Company

Woodworth, Richard

Not Pictured

McCumber, Leonard

Gantley, John E.

Frogley, Christopher

Giraldi, Walter R.

Smith, Kenneth L.

McKeon, Thomas J.

Bartlett, Richard J.

Stratvert, Owen B.

Murphy, Dennis M.

Hollingsworth, Timothy

Jimenez, Jose L.

Brenner, Lawrence J.

Norconk, James J.

McPhillips, Robert E.

Kruse, Peter W.

Butler, Charles L.

Second Regiment

Puncke, Frederick D.

Company

Barrows, Thomas L.

Fourth Battalion

Clifford, William F.

Barden Jr., Arnold W.

Larsen, Samuel H.

Sullivan, Timothy J.

Ray, Terry A.

Brelsford, Edward M.

Lyles III, Richard I.

Dudley Jr., Harrison G.

Tolhurst, Robert A

Schatz, Dennis R.

Jarrett, David C.

McClain, Calvin P.

Elderkin, Kenton W.

Saunders, Gerald J.

Caption Left for Photo Right

Date of Death: September 20, 1971

Arnold Winfield Barden Jr.

Caption Right for Photo Left

1970

Caption Right

Caption Left

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Cras justo odio, dapibus ac facilisis in, egestas eget quam. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Donec id elit non mi porta gravida at eget metus. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Nullam quis risus eget urna mollis ornare vel eu leo. Donec sed odio dui. Sed posuere consectetur est at lobortis. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit. Cras justo odio, dapibus ac facilisis in, egestas eget quam. Vivamus sagittis lacus vel augue laoreet rutrum faucibus dolor auctor. nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit.

Arne Barden and roommate Mac McClain, USNA Bancroft Hall

Perry Dunn’s family

Date of Death: Month 00, 2055

Richard Alden Woodworth

Robert Alfred Tolhurst Jr.

Timothy Joseph Sullivan

Owen Boye Stratvert

Kenneth Leroy Smith

Dennis Ray Schatz

Gerald Jeffrey Saunders

Terry Allan Ray

Frederick Dewey Puncke Jr.

James Joseph Norconk Jr.

Dennis Michael Murphy

Robert Edward McPhillips

Thomas James McKeon

Leonard Dixon McCumber Jr.

(Mac)

It is my privilege and good fortune to be a member of USNA’s Class of 1969. Out of all of my experiences at USNA, I am most grateful and appreciative of the friendships that formed during our years together beside the Severn. All the guys in my company live forever with me, although the academic information has faded and I no longer use the military training. Nearly every day I have some reflection in my thoughts of all those fun loving and adventuresome company mates. Personal relationships with my family, old and new friends….the people around me…. are more important to me now than any other achievements or marks of success. The camaraderie with my company mates at USNA and later with shipmates in submarines are major parts of those relationships that I cherish in my life. Now 50 years after our time at USNA, some of us have died and the rest of us are beginning to form up on the end-of-life curve. Our good friend and classmate, Arnold Winfield Barden, Jr. (Jay to his family, Arne to his classmates), was the first from our company to die…on September 20,1971 in Vietnam while flying a UH-1B Huey with the Seawolves of Helicopter Attack (Light) Squadron (HA(L)) 3. I was Arne’s roommate for nearly three years at USNA…in company, on plebe detail, and on the battalion staff.

Calvin Perry McClain Jr.

