Issue 28 May 24, 2013 HELLO PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, GUARDIANS & SPONSORS:

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1 Issue 28 May 24, 2013 HELLO PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, GUARDIANS & SPONSORS: This is the second to the last Parents Newsletter of Academy School Year, Next week, we will send a final issue on Wednesday, May 29. ONE LAST TIME: ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A VFMC CADET? Q: At Omaha Beach, Normandy (D-Day) what were the proportions of Allied/Axis troops? CPT Tom Durwood Assistant Professor of English VFMC Q: What killed the most soldiers in Napoleon s Grand Army in the 1812 invasion of Russia? Dr. Patrick Murray Professor Emeritus, History VFMC Answers are at the bottom. MAY/JUNE AT A GLANCE: Date and Time Event Location Notes 26 May 11:00 AM Chapel Service Chapel Open to the public 12:45 PM 27 May 8:30 AM Chapel Parade after the Service Wreath Laying Ceremony Main Area VF Grounds Open to the public Open to the public 9:45 AM Radnor Memorial Day Parade 30 May Academy Underclassmen Depart Lancaster Ave Details below Leave is after last exam and after room is clean and has passed inspection.

2 31 May Middle School Promotion Chapel Details below 31 May Academy Graduates Crossed Details below Garden Party Sabres 1 June 9:00 AM* Academy Graduation Ceremony Parade Field Details below The actual ceremony begins at 9:30 AM but parents arrive very early to save seats on the bleachers. If you wish, you may bring blankets or lawn chairs for the grassy area above the bleachers. It will be crowded but very exciting! There is no limit to the number of guests you may bring. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in Price Gym with parking on the Parade Field or Kuncl Lot behind the gym. LEAVE POLICY FOR 5-DAY AND DAY STUDENTS: As a follow-up to the letter mailed earlier, parents, please see weekend attendance requirements for five day boarders and day students below. Day/Date Activity Time Remarks Mon, 27 May Memorial Day Memorial Day Activities/Parade Respectfully, COL Kenneth Seitz kseitz@vfmac.edu MEMORIAL DAY SCHEDULE, 27 MAY, 2013: 8:30 AM Memorial Day Service and Wreath Laying, various campus locations 9:45 AM Beginning of the Radnor Memorial Day Parade, Lancaster Avenue Wayne, PA. All are welcome to observe the parade. 12:30 PM Corps Walkout/Dinner Leave or optional 2 nd Mess in the Mess Hall 6:30 PM Corps must return - optional 3 rd Mess in the Mess Hall 7:30 PM Study Hall MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMOTION 31 May 2013: 10:00 AM Middle School Promotion Ceremony, Chapel Refreshments will be available in the Sara Crawford Room in Mellon Hall directly following. ACADEMY GRADUATION DETAILS 1 JUNE 2013: 8:30 AM Refreshments, Eisenhower Hall 9:00 AM Academy Graduation Ceremony, Parade Field Invitations will be mailed to you but are not required to attend the ceremony. There is no limit as to the number of guests you invite. If you have questions, please contact Claire Reynolds at CReynolds@vfmac.edu or

3 ACADEMY GRADUATES GARDEN PARTY: Academy parents, we have sent an electronic invitation, inviting you and your graduate to Crossed Sabres from 5:00-7:00 PM on Friday, 31 May. Please RSVP to Mrs. Tolvaisa at shortly thereafter. CADET AWARDS: Chapel Choir Crosses: Gold Cross: Silver Cross: The Glee Club Medal: The Choirmaster s Medal: Vestry/Acolyte Crosses: Vestry: Acolytes: The Chaplain s Medal: The Reverend Dr. Noble M. Smith Award: The Stephen Foster Honor Society Pin: The Choir Ribbon: Cadet Anthony Masucci Cadet Sandor Farkas Cadet Johnathan Ha Cadet Alexander Homer Cadet Mark Rances Cadet Ivan Seamon-McGowan Cadet Young Sheng Cadet Calvert Thomas Cadet Yuan Pu Cadet Alexander Homer Cadet Jason Jeanty (2 years) Cadet Adrian Stella (3 years) Cadet Vincent Badali (4 years) Cadet Jersey Chen (4 years) Cadet Benjamin Yoshikawa (4 years) Cadet Grigory Gonastarev (2 years) Cadet Sandor Farkas Cadet Lucas Heck Cadet Lucas Heck Cadet Alexander Homer Cadet Anthony Masucci Cadet Leslie Alasagas Cadet Eveline Borges Cadet Trevor Connor Cadet Madelyn Crimmins Cadet Hillary Esposito Cadet Lucas Heck Cadet Gabriel Henderson Cadet Seamus Mooney Cadet Jonathan Nelson Cadet Yuan Pu Cadet Qitao Wu

