SMA - Hall of Fame

Edward B. Atkeson SMA '47	Major General Edward B. Atkeson, USA (Ret.) is a senior fellow at the Institute of Land Warfare, Association of the U.S. Army, and a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. During his distinguished military career he served as Deputy Chief of Staff Intelligence, U.S. Army Europe, and later as a member of the National Intelligence Council under the Director of Central Intelligence. He also served with the Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, Department of State, and as a commander of the U.S. Army Concepts Analysis Agency. General Atkeson is a frequent writer and speaker on military affairs, having contributed over 100 articles to military journals and other publications. He is the author of four books: The Final Argument of Kings: Reflections of the Art of War (1988); A Military Assessment of the Middle East 1991-1996 (1992); The Powder Keg: An Intelligence Officer's Guide to Military Forces in the Middle East 1996-2000 (1996); and, A Tale of Three Wars (1997)
Manolo Badrena SMA '70	Jazz percussionist. Band member and featured musician with bands such as Spyro Gyra, Weather Report and jazz musicians and recording artists such as Ahmad Jamal - The Essence - Part 1, Pete Levin - A Solitary Man, Weather Report - Heavy Weather, Steve Kahn - Eyewitness, Jaco Pastorius, Bill Evans, Erik Klein, and many others.
Austin D. Baltz SMA '27	Educator, Wilmington, Delaware. In 1978 an elementary school was named the Austin D. Baltz Elementary School after this great educator!
Logan C. Berry SMA '20?	COL Logan Carroll Berry, 95, passed away on April 26, 1997. During World War II he served with the Armored Forces in England, France and Germany as the Commanding Officer of several armored brigades and groups. He also served on General George Patton's staff as Commanding Officer of the Tank Destroyers. His last assignment was Military Attache to the American Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico. After retirement from the Army, COL Berry served as Assistant Director of Civil Defense for the State of Oregon.
Winton M. Blount SMA '39	Founder and Chairman of the Board and a Director of Alabama-based Blount International, Inc., a $640 million industrial conglomerate listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Blount was selected as one of the "Four Outstanding Young Men in Alabama" in 1956, and was named "Man of the Year" in Montgomery in 1961. He was the recipient of the "Golden Knight of Management Award" by the Alabama Council of the National Management Association in 1962, and received a Citation from the City Government of Montgomery for Distinguished Service to the City in 1966. President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 1968. Served as U.S. Postmaster General and Chairman of the Board, U.S. Postal Service, 1970-1971, during the Nixon administration. In the 1980's, at his personal expense, Winton Blount built a $22 million theatre complex for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival (ASF). Washington Post drama critic Richard Coe calls the facility "the most beautiful...theatre building I've seen on five continents." Winton Blount's gift of the theatre to ASF is the largest single donation ever made to an American theatre company. He continues to be an outspoken advocate of federal funding of the arts.
Mike Bragg SMA '64	Former NFL punter with the Washington Redskins and Baltimore Colts. Mike was an honorable mention Pro Scouts All-America his senior season at the University Of Richmond. He was selected in the 5th round of the NFL draft by the Washington Redskins. He played professional football for the Washington Redskins (1968-1980) and Baltimore Colts (1980-81).
John G. Conomikes SMA '50	Vice President and Director of The Hearst Corporation and a Trustee of the Trusts established under the Will of William Randolph Hearst. President and co-chief Executive Officer of Hearst-Argyle Television Inc.(NASDAQ: HATV), a public corporation reaching approximately 11.5 percent of U.S. TV households. The company is one of the nation's largest independent owner of TV stations in terms of audience delivered.
John W. Dean, III SMA '57	Former White House counsel to Richard M. Nixon, was convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice for his role in the White House cover-up and sentenced from one to four years in prison. However, after four months, the Watergate trial judge, John J. Sirica, reduced his sentence to time served. On June 25, 1973, he implicated President Nixon in the Watergate scandal when he told a Senate committee, and a national television audience, that the president was aware of White House efforts to "cover-up" the Watergate break-in. The cover-up was the attempt to conceal from the public the White House’s involvement almost from the start in the break-in at Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington on June 17, 1972. John Dean is now an investment banker in Beverly Hills, California and also serves as Vice President and Treasurer of Rubbermaid, Inc. Author: Blind Ambition.