Mac and Regenia at Class of 2019 Ring Dance

(Dick, Irby)

Martha and Dick Lyles at the Class of 2019 Ring Dance

Richard Irby Lyles III

My roommate and I had the distinction of being restricted after graduation! Yup, instead of receiving diplomas and orders in our envelopes at graduation, we received empty envelopes and were told we would only be given said documents after we returned to Bancroft Hall and cleaned up our room. There we were, with our Ensign shoulder boards recently attached, looking down from the second wing of Bancroft Hall at the wedding production line at the Chapel, while we furiously cleaned our room so we could escape to a couple of months of freedom before embarking on the careers we had worked for four years to achieve. At that time in 1969 the furthest thought from my mind was how valuable everything we had learned during the previous four years would become throughout my life. After returning to my home town of Pueblo, Colorado, I married my high school sweetheart, Martha. Together we drove an old ’58 Buick to California where I reported aboard the USS DENVER (LPD-9). We then spent 31 of the next 36 months apart, while I completed two deployments (8 months and 11 months) and two special missions to Viet Nam. I left for my final deployment when Martha was seven weeks pregnant with our first child and came home when Jennifer was seven weeks old. At the ripe old age of 24, I served as Navigator as well as the Officer of the Deck for General Quarters, Amphibious Ops., and Sea and Anchor Detail. Since this was before GPS, I navigated across the Pacific eight times using only a sextant.

Samuel Harry Larsen

Peter William Kruse

(José, Joe, Major J)

During the campaign of 2016 there was a wholesale suspension of reality and a subversion of these basic values. At the Trump Hotel in Washington DC dozens of admirals and generals served as a backdrop to the candidate who started his campaign based on the lie that President Obama had been born in Kenya. A former assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps promised on CNN one morning in March 2016 that his candidate would tell the truth in the future. The billionaire candidate trashed John McCain; he beat up on a Gold Star family. And for these flag-rank people shame is too kind a word. Being a humanities person, Navy was a grind. LCDR Mo Clark got me through engineering mechanics and MAJ Bickley got me through weapons. Both men were the salt of the earth, both strong in their integrity and moral values. So was my friend, Sam Larsen. The courses I enjoyed were the history and Spanish classes. Dr. A. A. Richmond in European history was my favorite class all-time… he inspired me to greater efforts and he liked my writing. In March of 1968 when the assassination of Martin Luther King sparked the burning of our inner cities, including Washington DC and Baltimore, it struck me that we as Americans have to live the Constitution we all swore to defend and uphold, all of us, with no exceptions for non-white skin tones. Our representative democracy is a fragile thing and we all have a responsibility to preserve it for generations to come.

José Luis Jiménez

In June of 1965 we all reported to the Naval Academy and swore to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States”…for the son of immigrants from México, it was an achievement made possible by the Honorable Joe M. Kilgore, Member of Congress, Texas-15, and my parents. Pedro Alfonso Jiménez and Jesusa Anzaldúa Jiménez…devout Christians, salt of the earth, empathetic, selfless, honest, hard-working, just good and decent folks…these were my parents. They worked their ten-acre farm in Cameron County, Texas in the Brownsville area just north of the border and would work other crops the rest of the year; for four months we would follow the cotton crop to northeast Arkansas. Years after active service I learned that I had been poor as a child. It was news to me because my parents always provided for our physical needs, plus emotional and spiritual support. At La Feria High School my English teacher Mrs. Ruth Patterson suggested that I apply to the Naval Academy when I was a sophomore. A State Farm agent, Mr. Moore Matthews led the charge for a Congressional appointment. It was a long bus ride to Annapolis, Maryland. During our plebe summer we were lectured on leadership and its moral foundation. I remember one Marine captain espousing the precepts “Know your stuff; be a man; take care of your men… personal integrity…an officer’s word is his bond”. These were some of the values that complemented the teachings of Jesus Christ.

David Carrier Jarrett

Dave heading out on the open road.

Timothy Edward Hollingsworth

Walter Rudolph Giraldi

John Edward Gantley

Christopher Smith Frogley

Kenton William Elderkin

Harrison Grover Dudley Jr.

