Naval ROTC Reunion, Madison, WI

Last weekend, I attended the 40-year reunion of my Naval ROTC graduating class at the University of Wisconsin, my alma mater, in Madison, my hometown. In total, 38 alums from all years attended, with ten members of my Class of 1986 present: Mark Aeppli, John Bede, Gregg Clark, Bob Day, Steve Dinauer, Dale Feddersen, Me, Don Kositzke, John McSherry and Todd Papesh. Other notables representing our era were Unit Executive Officer John Washbush and Freshman Instructor Joe Reynolds; staff members whom we were close to then and now.

Founded in 1987, the UW NROTC Alumni Association hosts an annual reunion each autumn at the unit’s facility on University Avenue, less than a half mile from Camp Randall Stadium on the southwest side of campus. The Navy has been teaching personnel in Madison since the onset of World War II, when the service contracted with more than 200 post-secondary educational institutions to help train officers and sailors. During the war, more than 15,000 men and women attended seven naval schools that taught subjects in medicine, electronics, engineering, communications, aviation, naval architecture, diesel mechanics, radar and radio, with the radio school being the largest contingency. In 1942, the Navy purchased the Blackhawk Garage, built in 1925 as a gas station, to house the radio school. In 1948 the building became the permanent home of the Naval ROTC program, which has been there ever since. Map link: University of Wisconsin NROTC Unit

A detailed account of the Navy’s history on campus written by John Washbush can be found on the UW NROTC Alumni Association website: https://uwnrotcalumni.org/content.aspx?page_id=0&club_id=240827

Bonus Question: Six U.S. presidents served in the Navy. Can you name them? (answer at end of post)

On Friday evening there was a mixer with a catered barbecue dinner inside the unit and was attended by members of the current midshipman battalion. We enjoyed getting caught up with old classmates and mingling with today’s young officer candidates. 

Source: nrotc.wisc.edu

On Saturday morning there was a pre-game tailgate party with burgers and brats in the chilly morning, which quickly warmed up to a beautiful sunny day. Later at Camp Randall, the Badger football team easily defeated the Michigan State Spartans, 31-3, for a homecoming victory. Not completely satisfied with just one Wisconsin sporting event, ten of us attended the men’s hockey game that evening at the Kohl Center. In front of a small but enthusiastic crowd, the national runner-up Badgers defeated 5,000-student Robert Morris University of Pennsylvania, 1-0, in an early season game that was way too close for comfort. After the hockey game, we said our goodbyes outside and parted ways. I had a little energy left, and drove around campus and Downtown Madison, stopping for a nighttime selfie in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol, the 13th statehouse that I’ve visited this year and where my NROTC commissioning ceremony occurred in 1986. 

On Sunday morning, I packed up and drove to Lake City, MN, where I met Kathleen and Amy for an afternoon sail aboard Dragonfly. That evening, I got to cheer on the Badgers again, as we watched the Wisconsin women’s volleyball team defeat the Minnesota Gophers, three sets to one, at the Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis. 

Bonus Question Answer: Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush all served in the U.S. Navy. Fun fact: Every president between 1961 and 1993 except Ronald Reagan was a Navy veteran.