West Point Class of '72

Download "2024 Mini Reunion - Charleston Planning.pptx"

April 21 Sunday view all events

Mini Reunion Registration and Check-in

When: Sunday, Apr. 21, 4:00PM
Where: Hyatt Place Check In Desk k

April 21 Sunday view all events

Meet & Greet

When: Sunday, Apr. 21, 4:00PM
Where: Hyatt Place Tap House

April 22 Monday view all events

Mini Reunion Registration and Check In

When: Monday, Apr. 22, 9:00AM
Where: Hospitality Room

Admin/Registration Fee: $ per person.

Registration
Start: 9:00 AM
End: 5:00 PM

POC:

April 22 Monday view all events

Golf Outing #1

When: Monday, Apr. 22, 9:00AM
Where: The Links at Stono Ferry

The Links at Stono Ferry
4812 Stono Links Drive
Hollywood, SC 29449
Google maps link: Wild Dunes Harbor Course

Cost: $110.00 includes cart, taxes, and Range Balls. We will be doing a shotgun start. Contact Scott Peppler at scottpeppler@gmail.com if you need to rent clubs. Stono Ferry Directions

The Links at Stono Ferry is truly a unique golf experience with eighteen challenging holes played on historic and beautiful grounds. The Battle at Stono Ferry took place on June 20, 1779. This famous American Revolutionary battle was fought along the Stono River. A part of the battle took place where the 12th, 13th, and 14th holes are presently located. One of the military fortifications (redoubt) from the battle was relocated during the construction of the course to the right side of the 12th fairway.

POC: Scott Peppler

April 22 Monday view all events

Company/Small Group Dinners

When: Monday, Apr. 22, 5:00PM
Where: CO Restaurant Choice

April 23 Tuesday view all events

Golf Outing #2

When: Tuesday, Apr. 23, 10:00AM
Where: Golf Rivertowne Country Club

10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Golf Rivertowne Country Club
1700 Rivertowne Country Club Dr, Mt Pleasant, SC 29466
Google Maps link: Rivertowne Country Club
Cost: $115.00
Club has a limited number of Rental Clubs.
Contact Scott Peppler at scottpeppler@gmail.com if you need a set. Pay at the Pro Shop when you pick them up.

POC: Scott Peppler

April 24 Wednesday view all events

Memorial Service

When: Wednesday, Apr. 24, 8:00AM
Where: The Citadel

Start time is 8:00 AM

Ends at 9:00 AM

Address:

POC: Bubba Bowden, Larry Aubrecht,

April 24 Wednesday view all events

Benny Haven's Hour and a Half

When: Wednesday, Apr. 24, 5:30PM
Where: Hyatt Place Tap House

A chance to enjoy some spirits with friends

April 24 Wednesday view all events

Class Business Meeting

When: Wednesday, Apr. 24, 6:00PM
Where: Hyatt Place

The class meeting will be held during the Benny Haven's time.

Class business: John Northrop.
Discussion of the classes future vision: Gary Speer

Start: 6:00 PM
Ends 6:45 PM

POC: Larry Aubrecht & Steve Presley

April 24 Wednesday view all events

Class of 72 Banquet

When: Wednesday, Apr. 24, 7:00PM
Where: Hyatt Place

Benny Havens: 5:30 PM

Class Business Meeting: 6:00 PM

Banquet: 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM
Cost: tbd pp

POC: Steve Presley

April 25 Thursday view all events

Farewell Departure Breakfasts

When: Thursday, Apr. 25, 7:00AM
Where: Restaurants of Your Choosing

Last chance to share some food with special friends before heading back home.
This might be an opportunity to meet at a local restaurant if you have time before leaving.

Our Next Mini Reunion: It is Charleston in April of 2024

Next Stop: Charleston. That will be Sunday, April 21, 2024 thru Thursday, April 25, 2024!