As the Managing Partner at Pacific Shipyards in Hawaii, we sold the yard to BAE in 2005 and moved to the East Coast as General Manager of their Norfolk yard. Spent the last eight years with BAE as President of Ship Repair with seven shipyards across the country and Hawaii in the portfolio. Primarily focused on maintaining and modernizing our Navy’s non-nuclear surface ships and there was no more rewarding opportunity than supporting the men and women in the Navy who sail these fine ships into “Harms Way”. I married my wonderful wife Jackie in 1970 and we have two beautiful and successful daughters, Shannon and Kerry. We are blessed with three grandchildren pictured in the family photo taken in 2017, two boys and one girl. I retired from BAE in 2015 but stay active in the maritime industry as a consultant supporting several small businesses and larger shipyards. The focus now is the grandchildren, boating, watersport activities and traveling with Jackie. We have made our home in Norfolk but have a strong desire to be warmer in the winter so are exploring warmer options. I remain very close with numerous classmates and rarely does a day go by we don’t have some type of communication. In all my business endeavors, my Class of 69 friends were, and always will be, my most trusted and valued advisors.

William Francis Clifford

After an exciting four years of always being on the brink of an early departure, I made it to graduation. I always blame my lack of embracing the Academy’s rules and regulations on attending Providence College for a year before joining the Class of 1969. That one year of total freedom and lack of accountability shaped my four years of close calls with the Executive Department. I spent the first seven years at sea on four ships culminating in Command of the USS PAPAGO (ATF-160) as a young LT. The highlight of that exciting tour was participating in the Bicentennial Celebration in NY in July 1976 with classmates Bill McCauley, Bob Frangione and Kevin Connors onboard. They had their dates and coolers of beer along for the festivities; no electronic media back then! After PG School and the Diving & Salvage Course at the Washington Navy Yard, focused the rest of my career on fixing ships and search and salvage operations. Last tour in Hawaii was CO of SIMA Pearl Harbor and the family decided they loved Hawaii so retired at 20 and joined the private sector to avoid orders to DC. Spent the next 26 years in the ship repair and ship building sectors in senior leadership positions repairing and building Navy and commercial ships at Honolulu Shipyard, Bath Iron Works, Atlantic Marine, Pacific Shipyards and BAE.

Charles Lynn Butler

Lawrence Joseph Brenner

Edward Michael Brelsford

(Dick)

Richard Joseph Bartlett

In August 1976 I moved to California where I attended law school at the Santa Clara University. While in law school I was married for the first time (Jerry Saunders, best man and Bill Clifford, groomsman). It didn’t last and I was divorced a few years later. Graduating in 1979 I began the practice of law in the Bay Area eventually becoming a patent attorney. In 1984 I went to work for a software startup company, which was acquired by The Perkin Elmer Corporation and ultimately lead me back to the East Coast nine years later. But I get ahead of myself. In 1990 I married for the second time and in 1992 we had triplet sons (Adam, David and Joseph). In 1993, after almost becoming law partners with Dennis Murphy in Missouri, I took the opportunity to join the Perkin Elmer general counsel’s staff at our corporate headquarters in Norwalk, CT. We moved to Monroe, CT where I lived for nearly 25 years. I spent a total of thirty years working for Perkin Elmer and its successors (Applera, Applied Biosystems, Life Technologies, and finally Thermo Fisher Scientific). For nearly a year I commuted from Connecticut to Rockville, MD every week to work on the legal issues associated with the first commercial sequencing of the human genome. Over the years I was involved in all aspects for corporate legal work. For the ten years prior to my retirement in 2014 my focus was on the development and licensing of software and data associated with genetic analysis.

