Welcome to the
USMA Class of 1961
Web Site

Click here for details of the 50-Year Affiliation Program
between the Class of 1961 and 2011.

The Class Web Site Has Been Moved

YOU WILL BE REDIRECTED TO THE NEW LOCATION IN ABOUT 4 SECONDS.

Bruce P. Holmberg
"Bruce"

Company C-1

20 Feb 1939 - 26 Jan 2009

Place of Death: Bethesda Naval Hospital, MD

Interment: TBA

It is with great regret and sorrow that we must inform you of the death of our classmate, Bruce Holmberg, on January 26, 2009 at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, after a long and courageous battle with multiple myeloma.  Bruce is survived by his wife, Joan, their daughters, Anne Lauritzen and Leigh Rand, and four grandchildren. 

A graveside service will be held at 1000 hrs on Friday, 6 February 2009 at the West Point Cemetery.  A luncheon will follow at the Thayer Hotel.  Please let Ed Brown know as soon as possible if you will be going to the graveside service and the number going to the luncheon.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, 383 Main Avenue, 5th Floor, Norwalk, CT  06851.

Condolences may be sent to the family at 1351 Sweet Pea Path, Crownsville, MD  21032-2020.

Well done, Bruce.  Be thou at peace.

Click here to go to Bruce's Last Roll Call Tribute.

Allen F. Schneider
"Al"

Company L-1

27 Sep 1935 - 14 Jan 2009

Place of Death: Fayetteville, AR

Interment: Holiday Island Presbyterian Church Columbarium, Fayetteville, AR

It is with great regret and sorrow that we forward the message concerning the death of our former classmate, Al Schneider, on Wednesday, January 14, 2009, in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  They were to replace his badly worn aortic valve and do a single bypass around the aortic stenosis.  Complications and a second run on the heart-lung machine were just too much for his heart to take.

Al would have been so touched by the memorial service in a packed church of relatives and friends, complete with the military recognition service led by one of his golfing buddies who happens to be Chaplain of the local American Legion post.  His cremains have been divided, half to the church columbarium (with Army insignia) and half into the Kings River later in the spring....perhaps during the white bass run. 

He is survived by his wife, Carol Ann; a son, Allen Jr. of Kansas City, MO; daughters, Margaret Anne Schneider of Belton, MO and Katie Stinnett of Branson, MO; three grandchildren, Laura Schneider of Kansas City, MO, and Trevor and Caitlin Knoblauch of Branson, MO; three brothers, David L. Schneider of Hemet, CA, Michael Edwards of Independence, MO, Marc Edwards of Largo, FL; a sister, Margaret Steward of LaMonte, MO; and his mother-in-law, Elizabeth Huston of Holiday Island, AR.

A Celebration of Life service was held 11:00 A.M. Saturday, January 17, 2009 at Holiday Island Presbyterian Church.  Condolences may be sent to Carol Ann at 121 Stateline Drive, Eureka Springs, AR  72631.  The family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Holiday Island Presbyterian Church Building Fund, 111 Valley Drive, Holiday Island, AR  72631.

Well done, Al.  Be thou at peace.

Click here to go to Al's Last Roll Call Tribute.

Gabe Gabriel to be Inducted into Hall of Fame of Parachuting

On 14 February 2009, at Felicity, CA Gabe will be inducted into the Hall of Fame of Parachuting  for his far reaching vision back in 1958 in starting the Cadet Sport Parachute Club at West Point and for his continuing support for the sport and the club.

Felicity, CA is across the Colorado River from Yuma, AZ. Gabe asks if you can, come down and see the show. Both the Army’s Golden Knights and West Point’s Black Knights will be doing jumps at the ceremony. Both of Gabe's sons and one of Susie’s sons will be there. In addition he will have a grandson, Brendan, and a granddaughter, Hutton, there. Brendan and Gabe expect to be in their Dress Blues.

USMA recently celebrate 50 years of jumping at West Point and Gabe was able to sneak in a jump from 14,000 feet [tandem]. 

Click here to go to Gabe's Hall of Fame page.