Alexander DeVolpi SMA '49	Physicist at Argonne National Laboratory. Author: Born Secret: The H-Bomb, the Progressive Case and National Security; Proliferation, Plutonium and Policy: Institutional and Technological Impediments to Nuclear Weapons Propagation; "Fissile Materials and Nuclear Weapons Proliferation", Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science, Vol. 36, 1986; "The Physics and Policy of Plutonium Disposition", Physics and Society, Vol. 23, No. 3, July 1994.
Lou DiGiaimo SMA '58?	Motion Picture Producer; Casting Director. Credits include:Donnie Brasco, Homicide: Life On The Street 1996 Emmy nomination in category for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Casting for a Series"
Raymond E. Forrest SMA '34	NBC Television Announcer. Picture is on the cover of a book about the early days of television called The Box - An Oral History of Television 1920-1960 by Jeff Kisselloff.
Dr. Rustem I. Gamow SMA '52	Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Colorado
Barry M. Goldwater SMA '28	For decades one of the best-known conservative Republicans in America. Goldwater's first public office was as a Phoenix city councilman from 1949 until 1952. In 1952, he was elected to the U.S. Senate from Arizona. He served in the Senate until 1964, when, because he had been nominated by the Republican Party as its candidate for president, he chose not to run a concurrent campaign for his Senate seat. Defeated in that presidential election, he again was elected to the Senate in 1968, 1974, and 1980. He retired from the U.S. Senate on Jan. 2, 1987. Served on the following Senate committees: Armed Services (Chairman 1982-1986); Aeronautical and Space Sciences; Select Committee on Intelligence (Chairman 1982-1986); Commerce; Science and Transportation (Chairman of Communications Subcommittee), Aviation Subcommittee, Subcommittee on Science Technology and Space; Small Business; Select Committee on Indian Affairs.
Michael P. Goldwater SMA '57	Son of Barry M. Goldwater and State of Arizona Registar of Contractors. Formerly a real estate developer and licensed contractor.
Calvin Griffith SMA '30?	"The Last of the Pure Baseball Men". On October 26, 1960, Calvin Griffith, President of the Washington Senators, made the historic decision to move his club to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, thereby giving birth to the "Minnesota Twins," named after the two Upper Midwest cities. Won the American League pennant in 1965; however, they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series that year. Voted "Major League Executive of the Year" - 1965. Reputed to be "one of baseball's most asute judges of raw talent";in 1964, he discovered and signed Rod Carew as second baseman and one of the most famous of former Twins players. In June 1984, prominent local businessman Carl Pohlad stepped forward and signed an agreement in principle to purchase the team from Griffith and his sister, Mrs. Thelma Griffith Haynes, and keep the Twins in Minnesota. On September 7, 1984 the deal was finalized ending an era of 72 years in which the Griffith family controlled the ballclub.
Hunter W. Henry, Jr. SMA '46	Director, Executive VP of Dow Chemical Corporation, and President of Dow USA, before retiring in 1998. Chemical Engineer. Received two major Mississippi State University honors in 1988 when he was named Alumnus of the Year and one of the MSU's 10 outstanding graduates. He is a member of the university's Chemical Engineering Hall of Fame and the College of Engineering's Distinguished Engineering Fellows. Examples of his philanthropic endeavors include: providing the funding which supports 22 full scholarships at MSU in the Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering degree programs; providing several full scholarships at Lamar University - three in Engineering and two in Nursing; donating significant funds supporting the renovation of the MSU Mechanical Engineering Building; and, funding the purchase of computers in the MSU Business School and Electrical Engineering labs. Hunter Henry has a fully endowed Chair in Chemical Engineering in the Henry family name. Founder and key contributor to the SMA-John Deal Education Scholarship Fund. Established the Henry Scholarship Honoring SMA at Mary Baldwin College (MBC) for the outstanding rising senior cadet in the Virginia Women in Leadership (VWIL) ROTC Program.
Thomas D. Howie	A teacher at Staunton Military Academy who distinguished himself in World War II as commander of the 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment. The 116th was the spearhead unit on Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944. He was mortally wounded on July 18, 1944, in Normandy. Just before his death, he had ordered the attack at Martinsville Ridge which led to the liberation of the City of St. Lo, where he is still celebrated as the "Major of St. Lo".
