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Admiral Larson,
Fellow flag officers,
Fellow classmates,
Distinguished guests,
And most importantly family and friends of the seven Class of 1967 retirees we honor
today.

      Good afternoon, What a wonderful homecoming. I always enjoy returning to our roots at
the Naval Academy, and today is even more special. Like so many graduates of this
institution, I am flooded with memories each time I drive through the gates and see the
monuments and buildings that have by now become a constant in our lives. The memories
remain incredibly vivid, filled with an emotion that never seems to wane.

      Today is a very special day and I approach my responsibilities with a great sense of
humility and gratitude to recognize our classmates - both those that have gone before us
and those whom we honor today. There is a wonderful symmetry to life. It is full of
beginnings and endings, sometimes happy - sometimes sad. But ultimately there is balance,
- and there is change. The military, perhaps more than any other profession, is comprised
of beginnings and endings. Like the alpha and the omega, the first and last letters of the
Greek alphabet, beginnings and endings often define what John Masefield called the
"vagrant gypsy life" we lead in the military. One task is ending - and another
beginning. As one door closes, another opens. And one door will close and another will
open for seven of us here today. It is a happy occasion honoring their service rendered,
and a sad occasion, for the military will sorely miss them. Today I have two tasks. The
first is to honor the retirement of five Navy Captains, five Captains who have run the
race and who have finished strong, who "Didn't give up the ship" (point to
Memorial Hall flag) and who have decided to leave the Naval Service just as they entered
it -- in Lord Nelson's words, -- "as a band of brothers,"-- from here where it
all began surrounded in this historic hall by so many memories of our great naval
traditions. The second task is also important and concerns all of us in this room; it is
to pause and mark a major landmark, to celebrate the service of the United States Naval
Academy Class of 1967, to the Navy, and to our nation. For in a very real sense, today
marks the curtain call on the main act of the naval service of the Class of 67. Yes there
will be a few encores, several of us will continue to play on for a few years, but in the
main, today's ceremony will signal the end of an era, the era of the Class of' 67. And what
an era it has been. It's said "Success is a journey not a destination." And our
class has certainly had a great journey. Allow me to reminisce
for a few moments with you. John Masefield once wrote:

I must go down to the sea again,
for the call of the running tide
is a wild call and a clear call
that may not be denied.

      And it was a wild, clear call that brought many of us to the Naval Academy in 1963.

      On that fateful day in June, 34 years ago, some twelve hundred fifty young men reported
to form up the Naval Academy Class of 1967 and, for most of us, our lives were forever
changed.

      When Rear Admiral Kirkpatrick - Uncle Charlie - a man we came to love and respect,
swore us in, he imbued us with the spirit of John Paul Jones - "Sign up young man and
sail with me". He told us time and time again "You can do anything you set your
minds to do." And many of us set our minds on being just half the officer Rear
Admiral Kirkpatrick was. On that first day our world changed dramatically. We became very
focused inside the cloistered confines of the yard and inside the walls of Mother B. All
of us have our own memories of that beginning - - that first haircut, learning to march
and square corners, the pain of a large atlas if you lost a bet, spit shining shoes.....

      But the world outside the walls continued on without us. Just before we arrived that
June, the nuclear submarine Thresher sank in the worst submarine disaster of our time, the
Cold War was in full swing, John F. Kennedy had just been elected President, and the
Beatles score their first big success in the United States.

      In early August of our plebe summer a young, new President addressed us. As part of his
speech he said: "I want to express the strong hope that all of you who have come to
the Academy as plebes will stay with the Navy. I can think of no more rewarding a career.
You will have a chance in the next 10, 20, and 30 years to serve the course of freedom and
your country all over the globe, to hold positions of the highest responsibility, to
recognize that upon your good judgment in many cases may well rest not only the well being
of the men with whom you serve, but also in a very real sense the security of your
country. I can imagine a no more rewarding career. Any man who may be asked in this
century what he did to make his life worth while, I think can respond with a good deal of
pride and satisfaction: I served in the U.S. Navy"

      Those were prophetic words - the men before you are their livingproof.

      At the end of his speech President Kennedy granted amnesty "to whoever needs it,
whoever deserves it." I don't know if we deserved it, but I know plenty of us needed
it.

      Several months later, President Kennedy was assassinated and I think most of us
remember exactly where we were on that November afternoon when the word was passed. During
the next four years we mastered -- or at least survived -- challenging courses fondly
nicknamed "steam" and "wires" and "skinny". We learned
important lessons -- not just in the formal classrooms, but in the informal classrooms of
the parade grounds, the athletic fields, the mess tables, and in the halls of Mother B.
Lessons that would carry us through life. And we learned the concept of honor and the
meaning of class ties that would bind us forever.

      Most of us were too young or too busy to fully appreciate the meaning of the Naval
Academy's motto -- Ex Scientia Tridens -- From Knowledge Seapower -- but those early
struggles became tomorrow's strengths.

