Saturday, April 26, 2008

Assistant Commandants (Senior School)

[Note: Above Photo Top Row Left to Right: CPT Melvin M. Meineke, CPT John Penfield, CPT Fred V. Rosenberger. Bottom Row Left to Right: CPT Kenneth L. McClintock and LT Fred Jansen.] I never felt any lack of supervision at ENMS during my two years there. The assistant commandants made sure of that. Although these guys directly supervised anybody and everybody, they probably had a primary area of responsibility. For example, LT Fred Jansen during my second year was assigned to keep an eye on the ENMS Band -- the outfit I was in. I suspect that the other assistant commandants did likewise for other grade levels and categories. These guys were everywhere, too. No sooner than you thought maybe you were alone, one of them would walk through your area no matter time of day -- even while you slept, it seemed. No sooner than LT Jansen would make his rounds during study hall in the Junior wing, CPT Meineke would walk through on his way to some place else on campus and also ever vigilant of what he saw and heard. Often the assistant commandants would stop and chat but they maintained a distinct distance so that you did not come to view or depend upon them like you might a father figure. They were there to make sure you didn't step out of line and if you did they merited out the consequences on the spot with verbal mid course corrections and if infractions were severe enough the next day you'd probably report to one of them facing charges that resulted in receiving demerits. [Note: At the end of the spring 1964 semester of my first year, the warmer weather brought increased interest by many cadets in swimming in the recently filled Lake Elsinore. A few times during our afternoon physical education period we were given the green light to put on our swimming trunks and head down the dirt road toward the lake (a road off limits otherwise). So, under supervision of an assistant commandant or two, there I was with other cadets at waters edge jumping into newly filled Lake Elsinore. Immediately, everyone noticed tad poles and frogs in the water and toads at the shoreline -- something unexpected and unique. That's when I got the magnificent idea on how to help rid the main campus of mosquitoes. With an on old empty coffee can in hand, I filled it up with all the toads and frogs I could find and headed back to the water fountain next to Head Quarters building and released them. After all, the little critters would need to be near water. Later that evening I was in the dorm studying away in my underwear (like everyone else) when somebody busted in the dorm and shouted, "Lauer, CPT Meineke wants to see you NOW at HQ. Get going." By the sound of that directive, I sensed trouble but couldn't figure it out. I dressed in a flash and high-tailed it over to HQ and there was CPT Meineke standing there next to the water fountain with a perturbed expression on his face. As I approached him and saluted, he proceeded to ask if I released all these frogs. Obviously, someone saw me do this and as he asked around my name surfaced. I acknowledge that I indeed did it and explained why and then he proceeded with a scathing directive to pick up the toads and frogs and take them back to the lake -- immediately. As I got busy snatching as many as I could and stuffing them back in the coffee can that I fetched from the nearby garbage can, he walked away shaking his head in utter disbelief. He must of thought my intentions honorable because I didn't receive any demerits for this.]Although many people played important roles in the success of ENMS, much of the credit really goes to these guys and the tremendous amount of time they devoted to all of the cadets. Because of their watchful eye and extreme patience and "tough love" guidance, we all got the necessary feedback that helped us understand and apply right from wrong. And although they were tough at times, they were also very gentle and reassuring, like the time I was sorta down in the dumps lying on my bunk in the Junior wing and out of no where CPT Penfield busts into my room and started tickling me and then after about a minute of gut busting laughter, he takes off. When I met up with him at the 2002 ENMS reunion, I thanked him for all the hard work he and the other commandants put in and reminded him of the tickling he gave me that day and how it brightened my spirits. [Note: During my second year, members of the 8th grade class were assigned to come up with a Christmas song to sing at an annual evening celebration in the mess hall. Our assignment was to change the lyrics, though. So, we settled on Jingle Bells and it started out something like, "Bugle calls, bugle calls, bugle calls every day, we're so tired of bugle calls we don't know what to say, hey. . . ." The next morning, the entire Junior wing was awakened not by the bugle playing reveille but by a series of extraordinary explosions. The door opened to my room and cadet WK and I were treated to a fire-cracker tossed under our bunk beds. And, who did this dastardly deed? None other than CPT Penfield who was having a ball giving everyone a break from the routine wake up bugle call.] During my second year, CPT McClintock did not return and LT Jansen appeared to replace him. I don't remember having much interaction with CPT McClintock like I did with CPTs Penfield, Meineke, and LT Jansen. I don't remember having much interaction with CPT Rosenberger either but that doesn't mean he was in the background. Far from it, all these guys were front and center watching all of us closely from dawn to dusk 24/7. They seemed to be collegial and friends -- a team. Guardian angels -- all of them!

