Down Memory LaneThe Wayward OrderliesIn 1943 with World War II raging, Cadet Corporal Lin Howard, grandson of C.S. Howard, owner of famed Seabiscuit, dropped out of school before completing his senior year to join the U.S. Marine Corps. In 1946, having received an honorable discharge. Lin along with Walter Mansfield, a fellow classman who had also left school early to become a marine, returned to finish their final year of high school. Rather than being required to wear the uniforms of Black Foxe cadets, the two ex-marines attended school in their Marine Corps uniforms with the "Ruptured Duck" emblem, a cloth insignia depicting an eagle inside a wreath sewn above the right breast pocket. The emblem was created for ex- WWII servicemen, allowing them to continue to wear their uniforms for a period of thirty days until they could conveniently purchase civilian clothing. In the Fall Semester of 1946, for reasons that have slipped from the grasp of memory, Gordon Langlois and I, both sophomores, were assigned to serve as orderlies to Commandant Glenn Dewitt Hufford for the first period of the school day. For an hour each day we were at the Commandant's beck and call, performing such tasks as carrying messages to cadets to appear before him after class to answer for some rule infraction or another. The orderly desk was situated at the junction of two hallways. At the end of the shorter, twenty foot hallway, was a door to the Commandant's office , which, unless an extremely sensitive meeting was in progress, always stood open. Hufford's desk sat just inside. The orderlies had a clear view of the commandant, and he of them. A ring of a bell or simply a hand gesture could bring an orderly to the Colonel's desk within seconds. Hufford's desk and office were Spartan. Sentimental memorabilia of former students and events were not part of the décor as was the case in other school offices. I can only remember two pictures. One, hanging on the wall, was a large portrait of General Douglas MacArthur, who was much revered by Col. Hufford. The other, on Hufford's desk, was a 4X6 inch framed picture of the "What me worry?" character later adopted by Mad Magazine and christened Alfred E. Neuman. The latter always seemed somehow out of character for the dour Commandant. Back to Lin Howard. Orderlies were also, for some reason, custodians of the Morning Report which listed the absentee students of that day. Ten minutes after the beginning of classes on what must have been the second day of the Fall semester, Lin had come down the longer hallway, and out of sight of the commandant, quietly informed us that he was very much in attendance and the Morning Report probably ought to reflect the fact. Gordon and I looked at each other, shrugged, and erased Lin's name from the list of absentees, knowing full-well that it was not what the Commandant should expect from his orderlies. But, Lin was an ex-marine five or so years our senior, and he was there at school. This same scene played out several more times during the next couple of weeks until someone in the Commandant's office recalled that on several occasions Lin had been initially reported as absent, yet they were sure he had been attending classes, a fact corroborated by the edited copy of the reports that had made their way to the file at the end of each day. Gordon and I were summoned. "How," we were asked, "did Lin Howard's name disappear on several occasions from the absent column of the report?" After considerable 'uming' and 'awing' we admitted we had struck his name from the list of absentees because he was, after all, in attendance, albeit a bit late. I'm sure the only thing that kept us from a slew of demerits, and the 'extra duty' that such demerits would surely generate, was the fact that a couple of sophomores were understandably intimidated by the older cadet, a Marine veteran at that. Lin had actually made no attempt to intimidate us. He simply asked for a favor, and we took the easy way out. Lin continued on to graduate in the class of 1947 and was never, to my knowledge, late to school again. "THE CULPRITS"
Sidney D. Talley Jr.Sid and his brother Babe were born in Yuma, Arizona, where his mother owned a grocery store. Their mother sent them to Black Foxe, because she knew they would get a good education. Sid was a serious type and enjoyed physics and chemistry, and even Captain Shell's English class, where we all learned how to parse a sentence. Their mother had authorized Sid and Babe to smoke and they enjoyed smoking between classes. Many a night we would look out our third-story window in the dormitory and see the spotlights in Hollywood which identified where the movies were showing. When we were on week-end leave, we enjoyed going to such movies as the Howard Hughes' Outlaw, starring Jane Russell. Also, we liked to see stage shows at the El Capitan Theater where we saw Ken Murray's Black Outs, starring Marie Wilson. On the way home from Hollywood, we would always stop at the hot dog stand at Vine and buy a chili dog for 15 cents. Sid was very competitive in games. One game he didn't want to miss was the big football game with Harvard. He played the whole game with a broken arm. Sid always had an ambition to be an officer in the Army. He was denied because of his eye sight, but the Army accepted him as a private. His unit was in Korea when the war broke out. His squad was sent out on many dangerous missions. On one mission he was captured and brutally killed. Sid was awarded several medals posthumously. His mother would not accept the medals because the Army had denied his wish to go to Officer Training School. Recently, Bob Airheart, a Korean veteran, was invited by ROK to a reunion. While in Panmunjon, he visited a memorial park and had a picture taken in front of a monument. The brass plaque on the monument had several names inscribed-- one of them was Sidney D. Talley Jr.
SUBMITTED BY JOHN HAMILTON CLASS OF 1947
TOM NELSON, CLASS OF '47 PassesThomas Edward Nelson, 81, slipped his mortal bond on December 12, 2010, in Fountain Valley, California. A resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, he had previously resided in Fountain Valley. Born in Hemet, he was the eldest child of Thomas and Agnes Nelson and the first grandchild of the Hemet Packing Company founders, John G. and Mary H. Nelson. He went to Hemet Elementary and Middle Schools before finishing high school at Black Fox Military Institute in 1947. He was a member of the football and swimming teams. After graduation, he attended the University of California at Davis. He had a successful career in sales starting with Hemet Packing Company and later on with Sears in Costa Mesa before retiring from them in Las Vegas. In 2006, he was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 57 years, Joan Hayward Nelson,. Loving father of Cynthia Taylor of Corona, Thomas Scott Nelson (Karen) of Fountain Valley, and Sara Delaney (Michael) of Vallejo; cherished grandfather of Joshua (Melody), Jennifer, Jolene, and Jessica Taylor, Thomas Russell and Daniel Nelson, and Benjamin Long; and doting great-grandfather of Mckenzie Taylor. He is survived by brothers James (Aida), and William (Sharon), and sister-in-law Nancy (Duane) Beedy, numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. He will be sorely missed by his life-long best friend, Ray Clark, and countless extended family and friends. An avid reader as well as a competitive player of bridge and chess, he especially enjoyed playing mental strategy games with family and friends. He had a finely tuned sardonic sense of humor that he employed as the occasion warranted. He often referred to himself as “Jacob Marley” as Jacob never repented. In truth, he was the antithesis of Marley and was extremely generous and thoughtful towards others. In the latter part of his life, he enjoyed receiving and forwarding humorous e-mails. John Hamilton ‘47
Letter from Jerry Perenchio, class of 1949
November 12, 2009
TO: Jack Cornell FROM: Jerry Perenchio RE: COLBY ROSS
Jack, here are a few things I remember about our classmate and my roommate, Colby Ross, not necessarily in order of importance.
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this page last updated 6/23/2011