* Great great great grandfather: Josiah Dickson
The military tradition in my family extends back at least to the Revolutionary War.

One of my great-great-great grandfathers is Josiah Dickson. Born in Scotland, Josiah came to America just before the start of the Revolutionary War. In 1775, he enlisted in the Continental Army. 1776 and the start of the War found him in Pittsburgh, where he was detailed to a party of five to take supplies down the Ohio River to outposts in Kentucky. Two of the party were mounted; three, including Josiah, were on foot. While in Kentucky, a band of Shawnee Indians attacked the party. During the skirmish, the two horsemen escaped, one of those on foot was killed and the other two men on foot, including Josiah, were captured.

The prisoners were at first harshly treated by the Indians, but later, conditions improved. Josiah and the other prisoner remained with the Shawnee for about 18 months. Then they were taken to Detroit, where the Indians sold the prisoners to British forces for a bundle of store goods.

Josiah remained in Detroit for some time, during which he had relative freedom, only having to check in with British authorities morning and night. During the day, he could hire out to do work. This portion of his prisoner experience came to an end when he and another prisoner came under suspicion of plotting an escape. They were placed in irons and taken to a prison in Quebec, where he remained for about a year. Once, during the midst of a Quebec winter, several of Josiah's fellow prisoners escaped the prison, but Josiah declined to join them.

From Quebec, he was taken in a prison ship to the West Indies (exact location uncertain) where he and his fellow prisoners suffered greatly. He remained in the ship until he gained his liberty after the British defeat at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.

After the war, he settled first in Kentucky and then Missouri. He died in 1834 at the age of 84, survived by his wife Isabella, and ten children (seven sons and three daughters).

Information on Josiah Dickson comes from a long letter written by his son John, based on conversations with his father, to John's niece Harriet Powers and from testimony, recorded in legal proceedings, that Josiah gave in support of his application for a veteran's pension in 1832.

I am descended from Josiah Dickson through his daughter Margaret, who married David Adams in 1807.

* Father: Col. Robert A. Black, USMC, USNA 1935; Steelton, PA. Naval Aviator; Cactus Air Force, Guadalcanal, Silver Star Medal; Okinawa 1945; Notable duty: NATO Defense College; J-2 EuCom; G-2 USMC; Deputy CoS AirFMFPac, Honolulu, TH; CoS 3d MAW, El Toro; Wing Inspector 1st MAW, Iwakuni; XO of Staff, Inter-American Defense Board. Bird col. 16 yrs, No.1 on USMC Lineal List 5 yrs. Deceased 1986..
* Brother: Henry Wm. deS. Black, PO3,, Naval Construction Battalion, USNR; telecom specialist; Rockville, MD. Now head of computing & communications, Maryland Emergency Management Agency.
*  Grandfather: CPT Henry Wm. deSaussure, MC, AUS, , AEF WWI France, Charleston. Kicked out of The Citadel in 1890s when caught at poker; graduate, The Medical College of SC. Pub. Health Commissioner, Charleston. Faculty of The Medical College, GP, & ob/gyn specialist. Deceased 1955..
*  Cousin: Richard Laurens deSaussure, MD, , USNA 1908 non-grad; Washington, DC & Charleston. Kicked out of USNA for serving as a second in an affair of honor (bare-knucle fisticuffs) between two other Midshipmen. Medical Officer, U.S. Public Health Service. Deceased ca. 1967..
*  Uncle (by marriage): BGen. Howard N. Kenyon, USMC,, USNA 1921; Ponca City, OK. Oklahoman & ground-pounder. Deceased ca. 1968.
*  Cousin: LTC Calver Kenyon, AUS, (Ret)(son of Howard above), Cold War Era..
*  Cousin: COL Howard N. Kenyon jr., AUS (Ret) , (son of Howard above), Cold War Era.
*  Cousin: COL Hamilton L. deSaussure, USAF (Ret), (son of Richard L. deS. above). Expert on law of outer space.