      Over the next four years we also saw America become involved in the war in Vietnam, and
many of our upperclassmen to become prisoners of war or casualties in that conflict. There
were many other dramatic changes in the world beyond Bancroft Hall - a world from which we
were often isolated.

- The civil rights movement
- The introduction of the Ford Mustang
- The opening of the Capital Beltway
- The beginning of Master Card
- The first episode of Star Trek
- The first Super Bowl

      In June of 1967, "6/7/67" to be exact and no mere coincidence I might state,
890 of our class graduated. 770 were sworn in as Ensigns, 85 as 2nd LT's in the Marine
Corps, 2 were commissioned in the Air Force and 10 were commissioned in the Army. Four
classmates had tragically lost their lives along the way -- one sadly on graduation day.
Lyndon Johnson was President, Admiral David MacDonald was the Chief of Naval Operations,
and Rear Admiral Draper Kauffman was the Superintendent. When Vice President Hubert
Humphrey presented our diplomas we couldn't wait to leave. In fact, our class song was --
I'm sure you will all remember as we sang it at most of our class functions -- "We
gotta get out of this place." Now 30 years later, we frequently can't wait to come
back. As new ensigns and second lieutenants, we began our service to our country. Young,
headstrong, and energetic, we left to make our mark on the Fleet and to serve our nation.
We scattered to assignments around the globe.

      The rock solid four-year experience at the Naval Academy prepared us well for the
challenges that lay ahead and would be with us forever. Four years of setting goals,
weighing values, and maturing into leaders.

      Who indeed could have predicted all that would happen in the journey of the next 30
years? Who could have comprehended that time would pass so fast? We started our naval
service in a time of tremendous upheaval and change in America and the world. We were at
war in Vietnam. Many of our classmates served there, and three of today's honorees went
in-country. Eight of our classmates made the supreme sacrifice in that faraway conflict,
and one was a prisoner of war. Then came the post-Vietnam drawdown. We experienced some
tough times. Some of our best people left in droves, we had racial problems, we became a
hollow force, our ships could not get underway. Our service and our sacrifice became
unpopular. We endured a period of broken promises and unrealized hopes. But we stuck it
out, we held our course, focused and determined. Indeed some of our classmates departed
the pattern. But in the end we steadied up on course and went back to the basics of our
profession and took up the clarion call of pride and professionalism.

      In the second half of our class journey, we soared. The Maritime Strategy provided us a
strategic vision. We transitioned to an all-volunteer force. We invested in new technology
but more importantly, we invested in people and pride and discipline. And in 1989 in
magnificent irony, the Berlin wall fell and the Evil Empire collapsed. We won the Cold War
without ever firing a shot. And in the frenzied finale of our journey, we fought a desert
war of immense success and popularity and finally received the tribute for which we had
waited so long.

      Of course there have been many individual milestones along the way. The day we married,
the births of our children, the loss of a loved one. But there have also been many shared
ones - the class reunions, the promotions, the shared sorrow of the loss of our classmates
such as Mike Smith on Challenger, the infamous Slummer "get togethers", the
shared deployments, separations, and sacrifices, the shared accomplishments.

      So what's the point? As we look back on our 34 years as a class, what counts? We have
commanded ships and squadrons and battalions of all sorts. We have won medals and awards.
We have flown in space and stood at both the North and South Poles. We have fought in
deserts and jungles and over, and on, and under the oceans of the world. We have provided
a strong presence which ensured peace and eventually won a war that many people thought
couldn't be won or wasn't worth the price.

      We have served our Navy and our Nation proudly. The plaques and certificates that hang
on our "I love me walls" (at least those that our wives didn't make us unload in
the last yard sale) attest to achievements of a tangible sort. But in my mind, when we
look back on our service and its true meaning, it's the cause we served and the people we
encountered along the way that count. Many we can't remember or maybe never really knew.
It's been a long journey and it hasn't been easy. The statistics are a stark reminder.
Twelve hundred fifty entered the Class of 67, eight hundred ninety graduated, and fifty
are no longer with us.

      And so it has come full circle back to where this class was first born. We left with
enthusiasm and hope, we toiled through a period of confusion and rejection, we triumphed
in a spectacular blaze of glory and now we return for a moment of reflection. JFK was
right after all. There is no more rewarding career. Charlie Kirkpatrick and Draper
Kauffman would have been very proud of our class. I know RADM Charlie Minter, our second
superintendent who is here today, is very proud of this class. We served well. We leave
the Navy better because of our service. Today marks an ending of sorts for our class and
especially the retirees before you but it also marks a new beginning. We begin a new
journey as we pass on the watch. Whether to pursue second careers or to work an improving
our golf handicap or to spend time with our grandchildren. Take a look in front of you.
Great people like these are responsible for the successes of the last three decades. Their
biographies are in the program, and if I have one frustration today it is that we can't
honor each of them adequately. These are people who were more interested in outcomes
rather that incomes. Who thought more of their country than themselves. Each one of them
is a great story:

- of responsibilities sought and well discharged
- of opportunities seized
- of uncertainties faced and overcome
- of caring leadership competence, and character.