4 The Lieutenant General Richard King Mellon Gold Medal: Cadet First Captain Mark Pretz The Medal of the Order of the Cincinnati: The Haas Medal: The Russo Medal: Cadet Casey McCormack Cadet Joseph Bosse Cadet Ryan Niessner The Lieutenant General William G. Price, Jr. Medal: Cadet Conor Smith Cadet Zhi Wei Yang The Feehan Medal: The Seybolt Award: Cadet Corey Hinson Cadet Peter Chlebogiannis Cadet Damien Frombach Cadet Dillion Holloway The Pan American Association of Philadelphia Award: Cadet Lorenzo De La Garza Cadet Jesus Casado The Harry M. 67 and H. Michael 88, 90, Judge - E Battery Award for Excellence: Cadet Simon Rowan The McCloskey Medal: Cadet Calvert Thomas Cadet Jonathan Nelson Cadet Bryan Chin Cadet Ibrahim Awadallah Cadet Bohan Chen Cadet William Reppert Cadet Gabriel Llamas Avila Cadet Romeo LoGiurato The Anthony Wayne American Legion Post 418 Medal: Cadet Sandor Farkas The Association of Military College and Schools of the United States (AMCSUS) Cadet Leslie Alasagas Cadet Panit Nakajitti The Bateman Gallagher American Legion Post #668 Medal: Cadet Elias Jesus The Edward W. Schroeder Medal: The Hill Medal: The Colonel Walter R. Badham Tactical Medal: Cadet Chase Burrell Cadet Ibrahim Awadallah Cadet Ryan Niessner

5 The William F. Mullen Medal for Musicianship: The Karl R. Brunner Leadership Award: The Foley Medal: The Stackpole Cavalry Medal: The General George Gordon Meade Cup: Cadet Anthony Romero Cadet First Captain Mark Pretz Cadet Tyler Langford Cadet Manuel Del Moral Cadet Asa Unger Streamer Awards: Corps Squad Participation Award: A Company Best Drill Company: Band Best Overall Units: Academy Battalion: B Company College Battalion: G Company Congratulations to all the Medal awardees and the Streamer awardees! DUNAWAY PIZZA PARTY: On Wednesday, 15 May, the Parents Association recognized the Dunaway speaking competition finalists with a pizza lunch. The English Department, who had worked with the students to prepare them, was in attendance as well. We thank the PA for their support of this strong VFMA tradition which dates back to the 1950 s!

6 RIFLE CLUB UPDATE: On Saturday 18 May 2013 the VFMA Rifle Club went on its last off-campus range trip of the year to Oley Valley Fish and Game. The members engaged in a lively trap competition in the morning. Our overall champion was Cadet Zongda Che of C Company. After a refueling of pizza for lunch they were back at it in the afternoon with military rifles on the 30 yard range including; a German STG-44, Bulgarian RPK-74, Romanian AKM, Springfield M1A, and Soviet M44 carbine. The culmination of the shoot was the destruction of 3-D zombie target which the cadets completed with great enthusiasm. The VFMA Rifle Team thanks Mr. Chris Gallagher, father of Cadet Niall Gallagher for his support of this event and for LT Messinger s attendance! Christopher Bechtel CPT, History Instructor ACADEMY RE-ENROLLMENT: Dear Parent(s), The re-enrollment deadline for the academic year is now. We must receive your $500 deposit along with your re-enrollment form so that you may keep your current Financial Aid package and secure your son s place in next year s class. You can find the reenrollment form on our website. Please fax the form to or it to Admissions_Academy@vfmac.edu. You may mail a check or make an electronic check or credit card payment through Higher Education Services. A link for this can also be found on our website.

7 Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any additional questions or concerns, as I would be happy to assist you in this process. Best regards, Kristen A Greener Financial Aid Coordinator Phone: Fax: KGreener@vfmac.edu VALLEY FORGE GOLF CLASSIC: This year s golf outing is creating quite a buzz and will prove to be the best event in years. The golfers will go to battle on July 22 at Meadowlands Country Club and sponsorship would be a great way to promote your business to the entire VFMA&C community. The event will be held in conjunction with Military Appreciation Day at Meadowlands, so your sponsorship will also be viewed by a wide audience of active military personnel and their families. We are adding something new this year you may design your own tee sign with a threeline message you wish to send to the Valley Forge community. This is a great opportunity to send a tribute to someone at Valley Forge who inspired you or helped you become the person you are today. Or you can send a spirited message to your cadet company or an athletic team; whatever message you choose. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us for this event that benefits the Cadet Scholarship Fund. Contact Ann Sinatra at or asinatra@vfmac.edu for further details and watch for a link to the event on our website. SUMMER CAMP: How to register? Currently, we are accepting paper applications, just print the PDF for the camp you are interested in on the website and mail it back with the required application fee. The best place to get the most current information is on our web-site on the VF website at Mr. Joseph Haughey Director of Summer Camps JHaughey@vfmac.edu PLEASE REMEMBER THE FORGE FUND! Thank each of you who have made a gift to the Forge Fund! Gifts to the Forge Fund help support the quality of the cadet experience. If you would like to make a gift or find out the best way to give, please be in touch with Holly Cheshire, Director of the Forge Fund, , hcheshire@vfmac.edu. Thank you for your support of the glory that is Valley Forge!