Upon graduation Pete Kruse and I left for three weeks of leave in Europe, returning in time for TAD at USNA running the summer soccer program. We (Dennis Murphy, Jerry Saunders and Pete Kruse) rented a house across the river for the summer and had a great time recovering from four years of social paralysis. Next it was a drive across the country in my ’68 MGB to report into Nuclear Power School, Mare Island where Pete Kruse and I roomed together. After an “enjoyable” six months there, I was off to Idaho Falls, ID for Prototype and six more months of training in the desert. While there I shared an apartment with John Bodine and Jim Latham. Sub School in New London followed and then I finally (January 1971) reported aboard USS Tinosa (SSN 606) in the yards in Portsmouth, NH. Once out of the yards we were homeported in New London with Squadron 10. I spent two and a half years in Tinosa including a six month Med deployment. SOAC, Submarine Officers Advanced Course, in New London was next for me in July 1973. While attending SOAC I played on a local rugby club with Jim Latham and Tom Dailey. In January 1974 I joined the Gold Crew of USS Theodore Roosevelt (SSBN 600) in the yards in Charleston, SC. At the end of overhaul in September 1974 we took Roosevelt through the Canal and then to its new homeport in Pearl Harbor. I lived in Hawaii while making patrols out Guam until resigning in July 1976. Glen Reid and I reconnected in Hawaii and were teammates on a local soccer team. Ken Dodge and I were shipmates during my last patrol.

Thomas Leroy Barrows

When Arne arrived in RVN in January 1971, he reported to our main base at Binh Thui and was sent directly to HAL-3 Det 4 which operated out of Ben Luc, a Vietnamese fire base south of Saigon. I was also assigned to Det 4 and it was great to see Arne again. He quickly adapted to life as a Seawolf pilot and was loved by the pilots and door gunners alike. Arne was a true professional and could be counted on in the worst of situations. We flew every day putting rockets, machine guns and mini-guns to good use in support of the river patrol boats, SEAL teams and Army units who were always in need of air support. About half of our flights were at night, so getting a sleep cycle that worked took a little time. We guaranteed that when called for help, we would launch and be enroute to the target in five minutes or less, day or night. We never failed, even in adverse monsoon weather conditions. Our services were in high demand. After quickly gaining the required combat experience as a copilot, Arne was designated as an Attack Helicopter Aircraft Commander (AHAC) and then as a Fire Team Leader (FTL). Because of the nature of our special warfare operations, Arne had great latitude and responsibility as an FTL in selecting targets and employing tactics to save the lives of friendly troops in contact. We all had great confidence in Arne as a pilot and leader.

I am submitting this input on behalf of my classmate and squadron mate, Arne Barden who was killed in action in the Republic of Viet Nam (RVN) on September 20, 1971. Arne and I were classmates and friends at the Naval Academy – he in 20th Co. and me in 22nd - and after we graduated, we went through flight training at the same time in Pensacola, FL. The war in Viet Nam was going strong and the demand for helicopter pilots was high. Because of heavy losses of river patrol boats and the need to control the waterways of the Mekong Delta, the Navy stood up Helicopter Attack Squadron (Light) 3 (HAL-3) “Seawolves” in 1966 to provide close air support for the riverine forces that included the river patrol boats and SEAL teams. HAL-3 was an all-volunteer squadron that operated with detachments of UH-1B (“Huey”) gunships deployed strategically throughout the Delta. We both volunteered for HAL-3 and after completing flight school and earning our wings (I was ahead of Arne in the pipeline by about 2 months), we went separately to Survival, Evasion Resistance and Escape (SERE) school (not a fun time), followed by gunnery training with the Army at Ft. Rucker, AL. The Navy didn’t have the facilities to train us to shoot rockets, machine guns and learn basic gunship tactics, so the Army was the answer. In return for the Navy taking over the riverine close air support mission in the Delta, the Army agreed to provide the helicopters for HAL-3, which not surprisingly, weren’t their best or newest.

Arne Barden aboard USS America (CVA 66) while posing for an ad for The Log (USNA magazine).