John A. Hulen SMA '1888?	General Hulen, the commander of the 1st Texas Brigade, was 46 years old, a graduate of the Marmaduke Military Academy in Missouri, his native state, and a prominent Texas railroad and bank executive. He had also attended the Staunton Military Academy in Virginia. Hulen entered the Texas National Guard as a private in 1889 while residing at Gainesville and soon rose to first lieutenant in the 3rd Texas Infantry. During the Spanish American War he served as a lieutenant colonel in the 1st Texas Cavalry which was stationed much of the time at Fort Sam Houston. Appointed a captain in the 33rd U.S. Volunteer Infantry, Hulen commanded a company in the Philippines during the Insurrection. He was recommended for the Congressional Medal of Honor and was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action in northern Luzon. After several years as adjutant general of Texas with the rank of brigadier general in the Texas Guard, he left public service until 1916 when he came out of military retirement to command the Texas militia on the border. Shortly after his appointment as a brigadier general in the National Army, he commanded the troops in Houston which was placed under martial law following the mutiny of Negro soldiers in the 24th U.S. Infantry.
Albert L. Hutson, Jr. SMA '41	As a young second lieutenant in World War II he served with the First Armored Division in the Italian Campaign, starting with the Battle of Anzio, and participated in the liberation of Rome. During combat in the Po Valley he sustained a wound for which he received the Purple Heart. Col. Hutson served in the U.S. Army for 32 years, earning the Combat Infantryman's Badge for service in World II and Vietnam. He was awarded the Silver Star during the Vietnam War, where he served from1967 to1968 as a battalion commander and acting brigade commander of the First Air Cavalry Division. After retiring from the Army, he pursued a career as a figurative artist in San Francisco. In honor of his artistic achievements, San Francisco Mayor Frank Jordan declared his seventieth birthday, March 11, 1993, Col. Albert Hutson Day.
John Isbell SMA '47	Professor of Mathematics. Department of Mathematics College of Arts and Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York at Buffalo.
Barry B. Longyear SMA '60	Author. Award winning author of the Enemy Mine novella series, later made into a motion picture by 20th Century Fox. In his first year of publication he sold his first three books, Manifest Destiny, Circus World, and City of Baraboo and a year later became the first writer to be awarded the Nebula Award, Hugo Award, and John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in the same year.
David McCampbell SMA '28	Navy's Top Fighter Ace. Capt. David McCampbell (Jan 16, 1910-June 30, 1996), the Navy's "Ace of Aces," was one of the top ranking American Aces of World War II, credited with 34 aerial victories. As Commander, Air Group 15 during the Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19, 1944), McCampbell led his fighter planes against a force of 80 Japanese carrier- based aircraft bearing down on the fleet. He personally destroyed nine hostile planes during a single engagement in the course of the battle and is believed to be a record in the annals of aerial combat. Capt. McCampbell's 34 victories made him the nation's fourth leading Ace of all time behind three Air Force Pilots: Maj. Richard I. Bong, 40 kills; Maj Thomas McGuire, 38, and Col. Francis S. Gabreski, 34.5. His numerous honors included, the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Navy Cross, the Silver Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross. For heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight as Commander of Air Group 15 and for outstanding courage and valor in the face of great odds as well as leadership above and beyond the call of duty, David McCampbell is enshrined with honor into the National Aviation Hall of Fame. The Secretary of the Navy assigned the name USS McCampbell (DDG-85) to one of its newest Arleigh Burke-class, Aegis equipped guided-missile destroyers in honor of David McCampbell. On 2 July 2000, the newly constructed USS McCampbell was christened by Secretary of State Albright during launching ceremonies at Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine.
Guy P. McSweeney SMA '46	Since 1962, has served as President, Resco, Inc., a Radio Engineering and Telecommunications company. In 1995, he was named to the Board of Directors for RAM Technologies, Inc. Served in the U.S. Air Force 1950-1956 flying over 100 missions in F-80's over Korea.
Phil Ochs SMA '58	Phil Ochs was an icon of the Sixties and arguably one of the best singer-songwriters of the decade, variously categorized as "topical", "protest" and "folk". He was a contemporary (and friend) of Bob Dylan. (who said: "I just can't keep up with Phil. And he's getting better and better and better.") He was a prolific writer of protest songs such as Draft Dodger Rag, I Ain't Marchin' Anymore and Outside Of A Small Circle Of Friends. His output diminished at the end of the 60's after putting out 7 albums. He wrote little in the 70's and, sadly, took his own life in 1976.