* Father:  Allan Douglas Blackledge, USNA '20, ('20 was one of those wartime classes that only spent 3 years at Annapolis; perhaps that's why he loved it so much); member of the late lights club; served two tours on the 'prison ship' Reina Meredes [see Jim Ring].  First assignment after graduation was aboard the battleship USS Texas, last command was the light cruiser USS Biloxi.  He was most proud of the Biloxi bringing out the first load of Allied prisoners of war from Nagasaki right after V-J day.  Last:  Commander of Naval Ordance Plant, Indianapolis [NOPI].  Died 1982.
* Brother:  Peter Douglas Blackledge, USNA '69.  As Command Duty Officer on USS Albany (CG-10), hosted the visit of President Richard M. Nixon to visit son-in-law Lt. David Eisenhower.  Currently serving as GM-15:  Director for Aircraft Carriers and Amphibious Ship:  ASN(RD&A).  Received Superior Civilian Service Award, Navy's second highest award.
*  Son:  Douglas Faust Blackledge, USAFA '92.  Helicopter pilot (HH-60 Pave Hawk); Aircraft Commander.  '96-'00:  Stationed Moody AFB, GA, with TDY to Kuwait.  July '00: PCS to Kadena, Japan.
*  Daughter-in-law:  Robin Guill Blackledge, USAFA '91.  Was stationed as Ops Research Analyst at Tinker AFB, OK; volunteered with Doug as blood donor [but turned away, too many] when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Bldg was bombed in April '94.  Left service '96.
*  Can Cotton Bowl Queens be part of my genealogy?  When Navy beat Rice in the 1 Jan 1958 Cotton Bowl, my two gorgeous twin sisters were part of the story.  Penny was Rice's Cotton Bowl Queen, so Navy got Patti to be Navy's Cotton Bowl Queen - and Midn 1/c Chuck Larson escorted!  [Navy: 21-14]

Added April 16 2021 with permission from Mike's brother Pete '69. A great story!

"Honoring U. S. Naval Academy (USNA), USNA Varsity Crew, and U. S. Navy As Well As My Siblings And Our Father On This National Sibling Appreciation Day :

On this National Sibling Appreciation Day, I am giving thanks for my wonderful siblings and honoring the special gift of Six Degrees Of Navy Separation which we five Blackledge Siblings received from our beloved father Captain Allan Blackledge, U. S. Naval Academy (USNA) Class of 1920 and within which all five of us Blackledge Siblings have lived our lives.

There was a popular game back in the 80s called Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon , in which the objective was to show that every movie or movie star was somehow connected to Kevin Bacon. So I decided to play Six Degrees Of Navy Separation to reflect on how our father's Navy/USNA connection had manifested itself in each of the Blackledge Sibling’s lives.

For my oldest sibling, Barbara shown in the below photo on her wedding day, with my father in his Navy uniform - that connection was obvious in her earliest memories. Barbara quickly learned to always say Yes Sir or Yes Ma’am , and to always answer the phone Blackledge residence, Barbara speaking . She also learned to quickly return home from neighborhood play when she heard the Blackledge Family Ships Bell clanging that it was time for dinner, and she became accustomed to the nightly ritual of Dad winding his Ships Clock which held a place of honor on our living room mantle.

For my twin sisters Patti and Penny, the connection was even more public and dramatic as shown in the below news clippings regarding the 1958 Cotton Bowl football game between USNA and Rice University. My twin sisters Penny and Patti were both Rice seniors in 1958, and Penny had been elected Rice Homecoming Queen and Cotton Bowl Queen. The Naval Academy, which at that time had an all-male student body, found out that my Dad was a Naval Academy alumnus, and they asked if Patti could be their Naval Academy Queen for the Cotton Bowl. This was the only time in history that USNA had a Queen for a football bowl game, and additionally was the only time in history that twin sisters were Queens for opposing bowl game teams. An even more amazing connection can be seen in the newspaper picture of my sister Patti, in the stands cheering Navy. Patti's escort was Midshipman First Class and Brigade Commander Charles Larson, later to become Four Star Admiral Charles Larson and Superintendent of the U. S. Naval Academy.

For my brother Mike and me, the connection became even closer, as we both followed in our father's footsteps by graduating from USNA; my brother Mike in 1963 and me in 1969. Both Mike and I each additionally followed in our father's USNA legacy by leaving our own enduring marks there. Mike's legacy is his winning the Military Order of Foreign Wars Prize For Excellence In Mathematics , resulting in USNA permanently inscribing his name on the below-pictured USNA plaque due to Mike's graduating first in his USNA Class in mathematics. For me, it is having my name permanently inscribed on the USNA Class of 1969 plaque in the Varsity Room of the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium, due to winning my Varsity N Letters in Crew, and again in Hubbard Hall, for my being 1967 Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) 2V8 National Champion. One additional USNA connection is that both my father and I have been privileged to have Navy Crew Racing Shells (NCRS) named for us, with my father!s NCRS (pictured below) being particularly honored by being permanently mounted to the ceiling of the Varsity Awards Room in Hubbard Hall.

