Class of '64 (March-April 2011 Issue)


Last column started a series about '64 veterans. It showed the scope of their functions: John Fishel, strategist, Stan Herr, missile defense systems physicist and Lee Chilcote, combat veteran. A few, including Stan Herr, found careers in Defense.

Mike MacMurray majored in government on an NROTC scholarship. After ship duty as supply officer he requested Vietnam, but became manager of a rest and relaxation destination in Malaysia. After several years on a guided-missile destroyer, he earned an MBA at Harvard Business School. He went to Navy Supply Systems Command in DC, Naval Audit Service, and Joint Staff. Retired as Commander after 21 years and started a 25-year career in civil service. He works in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense and Americas' Security Affairs. Mike belongs to the Dartmouth Club of DC and has spoken to the Rockefeller Interns, supported by our class.

Mike Parker, DMD was also on an NROTC scholarship, which enabled him to attend Dartmouth. He never used his geophysics major, but "learned to learn" in Hanover. The Navy gave him great responsibility, quickly promoting him to executive officer of a mine sweeper. He worked under Vice-Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Jr. in Saigon as Mine Countermeasures and Swimmer Defense Officer and earned a bronze star. He resigned to attend Tufts Dental School, but stayed in the reserves. Mike completed 30 years active duty in Maine, Scotland, Newport, RI and Bethesda, as faculty member of the Naval Dental Center. He 'retired' to private practice in Maine. He and Carolyn, a nurse, have two sons, a pilot and a boat captain/diver, a daughter and four grandchildren.

Colonel Lawrence Cabell, an art major, fulfilled his ROTC commitment in the Army Corps of Engineers. After commanding an Airborne Engineer Company in Germany in combat-related projects including demolitions, minefields, and airfield construction, he volunteered for Vietnam. There he commanded a company of engineers and infantry, building bridges and jungle clearing in the Mekong Delta. Every couple years he moved to a new command with his family. Larry values the Army's rapid assignment of responsibility and high level of ethics. After 28 years he opted into a civilian position, consulting on a $1B+ Hawaiian airport upgrade. He and wife Sally, who have a son and a daughter, have retired to their Frank Lloyd Wright inspired home that Larry built.

Walton Smith was in ROTC in high school and at Dartmouth. After commissioning, he attended Harvard Law School and within days after graduation was in Saigon in the JAG Corps. He notes that, generally, Americans made little effort to learn local history, customs or language, leaving much to be desired as colonial soldiers. During the Tet offensive (1968) he found himself "defending" the Saigon Tax Building. While in The Judge Advocate General's Office at the Pentagon, he met and married Susan Baum. Retired from private law practice, he and Susan moved to Clarksville, Georgia, where they own Soque ArtWorks, a gallery of regional art and craft. They have a son, Rush; a daughter, Berkeley; and a granddaughter.