8 DVD S AVAILABLE: If you are interested in purchasing a DVD from the academy year, please contact Mr. John Haines at Jhainessr@gmail.com or DVD s are available for $24.95 each: Sept. 23, 2012: Oct. 6 & 7, 2012: Nov. 4, 2012 Nov. 3, 2012 Nov. 17, 2012 Dec. 7, 2012 Dec. 9, 2012 Chapel Service and Chapel Parade: Chapel Service and Joining the Ranks Ceremony Grandparents Day Chapel Service Regimental Review with the Greater Pennsylvania Military Vehicle Historical Society College Football Seaboard Conference Championship Game Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology Bulldogs vs. Valley Forge Military College Trojans. VFMA&C Military Tattoo VFMA&C Winter Holiday Concert VFMA&C Christmas Vespers Festival of Nine Lessons Jan. 13, 2013 VFMA&C Chapel Service Eulogy for General Norman H. Schwarzkopf, Class of 1952 by Col. James J. Doyle, USMC (Ret) Interim President of VFMA&C Jan. 20, 2013 Parents Association Meeting Col. James J Doyle, Speaker Holcomb Behavioral Health Systems presentation on K2 awareness. NEW! April 13, 2013 April 14, 2013 May 12, 2013 Valor Weekend Seminar Panel Discussion with Assembled Corps of Cadets in Mellon Hall. Panel: William R. Barker '42; Richards (Dix) Jarden '42;Allen E. Weseleskey '53, '55C; Brendan W. O'Connor '80C; and Paul E. Galanti '57. Chapel Service & Regimental Review Guest Speaker: Commander Paul Galanti '57, USN (Ret.); Also a presentation by Eric Fisher Wood, III to VFMAC. Chapel Service, Awards & Regimental Review Guest Speaker: Mrs. Joanne Pretz, mother of 1st Captain Mark L. Pretz. Also, Chapel Awards, Alumnus Award, Streamers and more.

9 Please note there are other DVD s from previous years available. FOLLOW VFMA&C ON FACEBOOK & TWITTER VFMA&C is enhancing its social media status. Come follow us on Facebook and/or Twitter. With the new Facebook format, you can also share photos of your own. Share our stories with your friends and family, look for new photo albums of the unique experiences at VFMA&C. Facebook: On Twitter, COMMANDANT S MESSAGE CONCERNING LEAVE: Please do not book travel arrangements for the year for your cadet unless you have confirmed the exact Leave times with his or her TAC Officer first. You may find the contact information in the Parents Handbook or call Lini at DEPARTMENT OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES (DSA): Each weekend as well as monthly DSA will post the events that are occurring for cadets on and off campus on the web site at: PARENTS HANDBOOK: For a quick look into the current Parents Handbook, please check this link for an online version. FYI: Taxi and Limo Services contact information is on Page 48 in the Parents Handbook. ADMISSIONS: Academy Admissions: College Admissions: MAKE HOTEL RESERVATIONS: For hotels in the area and directions to VF, please click on this link: LOCAL RESTAURANTS: The Wayne area is very busy on the weekends. Please click on this link if you wish to make dinner reservations at any time during your visits. PARENTS SCRAPBOOK - CADET PHOTOS: If you are interested in viewing and/or purchasing cadet photos taken by our photographer throughout the year, please go to the Parents Scrapbook by clicking on this link and follow the prompts:

10 CADET STORE/BIRTHDAY CAKE ORDERS: If you wish to order a birthday cake or large cookie for your cadet or you have questions for the Cadet Store personnel, please call , 1530 or *Please check with your cadets before purchasing a cake. Some don t want them and some might not be there to receive them. Answers: A: 43,250 Allied infantry to 7,800 Axis infantry A: Lice infected with typhus attributed to more than half of all the deaths Lini Stevens Director of Parent Relations and Special Events Valley Forge Military Academy & College 1001 Eagle Road Wayne, PA Fax: LStevens@vfmac.edu