Posted on 09/20/2008 6:32:30 PM PDT by Seattle Conservative
Fifty years ago, 899 young men gathered in the then-new Naval Academy field house to hear a graduation address by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. After four grueling years of military and academic training, their numbers had dwindled by a quarter,but for those who had survived, promising futures stretched out ahead.
[snip]
"We're not going out looking for another job, especially one that's as overwhelming as being president of the United States," said Potter, who planned to travel from California to attend the reunion. "Many of us wonder, 'Where does he get the energy to do this?' But those who knew him or knew about him, we knew he was different when he joined the class. He stood out as an individual."
[snip]
McCain, the son and grandson of war heroes, arrived on campus in 1954 at age 17. The academy was, he later wrote, "a place I belonged at but dreaded." An unambitious student, he had a knack for finding trouble. He was also congenial and popular.
"My first impression was that he was a gentlemanly individual. He was very composed, very sophisticated," said Frank Gamboa, a retired Navy captain who was McCain's academy roommate for three years and has been working steadily on his friend's presidential campaign. "Then I soon discovered a feisty side of his spirit. ... He hates hypocrisy and egotism, and if you were egotistical around him, oh - then you got the full treatment of humorous jibes."
Gamboa has frequently told the story of witnessing a mess hall run-in between McCain and an older midshipman. The senior was picking on a steward, and McCain, though he could have been punished for insubordination, intervened.
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
{snip}
"I didn't know a lot of people, but John did. He was very social. .... I remember his reputation as being very impulsive, quick to act," said James A. Estep, the only one of eight classmates interviewed who is not supporting McCain in the election. "Nobody, nobody, who was there could have told you anything about what would happen in the future as far as his political career went."
But that's part of the fun of any reunion - discovering the endings of people's stories, said Leo T. Powell Jr., a reunion organizer. He pointed out that the class has more than one luminary in its ranks, including Charles Larson, a retired four-star admiral who twice served as the academy's superintendent; retired astronaut Bruce McCandless; and John Poindexter, the former national security adviser who was caught up in the Iran-Contra scandal. In any case, reunions shouldn't be about politics or personalities, many alumni said. The bigwigs who show up will melt into the crowd. Even McCain's most ardent supporters say that if their candidate comes, he will just be "another guy."
It may even go back further than JFK.
How could you forget the properly swiftboated John F'n Kerry?
Except that Bush lost to Clinton in ‘92.
McCain graduated at the bottom of his class...5th.
Reminds me of the old joke:
Q What do you call the guy who finished last in his class at med school?
A Doctor.
I guess the key word here would be Navy man.
Didn’t work that way in 80
I think I heard a caller tell Rush that. You guys are right, and have debunked it.
Kerry? Didn't he serve in Viet Nam?
< /s>
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.