      Let me give you a little flavor of their stories...

      Captain Dick Field, hailing from Arlington Texas -- a nuclear submariner and a former
shipmate

- Who served challenging tours on the Pacific Fleet and a submarine squadron staff
- Command of the nuclear attack submarine Pollack
- Commanding Officer of a submarine squadron in Charleston
- Executive director of the Strategic Advisory Group at US Strategic Command
- Two masters degrees and a graduate of the Naval War College
- And a final tour as Professor of Naval Science at Duke, The
University of North Carolina and North Carolina State -- training
our reliefs. Dick's son is a LT in the U.S. Navy - beginnings
and endings. Thanks, Dick.

         Captain Tom Kent, another nuclear submariner, a native of Ithaca New York who followed
his brother to the Naval Academy. Tom taught navigation and sailing at the Naval Academy.
He worked for Admiral Rickover at Naval Reactors and served with distinction on the staffs
of Submarine Squadron SEVEN, SUBPAC, and both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets.

- Commanded the nuclear attack submarine TAUTOG and HUNLEY, the submarine tender. He
completed numerous challenging and sensitive operations while in command.
- Most recently he completed duty as Inspector General of the Atlantic Fleet.

Thanks, Tom

      Our third submariner, Captain George Lear, hails from Fresno, California.
- Served a significant portion of his career at sea on board our ballistic missile
submarines, George earned the prestigious gold SSBN patrol pin with 21 strategic
deterrent patrols - that's more than four years under water.
- A senior Instructor at the Purdue University NROTC unit where he earned a Masters
degree
- Commanding Officer of the nuclear ballistic missile submarine, USS MARIANO G. VALLEJO
(SSBN 658) and theTrident SSBN USS ALASKA (SSBN 732).
- Commanded two shore commands instrumental in training our people – Naval
Submarine School and most recently as Professor Naval Science at George Washington
University NROTC Unit.

Thanks, George

      Captain Dick Scott, from Baltimore. A Helicopter pilot, Dick earned his wings logging
over 4,000 flight hours in more than thirty types of aircraft and has deployed in four
different battle groups during his career.
- Flew over 550 combat missions in support of our Forces in Vietnam
- Commanded helo squadron 5 on USS Eisenhower.
- Served ashore in a full range of assignments ranging from flight instructor in
Pensacola, to the Bureau of Naval Personnel, to Naval Air Systems Command earning a
masters degree along the way.
- Most recently served as Assistant Chief of Naval Research.

      Dick's son is also a Lieutenant in the Navy - another beginning.

Thanks, Dick.

      And finally, our second naval aviator Captain Bill Vivian, from Grand Haven, Michigan.
A talented helicopter pilot, Bill accumulated over 4,700 hours in Naval aircraft.
- A political military specialist, with two Masters degrees, Bill has spent much of his
career working on long range strategy and policy issues in the Philippines and for the
Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
- He commanded Helicopter Squadron 2 in San Diego aboard the Kitty Hawk where he
received numerous awards for excellence.
- Commanded one of our most challenging shore commands, Naval Support Activity, Naples
during the recent conflict in former Yugoslavia.
- Most recently served as Professor of Naval Science at the University of Florida.

Thanks, Bill

      Now that does not begin to do them justice, but you get the idea. Five classmates, five
Captains who will leave a legacy of service, dedication, professionalism, perseverance and
courage. Thousands and thousands of people are better sailors and better people because of
them.

      How do you recognize the sacrifice and service of a lifetime? That sacrifice, that
service is not taken lightly, but neither is it rewarded handsomely. John F. Kennedy once
said "Naval officers are paid like bus boys, worked like field hands and then
released like old slow halfbacks." A few plaques, pieces of paper, pieces of brightly
colored ribbons pinned to their uniforms...all testimony to the appreciation of a
nation...at peace, free and prosperous because men like these are willing to serve and
sacrifice. They symbolize what the Class of 1967 brought to the Navy. They answered
"a wild and clear call" and to paraphrase John Masefield:

"All they ask is a merry yarn
from a laughing fellow rover.
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream
now that the long trick's over."

      Now before I finish I want to thank a very special group of people -- our wives and
family members who served all of these years beside us. We cannot begin to repay them for
their sacrifice -- for their service -- for their support. For a journey full of
separations and constant moves, for our "vagrant gypsy lives" as I mentioned
earlier, they stuck by us. They truly are the real heroes of the Navy.

      God bless each of you and your families as you get underway for one last duty
assignment, independent duty. Enjoy it -- you've earned it. Thank you for your sacrifices.

      Thank you for letting us share in this special day. God bless the Class of 1967, God
bless this institution that nurtured us, God bless the United States Navy, God bless
America.

VADM Richard W. Mies, USN
Addresss to the Class of' '67 Retirees
Annapolis, MD, 20 June 1997