4 comments:

li said...

HELLO!
First off these blogs are great! I really enjoy reading them.
My father went graduated from ENMS a few years before you got there, 1961. he has this favorite teacher he always talks about and although im sure she's passed by now i was just wondering if you remember a Gertrude Flight?

Best Leanna

Anonymous said...

Hello Everyone!! This is touching to me - I remember Gertrude Flight. She was delightful. She had a sweet sense of humor and she was always nice to us. (Even when some of you were rude...)She ran the library, taught English, and managed the International Club 1965 -1966. George Keely, Mer, Don, Harold, and a few others were also in this club 66. I joined the club because I lived in Europe when I was younger (I am a military brat) and I had a curiosity about other countries and their cultures... Mrs. Flight was always very nice to me. She was a graduate of the University of Chicago, I believe. I was told she was buried in Elsinore, however, I have no idea where. (I hope she was buried up on the side of the Mountains behind ENMS). I received, to my surprise, an English award – 1966 - named after her. I look at it sometimes and think of her and you guys.

Rick Van der Hoof #160

O. Gary Lauer said...

Glad to see you here!

I remember Ms. Flight but she seemed to be assigned more toward the upper classmen than the 7th and 8th graders. She had style and grace and everyone respected her. A lady with obvious worldly intelligence and experience.

Please feel free to share your comments about your experiences at ENMS. For some reason, I can't find you in my 63/64 and 64/65 year books. When did you arrive? And, I apologize if you were there when I was and can't remember.

Anonymous said...

Always wondered if the cadets had reunions. I remember standing across the lake from the academy - all of a sudden a big group of you went running down the hill to the lake. Must have been your lake time. Back in 2006 I stopped by the academy and looked around. I noted the deteriorating condition. It was sad to see the great academy in such disrepair. Note on the front door said that your collectibles were displayed at the water office. Sounds like there were some great memories from there.

My Goal

I'm Gary, the bass drummer in the above picture. My identification number at the Elsinore Naval and Military School (ENMS) was 151 -- a number forever burned into my soul. Here are some memories during my two year stay at ENMS in the 7th and 8th grades during the 1963 -- 1964 -- 1965 school years. I've converted old 8 mm movies that my parents took and present them here for all to see under the title of ENMS Memories on YouTube.com. My goal here is to share my story and hopefully it may stimulate viewers to share their stories with others -- even if you never attended ENMS. Who knows, you may be a parent considering sending your kid to military school and this web site may give you some insight as to what military schools have to offer. Please note that I am working on this blog at a rather sporadic pace. Also, for privacy reasons, I'll only identify cadets by their first name or initials. To access posts, please use the 'blog archive" on the right. Finally, the change from black to red type is just my style for indicating a change in the message context much like writing a new paragraph. Ready to take a ride? Let's begin! [Question: Is the ENMS band in the above picture performing at the beginning or end of the routine Sunday parade? Answer: With the platoons gone in the background, the parade is coming to an end with the ENMS band the last to pass and review -- following the Junior School platoon. Since we supplied the music / cadence for all cadets it made sense to have the ENMS band behind everyone keeping them all in step. Question: Who's the officer standing there with his back to us? Answer: That's CPT Fred V. Rosenberger, Assistant Commandant. Question: Is this the 1963-64 ENMS band or the 1964-65 ENMS band? Answer: It's the 1963-64 ENMS band because cadet Bob who became the 1964-65 ENMS band leader is in the band ranks playing snare drum -- first drum row center.]