And the Navy connection continued for me as a Naval Officer. As a USNA'20 Plebe, my father marched in the Second Inauguration Parade of President Woodrow Wilson. A photo of my own personal encounter with a U. S. President is shown in the White House Press Photo below. In 1973, I was a lowly Lieutenant on the Guided Missile Cruiser USS ALBANY (CG-10). We had just returned from our second back-to-back six-month deployment, and I was selected to be the Command Duty Officer and Senior Officer, in total charge of the shIp -and the Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, all the Department Heads, and all the other Senior Officers went ashore for the weekend At 8am the next morning, my shipmate David Eisenhower knocked on my stateroom door. David then apologetically-but with a subtle wry smile on his face-informed me that his father-in-law, then-President Richard Nixon, would be coming aboard ALBANY that morning for a surprise visit. The picture shows me, wearing a newly-fashionable Zumwalt beard, welcoming President Nixon aboard ALBANY. Just another typical Navy-day in the Fleet, to have the President and Commander-In-Chief standing at the foot of my brow, asking me for permission to come aboard my ship.

And, so, on this National Sibling Appreciation Day, I am giving thanks not only for my wonderful Siblings, but also for USNA, USNA Varsity Crew, U. S. Navy, and my beloved Father and his special gift to each of us Blackledge Siblings of the Six Degrees Of Navy Separation.

Still Pulling Hard For USNA And Navy Crew,
Pete Blackledge, USNA’69"

* The only family military heritage that I had was my dad was an E-6 Electrician's mate in the Seabees in the Pacific during WWII.  We had no previous college or military service that I am aware of.  My parents split in 1941 when I was only two years old.   So unfortunately, I only got to see my dad on weekends but he was a good man and gave good support for us.  He was a good Navy man too but I don't know anything about his Pacific service except that he was a Seabee, a deep sea diver for salvage, and a machine gun instructor of some kind.

* Our military tradition goes back to start of our Country.  One of my direct ancesters  was Major Joseph Holliday who was born in Kentucky in 1789 and served in the War of 1812.  More recently my grandfather Coester was a career Army officer serving in the cavalry in the West in about 1915. Photos of Ft. Leavenworth at the time show nothing but a tent city.  On my mother's side, my granddad was a doughboy in the First World War.  In WWII my dad was 4F so he was disqualified for military service.  Instead he spent the war in the Yukon, the Aleutian Islands and Alaska surveying the Alaska Highway and living off the land.  My Uncle Newt Coester joined the Army Air Force in WWII and served his full career, retiring after flying B-47s.
*  My brother, Jan,  was ROTC at Missouri School of Mines Class of 1961.  He was a Corps of Engineers officer and served two tours in Viet Nam.  His son, Dan, graduated from West Point in 1984 and commanded a Army helicopter squadron before leaving the Service.
*  My son, Dean, had a USNA nomination but was not accepted.  He earned his commission from NROTC at the University of Florida.  He served eleven years flying the FA-18 over Iraq and instructing in T-2 and FA-18.  He's now a 767 pilot for United.
*  I had the shortest service of all of them, being discharged medically after only one and a half years after graduation from USNA.

* My daughter Emily Catherine Cox set her sights on becoming a member of the Brigade in about the 8th grade; but, by the time she got an appointment, she had already completed three years of college. In 2006, she was inducted into the Class of 2010 and started out well by testing out of all of the Plebe academic courses. However, she ended up in Bethesda Naval Hospital (where she was born) with Opioid Induced Constipation caused by pain medications she had received when she had her wisdom teeth removed.

While in the hospital, I think she started to consider whether or not she really want to spend seven years of her life earning an undergraduate degree. Sadly, she decided she had achieved her goal of becoming a member of the Brigade of Midshipman and she resigned. She came back to Fort Worth and finished up at TCU. She is now serving her fourth tour as a Civilian Contractor at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

* There have been four Deutermann's who have graduated from USNA, (and one from West Point, for our sins).  Here is the complete, amazing family story.

* John III did graduate from USNA in 1999 and went Naval Air. He was a helicopter pilot on the USS Thatch in the Persian Gulf at the time of the second war with Iraq. Spent time as a training officer at North Island and as a non-flying hanger officer on the USS Tarawa. When the Tarawa was decommissioned he was the last officer relieved from the ship. He then attended the Naval War College and the went on an inter service assignment in Qatar for 18 months. The remainder of that tour was served as Squadron Ops. officer. His last two tours have been on the staff of the Special Forces Command in Tampa and currently as a Commander on the staff of European Command in Stuttgart Germany. Evidently he is good at planning how to move people around on short notice.

