Arthur Martens Apmann, Jr.

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NO. 17505  •  17 June 1928 – 23 August 1951

Died 23 August 1951 in Korea, aged 23 years
Interment: West Point Cemetery, West Point, New York

ARTHUR MARTENS APMANN was born in Mt. Kisco, New York on 17 June 1928 to Margaret and Arthur Apmann. His father was a colonel, USAR, serving in the Corps of Engineers. Art graduated from Mercersburg Academy, Mercersburg, Pennsylvania in 1945 and attended Yale for a year before being appointed to West Point from Connecticut by Senator Hart.

Early in his Plebe Year, Art set out to become editor of the Howitzer. A roommate attested that he spent more time at the Howitzer office than in his own room. In furthering his goal he was a member of the Photography Club for four years, used his camera frequently, and was the photographic editor of Fall Out during Plebe Year.

He loved the outdoors and joined the Fishing Club along with six other classmates in order to camp out on the reservation on weekends. Little, if any, fishing was done. It was the enjoyment of the outdoors and the comradeship that interested him. His antics livened up the outings. To escape the gloom period, they camped out in below‑zero weather along the shore of frozen Lake Popolopen one weekend in January. That experience was cold‑weather survival training for Art and several others, and stood them in good stead during the winter of 1950 in Korea, a place they had not he­ard of yet.

As he had hoped, his cadet days culminayed in his selection as the editor of the 1950 Howitzer. The splendid job he did coordinating the various aspects of the book and in developing a closely‑knit, efficient organization resulted in an outstanding yearbook. There was promise for a successful and fulfilling career ahead of him.

Upon graduation, Art chose the Corps of Engineers and received orders to report to Camp Stoneman, California, for  shipment to the Far East Command. A company mate with similar orders agreed to meet Art in Chicago and drive his new car to the West Coast where he would sell it. They took a week to drive to California, visiting Art's family and friends in Denver, sightseeing and nightclubbing. Arriving at Camp Stoneman two days early, the company mate had a car to sell and wanted to see San Francisco. But, North Korea had attacked South Korea on 25 June during graduation leave, and Art wanted to sign in immediately and join his new organization. He signed in on 15 August and flew I out that night to Japan. It was like him to eagerly answer the call to duty.

At Camp Drake he was assigned to the 185th Engineer Combat Battalion, a Xth United States Army Corps unit, then assembling at Camp Zama. As a new Engineer combat platoon leader, Art helped in loading the battalion's equipment onto sea‑going craft and departed for the Inchon amphibious landing with his unit, supporting the1st Marine Division and the 7th Infantry Division.

The collapse of the North Korean Army, following the Inchon landing, set the stage for a series of rapid unit moves. Through these early months of the war, Art was leading his platoon in building and repairing the roads and bridges of the supply routes to the two divisions. It was a dirty, dusty, nerve‑jarring and monotonous task he accomplished with stoic cheerfulness that overlaid a determined and ambitious spirit

Regrouping in Pusan, the Xth Corps embarked for another amphibious landing near Iwon, North Korea to envelope die eastern flank of the North Korean Army. The landing in the late fall of 1950 was accomplished with the two US divisions racing to the Yalu River, the 185th close by. However, the entry of the Chinese Army into the way altered plans dramatically.

Under the steady force of the numerically superior Chinese Communist Army, the Xth Corps executed a retrograde operation and debarked successfully at Hungnam.

Hence, Art was soon back in South Korea with his engineer platoon, maintaining the main supply routes on the east coast. The mountainous terrain, steep‑sided river valleys and the rainy season made such work an engineering challenge which he relished, particularly since his promotion to first lieutenant now signified his nearly seven months of continual combat Engineer experience.

Art’s demeanor was always inquisitive, cooperative and professional. He went the extra mile to do the job right or to help. On 23 August 1951, a day during the rainy season, he and the battalion commander stood on the bank of a rain­swollen river watching the build‑up of debris around the floats of an M2 floating treadway  bridge.