Charleston, South Carolina has been named the top city for tourism in the US several times in the past few years, and it was named the top city to visit in the world by the readers of Travel + Leisure Magazine in 2016. So, it’s time for our Class to visit this city…

Charleston has a full menu of things to see and do. Speaking of menus, this is a definite destination for foodies, with shrimp, grits, and barbeque. Other than during the hot summers, the weather is pleasant. There are beaches, waterways, and forests in the surrounding area.

But it is its history that makes Charleston especially interesting. The city was founded in 1670, and quickly became the largest city in the South. Charleston is an excellent natural port, but the first settlers had to endure challenges that persist to this day: hurricanes, fires, and even the occasional earthquake. The first cash crops were rice and indigo, whose cultivation was greatly assisted by the knowledge of the slaves who were brought with the first English settlers. Gradually, Charleston became the main port for the export of cotton to England prior to the US Civil War, and was probably the richest city in the US at the time.

Charleston played a major role is both the American Revolution and the Civil War. The British seized Charleston in 1780, in the worst surrender of American forces in that entire conflict. But the British soon discovered the hornets’ nest of the surrounding area. They were constantly harassed by guerrillas led by Frances Marion, the Swamp Fox (the nearby national forest is named after him) until the war ended and the British departed. In response to this vulnerability of American port cities, as clearly shown in both the Revolution and the War of 1812, the US built a set of forts to protect the Atlantic seaboard, from Maine to Louisiana (built by graduates from a certain new school on the Hudson). One of those forts was Fort Sumter, just outside of Charleston. It was here, in April 1861, that the forces of the states that had just left the Union bombarded the fort to force its surrender. Despite that early victory, Charleston remained bottled up by the US Navy for the duration of the Civil War, and economic recovery was slow after the war. Ft. Sumter is now a National Monument, one of the premier sights in Charleston.

Charleston also honestly confronts the aspects of its history that are objectionable today: Antebellum Charleston was the largest slave market in the US. The Old Slave Mart Museum tells that story.

Charleston has many other sights related to military history: the first successful employment of a submarine in combat occurred here. The Confederate submarine, Hunley, sank the Union ship, Housatonic, in 1864, with an explosive on the end of a long pike. Unfortunately for the crew of the submarine, however, the shock waves from the explosion came back to the submarine and killed its eight-man crew. The sub sank and was recovered in 2000 and is now housed in a museum (in north Charleston) specially designed for it. The famous aircraft carrier, the USS Yorktown (CV-6), which served from World War II to the recovery of Apollo astronauts, is berthed in Charleston at Patriot’s Point.

Charleston has preserved its history for us to take in. With its cobblestone streets, the city offers horse-drawn carriage rides through a variety of neighborhoods in the Historic District. One of those areas is Cabbage Row, which became the inspiration for Catfish Row in the story of Porgy and Bess, considered the greatest American opera. In the outskirts of the city are the plantations and gardens of the antebellum era. Beaches, wildlife (yes, alligators), dinner cruises, beautiful sunsets – these are all available for us to enjoy, so let’s all meet there in 2024!

Proud & True Award

Proud and True Award
The P&T Award has been awarded since 2013. The description of the award and who is eligible for it has been slightly modified over the years to carve out a place for "nominees from all walks of life." The current wording on the Class website is: "The Class of 1972 Proud and True Award recognizes those whose lifetime leadership and service we, as a class, want to honor and recognize. This includes their positive influence on the class while at West Point and/or after graduation as well as their exemplary service to the Nation consistent with the ideals of West Point and our motto "Proud and True." Recipients may not be a member or former member of the Class. Nominees from all walks of life (i.e. civilians) are welcome."
The administration of the award as well as the current description
needs work. Please contact Tom Hendrix at hendrix1@pa.net or
hendrix1509@gmail.com with suggestions and improvements. He will pull them together and present options to the reunion committee and the Class leadership.

West Point Class of 72

Proud and True 72

Mini Reunion Registration and Check-in

Meet & Greet

Mini Reunion Registration and Check In

Golf Outing #1

Company/Small Group Dinners

Golf Outing #2

Memorial Service

Benny Haven's Hour and a Half

Class Business Meeting

Class of 72 Banquet

Farewell Departure Breakfasts