As an aside I heard earlier this month that my Grandson Justin (John III) was invited to a STEM program for prospective mids at the Academy in June. So who knows.

* You asked for the Dorman clan (formerly all Navy) bio roundup so here goes. You may remember this whole story started when Bill Carmichael begged me to accept a blind date (Army/Navy 2 DEC 1961) with Dee, his fiances' suite mate at Randolph Macon Womens College (RMWC) in Lynchburg VA. Despite the brick over my transom and after a small picture I accepted. My class bio is several years behind but a more recent and complete one is on line at dolphinscholarship.org. Dolphin Scholarship Foundation provides about $400,000 scholarship support annually to about 120 children of the submarine force. I have been Secretary and Treasurer on the board of directors for over ten years. Oldest daughter Elizabeth (Libby) followed in Dee's footsteps and graduated from RMWC in 1988. While working in DC that summer she visited her aunt Hannah Reed in Annapolis with the desire to go sailing with a Mid. It is worth noting that we introduced Hannah to her husband in 1966, then a shipmate of mine on USS TECUMSEH. Captain Robert F. Reed USN (Ret) was a successful JAG officer and then stock broker. Their two children did not catch the Navy spirit. Midshipman 1st Class Tim Trampenau from the Offshore Sailing Team took Libby out into the bay. He graduated in 1989 and stayed over the summer teaching sailing and courting Libby. They married in OCT 1990 just before Tim deployed on USS CARON for the first gulf war. I enjoyed his stories of boarding sheep carriers in the gulfs and finding weapons under the awful smelling poop. Tim had a Dept Head tour on another Spruance class DD and was TACO on USS AMERICA when Carl was born in 1995. I held Carl at 30 minutes of age and pronounced him Class of 2017. If you doubt me; I can supply witnesses. Tim then went to PG school in Monterey, served on a AMPHIB Staff and enjoyed touring Europe while serving in Stuttgart in a Missile Defense billet for three years. He Commanded USS JAMES E. WILLIAMS (DDG-95) and USS ANZIO (CG-66) with tours at OPNAV and the INSURV Board in between. He is two years into his three as the Defense Attache in Rome. The DAT job is reportedly a lot of work with some interesting perks but living in Rome is not easy.

Our son Benjamin (Ben) graduated from VMI (where Dee's father was class of 34) in 1991. He had a NROTC scholarship and received a regular Ensign USN commission before going into submarine training. He served on USS JACKSONVILLE for over three years then earned an IT masters at Monterey, CA. He then did six patrols on USS KENTUCKY Gold as Navigator. Assignments as SSN Scheduler on the SUBFOR staff for five years followed by Combat System Dept Head on the Submarine Training Facility rounded out his twenty years. He has continued with his preferred geek type work as a contractor with AECOM (formerly EG&G Tech Services where I did 18 years) with the Acoustics Division of The Submarine Tech Support Group on the Naval station. Ben met his wife Brenda (a school teacher) while in Lexington VA and they have one daughter Samantha, a junior in a five year engineering program at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Our baby Alice arrived after my first deployment as CO of USS SILVERSIDES in FEB 1980. She met Midshipman 3/c Kevin Barnard on a blind date while a freshman at Mary Washington College in 1998. Kevin graduated in 2001, went through the submarine training pipeline and to USS MINNEAPOLIS ST PAUL. They were married in April 2003. He then did a tour as instructor at the Nuclear Prototype in Charleston SC. That shift work tour granted him time on the ONI Staff office in Crystal City and the happy history major laterally transferred to the Intelligence Community. Three years on the AFRICOM Staff in England allowed Kevin to travel to several countries on that continent and Dee and I to spend three two month trips to the UK using their quarters as a base. A couple of years in Bremerton WA as N2A on the Strike Group Three staff was followed by a year unaccompanied in Bahrain on the Fifth Fleet staff. This past year he has earned a Masters of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. With three moves in three years they plan to settle in Dumfries VA while he is assigned to ONI HQ in Suitland MD. He was selected for CDR on the list that just came out. They have three children; Jeb 11, Maddy 8, and Lucy 3.