The water pressure against the debris was becoming a threat to the stability of the floating bridge. Art went out onto the precarious bridge, crawled to the edge of the pontoon and plunged his bayonet into the fabric, intending to deflate it in order to open a freeway for the debris to pass. Unfortunately, with the loss of structural support from the collapsed pontoon, the wooden saddle assembly also collapsed, tossing Art into the torrent. His body was recovered and returned to West Point for burial in the cemetery.

Art Apmann's youthful, unfearful willingness and diligence have been inspirational. One remembers his passing with sadness yet with the pride of having been his classmate and fellow soldier. Like so many young men, he had so little time, yet like so few, he did the most with the time he had.

- Bill Howe, Lloyd Mielenz, George Lear

Clark H. Allison

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NO. 17858  •  24 September 1927 – 8 April 1981

Died in Sacramento, CA
Interred in West Point Cemetery, West Point, NY

COMING FROM a military family, Clark Hickmott Allison’s desire to attend West Point was not surprising. A true son of the “golden west”, Clark was born in Oakland, CA. With Clark’s open and sunny disposition, it was not unusual that he made many friends at USMA. He was a member of the Water Polo Club and was on the swim team all four years, earning a Major “A” and Navy Star. As the ’50 Howitzer noted, “At present, he holds the record for hours spent in the varsity tank.” The steadfastness and drive that Clark displayed as a Cadet would be evidenced in his professional and personal life.

Upon graduation, Clark was commissioned in the Air Force and assigned to the Air Training Command, initially as a student pilot at a base in Waco, TX. His dream of becoming an Air Force pilot was not to be realized, though. He began a flying and command and staff operational career as a navigator, bombardier, and radar operator in conventional bombers, multi-engine jet bombers, and jet fighters.

In the autumn of 1950, Clark began training as an aerial navagator at Ellington AFB, Houston, TX. He completed radar and bombardier training at Mather AFB, Sacramento, CA, in March 1952, earning his wings as an aerial observer.  This was a new rating that reflected what had been three separate aeronautical ratings of navigator, bombardier, and radar operator. Clark married Susan Grether, from Berkeley, CA. Their loving partnership grew to include four daughters – Patricia, Susann, Virginia, and Jacqueline.

Clark was assigned as a B-29 radar operator with the 44th Bombardment Wing, Strategic Air Command, based at Lake Charles, LA. In the summer of 1953, Clark’s unit transitioned to a new bomber, the six-jet engine B-47 Stratofortress, the mainstay for the SAC at that time. It had a crew of three: pilot, co-pilot, and aerial observer, the porition Clark occupied. He encompassed bombing and navigational duties, as well as the monitoring and control of the nuclear weapon the B-47 was designed to carry, at intercontinental ranges, with aerial refueling.

Clark’s tour with SAC was curtailed in April 1946, when he was assigned as a navigation instructor at USAFA. Clark, along with other USMA Classmates, contributed immeasurably to the successful initiation of the new Air Force Academy. Clark’s tour at USAFA ended in 1960 with a two-year assignment with his family to the 84th Bombardment Squadron (jet) as a B-66 crew member based at Sculthorpe Royal AF Station, England.

His achievements with the squadron earned him two Air Medals. In 1962, the Allison family’s European tour was extended by another two years with Clark’s assignment as a staff officer with the 7407th Support Squadron based at Rhein Main Air Base in West Germany. That assignment was followed in 1964 by selection to the Armed Forces Staff College at Norfolk, VA, where he graduated in January 1965, along with several other classmates. His new duty station was with the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at George AFB, Victorville, CA, flying as the backseat observer of the two-man F-4 fighter-bomber crew. Clark’s growing skill and knowledge in the aerial observer field, particularly in all-weather bombing and navigation, were being put to use in more combat jets. Clark’s stay at George AFB lasted only  a month with the wing’s deployment to the Royal Thai Air Base at Ubon, Thailand. Both as a crew member and operations staff officer, he flew 40 aerial combat missions over North Viet Nam, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, four more Air Medals, and the Air Force Commendation Medal.