Arne Barden in Vietnam, 1971

Arne’s life and career was cut short in September 1971 while leading a visual reconnaissance mission in the Det 4 area of operations that included the heavily trafficked weapons and supply trails from Cambodia into the RVN. The aircraft and what we felt were our finest officer and enlisted aircrew personnel were lost in the crash. It was a tragedy for our small group of pilots and door gunners who had grown close flying and depending on each other on a daily basis. It was an honor to have known and served with Arne Barden. He was one of the kindest, most likeable and most capable people I have ever known. He served proudly in HAL-3, the most highly decorated squadron in naval aviation history and set a standard of excellence for us all. He is greatly missed. Submitted by Michael K. Hollis Captain, USN (ret)

Remembering Arne Barden, clockwise from top: Mount Soledad National Veterans Memorial, La Jolla, California; the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, Washington, DC; certificate for the Barden Honor Chair, Memorial Hall, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland

My second marriage also ended in divorce but I was not ready to give up on marriage just yet. In 2004 I married Laura whom I had met at Yankee Stadium in 1982. Even though it took twenty-two years from upper deck to altar, I finally got it right! I tell her every day that I’m the luckiest guy alive and I am. I got a late start on kids so, unlike most of you, no grandchildren. In fact my sons graduated from college in 2014 and are just now getting started in the real world. Adam and David, live and work in Boston. Joe is in San Diego where he is in grad school at the University of San Diego. Laura and I continue to enjoy travel especially our trips with Jerry and Sarah Saunders which include an annual Caribbean vacation and trips to Europe and South Africa. Although the years have slowed me down , I do a lot of walking and ride my bike regularly. Since 2017 Laura and I have been focused on the design and construction of our new permanent residence in Barnegat Light, NJ, on Long Beach Island. While I would never want to repeat my four years at USNA, I also would not want to be without the experiences and friends that came along with those years. The friends made in Annapolis remain the most important in my life.

USS Theodore Roosevelt (SSBN 600)

Dick Bartlett’s family: Joe, David, Laura, Adam (holding Allie) and Dick Bartlett; Nov 2017

“The Clifford Family; Oldest Daughter Shannon with Granddaughter Eve, Bill (Papa), wife Jackie (Mimi), Grandsons James and Danny and Daughter Kerry”

Concluded my active duty with the Navy in the Gulf of Tonkin off Vietnam on the USS Sacramento (AOE -1), homeport Bremerton, WA. During five years of active duty and my 1st class USNA cruise in the Med, I truly did see the world. Power cruised the Middle East and visited ports in South America, Africa, India, and various islands in the Indian Ocean. West Pac cruise on Sacramento took us to numerous ports in Asia. I visited Australia and Taipei on RR when serving in Vietnam. 1st class midshipman cruise was spent in the Med, visiting Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Crete and Turkey. Left active duty in mid-1974, with aspirations of continued globe-trotting as a Merchant Marine Officer. Passed the USCG Merchant Marine 2nd Mate exam but MM jobs were few following the Vietnam War so I accepted a commission in the NOAA Officer Commissioned Corps where I served as a Navigator on a fisheries research vessel in the Bering Sea which gave me an appreciation for the Dangerous Catch tv series.

USS Sacramento (AOE-1)

Growing up in in central KY, my thoughts of attending Annapolis were encouraged by my Father, a WW II vet of the Army Air Corps (“AAC”), who felt I needed the discipline and a free ride tuition courtesy of Uncle Sam was alright as well. When he passed away suddenly at age 41 and I was age 14 his wish for me became my goal. Becoming a member of USNA Class of ‘69 with the help of a Principal Nomination from US Senator John Sherman Cooper landed me on Bancroft 7-4 as a member of the 14th Company where I excelled as a master prankster, highlighted by the dead goose, kamikaze mouse, and flaming tennis ball episodes. Not known for walking tall and carrying a big stick but rather being short and carrying a toilet plunger, graduation was a joy and a relief that I made it. Active duty as a Surface Warfare Officer on the USS Power (DD 839), homeport Mayport,FL, was followed by a tour of duty in Vietnam as Operations Officer for the Naval Support Activity and as Naval Advisor to the South Vietnamese Navy in Danang, SVN. As Base Ops, I usually gave the landing clearance to the Army helos from 101st Airborne flying in from Phu Bai to have lunch with the Navy and land on Staubach Field as we called our LZ. It was so named as the football practice field used by Roger Staubach when he served at NSA Danang.