I really enjoy listening to my three men comparing Navy stories while the women chat at the other end of the room or table. Based on personalities, I expect the family gatherings will be even more interesting when Carl brings the USMC adventures into the mix. Retired life is very good as long as I can stay healthy.

* My son Tim was USAFA '87.   He is now a Major stationed at Pope AFB, NC in the Special Operations Squadron there - flying an odd mixture of US and foreign aircraft - mostly at
night.  He is married to a NC girl and expecting their first in January.

* My youngest step-son, Joel Andrew Hinkle is career Coast Guard. He is a Petty Officer 1st class Information Technologist and has just arrived for a five year tour at the FAA tech center, Atlantic City. His brother, Christopher Mackenzie Hinkle served a four year tour reaching the rate of Damage Control man 3rd Class in the Coast Guard; he served aboard the Alex Haley doing search and rescue in the Bering Sea. Chris is currently a truck driver/dispacher for Swift Transportation in Lancaster, PA. My oldest son, James Warren Fisher, served in the USMC and participated in the Grenada debacle. He was a helicopter electronics repairman. Jim is now a security guard in Key West. You didn't ask about parents, but my Dad enlisted in the USMC in January of 1943 and served in the Pacific for the duration of WWII being released after the war ended in 1945 as a Staff Sergeant E-5. (No Lance Corporals in those days).

* Son John was born Jul 31, 1983 - my last day in the Navy. Averse (I think) to my frequent and lengthy deployments (although he never experienced any of them!), John was unwilling to even seek an appointment to a service academy, but did accept a USAF ROTC scholarship to Northwestern, graduating and being commissioned in 2005.

What do you know, he liked it! Never a candidate to fly, he gravitated to communications (two assignments to Afghanistan), and then Cyber warfare. Currently he is finishing an assignment to the USAF Cyber school as the second in command. This summer he will return to Newport for a year at the Naval War College. He is a Major, and seems well appreciated by the Air Force; I have no doubt he will surpass my Navy achievements. Already he has produced our first grandchild, so he's OK in my book, too!

* Father,  William L. Kennedy, Sr.  and Curtis LeMay were flying school classmates.  LeMay led the Regensburg raidon which my dad was shot down and captured.  When I chose to write my 1/c term paper on Regensburg-Schweinfurt, LeMay was USAF Chief of Staff.  Iwrote and asked him to get the data declassified and he did.  Later that year I was visiting family friends at Bolling and was out for a walk.  Going by LeMay's house, he had just let the dog out for evening duty andit knocked me down (big chow).  He (LeMay) rescued me from the snow andinvited me in for a toddy.  He didn't know I was Bill Kennedy's kid, but made the connection immediately when I thanked him for getting the B-17 raid data declassified.  Second data point was that my father's first DSM was pinned on by ADM Charles R "Cat" Brown.  To this day there are two genuine article heroes in my life: George S. Patton, Jr. and Cat Brown.

      My dad was big X for the US side of the prison (Stalag Luft Three) about which the "Great Escape"       movie was made.  Other than making a role for Mc Queen, the flick was largely non-fiction.  The RAF/RCAF took most of the casualties....more war stories on my dad and LeMay are here.

* Niece Jennifer (Last Name withheld), entered USNA Class of 1987, went through plebe year without one demerit (really!  not a sea story!), then quit, re-entered fleet, rose to Chief Petty Officer and was commissioned by direct appointment. She is a serving officer.

* My daughter, Jennifer, graduated from USNA in 1992. She headed to France for Cox Fund Scholarship and then remained at Navy as the Plebe Crew Coach until attending Supply School in Athens. She did a sea tour as a Pork Chop until her assignment in Richmond at the Defense Supply Center. From there she deployed to Bosnia in support of the combat operations there.

Following about seven years in the Navy she remained in Richmond for a couple of years while working for Capital One. In about 2000, my late wife and I convinced her to move to San Diego to work for our start-up company, INDUS. She worked at INDUS for about eight years until beginning her family which now consists of her husband, Wes, (a career San Diego Police Department Sergeant) and two sons Zachary and Alexander.

 *  My father,  Roger W. Mehle, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on October 16, 1915.  He died on August 30, 1997.  A 1933 graduate of Cincinnati's Walnut Hill High School, he was appointed to the Naval Academy in 1933 and commissioned as an ensign in June of 1937.  After serving a junior officer tour on the battleship New Mexico, he reported to flight training at Pensacola in July of 1939.  In the Fall of 1940, he reported to Fighting Squadron Six, flying F-3Fs off the USS Enterprise (CV-6).