Clark’s staff position was as the Director of Intelligence. The 8th TFW was then the largest wing in that sector of operations, and the staff assignment was an extraordinarily demanding one for Clark. The 8th TFW conducted around-the-clock fighter and support aircraft combat operations over North Vietnam and Laos, operating from two main bases. The Intelligence Sections provided critical support for mission planning, post-mission aircrew briefing and debriefing, and timely post-strike reporting to higher headquarters. That endless activity was under Clark’s direct supervision. His outstanding leadership qualities were legendary among the aircrews, whose very lives depended on the intelligence products produced by the people Clark supervised.

In September 1966, Clark rejoined his family stateside at Bergstrom AFB with assignment to an RF-4 wing. That assignment was curtailed in 1967, by a new assignment as a fighter operations officer with the Tactical Air Command Headquarters at Langley AFB, VA – another example where Clark’s unique talents and experience were recognized and put to use. A quotation from the Class of ’50 20-Year Book, in Clark’s own words, is appropriate: “As a navigator among 35 fighter pilots in the section, my position could be equated to Stokely Carmichael as a member of the Savannah (Georgia) Country Club.” He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the Tactical Air Command.

After a highly successful tour with TAC, in 1971 Clark was ordered back to his beloved California to assume duties as the deputy commander of the 3535th Navigation Training Wing at Mather AFB, Sacramento, CA. It was a clear recognition by the Air Force of Clark’s continuously demonstrated professional competence and potential for higher command. In two years, he was promoted to Vice Commander of the organization, then renamed the 323d Flying Training Wing.  Clark was able to ensure that the new aspirants to the aerial observer field would benefit from his extensive experience and background.

In May 1974, Clark retired from the Air Force as a colonel and was awarded the Legion of Merit for his superior service as deputy commander and vice commander. He settled in Sacramento and became  a respected and valued member of the civilian community, both in a personal and professional sense. In civilian life, he served as Director of Marketing and Finance for the Pacific Legal Foundation, as well as General Manager of the Optical Laboratory of the California Visions Service. He also was active in many civic organizations, including the Sacramento United Way, Rotary International, and the Sacramento Comstock Club.

Unfortunately, Clark’s peaceful and productive retirement life was interrupted by illness. In December 1980, he underwent surgery for colon cancer and, sadly, death followed only four months later. Those of us who knew Clark can only guess what his attitude was during his battle with cancer – he was positively determined not to let the dreadful disease defeat him, and he never gave up.

Clark’s widow, Susann, passed away in July 1991. Those who survive Clark – his family, relatives, friends, classmates, and those with whom he served in the Air Force – will not forget him.

Charles E. Allbaugh

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NO. 17395  •  16 February 1927 - 23 October 1999

Died in Ft. Worth, TX 
Interred in West Point Post Cemetery, West Point, NY

Charles Edgar Allbaugh, better known as "Ed," was the only Allbaugh to have ever graduated from West Point. He was born the youngest of four children in Richland, KS, a small town just south of Topeka.

Like his father, he was a farmer, but at the tender age of 12, Ed read an article about West Point in a magazine. From that moment, and with no other West Point association of family or friends, it became his passion to join the Long Gray Line.

After graduating from high school, Ed still needed a nomination, but since the United States was still at war, he enlisted in the Navy. He was sent to the Navy Preparatory School in Bainbridge, MD. When it was time to take a state senatorial exam, Ed scored high enough to receive two nominations: one to Annapolis and the other to West Point. He chose West Point and became a member of the Class of '50.

Ed came to West Point with two years of academic seasoning, and excelled in academics and athletics. As a plebe, his fame spread throughout the Corps as the man who could achieve the more‑than‑perfect brace‑ramrod straight from the back of his head to his heels, chest fully expanded, and chin pulled in to such a degree that he was known, when bracing, as "the man with no chin at all." Many classmates suffered by comparison when urged by the upperclassmen to emulate Ed's posture.