Boeing Marine Systems in Seattle, WA that manufactured military and civilian hydrofoils employing state of the art aerospace technology was my next stop in 1978. I got the rare opportunity to be an instructor of customer Merchant Marine officers. What a job! Traveled the globe, teaching fellow mariners on multi-million-dollar water craft. Unfortunately, Boeing closed shop on the commercial hydrofoil sales business. Opportunity knocked again as I got hired by Boeing Commercial Airplanes as a 747 Flight Crew Instructor. As the solo black shoe 747 instructor, I completed my pilot rating at Boeing Field and spent the following 9 years traveling the globe to various customer simulator sites, not teaching pilots how to fly, but how to transition to the cockpit of the new Boeing 747-400 aircraft. In 1999, due to illness, I took early medical retirement from Boeing and moved back home to Kentucky. For the past 19 years I have primarily been involved as a volunteer Veteran Service Officer with the Disabled American Veterans. During that time, it’s been my honor to assist over 2,000 military veterans and their dependents obtain their VA benefits. Since 2000, I have been a USNA Blue and Gold Officer, assisting and interviewing candidates applying to USNA. In 2015, I was inducted into the 2nd Class of the Kentucky Veterans Hall of Fame and the 3rd class of distinguished graduates of my high school alma mater.

Last year, after spending 11 years together, I married my best friend, Ann, who is a “former” Marine. In marriage I inherited a large family to include her 3 sons and daughter, their spouses, and 12 grandchildren with another on the way. Quite a shock to this old man who has no children of his own. Looking back on my four years at Annapolis and my life, I feel blessed to have attended and graduated from the Naval Academy. Friendships made here are for life. To a man, each classmate I stayed in contact with, whether they graduated or not, have all been successful and valued members of their communities. The travel, the experiences, and the acquaintances which have made for a rich full life for me pretty much started on the banks of the Severn. Go Navy!

USS Sacramento (AOE-1)

Dave and Ann helping Navy end Notre Dame’s win streak.

Dave serving the Disabled American Veterans.

Major J (Jose L. Jimenez) doing “grito” (yell) with granddaughter Carolina

Midshipman 1/c Jose L. Jimenez, 20th Co., sitting with best friend Sam Larsen before formal event in December 1969

Jose L. Jimenez and son - who carries the name of his uncle SGT Alberto Torres Anzaldua, USMC - on Alaskan cruise, June 2018. Uncle Alberto was a Platoon Leader with two tours in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), killed-in-action (KIA) August 1969.

After release from active duty in July of 1975 we returned to La Feria, Texas where I started three years of study at two universities. At the University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA) I earned an MA in US history. At the University of Texas (UT) I studied Russian, German and French for two years. I have over 400 college hours from four universities. I had started reading at age 10. My wife and I taught for 25 years, Yolanda at elementary level and I at high-school level. We had the same schedule as our kids and we would pass the summers travelling to our national parks and to DC. Our kids benefitted from growing up with both sets of grandparents and their extended families. They have honored us by earning three MS and two PhD’s…all in the sciences. They are responsible, well-adjusted, productive, and happy citizens. Our crosses have been bearable and we have had more than our share of blessings. We have abided in the Lord.

I was commissioned in the Marine Corps and served as a Naval Aviator, Father Jake Laboon pinning on my wings in April, 1971. I served one tour as a CH-46 pilot in the Mediterranean and a tour on Okinawa. I finished active duty in Pensacola, Florida as a flight instructor at Whiting Field. In five years’ service I saw one Mexican-American and one Black aviator. In May 1971, I married my high school sweetheart Yolanda…this was the most consequential event in my life. We have been together for 47 years and have been blessed with three wonderful children and two grandchildren. In June of 1972 my squadron was deployed to the Mediterranean for six months. We operated off the USS Iwo Jima, LPH-2, for six months. It was like sailing in Odysseus’ backyard with the difference being that all the monsters were flying the Soviet flag.

