Webmaster's Notes: Some of you may remember Dennis. He started his OCS program in February of 1967, and crossed paths with many Candidates from other classes, as he was the parade coordinator from the beginning of his time in OCS until his class graduated in July of 1967. During that time he met with all the classes to help organize the senior parade.

These days Dennis is living life well out in the desert... in the Palm Springs area of California... Palm Desert, to be exact.

Days there are among the mildest in the US. The winter daily temperature is rarely less than 65°F, with winter nights usually ending up around 45°F. As for the rest of the year, the days warm up steadily during spring, usually passing 100°F (38°C) for the first time in May, though all months apart from December, January and February have recorded 100 degree days, something unmatched by any other US destination.

Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta and the rest of the small golf course laden towns in the area are part of what is called the Coachella Valley, a place packed with several-million-dollar+ homes and little else.

Summer is the best time in the Coachella Valley, as all the winter snow-birds go away... mostly due to this funny need they have to work for a living. For those that don't have to work anymore, the high heat scares the rest of them away from the Palm Springs area. Not Dennis though. For him all of this makes it the best time of the year to be in the Palm Springs area, because the streets are empty of tourists... as are the bars, restaurants and golf courses. Summer days frequently top 115°F, which makes it an absolutely perfect place to be driving an old, restored Corvette... with the top down, of course.

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A few word's from Dennis, about Dennis and OCS:

Intro: One of the things about OCS graduates is that we are resourceful, if nothing else. Whether we were born with this skill or not, OCS brought it out in us and helped us learn how to maximize and use it. Even back then, whether it was finding a way to get Pogey bait into the barracks or ducking KP, if it was up to any one of us, we would spend as much time working out how to change the world to our liking, as we did simply accepting the world as it was. Dennis was no different. A survivor, he found his niche, squeezed into it, and wore it well.

A while back Dennis sent me the following message:

Dennis' Comments: After graduation I stayed at Ft. Gordon, and was interviewed by the Commandant of the school. He wanted me to operate the Signal Book Store. 

His plan was simple: he would use the profits, if any, to support the troops with the monies earned, for special events and the like.

For my part, I figured that the inventory of goods to buy was lacking. So, I purchased electronic stereo kits to build FM radios and receivers and other signal memorabilia, including night shirts with the school’s logo on them. They were a big hit, and sold completely out during the Christmas leave. 

I had to be very creative about what I bought and sold, so as not to be in conflict with the PX. 

I can tell you there were lines waiting to get into the store to purchase what we had for sale. 

The Commandant came by one day to see what was going on, as the exchange was upset with the store competing with them. I showed him that I was not in conflict with the PX. Electronics were mostly kits that had to be built, which was within the regs. of the products we could sell, and so on. 

I made a lot of money for him. 

One day I was asked to report to him. Not knowing what I had done to be called in front of the Commandant of the school was a little disconcerting. I reported to him and noticed a lot of other Officers there, and civilian personnel as well. We were called to attention, the Commandant called me forward, and presented me with an Army Commendation Medal for my efforts. 

Many times in the months that passed, I was asked how I earned the medal since I was only a 2nd Lieutenant with less than a year on active duty.

You figure that one out.

As time passed, like most of my fellow graduates, I left the Army and settled into civilian life. I became the Marketing Director for one of the largest wholesale plumbing supply Companies in the country. My main responsibility was for their 40+ showrooms, all with appliances and finished plumbing products. This was a core business for the company, with sales approaching $150 million a year.

The Southern California earthquake of 1994 left my warehouse and offices looking like a Chinese fire drill… as I walked through it, it reminded me of the condition we usually saw our barracks in when we came back from a day of training. What I saw was no different than the same mess we all experienced in OCS. Just like in OCS, I buckled down and got busy, and had everything up and running in 3 days. Yes, I did have help from my employees, but the time I spent in OCS learning how to lead helped me organize and think clearly about what needed to be done. 

The long and short of this story is that over my life I have drawn from my time in OCS to solve problems... my own way, with leadership, integrity, honesty... and generally with success. Since July 27, 1967, I've done this all of my life.

Thank you OCS.

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Click on any picture below to see enlarged version.

 

First, one picture from the old days: Quoting from Candidate Skinner's eMail:

"...yours truly in front of our apartment off post on Garden Spring Lane. I returned for a reunion, I believe in '96, and found the apts. were still there exactly as they were in July 1967. The little country 2 lane road in the middle of nowhere however was now a 6 lane road with a medium in the center. In 1996 there was a BP gas station on the corner. The street sign for it is still there, but it's a faded green by now. However, the deep lot was still there, along with the apartments. What really knocked me over though was that to my right (in the picture), at about 2 o'clock, and directly behind the property, was the Augusta Mall. While living there I remembered a dense growth of woods and brush that limited my exploration of the area. Note my '63 corvette... ah those were the days..."

 

 

 

Now a few pictures from Dennis' post-OCS time in the Signal Corps: 

And now a few pics from today: 

 The original condition of Dennis' 1965 Corvette... in a box.

 After a bit of work, this is what happens when you buy a box of Corvette parts.

 And after a bit more time, this is what happens.

 All of which is enough to make an old OCS Grad's heart happy.