He was at sea on the Enterprise when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  In the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor, he flew the F-4F Wildcat in fierce action over the Marshall and Gilbert Islands and was fleeted up to Executive Officer of Fighting Six.  He received his first Distinguished Flying Cross from Admiral Chester Nimitz, CINCPAC, on the flight deck of Enterprise for his part in those campaigns.  My father is third from the right in ranks in the first picture (after award of the DFC) and fourth from the right in the second (before award) See photos. Halsey was aboard, but Nimitz conferred decorations on my father and several others that day.

Roger Mehle third from right




Roger Mehle fourth from right




A remark that Nimitz made to my father foreshadowing the Battle of Midway -- which the rank and file did not know was coming -- is often cited in historical accounts of the event -- "I think you'll have a chance to earn another medal in a couple of days." See, e.g., http://www.usswashington.com/dl24ma42.htm .

At the Battle of Midway, he shot down his fifth enemy aircraft, thus becoming one of the Navy's first World War II "aces".

In the Spring of 1944, returning from flight instructor duty in Florida, he reported for a second combat tour in the Pacific as Commander, Air Group 28, and Commanding Officer, Fighting Squadron 28, flying F-6F Hellcats off the USS Monterey (CVL 26).  He participated in wide ranging combat operations, both air-to-air and air-to-ground, over Tinian, the Marianas, the Philipine Sea, Wake Island, the Carolines, the Philipines, and Formosa.  He was awarded the Silver Star and a second Distinguished Flying Cross for these actions.  Ultimately, he earned the designation of "double ace", with 13½ air victories, two additional probable victories, 24 aircraft destroyed on the ground, and thousands of tons of enemy shipping sunk.

In early 1945, he was appointed project officer of the fighter design branch of the Bureau of Aeronautics, and participated in the development and introduction of jet fighter aircraft of various configurations into Naval Aviation.  In 1955, having served as Executive Officer of the USS Coral Sea (CVA 43), he was promoted to captain, and in 1957 took command of the USS Cape Esperance (CVU 88) in the Pacific.  In 1960, he assumed command of the USS Saratoga (CVA 60), cruising the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

Promoted to rear admiral in 1964, he commanded Carrier Divisions One and Five in the Pacific in 1967, and served as Commander, Attack Carrier Striking Force (CTF-77), embarked on the USS Forrestal (CVA 59), which conducted the Navy's strike operations against military targets in North and South Viet Nam.

In 1968, Rear Admiral Mehle was assigned as Commander, Fleet Air Norfolk, and subsequently commanded the Naval Safety Center until his retirement from active duty in 1970.

*  Father, CDR. Edward Conrad Metcalfe , was from Natchez, MS; USNA'22, CO, S-11 boat, XO, USS Conyngham, CO, USS Reuben James (WWII 4 piper), navigator, USS Quincy (CA-39); KIA Aug. 9, 1942; first Battle of Savo Island

Dave (DBA) Moore

* Grandfather:  Captain Francis L. Chadwick, USN (Ret) , Class of 1893.  Embarked in USS Raleigh at the Battle of Manila Bay.  Served during WWI and retired in Norfolk. Deceased 1941.

* Father:  Rear Admiral Benjamin E. Moore, USN (Ret), Class of 1927.  Became an Aviator in 1930.  CO, VP-81 in Jacksonville in 1942.  Navigator and XO of USS Franklin (CV-13) in 1944.  Silver Star for directing fire fighting after a kamikaze hit in Leyte Gulf.  CO, Thetis Bay (CVE-90) in 1945.  CO, USS Boxer (CV-21)in 1953-1954.  Selected RAdm in 1954.  Was first Commander of the Pacific Barrier in 1959 at the same time that Brev Moore's father had the Atlantic Barrier.  Served at COMFAIR Hawaii, Quonset Point, and Mediterranean.  Bill Carmichael was his aide in Naples.  Assistant DCNO Logistics (OP-04B) in 1962-1963.  Retired 1966.  Deceased 1982.

