunk, ME, this October.
Several members of the 23rd Company enjoyed a sportsmen's retreat in October, continuing their long-standing tradition of such annual adventures. Zimm Zimmerman sent me a copy of the report he sent to his companymates. Here are some excerpts:
Eight of us spent a couple days of fishing, watching football, recounting sea stories, and napping at the Grosse Savanne Fishing and Hunting Lodge near Hackberry, Louisiana. Appearing in the back row of this picture are Mike Rubel, Mike Krause, Steve Hoy, and Harry Hirsch. In the front row are Flack Logan, Zimm Zimmerman, Steve Leisge, and Mike Bonsignore.
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23rd Company stalwarts in Louisiana |
To indicate our prowess as fishermen, here is a picture of Mike Rubel and the 30-inch Redfish he caught.
We are lucky to be among the remaining members of the mighty 23rd of '63. We started with 49 of us, 41 graduated, 17 have died, and we have 24 still among us. Next year, in October 2025, all 24 survivors are invited to rejoin at Grosse Savanne Lodge, but with a twist: each of us will bring one son or grandson to look after us and fish with us. [Grandsons must be 18 or older].
Prolific author Pete Deutermann sent this news about the forthcoming publication of his latest novel.
I've finally got another book coming out after a long hiatus caused mostly by Covid and its aftermath. This one is called Second Sun, and it's due out in March of 2025. Back in the late thirties, Einstein warned FDR that the Germans were working on a bomb of incalculable strength based on atomic energy, which led to the formation of the Manhattan Project. Throughout the war against both Germany and Japan, Britain and the U.S. hunted for proof that the Germans were indeed trying for a nuclear weapon, but without much success. Then very late in the war a German submarine surrendered to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, where it was discovered that the U-boat, a large minelayer, was carrying a load of uranium, bound for Japan. The notion that Japan might have a nuclear weapons program stunned the leaders of the Manhattan project. Japan by then was in ruins, and no one could conceive that the facilities needed to make our own atom bomb existed anywhere in Japan after all the relentless B-29 attacks. But the Japanese did have a program and were getting an A-bomb ready for the time when the Allies massed a thousand ships and a million men off the coasts of Japan for the inevitable invasion. This book tells the story of how President Truman finally came to believe in a Japanese A-bomb, and the consequences that ensued. Based, as many of my books are, on a true story.
To see the action-filled covers of Pete's previous 26 novels on his web site, click HERE.
Jim Metcalfe's wife, Lisa, passed away in July of 2023. A memorial service was held then but because many of their family members and friends were unable to attend, a second celebration of her life was held in Annapolis this July. Jim submitted this photo of our classmates who attended. Seated in front are Jeff Miles, Spencer Johnson, and Jim. Standing are Miles Schmidt, Eli Dabich, Bruce Webb, Mario Fiori, Jim Czerwonky, Forrest Siburt, and Steve Duncan.
Jim also sent this photo from the '63 tailgate tent before the Navy-UNC Charlotte game in Annapolis on 19 October. Identified as the Tailgate Setup Team are Annapolitans Marla and Jeff Miles and Eileen and Eli Dabich.
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Tailgating before another Navy gridiron victory |
Bob Abate was featured in a November episode of the "Cool Grandpa" podcast. He was interviewed about his tireless efforts over many years to capture the stories of WW II veterans from New York City and the surrounding area. You can hear the podcast byclicking HERE.
While sorting through his collection of USNA classmate photos, Dave Moore found this nice image from our 60th Reunion in Annapolis. Pictured are 14th Companymates Denny Conley, Jim Fisher, Dave Moore, Jim Lasswell, Ed Brady, Merrill Dorman, and Tony Isger.
If you have not submitted news or photos for our class column recently - or ever - I encourage you to take just a few minutes to tell me what you're doing these days. Just send an email to my address (nstar@citcom.net). Attach one or more photos if you have them. Thanks for stepping up!
That's it for this month. Enjoy every day and stay well.
