Stu and all the others. Thanks for the memories.
My only office interaction with Holzman was when she wanted me to get you guys
to show her respect and accused me also. She told me I had a problem with
Female authority. I told her my mother, Major (Ret) Ylinen, would find that
interesting. She never talked to me in private again.
My last memory of the Trigon was my fall of 78 when I stayed for grad school.
Having to go and get help getting back in the Field Artillery. The Army has
changed my branch to Engineer. Got it all straight. They got even though and
assigned me to Pershing Missiles as a second Lieutenant.
When I got engaged to Sandy and wanted to get her a ring that year. Went to
COL Parson’s office because the Bank of A&M required a co-sign and suggested I
go to him. No way I was asking my parents. He of course signed it. Knew he
had a sure thing with an Army Scholarship and already commissioned.
You all get your vaccines.
When are we going to have a men’s basketball team? Thank goodness the ladies
hopefully will kick some butt.
From: fighting_texas_aggie_band_class_of_1977-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<fighting_texas_aggie_band_class_of_1977-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Stu
McLennan
Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2021 3:04 PM
To: fighting_texas_aggie_band_class_of_1977@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [fighting_texas_aggie_band_class_of_1977] Re: Female AFROTC instructor
Lieutenant (then Captain) Holzman was Army, but fortunately we never
interacted. Major Carothers, Captains Laidig and Orr, and MSG Petty had “lock
and tone” on me because I spent 7 of my first 8 semesters on scholastic
probation. I was then summoned multiple times each semester by all three
officers for an “attitude adjustment”. Carothers was Infantry and did his
Airborne Ranger shtick. Laidig was Field Artillery and tried reason because he
knew that, like my father, it was my branch of choice. Orr was Ordnance and
just nuked me. How fitting. One time he saw my reflection in his office mirror,
as I stood at attention, lip-syncing his tongue-lashing. The fallout from that
was epic; I ended up in Colonel Parson’s office. The essence of each rant
however was the same; the Army is going to yank your scholarship and send you
to Fort Benning as a PFC if you don’t straighten up. MSG Petty always batted
clean-up. He’d pick me up and dust me off, in a combat vet, Special Forces
kinda way. Years later I discovered it was all an empty threat. Seems 4-year US
Army ROTC scholarship awardees, even from California, were coveted by colleges
and universities and tracked by HQDA. Who knew.
Fast forward to 1991. Major McLennan met Colonel Ira D. Orr at a Command and
General Staff Officers Course function at Fort Leavenworth. It was the first
time we’d met since 1976 and he introduced me to his wife. “So you’re Fish
McLennan”, she said sweetly as she held my hand, “We didn’t think you were
going to make it.” It was funny by then, and we all laughed. Truth is,
sometimes neither did I. Thank God for Kay and Dr. Roy Gilbert, Econometrics
463. That is a story for another time.
Stu
From:
<fighting_texas_aggie_band_class_of_1977-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:fighting_texas_aggie_band_class_of_1977-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
on behalf of Edward Retta
<eretta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:eretta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
Reply-To:
<fighting_texas_aggie_band_class_of_1977@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:fighting_texas_aggie_band_class_of_1977@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
Date: Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at 1:12 PM
To:
<fighting_texas_aggie_band_class_of_1977@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:fighting_texas_aggie_band_class_of_1977@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
Subject: [fighting_texas_aggie_band_class_of_1977] Re: Female AFROTC instructor
Our zip year, when the high school ROTC groups visited for a football game
weekend, those kids saluted me. I guess cause I was wearing boots, who knows? I
just looked at them like they were stupid. The second group tried the same, so
I just saluted back. They seemed pleased. Nowadays young people hold doors open
for me. That's nice. I always salute them.
Edward Retta
On Mar 16, 2021 11:36, Michael Brown
<dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Well, the trip down memory lane was fun, but the guy finally admitted his mom
was getting a grad degree in meteorology, and was not part of the cadre.
I figure his mom was telling him some big stories that may or may not have been
based in facts. I doubt that she spent much, if any time on campus in uniform,
if she was a grad student. Therefore, unlikely that a cadet refused to salute
her.
Even if one did fail to salute, it could have been a confused fish. I believe
I saw some fish try to salute one of the janitors who was wearing the janitor
“uniform”.