Cruise Mini-reunion Memories & Pictures Now Has 3186 Pictures with New Pictures from Pat Hoy

Pat Hoy has sent 58 new pictures from the 2008 Danube River Cruise Mini-reunion.  They are mostly of people and make a fine addition to the memories of the Cruise. There are now 3186 pictures, in 103 groups, available for your viewing.  If anyone has pictures they would like to add to this collection they are more then welcome to send them to Sam Weiss.

Please click here to go to the memories and pictures of the 2008 Danube River Cruise Mini-reunion

Web Page of 2008 Danube River Cruise Mini-reunion Memories & Pictures Now Has 3128 Pictures

The Class Web Site page of the 2008 Danube River Cruise Mini-reunion Memories and Pictures took longer than expected to organize, but is now completed.  There are at this time 3128 pictures, in 102 groups, available for your viewing.

Please click here to go to the memories and pictures of the 2008 Danube River Cruise Mini-reunion

James I. Crowther, Jr
"Jim"

Company F-1

19 Apr 1940 - 25 Oct 2008

Place of Death:Albuquerque, NM

Interment: Sunset Memorial Park, Albuquerque, NM

It is with great regret and sorrow that we must forward the message below concerning the death of our classmate, Jim Crowther, on Saturday, October 25, 2008, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  He is survived by his daughters, Catherine Fraser and husband, Robert of Albuquerque; Carolyn Roller and husband, Michael of Fort Collins, CO; and Cristin Crowther of Albuquerque; and his sister, Nancy Berman and husband, Robert of Woodstock, MD.

Memorial Services will be held Friday, October 31, 2008, at 10:00 a.m., at French Mortuary Chapel, 7121 Wyoming Blvd. NE, Albuquerque.  Interment of cremains will follow at Sunset Memorial Park, 924 Menaul Blvd. NE.

The family requests that memorial contributions be made to the charity of your choice.

Well done, Jim.  Be thou at peace.

I am writing to you on behalf of my father, James Crowther.  My dad had a heart attack on Saturday and passed away.  His service will be this Friday morning in Albuquerque where he will receive military honors.  We know how special his days at West Point were to him and we're glad he had the opportunity recently to attend various reunions to catch up.  If you need to contact us with any questions, you can reach us at this email or our phone (970) 412-6425.  Thank you.
 
Carri Roller

Click here to go to Jim's Last Roll Call Tribute.

Jay McCann Appointed Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army

Jay McCann has been appointed as Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for California (Central). 

Class of '61 Presents Class of '11  Their Class Flag in 25 July 2008 Fifty Year Affiliation Ceremony

Friday, 25 July was a day on which the Fifty Year Affiliation Classes of 2011 and 1961 significantly strengthened the ties between them through their participation in the Yearling Flag Ceremony. This ceremony is a key component of the Fifty Year Affiliation Program, for it is the occasion when the Fifty Year Affiliation Class presents the new Yearling Class with its official Class Flag, a Flag that will be present during all key Class events from this point forward.

Representing the Class of 1961 were MG and Mrs. Charles Armstrong, COL and Mrs. Albert Vanderbush, and Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Shroyer. Their counterparts from the Class of 2011 were the Class President—Cadet Michael McCullough—and Vice-President—Cadet Joseph Simon. MG Armstrong, former commander of the 9th Infantry Division, focused his remarks to the Class of 2011 on his admiration and respect for the cadets gathered in front of him and on the significant role that Flags—“Guidons”—have played and will continue to play in the Army. He stated that his Class was proud to be the Affiliation Class for the Class of 2011, and that he hoped the Class Flag being presented today would help connect the cadets with the Army they will soon join.
 

For pictures of Flag Ceremony click here.

Washington DC Area Class of 1961 Social Events Calendar for 2008

Ed Brown, Class Secretary, has released the Washington DC Area Social Events Calendar for 2008.  Any Classmate who is in the DC area on one of those dates is invited to attend.  For additional information please contact Ed Brown at: edbrown61@verizon.net.