Academically, Ed was a pacesetter, standing high in his class all four years and graduating well inside the top ten percent. A well‑rounded athlete, he participated in corps squad boxing and cross‑country, and was a standout in his company in intramural competition. Militarily, he ranked number two in his company as a first classman. The respect his classmates had for him is evident in his election as company representative to the Honor Committee for his last two years at the Point.

Upon graduation from West Point, Ed elected to enter the Air Force and was assigned to Perrin Air Force Base, TX. Anyone from the class who chose the Air Force needed to physically qualify for pilot training. Unfortunately, for both him and the Air Force, he was disqualified prior to soloing. The Korean War had broken out while Ed was on graduation leave. Looking with disfavor on an Air Force career as a non‑pilot, Ed went to Washington to convince the Air Force and the Army that he should be transferred from the former to the latter. Unfortunately for the Army, he was unable to bring it off. The Air Force assigned him to special‑weapons training, which he performed with dedication and excellence for the rest of his Air Force career. Although CPT Allbaugh resigned from the Air Force in 1957, Ed thought his military service was a great experience.

Ed met Leni on a blind date in January during First Class year and dated her through June week but broke up due to religious differences. Nevertheless, they stayed in touch. After his tour at Parrin Air Force Base, he returned to New York and renewed her acquaintance. They were married in March 1951, and had three daughters: Sandy (1954), Robin (1957), and Patti (1959). Sandy graduated magna cum laude from the University of West Virginia. Robin was a cheerleader and a world‑class swimmer during her high‑school years, competing in the AAU Swimming Nationals. After graduating from the University of Northern Colorado, Robin married and gave birth to Ed's first grandchild in July 1979. Their youngest, Patti, was a cheerleader, figure skater, and a member of her high school band. She graduated in 1980 from the University of Georgia with a degree in business administration. Leni and Ed, meanwhile, became avid square and round dancers, traveling distances on weekends to dance at large affairs.

After resigning from the Air Force, Ed became a senior construction engineer for Bettis Atomic Power Lab of Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, a part of the U.S. Navy nuclear program. Under the umbrella of Admiral Hyman Rickover, he worked on aircraft carriers Enterprise and Nimitz, the cruiser Long Beach, and various Polaris‑type submarines. After several other assignments with Westinghouse, Ed and family returned to Pittsburgh in 1978, where Ed became involved with the procurement of nuclear power equipment for the Nuclear Service Division. In 1982, Ed switched to civilian reactors, working on the completion of units one and two of the Comanche Peak reactors in Glen Rose, TX.

In 1986, the first of two tragedies hit Ed and Leni. They lost their youngest daughter Patti, then 26, to a malignant brain tumor. Only those who have lost children in the prime of their life can understand the anguish parents suffer. Patti was buried at West Point. In Ed's words, they "remained strengthened by the embodied memories of classmates and the privilege of four years at West Point."

In 1987, Ed formally retired. When he was working as a consultant for Texas Utilities, he had his first bout with cancer. After a year of treatment and several years in remission, Leni and Ed thought that he had it licked. But it recurred early in 1999 and Ed was given ten months to live. Ed and Leni made it to the 45th reunion in 1995, and it was Ed's great desire to live to make the 50th in 2000. But that was not God's will.

Ed was the best example of a devoted husband, beloved father to his three children, and doting grandfather to two granddaughters and one grandson. Ed and Leni spent 48 and a half years together and will be remembered for the love they shared and their devotion to their children. Ed always had a positive attitude and served with distinction both in and out of the service. The key to Ed's life was service, and he will be missed by all his company mates and classmates in the Class of '50.

Ed now rests with his youngest daughter at West Point, where his heart and soul were rooted from his early youth to his final hour. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. May they rest in peace.

