RADM and Mrs. Robert N. Colwell in 1986. Bob Colwell was the person
who got me into Naval intelligence. A Professor of Forestry and
Resource Management at Berkeley for almost four decades, he taught courses
in aerial photo interpretation and was a respected international figure
in remote sensing. He also did a lot of recruiting while serving
as the first Director of the Naval Reserve Intelligence Program (DNRIP)
between 1974-77.
Admiral Wesley McDonald when he was Commander Atlantic Fleet in 1985.
I got to know him through my involvement with the Association of Naval
Aviation, of which I am a life member. Admirals have to be effective
people managers to carry out their tasks and they make great mentors.
Admiral McDonald told me the most important trait of a naval officer
was the ability to judge other men’s character; then strive to
get the best people you can onto your team. I was fortunate to
have worked under four different admirals during my naval career.
Navy Secretary John Lehman greeting President and Mrs. Reagan aboard
the battleship Iowa for 100th anniversary celebration of the Statue
of Liberty on July 4, 1986 in New York Harbor.
Navy Secretary John F. Lehman, Jr, in front of Turret No. 1 on USS Iowa
on July 4, 1986. Dr. Lehman signed my commissioning certificate
and our Navy Reserve careers were similar in that they were unusual
and varied: both of us earned doctorates prior to our commissions and
we both earned our wings as drilling reservists.
President Ronald Reagan speaking to the nation from the battleship Iowa
in 1983. Ronald Reagan was an inspiring speaker and well loved
by the uniformed services. I initially met him when he was Governor
of California and I was an Eagle Scout.
Retired Chief of Naval Operations James L. Holloway III (left) and myself
at the annual convention of the Association of Naval Aviation in San
Francisco in May 1987. After I introduced him to my wife Trinka
as the most decorated naval officer of the Post-World War II era, he
replied that his wife Dabney tells everyone he was given a medal for
every six months he was away from home!
In October 1988 I sponsored several boys as part of the Make a Wish
Foundation to meet the Blue Angels up close and personal when they visited
the San Francisco Bay Area for Fleet Week. This shows me with
Daryn Seelye next to one of the Blue’s F/A-18 Hornet aircraft.
President Bush aboard the USS Belknap (CG 26) in Marsaxlokk Bay in Malta
awaiting his first meeting with Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev on
December 2-3, 1989. Gorbachev came to Malta aboard the German-built
cruise ship Maxim Gorkey. An escorting Soviet Slava Class guided
missile cruiser lies at anchor in the background.
This shows me with retired CDR Butch Voris, World War II ace and the
original team leader the Blue Angels from 1946-47, when they flew F6F
Hellcats and F8F Bearcats. He returned in 1952 to lead them in
transition to flying F9F Panther jets. I emceed the annual Blue
Angel Reception sponsored by the San Francisco Bay Squadron of the Association
of Naval Aviation between 1987-91. This was taken in October 1990.
GEN Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, standing on
an
anchor windlass speaking to the crew of the USS Wisconsin in the Persian
Gulf on Sept. 1, 1990, during Operation Desert Shield.
Questions
or comments on this page?
E-mail Dr. J David Rogers at rogersda@mst.edu.
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