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Living at 4668 Garfield Street, Washington, DC. My career has been typical--troop duty in Germany, school at Benning, aiding a General, and then commanding a rifle company in Vietnam where my unit, the 1/7 Cavalry fought the historic "Battle of la Drang." What haven't I done? No wife, no horse, no mustache--yet!

John writes: As a typical Army brat, I grew up on Army posts, mostly in the South, allthough we did manage tours in Korea and Japan after WWII. My dad was a cavalry officer who I remember gave young straight legs at Ft. Benning instruction on how to fight on horseback during some of my early Army post years.

Following graduation, I did the normal tours as an infantry officer: airborne/ranger, tours in Germany and Ft. Benning with the advanced ciurse in between. One highlight of my troop career was as a company commander with the 1st Airmobile Test Division, then deploying with them to Vietnam as the 1st Cavalry Airmobile Division. Saw my share of combat including the IA Drang battle prior to returning for ROTC instructor duty at Georgetown University.

The two years at Georgetown were not only a welcome respite from the mud of Vietnam, but allowed me to meet and marry Sally, a native Washingtonian. The Staff College followed, then another tour to Vietnam, a Masters in International Relations at Georgetown University, and four years in DCSOPS at the Pentagon. Next, to Germany for a three year tour including commanding a mechanized infantry battalion in beautiful Baumholder. Since then, I have been in the Washington, DC area where I commanded the Baltimore-Washington Recruiting District, went to the National War College (Class of 1980), and served on the Secretary of Defense's Staff (in the NATO Policy Office, both as a colonel and now as a civilian (Foreign Staff Specialist).

Along the way, Sally and I have had four children, though one of them died after a year. We are very proud of our three -- Lisa, a freshman at Connecticut College, and Michael and Allison who attend Potomac School in Virginia where Sally is also Director of Alumni Affairs. We have become Washington Suburbanites, but try to lead a fairly quiet life amidst all the frenzied activities that make up Washington. We keep in touch with our DC classmates and look forward to a continuance of these warm friendships in the years ahead. Beat Navy

I entered the Academy from the West Point Prep School with the Class of 1957, but had trouble in electricity my cow year and joined the class of 1958. When not studying, I played virtually every intramural sport and enjoyed the camaraderie. Upon graduation, I selected infantry as my branch, went through basic Infantry, Airborne, and Ranger training at Ft. Benning, GA prior to joining a fun group of my classmates and wives (Gibbins, Browns, Evans, Zwick) with an infantry brigade in Germany. There I was schooled in how to run a platoon and how to soldier by a touch old first sergeant and two reserve captains who had fought in WWII and Korea.

My next career highlight was commanding a rifle company for 18 months, 4 in combat. We went through a rigorous test of the Army's new air assault concept and then deployed to the Central Highlands in Vietnam as part of the 1st Cavalry Division Airmobile. My battalion was involved in a number of combat operations, the most fierce being the 14-17 November, 1965 battle at LZ X-Ray, the la Drang Valley. My classmate, Tony Nadal, and I fought side by side as company commanders in a ferocious three-day engagement with elements of three North Vietnamese divisions. (This battle is described in the book We Were Soldiers Once and Young, by Moore/Galloway.

After Vietnam I taught ROTC and worked on an MA at Georgetown University. I met and married my wife, Sally Hand, a lovely young lady from Washington, DC. After the Armed Forces Staff College, I was back in Vietnam on the J-3, MACV staff. I covered I Corps and Special Forces as to their operational plans and spent a lot of time visiting those commands. I was also the Ops briefer for General Creighton Abrams's weekly battlefield updates with his commanders, a very interesting task. On the home front, Sally delivered Lisa, the first of our four children: Lisa, Alice (who died in infancy), Michael, and Allison. Following Vietnam were tours on the Army staff, a battalion command in Germany, a recruiting area command, and the National War College. I spent the next 15 years in NATO Policy, OSD, 11 years as a civil servant. These were busy years at a level where I got a real insight into how defense policy evolves. Sally and I are enjoying retirement in Washington, DC. Besides travel, golf, and two grandaughters, we do some volunteer work (Walker Reed Wounded for me). I credit West Point as starting me on a rewarding career, and I will always be proud of being a member of the Long Gray Line.