The Times Record Reports on the 2002 Reunion
All of these stories were reprinted from the July 3, 2002 issue of The Times Record (Aledo, Illinois) 
Thanks to Sue Westerfield Doerr of Moline (and formerly of Aledo) for sending a copy of the newspaper.

Cadets Take Sentimental Journey
by Pam Beringer

Eyes squinted against the sun to see the names written on the tags worn on chests of the people who approached them. Outstretched hands reached to others as nearly 100 men of the Roosevelt Military Academy met for a reunion held Saturday in Aledo. "Feel the love," Jack Gwynne, RMA alumni said. Gwynne, from the class of 1966, had driven in from Dallas for the event. "It's great to be here." They were home, or at least in a place that had been their home during their youthful days.

Many had grown up in Aledo, far away from their families. While many thought they were sent to Aledo because they were delinquents, that was not necessarily so. While they did learn discipline, they also received an education that was one of the best in the country, they said. As they walked around what remained of the academy they discovered regardless of the year they attended RMA, they shared a common past. They remembered how Aledo residents invited them into their homes for holidays when they didn't have the means to visit their own families. They recalled the Saturdays at Stut's Drug Store drinking soda at the fountain and afternoons at the movie theater. They said they still hear the excitement of the crowd at the football and basketball games. They could feel carpet of grass as their feet carried them over the hilly terrain near the academy.

They laughed about how they made .friends with the Aledo "boys." Each former cadet had a distinct way of describing how the young men of the town befriended them. Driving past the young cadets as they drilled or went about their tasks, the young men of Aledo would drive past, honk and wave, "with one finger raised." On Saturday the men chuckled recalling those "visits" and how a matinee at the Tivoli Theater could end in "fisticuffs." The men had no illusions of why they were regarded with disdain by their hometown peers. They were all competing for attention of the same young women.

As they walked the path from the American Legion building, the school's former mess hall, they reminisced about the "good old days." Regardless of the year they had graduated, they shared a common bond. They had all been to RMA and they had been in Aledo.

For many, Saturday's visit to Aledo was the first time they had returned to the Mercer County community since they walked through the wrought iron gate after graduating. For some, Saturday's reunion was just another trip to Aledo. The exception was the other cadets.

When they turned the corner of Niles Hall and their feet hit "the slab" they howled. Some like Warren Meyers of Rock Island, who graduated from RMA in 1952 immediately went into a cadence. "High, low, hi low..." Meyers chanted. "I have some real fond memories of here. "I wasn't sent here because of discipline. I was sent here because of the education. I hope my mom's goal was accomplished."

All said they value the education they received. Dale Morgan, a member of the class of 1969 now from Rochester, Mich. claims to be a member of the best class in the school's history. While he couldn't give a direct reason for the class's high standing, he did have stories about the school. 'There was a distinct and direct cause and effect that doesn't seem to exist today," Morgan said. "You walked the slab if you earned demerits and you were dealt with through the hierarchy of military rank. Everyone stuck together. You all felt like a part of an oppressed group. It did instill camaraderie."

As they walked the slab, they looked at the buildings, taking snapshots as they went off the old structures and their friends. They pointed to the corner of North Barracks where the commandant's quarters once were. Above those were the captain's quarters and on the third floor was the infirmary. Each remembered the room they slept in and the windows they crawled out of or dropped balloons from.

Doug Ruud of Seattle looked with wonder at the buildings where his life was turned around. Admittedly he was a delinquent when he walked on to the grounds for the first time in the early 1950's. Dorothy Millikan once said he'd make a "fine Chicago thug." She never lost faith in the young man and would mentor him and make him feel at home. The first year there Ruud earned the New Cadet Academic Award. Today he is an attorney in Seattle. Ruud enjoyed his days in Aledo. He remembers an "older woman" Phyllis Palmer whom he dated when he was in the sixth grade. They went to her eighth grade dance together. Ruud smiled, they were good times.

Gus Gordon, was in the fourth grade when he first came to RMA. Gordon spent much of his time in the stable. "I remember one night me and some guys snuck over and kidnapped three horses and rode to the Edwards River, and did not get caught. We were quiet and hoped the horses didn't whinny." The visit to his alma mater was bittersweet, he said. "I haven't laughed so much and cried so much," Gordon said. It's been a nostalgic trip.

Each cadet agreed, the trip to Aledo brought back memories. "We grumbled when we came," said Bob Kramer, a 65 graduate. "But we cried when we left. I've been here on several occasions. This is the worst I've seen the buildings. I'm 55 now and wonder where all the years went."

Hugh O'Brien Attends RMA Reunion
by Pam Beringer

Strong character was a mark of the Roosevelt Military Academy and while many cadets went on to achieve, one student Hugh Krampe gained certain notoriety. Krampe, better known as Hugh O'Brian, star of the Wyatt Earp television series which ran from 1955 to 1962, attended RMA one school year in 1940-41.

"I was 15," O'Brian said during his visit to the former RMA campus June 29. "I was involved in everything but my studies. My dad said he thought I needed some dedication to my education. He was right about one thing. I was involved in whatever I could be." Stopping before Niles Hall, O'Brian pointed to the fifth window on the first floor. "That's it, that was where I lived," he said. "I snuck out of there a few times ... did whatever it took."

The trip back was a first for O'Brian who said it was sad to see the school not up and running. However, he enjoyed the nostalgic visit and was happy to walk the streets he walked as a teenager and visit the river and see areas where he once ran.