*  My father, Edward P. Ring, was USNA '34.  He was a non-graduate, having left at the end of his second or third year.  He told me that he had physical problems and lots of demerits.  After his death, the Class Secretary, Roy Smith, also a non-grad, indicated that he had left for
academic reasons.  I believe it was a combination of things, because he tried to get into the Navy during WW II and couldn't pass the physical, so he joined the Merchant Marine.
   If you knew my father, who died in 1993, you would never believe he had demerit or academic problems.  He was very quiet and unassuming.  A hint of the demerit problems surfaced when he told me about the stupid rules (hard to fathom?) that the Academy had.  One in particular stuck out.  You were not allowed to smoke in your room and if you did, you were assigned to serve your extra duty on the Reina Mercedes.  On the Reina, you could smoke anytime you wanted.  Also to show he probably didn't apply himself with his academics, at age 70, he took two IQ tests that listed him among the highest one percent of the population.   This got him membership in the superintellect organization, MENSA.  Too bad intelligence skips generations... both my sons are doing well in school...

*  Our heritage goes back the the American Revolution and Captain Philip Windle Sr., who served in the Virginia Militia during the revolution.

The next volunteer was Captain John Francis De Long, who served in the War of 1812.

In 1862, my Great-Grandfather, Robert D. Elwood, volunteered for service with the 78th Pennsylvania Volunteers and served as the Captain of Company I. He was commended for his actions at Stones River (Murfreesboro) in the campaign for Central Tennessee in 1863.

My uncle, Lieutenant General Hugh M. Elwood, USMC, enlisted in the marines in 1932 as a field musician and is a graduate of the Class of 1938. He was a WWII ace, and also saw combat in Korea and Vietnam. A complete list of medals and decorations include: the Distinguished Service Medal with gold star in lieu of second award; the Legion of Merit with Combat "V"; the Distinguished Flying Cross with one gold star in lieu of second award; the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V"; the Air Medal with gold stars in lieu of second and third awards, the Presidential Unit Citation with one bronze star; Navy Unit Commendation; the American Defense Service Medal; the American Campaign Medal; one Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two bronze stars, the World War II Victory Medal; the National Defense Service Medal with one bronze star; the Korean Service Medal with three bronze stars; the Vietnamese Service Medal with two bronze stars; the Peruvian Aviation Cross-First Class; the National Order of Vietnam-5th Class; the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with palm; the United Nations Service Medal; the Korean Presidential Unit Citation; and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

My father, Roy F. Schall MD, volunteered for Naval Service as a physician in 1942, and he saw combat on Iwo Jima with the 5th Marines.

* Son is USNA '97, Aaron Porter Shelley, MAJ, USMCR. CH-53E Super Stallion pilot. USNA '97 Class Secretary.

*  Father was CAPT Joseph C. Toth, USNA '31, a decorated WWII veteran who retired in 1961.  Capt. Toth was devastated by the tragic loss of his son Steve aboard the USS Liberty in June of 1967.  He died on 1 January 1969.

*  My second son,Jeff, graduated from Navy in 1990.

Since Jeff had a year at UC Santa Cruz he might have had the greatest degree of sensory depravation in the Plebe class. However, I did give him one order of encouragement. "If you fail come back on your shield!" As an aside he told me the chow was terrible, I didn't believe him until I went back for a visit and found out that food service had been contracted out to Marriott. It was a C- compared to an A when we were there.

He served in Navy Line on the Aegis Cruiser Antietam and later was an XO of a Small Boat Squadron in support of Navy Seals in Panama. He left the service to go to John Hopkins where he earned a Master of International Economics (with a year at the University of Bologna). He later earned an MBA from USC. He currently works for Sony Motion Pictures in LA. My other 5 boys went civilian line.

* Click Here for Bruce's letter describing his long Naval association

* Father was USNA '38, Frank Dolan Whalen.   18 WWII battles in Pacific;awarded Silver Star when USS FRANKLIN was hit by kamikaze.  He was shipmate of Herman Wouk aboard USS ZANE (DMS 14) and was subsequently used by Wouk in  the Caine Mutiny as the character for XO Gorton in the book.  Passed away in 1980.
*  #1 son Scott, is USNA '93; got out as LT in 1998 to work for Lockheed-Martin in NoVa.  (# 2 son Todd is UVA Mech E grad and a nuke LT aboard the USS EISENHOWER).
 