• 31 January:  Luncheon at Fort Myer Officers Club
• 6 April:  Sunday Brunch at Fort Belvoir Officers Club
• 7 May:  Luncheon at Fort Myer Officers Club
• 7 June:  Kopcsak's 8th Annual Pig Roast
• 5-12 October:  Danube River Cruise
• 13 November:  Luncheon at Fort Myer Officers Club

Class Committee Details Vision/Objectives for Next Five Years (2006 - 20011) Available

Click here to read the details of the Class Committee Vision/Objectives for the next five years (2006 - 2011).

Details of the 50-Year Affiliation Program Between Classes of 1961 and 2011 

Click here to read the details of the 50-Year Affiliation Program between the Class of 1961 and 2011.

Slide Shows of Pictures from the 45th Reunion are Now Available

Click here to view the 827 pictures grouped into the 17 events for which we have pictures from our 45th Reunion.

45th Reunion Business Meeting "State of the Class" Presentation Now Available

Class President Bob Glass gave a PowerPoint presentation at the 45th Reunion Business Meeting covering many important and informative topics pertaining to the "State of the Class".  For those who were not at the 45th Reunion and thus did not see this presentation, and for those who were there but would like another chance to see it again, please click here.

If you do not have a version of PowerPoint on your computer, you can download the PowerPoint Viewer by clicking here.

Hints for using the PowerPoint Viewer:
1. Left click on the screen to go to the next picture;
2. Right click on screen to get menu with Options to COPY, PRINT or END SHOW;
3. Left click on EDIT SLIDES (in menu from 2. above) will give you a thumbnail view of all pictures in the presentation that you can click on to get a particular picture that you want to then copy or print.

Cadet Company Group Pictures from 45th Reunion Now Available in Company News

The group pictures taken by Academy Photo at the 45th Reunion are now included on each Cadet Company web page.  Click on the Company News tab on the right side of this page to go to the list of Cadet Companies.  Click on your Cadet Company to see the pictures of the Classmates who attended the 45th Reunion and another picture of them and the ladies who were with them.

June Week 1961 and Related Activities from July 1961 Assembly Now Available Online

The USMA Archives office is putting ASSEMBLY Magazine and various other historical reports on a web site that allows you to access and download articles and information.  Copies of ASSEMBLY from 1942-1963 are currently available, and they will soon be putting of the next ten years, and they will continue posting issues until they are current. Click here for the Summer 1961 edition.  You will find it very interesting. There may be a problem for some as the huge file is 72MB.

Memorial & Family Planning Documents

The Class of 1961 Memorial Article Project has now made the appropriate AOG Forms available for your use.  Click here to go to the Class Web Site article that explains what is available and has links to the documents.

The panoramic photo of the Plain and surrounding buildings of West Point at the top of this page was created by G. W. 'Casey' Kenaston, USNA '56. The actual picture is 50 inches by 10 3/4 inches, including the border. To view this panoramic photo with more detail, please click here.  To further increase the size of that picture, do a mouse button click on the picture to get the picture enlarge icon.

In Remembrance:
Classmates can send their remembrances, comments, pictures to Sam Weiss and they will be edited for inclusion with the Last Roll Call Tribute for that person.

Current Profiles
In order to create a “Current Profile” for every member of the class, graduates and former members of 1961, we need your input.  If you are interested in participating, email your “vita” information to Sam Weiss with photos in "jpg" format, if you can.  If that is not possible, then send actual photo to: John Neiger at 4011 Lakeview Parkway, Lake of the Woods, VA 22408.  All photos will be returned after we scan them into cyberspace.

If your profile is already online, check to make sure it is up-to-date and send us any changes or additions. 

Prior Features
In order to keep this page more current with items of interest to the Class, after a reasonable length of time items will be moved to the PRIOR FEATURES Page (click here to go to them).

Panoramic Photo of USMA
The panoramic photo of the Plain and surrounding buildings of West Point at the top of this page was created by G. W. 'Casey' Kenaston, USNA '56.  To view the panoramic photo in full size with more detail, please click here.  To further increase the size of that picture, please do a mouse button click on the picture to get the picture enlarge icon.  Arrangements are being made for individuals to purchase copies.  Detail will be published as soon as available.

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