Major J (Jose L. Jimenez) in Charro outfit with granddaughters Lilly and Carolina in Chiapas, Mexico costumes; May 2016

Jose L. Jimenez with flight crew, Okinawa, October 1973

Midn 3/c Jose L. Jimenez

Jose with his beautiful wife of 47 years, Yolanda

“Our happy family” at a restaurant: Major J (Jose L. Jimenez) with family Alberto, Rebecca, and Sara in 2015

As GQ OD I led the ship into combat on numerous occasions during which time we pulled several downed pilots out of the South China Sea. Because of my performance as OD, I was promoted to O-3 thirteen months ahead of our class and a month ahead of the class of ’68. The next two years were spent working with a consortium of faculty members from the Harvard Business School and the Sloan School of Management at MIT to implement a new leadership paradigm for the Navy as part of Admiral Zumwalt’s Z-55 program. During that time I earned a Master’s Degree in Human Behavior and started work on my Doctorate. I left the Navy, completed my Doctorate in Business Administration and began a lifelong career as a business and management consultant. During my career I consulted in just about every industry and with governments virtually around the world. A program I developed to teach management problem solving and decision making ended up being offered on six continents, in nine languages and seventeen countries. Based on that program and the best-selling book it was based on, I also trained Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I’ve written or co-authored eight additional books, one of which has been translated into 43 languages.

Along the way, Martha and I founded a nursing and allied health college, Maric College, which after 33 years merged with Kaplan College. It became one of the most respected nursing schools in Southern California. I also took time out from consulting occasionally to run a few companies, including The Ken Blanchard Companies and Relevant Radio, and am now CEO of Origin Entertainment. Origin is a Hollywood-based movie production company. Our brand is transformative entertainment, meaning we want our audiences to feel better about themselves and the world around them as a result of watching one of our movies. In 2018 we are filming FATIMA and THE HALEY SCOTT story to be released in 2019. These will be followed by THE CODE and A SEVERE MERCY in 2019/2020. Martha and I also founded The Genesis Initiative, a not-for-profit, public benefit corporation to aid in the development, production and distribution of wholesome movies. Martha and I served as Executive Producers for our first project produced under this banner, a short drama titled IN MEMORY. It was accepted into 28 film festivals around the world and won major awards in 18 of them. It stars Lee Meriwether and Max Gail and can be viewed on YouTube.

Our proudest accomplishment is our three children, all of whom have married terrific spouses and brought a total of seven grandchildren into our lives. Without following such maxims as “one to beat Army,” “no excuse, Sir,” and “anything worth doing is worth doing right,” I doubt I’d have accomplished a fraction of what I’ve been able to achieve. Everything I learned at the Academy helped in everything I’ve accomplished. One lesson the Navy didn’t teach … or maybe it did through of the pain of separation … is the importance of love. USNA gave the foundation and the discipline. But love—shared through fifty years of marriage to Martha—provided the passion to do it all.

USS DENVER (LPD-9)

Our kids, their spouses, and grandkids. Liz, Emma, Chip, Luke, Dick, Martha, Jason, Lucy, Jennifer, Sophie, Levi, Rob, Charlotte, Whitney and Lyla

The McClain Family: Will, Regenia, Herbert Rieder, Miriam R., Carrie R., Erik R., Mac

It is my privilege and good fortune to be a member of USNA’s Class of 1969. Out of all of my experiences there, I am most grateful and appreciative of the friendships that formed during our years together beside the Severn. All the guys in my company live forever with me, although the academic education has faded and I no longer use the military training. Nearly every day I have some reflection in my thoughts of all those fun loving and adventuresome company mates. Personal relationships with my family, old and new friends….the people around me…. are more important to me now than any other achievements or marks of success. The camaraderie with my company mates at USNA and later with shipmates in submarines are major parts of those relationships that I cherish in my life. Now 50 years after our time at USNA, some of us have died and the rest of us are beginning to form up on the end-of-life curve. Our good friend and classmate, Arnold Winfield Barden, Jr. (Jay to his family, Arne to his classmates), was the first from our company to die…on 20 September 1971 in Vietnam while flying a UH-1B Huey with the Seawolves HA(L)-3. I was Arne’s roommate for nearly 3 years at USNA. Arne was my close friend, and he was a great friend to all of our company and many of our classmates. He was an effervescent, outgoing, fun loving guy who had a ready smile and a willingness to get to know you. He had more friends than most of us in Bancroft Hall. One of his favorite activities was doing photo shoots of the Drag of the Week for The Log.

