Art has a discussion with Pat Zalac

Art Lattanzi---United States Army

Art was in Viet Nam for 13 months returning February 1970.  He was in the US

 Army, 1st Infantry Division Tracker Teams operating along the Cambodian boarder and at the top of the Mekong Delta.

In Vietnam, GHS's Art Lattanzi received the Army Commendation Medal for Valor and an Air medal with 6 Oak Leaf Clusters.

See Art's Biography

Jim Smythe and Ron Marks both served after GHS

Jim Smythe---United States Army

Jim served in the Army security agency as a cryptographer between 1961 - 1963. Basic training was at Ft. Dix NJ, crypto school at Ft. Gordon Ga, two years at Kagnew Station Eritrea East Africa and last at Vint Hills Farm Station Va. It was at his last station that I had the honor of meeting Pres. John Kennedy shortly before his death.
 

See Jim's Biography

Tending his vines is a big change from building airports under enemy fire.

"Here's a picture of a more slender me outside of Quang Tri City about 7 miles south of the DMZ in early 1968.  I was a Company Commander for a detachment to build a 4000' runway with AM2 aluminum matting and a 60,000 sf soil cement and metal matting for a helo pad and maintenance area later to get revetments to protect the birds from rockets/mortars.  I went to Vietnam twice.  Was there for Tet.  Also built bridges and medical facilities.  Lived in a tent for 10 months. 

Jim gave 21 years to the US Navy .   He enlisted in the Navy's Civil Engineer Corps  after graduating from YSU in Youngstown. He was commissioned an Ensign. 

Jim did 2 tours of duty in Vietnam as Company Commander of a 140 man Seabee Unit.  Other assignments were as a contract administrator at Travis AFB in Calif., a 3 year assignment in Greece, 3 years at Camp David, A Post Graduate Master of Science in Civil Engineering, Naval War College in Newport R.I.   He retired as a Navy Commander in 1987.

See Jim's Biography

Butch and his bride

Floyd enlisted in the US Air Force just after graduation. He went to Biloxi MS for basic training  and was sent to Fort Meade, Maryland for extra training in electronic surveillance.   Later he was assigned to a 15 month tour of duty to Peshawar Pakistan as a sight analyst, monitoring Soviet satellites.  Butch held a top secret clearance and was head of the team that received and decoded the first ever pictures from space.  

While in Pakistan he used the opportunity to take trips into the Himalaya Mountains, travel through historic Kyber Pass and visit Kabul Aphganistan. 

The Frankfords have a daughter who also served in the USAF  (see below)

See Floyd's Biography

Dave and wife Jeralyn

Dave joined the Air Force and trained as a Jet Mechanic.  After training he was posted to Okinawa at Kadina, and later to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas Nevada.

He lives in Nevada today.

See Dave's Biography

John De Salvo United States Army Aug 20, 1960 to Aug 20, 1963. Photo taken Sept. 10, 1960 Ft Knox KY

Ron Marks---United States Navy and The United States Peace Corps

The Navy assigned Ron the U.S.S Kitty Hawk, an aircraft carrier.  “That carrier served our country until it was retired last summer,” Ron tells with some pride.  On board Ron was a Jet Engine Mechanic.

Ron’s service on board the Kitty Hawk took Ron around the globe to places he had never heard of before.  

All together Ron did three 6-9 month cruises before ending his service.  One of those cruises was to Viet Nam and Laos waters where the Kitty Hawk participated in combat sorties with bombing raids over those two counties.

Ron left the Navy in 1964 to work for a year until his earlier application as a Peace Corps Volunteer was accepted.  In 1965 he was off to the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee for Peace Corps training.  His eventual assignment was to Bengal India where he helped fix and maintain emergency vehicles.  “India changed my life in ways to numerous to count,” Ron explains rather seriously.

See Ron's biography.

Top Photo:

Ron on the flight  deck of the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk in the pacific. 1962.

 Bottom Photo:

Ron and his crew taking out a jet engine  on the Kitty Hawk,  Christmas eve 1963 in the South China Sea. Ron is at the top second from left, in a flight suit.

The Patricks on a recent Holy Land Cruise

Jay Patrick---United States Army

Jay was in the army from June 17^th1963 to June 16^th 1965. He exited as a private 1^st class. Jay had refused the promotion to Specialist 4^th class on miss guided principles, he says.

"Most of the other members of my unit were 17 and 18 years old. So I was considered the old man at 21 years of age! I went to Ft. Gordon, GA for basic and also for training to be a pole line man Then was stationed at Ft Polk as a motor pool parts clerk for the remaining time. My unit was scheduled to go to Vietnam as I was getting discharged I’m happy to say, I missed the war. Life expectancy for a pool lineman was about 30 sec. (so we were told) I also would like to thank those who did serve in Vietnam. It was an awful time for them during deployment and most assuredly  after!"

See Jay's Biography

While in college Gordon met and married his wife Judy. They were married in June of 1964.

The spirit of self sacrifice was present in both Gordon and Judy Gray. The two joined the Peace Corps together and spent 3 years in Tanzania. Gordon served as a primary school teacher while Judy became a librarian at the national library.

The Grays lived in the capital of Tanzania, Dar es Salam.  They got to know many Europeans who were working on various projects in Tanzania.  They also developed many local friends among the Africans.

"We met a lot of good people from both cultures," Gordon says.  They have stayed in touch with friends from both cultures through the years.

See Gordon's Biography

'Bill Robinson on a horse ,we often went  horse back riding at the Memphis Naval Air Station, Tenn.  Circa May 1961.  After that I lost track of him--Ron Marks

If anyone has heard from Bill or has information on where he is please get back to me at eddechant@earthlink.net

Richard Rayouk, United States Navy

Rich Rayouk getting married for the first and only time Sept. 15, 1989.  Ron Marks is in the robe officiating. Rich also served in the Navy and on aircraft carriers also.

Word is that Richard is in poor health and in a VA hospital in the Tampa area.  If one of our Tampa area classmates could check this out we would appreciate it.  Some get well wishes from classmates may help him fight his medical problems.

Ray's family was relatively poor so college was not an option for Ray.   Instead he choose the military and ended up in Army Intelligence where he could put his analytic abilities to use.  The military had a good effect on Ray and he spruced up quite a bit from the Ray we all remembered. 

Ray was a prolific reader reader.  He put his initials in each book in the GHS library that he read..  Nearly every book in the library had Ray's initials in it.  Ray made a career out of the Army and lived in Heidelberg Germany.  Part of his military intelligence work in the beginning involved reading novels like in the 1975 movie "Three Days of the Condor" with  Robert Redford. There has been some speculation about Ray's death. Some say it was on a covert mission. 

If anyone has further information please email me at eddechant@earthlink.net

See Ray's Eulogy In Memoriam

Bob dropped out of OSU after two years.  "Too much social life," he says.  For the next 3 years, 9 months, 28 days, 4 hours and 35 seconds, (who’s counting) Bob toured Texas, Colorado, Okinawa and Montana courtesy of a travel pass provided by the United States Air Force.  His service made him interested in Aviation.  After discharge he headed back to OSU, this time he would study Aero Space Engineering.

When he went back to OSU the times had changed a lot with the Vietnam War.  He found anti-war demonstrations everywhere.

Bob's biography is very interesting.

Charlie was in the Air Force from July 19, 1960 until March 20, 1964, having served at Lackland AFB San Antonio, Texas, Amarillo AFB, Amarillo, Texas, Clinton-Sherman AFB, in Clinton, Okla and finally Shemya, AFB on the island of Shemya at the tip of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.