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Quality '63 - The Tradition continues

Classmate	Child	Class/ Service	Grandchild/Class
William Clifford Barney	James Richardson Barney	USNA '92; Service: USN
Denis Joseph William Bell	Michael Denis Bell	USNA '87; Service: USN
Ronald Joel Calhoun	Christopher Scott Calhoun	USNA '87; Service: USN
Lee Bruellman Cargill	Steven Harold Cargill	USNA '92; Service: USN
Austin Eugene Chapman	Anne-Lynne Chapman	USNA '90; Service: USN
Landon Greaud Cox,Jr.	Emily Catherine Cox	USNA '10;
Henry Frederick Dalton	Marc Henry Dalton	USNA '87; Service: USN
Francis Leslie Davey	Francis Walter Davey	USNA '89; Service: USN
John Edward Dolby	John Dolby	USNA '99; Service: USN
John Oliver Donelan	John Oliver Donelan, Jr.	USNA '89; Service: USN
Merrill Herrick Dorman			Carl Merrill Trampenau 2017
Stephen Mack Duncan	Kelly Lue Duncan White	USNA '90; Service: USN
James David Fontana	Timothy Scott Fontana	USNA '96; Service: USN
Joel Ruland Gardner	Ellen Stuart Gardner	USNA '89; Service: USN
Charles Edward Gosnell	Paul Gregory Gosnell	USNA '87; Service: USMC
David Lockwood Greene	Andrew Jon Greene	USNA '88; Service: USN
Michael John Harman	Todd Anthony Harman	USNA '92; Service: USN
William Spencer Johnson	William Spencer Johnson V	USNA '93; Service: USN
Jerry W. Jordan	Julie Jordan	USNA '07; Service USMC
Frederick Henry Kaiser	Christopher Ericson Kaiser	USNA '92; Service: USN
Jack Lane Karson	Stephen Matthew Karson	USNA '95; Service: USN
Ralph Dace Kimberlin	Charles Anthony Kimberlin	USNA '89; Service: USN
Ronald Joseph Klemick	Michael Timothy Klemick	USNA '89; Service: USN
James Robert Koehn	Susan Elizabeth Koehn Stuck	USNA '89
Carl Stanley Kolon			Carl Chadwick Kolon 2018
David William Konold	Robert Paul Konold	USNA '94; Service: USN
Michael Sam Krause	Matthew Daniel Krause	USNA '96; Service: USMC
Robert Edward LaGassa	David Andrew LaGassa	USNA '91; Service: USN
James Bryan Lasswell	Jennifer Lynne Lasswell	USNA '92; Service: USN
Robert Alex Maier	Steven Robert Maier	USNA '93; Service: USN
Robert Alex Maier	Michael Edward Maier	USNA '02; Service: USN
Richard Jeffrey Miles	Erica Anne Miles Smith	USNA '87; Service: USN
Robert Brevard Moore	Robert Brevard Moore III	USNA '94; Service: USN
Thomas Joseph O'Brien	John Morris O'Brien	USNA '89; Service: USN
John Jacob Pfeiffer	James Bohling Pfeiffer	Class of '93 Navy
Peter Douglas Quinton	Jeffrey Matthew Quinton	USNA '91; Service: USN
Michael Jon Rubel	Michael Jon Rubel, Jr.	USNA '93; Service: USN
Norman John Shackelton	Cory Matthew Shackelton	USNA '98; Service: USMC
Joseph Daniel Sharpe	David Marshall Sharpe	USNA '91; Service: USN
Michael Hawkins Shelley	Aaron Porter Shelley	USNA '97; Service: USMC
Michael Dinsmore Stout	Edward Michael Stout	USNA '94; Service: USN
Ralph Henry Stowell	Ralph Henry Stowell IV	USNA '91; Service: USN
Glenn Takabayashi	Keith Keneipp Takabayashi	USNA '91
John Marlowe Truesdell	Christopher Marlowe Truesdell	USNA '95
Emilio Eugene Varanini	Jeffrey Paul Varanini	USNA '90; Service: USN
Patrick Waugh	Stephen Michael Waugh	USNA '86; Service: USMC	Nicholas Arthur Waugh 2013
Frank Richard Whalen	Scott Richard Whalen	USNA '93; Service: USN
James Kent Williamson	Kent James Williamson	USNA '92; Service: USMC
Ronald Joseph Wills	Edward Joseph Wills	USNA '93; Service: USN
Albert Scott Wilson	Gordon Scott Wilson	USNA '91; Service: USN


 
 

Quality '63 - The Tradition .... detours?

Classmate	Child	Class; Service
Michael Allan Blackledge	Douglas Faust Blackledge	USAFA '92; Service: USAF
Tony Breard	Nathan Breard	USMA '96
Jack G. Dranttel	Tim Dranttel	USAFA '87; Service: USAF
William Rivell Hollenack	Paul Hollenack	USMA '98; Service: USA

Class Genealogy Last modified April 16, 2021

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