Arne was my close friend, and he was a great friend to all of our company and many of our classmates. He was an effervescent, outgoing, fun loving guy who had a ready smile and a willingness to get to know you. He had more friends than most of us in Bancroft Hall. One of his favorite activities was doing photo shoots of the Drag of the Week for The Log. Arne made friends quickly and easily and was always ready to pitch in when help was needed, for work or for fun. When Arne popped into a room in Bancroft, he was always welcome. Arne was from Southern California and spent a year at Cal State-Long Beach before USNA. His father was a Marine Colonel aviator (in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam) and his mother was a Marine SSgt in WWII. Arne and I visited each other’s homes several times during our years at USNA. Months after we graduated when I was in New London, my mother awoke one morning at home and found Arne asleep on the couch in their den (we didn’t lock our doors at night in Anderson, SC back then). He was just passing through in the middle of the night and wanted to stop by. While he was in Vietnam Arne corresponded with my parents and my brother. His circle of friends was very large, and all of them were very happy be Arne’s friend.

I was in Palo Alto when Arne died. I received orders as his special escort from San Francisco to San Diego where his funeral was held. His remains now rest in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego. His mother lies at his head, with her information inscribed on the opposite side of their shared headstone, and his father is interred in the columbarium there. Rest in peace, old friend, from all of us who are blessed by having you brighten our lives for a time in our youth. As for my story, I enlisted in Naval Reserves in my home town, Anderson, SC, in January of my 11th grade in high school. My father thought this would better my chances of receiving an NROTC scholarship to attend college, and I needed that financial assistance. While drilling at our local Reserve Center on Tuesday nights as I completed 11th and 12th grades, I met a reserve officer, a USNA graduate from the Class of 1959, who first talked to me about USNA. His influence…along with consideration of the very attractive tuition and watching the series’ Men of Annapolis and The Silent Service on TV…led me to apply to USNA.

USNA and the Navy are important parts of my life experience. I am honored to be a member of USNA’s Class of 1969, and along with my classmates I am privileged to have served. Non Sibi Sed Patriae.

Mac’s class ring in tribute to roommate and best friend Arne Barden

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USNA and the Navy are important parts of my life experience. I am honored to be a member of USNA’s Class of 1969, and along with my classmates I am privileged to have served. Non Sibi Sed Patriae

After graduation, my active service was in submarines: USS PARGO (SSN 650), USS SEAWOLF (SSN 575), and USS CINCINNATI (SSN 693), along with graduate school at Stanford (MS in Mechanical Engineering). I qualified as a submarine nuclear engineer officer, and I was Navigator and Operations Officer on SSN 693 when I left active duty in 1978. My graduate school extended obligation was completed, and I began a 38-year career as a manager for a tire manufacturing company with U.S. headquarters in Greenville, SC. I also continued my service in the Naval Reserves from which I retired after 30 years in 1999. My always amazing wife of 40 years, Regenia, our son Will, our daughter Carrie, her husband Herbert, and their two children Erik and Miriam, are my strength, my focus, and my joy. I am most appreciative to them for their help, their support, and their love which I enjoy every day. Before they came along, I owe my loving parents, my extended family, and my church family all the credit for my upbringing and grounding in values that have served me well all my life. To paraphrase Deuteronomy, I drink from wells that I did not dig. I am truly blessed and I’m grateful.