Robert Abelman

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NO. 17918  •   2 December 1926 - 15 October 1985

Died in West Point, NY
Interred in West Point Post Cemetery, West Point, NY

Robert Milton Abelman was born the younger of two sons to Adolph and Irma June Schroeder, nee Petite, in Los Angeles, CA. A few years later, Bob's parents divorced and, in 1938, his mother married Reno businessman Nathan Abelman, who adopted Bob and his brother Bill. Upon adoption, the boys' names were changed to Abelman.

Until the eighth grade, Bob attended public schools in Reno; he then attended the San Rafael Military Academy in California, graduating in 1945. While at San Rafael, he excelled in sports, especially football and boxing.

In 1945, Bob received an alternate appointment to the Naval Academy from Senator Pat McCarran and, in the fall of 1945, attended the Bullis Preparatory School in Maryland, where he again excelled in football. Failing to achieve a principal appointment to the Naval Academy, he then entered Stanford University for the ensuing winter and spring semesters while seeking an appointment to the United States Military Academy. Bob was successful in receiving an appointment to West Point from Senator McCarran and, in July 1946, became a member of the Class of '50.

Football and boxing were Bob's primary athletic interests, and he had hoped to pursue those sports at the Point. As an outstanding boxer, he would have had no trouble in making the West Point boxing team, but before entering the Academy he lost severe nose cartilage. As a boxer, Bob was a little like Jack Dempsey; he knew only one way to box: try to dispatch the opponent as soon as possible. Classmates who boxed Bob in intramurals would no doubt share that assessment.

As a football player, Bob distinguished himself on the Army "A" squad. Despite initial doubts from the coaching staff about his potential as a football player, Bob eventually succeeded in obtaining a place on the first string plebe football squad. The following year, his coaches' confidence in him was further justified when Bob gained a first string halfback position on the Army varsity football team. An encounter with the Tactical Department, however, kept Bob off the team during his third year. Nevertheless, during his First Class year, he again provided sterling help to the team, which had an unbeaten season, including a 38‑0 victory over Navy.

On Graduation Day, Bob got his wish and was commissioned in the United States Air Force. On his elimination from pilot training, he entered navigator‑bombardier training and received his wings in 1951. After Combat Crew Training in 1952, he served a combat tour in Korea with the 95th Bomb Squadron, 17th Bombardment Wing, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals, the Commendation Ribbon, and an early promotion to captain.

When he returned to the States in 1953, Bob was assigned to Mather Air Force Base, CA, where his combat experience was put to good use in training new navigator‑bombardiers. During 1960‑62, Bob served with the 4039th Strategic Wing of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), earning the Commendation Medal. He then served for three years at the Headquarters of a SAC missile Wing, receiving another Commendation Medal. In 1964, Bob represented SAC at the World's Fair in New York.

During 1966‑69, Bill was assigned to SAC Headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, NE. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for this service. During 1969‑75, he served with NATO as the chief of SHAPE Command and received the Legion of Merit for his performance.

His next assignment, during 1973‑75, was as commander of the Civil Engineering Squadron at F. E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, WY. There, he was responsible for the maintenance of 200 Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles and earned his second Legion of Merit. His final assignment was as the Fifteenth Air Force public information officer at March Air Force Base in Riverside, CA. A third Legion of Merit was award during that tour. In 1979, Bob retired from the Air Force as a colonel.

As Bob noted in the Class 35th Reunion Book, "In 1976, 1 made the best decision of my life and married a redhead, LT Joan Linder, in a lovely Cheyenne wedding." He and Joan settled in Austin, TX, where Bob formed his own company, RAMTEX Enterprises, Inc. In Austin, he also was active as a member of the Elks Lodge and the Austin Eagles Society.

Sadly, while Joan and Bob were attending his 35th Reunion at West Point, he died of cancer at the Army hospita. Bob was buried at the West Point Post Cemetery with family and classmates in attendance. He will be missed by all who knew him.

- His Classmate Thomas C Sharp, Jr. and nephew William Abelman Brinkerhoff