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- Sep 27, 2008
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Last night, my DH and I had dinner in Annapolis with a former boss of mine, USNA ‘69 and his wife. They were in town because tonight, they are attending Ring Dance with 2019. The Link in the Chain class is the one who graduated 50 years before. They came to 2019’s I-Day, wearing their class crest polos, talking to parents and showing their support. They come back for major class events. They become bonded. Rings from 1969 were donated, melted down, and added to the gold for 2019’s rings. A year from now, at 2019’s graduation, they will hand butter bars to the newly commissioned class as they come off the stage.
2019 invited them back for Ring Dance. My former boss and his wife will once again pose for photos under the big class ring mock-up, and dip his ring together in the binnacle containing the waters of the seven seas (the water is actually collected by graduates and fills the demijohn in the Ops Officer’s outer office). She has the wallet photo of their first Ring Dance, in 1968, dipping the ring. Proud members of the 2% Club!
Here’s the cool thing. I asked if he was wearing a civilian tux with miniature medals (allowed by Uniform Regs). “No,” he said, “I’m just wearing my mini Surface Warfare Pin. We voted as a class to skip the medals, because this is all about being classmates together, and not about who did what.” He’s entitled to two awards of the Purple Heart (prior enlisted Marine, retired as a Navy captain) and other individual combat awards for valor.
As my boss says, they are all geezers now, but they appreciate the 2019 geezers and geezerettes of tomorrow listening to their tales of life as a mid and their sea stories. 2019 will do the same 50 years later...
That is one of the things that demonstrates the intangible quality of a Service Academy experience. I’m a proud OCS grad, and I think the only thing for which I ever had a tiny twinge of envy of SA grads was that bond. It’s not a “better” thing, it’s just different.
2019 invited them back for Ring Dance. My former boss and his wife will once again pose for photos under the big class ring mock-up, and dip his ring together in the binnacle containing the waters of the seven seas (the water is actually collected by graduates and fills the demijohn in the Ops Officer’s outer office). She has the wallet photo of their first Ring Dance, in 1968, dipping the ring. Proud members of the 2% Club!
Here’s the cool thing. I asked if he was wearing a civilian tux with miniature medals (allowed by Uniform Regs). “No,” he said, “I’m just wearing my mini Surface Warfare Pin. We voted as a class to skip the medals, because this is all about being classmates together, and not about who did what.” He’s entitled to two awards of the Purple Heart (prior enlisted Marine, retired as a Navy captain) and other individual combat awards for valor.
As my boss says, they are all geezers now, but they appreciate the 2019 geezers and geezerettes of tomorrow listening to their tales of life as a mid and their sea stories. 2019 will do the same 50 years later...
That is one of the things that demonstrates the intangible quality of a Service Academy experience. I’m a proud OCS grad, and I think the only thing for which I ever had a tiny twinge of envy of SA grads was that bond. It’s not a “better” thing, it’s just different.