It was the training he received from the e RMA that  helped him when he entered the Marines at 17-years-old. At 18 he became the youngest drill instructor in Marine Corp history.

While his career in acting was satisfying, his greatest achievement is the help he has given young people, he said. "In 1958 I spent nine days with Albert Schweitzer in Africa," O'Brian said. "When I was leaving he grabbed my  hand and said what are you going to do with this?" Several weeks after arriving home, O'Brian started working with teenagers. Later he started the Hugh O'Brian Youth (HOBY) Foundation which helps high school sophomores gain leadership skills. Thousands of young people have benefited from the free workshops.

RMA Dinner and a Reunion
by Pam Beringer

Two names forever a part of RMA history, Terry and Millikan were again on the roster for the RMA's reunion held June 29. Sue Ann Millikan, wife of Col. Glen Millikan, Glen Millikan II and his wife and three children, and Joseph Terry, son of Col. Clyde Terry, the original founder of the RMA's predecessor the Illinois Military Academy and his wife were among the honored guests.

"It's wonderful," Mrs. Millikan said. "It brings back such wonderful memories of my husband." Mrs. Millikan worked at the school as a nurse for several years while her husband was the commander. The couple continued to live in Aledo after the school closed. Col. Millikan died in 1988 and in 1993, Mrs. Millikan moved to Rock Island.

Terry, who grew up in Davenport and now lives in Galena, said his father was an Army chaplain during WWI. After the RMA went into bankruptcy, he worked at several schools and was a recruiter for a Texas military school before returning to the Quad-Cities where he worked with veteran returning from WWII.

Col. Terry was killed in 1947 by a taxi. At the funeral hundreds of veteran honored the man who helped them.

The evening banquet followed a day-long event in Aledo where cadets were hosted by Aledo's Main Street members. During the day, they strolled the streets of Aledo meeting shopkeepers and touring the RMA display at the Essley-Noble Museum.

RMA Cadets Received at Essley-Noble Museum
by Pam Beringer

It was a hot and humid day in Aledo, IL on Saturday, June 29, 2002 but it didn't stop the RMA Alumni from stopping by the "COOL Climate Control" Essley-Noble Museum, to see RMA displays & artifacts and view the school yearbooks, "The Rough Rider". The museum is said to have all the RMA year books from 1942-1973. Many wanted to see the display with the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Gates. MCHS' President Alicia Ives said estimated approx. 100 plus cadets and guests, stopped at the museum just to reminisce with friend and see the displays, browse through the yearbooks. A number of the alumni said this was the best reunion so for far.

The MCHS held a small reception for the RMA alumni, serving coffee, ice tea and cookies donated by the MCHS Board members. It was greatly appreciated by the alumni and their guests. It was a successful day for the everyone involved in organizing this reunion gathering.

The following RMA cadets, faculty and friends indicated they planned to attend the RMA Reunion in June.

1929 - Kevin O'Morrison (Illinois Military Inst.)

1940-41 - Hugh O'Brien (aka: Wyatt Earp)

1942 - Reed Winters 1944 - Marvin Leader 1945 - Richard Hoffman 1946 - Howard Adler, Henry Baum, Robert Bersin, Bill Sacalaras

1948 - Richard Alsip, Hal Bersin

1949 - Norm Kapson, Ron McIntyre, Bobby Wixson

1950 - Jerry Guinn

1951 - George Nicholson, Jr, Harold Polkow, Tom Staggs, Ed Swanson, Bill Tragos

1952 - Gene Adler, Fred Deichmann, Warren D. Meyers, Warren Sommer

1953 - Dick Alexander, Bob Feller, Ronn Jutkins, Don Mason, Dick McNemee, Bill Stein, Willliam G. Waschow

1954 Peter Candiano, Warren Cowels

1955 - John Horning

1956 - David Armstrong

1957 - R. Gompf

1959 - Bernard Groharing

1960 - Sam Fantino, John Preniczky, Ray Rossi, Mitch Russo, Matt Shore, Michael Vagi

1961- Joe Greco, Norm Iglarsh, Mary Mahony, Barney Wald

1962 - Bruce Peterson,"Max" Shock, Gary Wilt

1964 - Russell Joedicker, John Lenz, Douglas Ruud, Bill Ryan

1965 - Bob Crames, Bob Fritz, Doug Gover, Jim Kilpatrick, Robert Kramer, Bruce Lutz, Bob Warnke, Bob Brown, Bruce Jennings

1966 - Jack Gwynne, Lewis Rippley

1966 - Walter Theit

1967 - Herb Golden

1968 - Doug Askew, Randy Fritz

1969 - Mike Bouton, Paul Burhke, Michael Condrella, Ken Downey, Louis Hallstrom, Dale Morgan, Ken Polich, James K. Reed, Patrick Sissem, Gary Spedding, Robert Spragia, Gary Swedberg, Gary Weaver

1970 - Chuck Bern, Ron Furst

1971- Larry Eltoft

1973 - Dale Ague

Class Year Not Specified - Bill Beckford, Michael Caldella, George Engel, Richard Franklin; Edward Kasselmill, Edward Milligan, Don Robinson, Ross Ziegler

Faculty - Col. Dave Lawson, Roger Stancliff, Sue , Ann Millikan

Friends & Family - Sue Westerfield Doerr, Glen Millikan, Rick Millikan, Joseph Terry.