Edward C. Peter SMA '47	Retired as a Lieutenant General, U.S. Army in 1986 during his final tour of duty as the Commander, Fourth U.S. Army at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. From May 1952 to February 1953, he served in the Korean War as a platoon leader and survived the intense fighting at both Heartbreak Ridge and the Chorwon Valley. LTG Peter then served in a variety of outstanding assignments, highlighted by: Liaison Officer to the U.S. Senate (1963-1966), Commander 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, Vietnam (1967), Deputy G3 (Operations), II Field Force, Vietnam (1968), Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff for Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (1969-1972), Chief of Legislative Liaison to U.S. Congress (1978-1981), Commander 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) (1981-1983). Decorations include: 2 Combat Infantry Badges, 2 Distinguished Service Medals, 2 Silver Stars, 2 Legions of Merit, 2 Bronze Stars, Meritorious Service Medal, 6 Air Medals, Army Commendation Medal, and the U.S. Army General Staff Badge. After Army retirement, General Peter was President of the Commerical Distribution Center (CDC). He is now enjoying retirement in Independence, Missouri.
Charles Pfarrer SMA '75	Author and Screenplay writer. Co-Writer of the movie Barb Wire. A former US Navy SEAL, served as a military advisor in Central America and the Dominican Republic and various postings in Europe, the Mediterranean and Middle East. His first two screenplays, including the action drama Navy SEALS starring Charlie Sheen, were written and sold during his time in the Navy. Upon leaving the Navy, Pfarrer turned to writing full time. Other film credits include:Darkman, Hard Target (which he also co-produced) directed by John Woo and starring Jean Claude Van Damme. Pfarrer recently completed a remake of Frederick Forsyth's "Day of the Jackal" and "Rocket Man. Currently in production on the high seas sci-fi thriller Virus. Author: Virus
Dr. Lamar Pickett SMA '29	Oldest living SMA alumni. Research Chemist. Earned his PhD in Chemistry in 1935. He worked for the Department of Navy during the war. He is an inventor with many patents to his credit. Lamar has been published in the Journal of American Chemistry.
Joseph D. Pistone SMA '58	Retired FBI Special Agent. In the '70s, Joe Pistone infiltrated the New York Bonanno mafia family for six years and was so credible in his role that he became one of the most successful mole infiltrators in the history of undercover fieldwork. The true story of his undercover work is depicted in the 1997 movie Donnie Brasco, which is based on his book Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life In The Mafia. Twenty-two years after he infiltrated the Mafia in Brooklyn, the Mob still reportedly has a $500,000 price tag on his head. In an April 1997 Staunton Daily News-Leader interview with former SMA basketball coach, Bill Pandak, he said Joe was an outstanding basketball player but he never dreamed that one of his players would become such a hero.
Henry G. Plitt SMA '35	U.S. Army Intelligence Officer during WW-II. He became a parachutist with the 502nd Parachute Regiment in order to be on the front lines of attack. In 1944, he was among members of the 101st Airborne division who served as "pathfinders" for the Normandy invasion by guiding the landing of other parachutists. He was also active in the capture of Nazi officials, including Julius Streicher, founder of the anti-semitic newspaper "Der Stuermer" (The Attacker). He personally captured Julius Streicher in Waidring, Austria, who was later tried, convicted and sentenced to death as part of the Nuremberg Trials. He also captured the Nazi Labor Minister Robert Ley. He also jumped into Holland as a pathfinder and was wounded for the third time in Holland. After the war, he worked for Paramount Pictures. In 1974, he purchased ABC's motion picture theaters and by 1984 had made Plitt Theaters, Inc. into one of the largest chain of independent theaters in the nation. Enlisted in the Army Reserves in 1964 and attained the rank of Brigadier General.
Bill Quinlan SMA '52	NFL player for nine seasons. Played for Green Bay Packers (with Vince Lombardi), Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins.
Larry Reiner SMA'48	Author: Minute of Silence, The Other Shore and The Reason. A seaman, prospector, miner, and writer. A merchant seaman since 1949. Drafted in August 1951, he served two years in the Army during the Korean Conflict. He also sailed during the Vietnam War and Desert Storm. A graduate geologist and gemologist, he has lived in Arizona and New Mexico, dividing his time between mining and prospecting and going to sea.
Bob Savage SMA '42	After graduating from SMA, Bob went directly to the Philadelphia Athletics baseball team as a star pitcher until 1948. He served in the Army during WW-II and received the Purple Heart. After his baseball career, he worked for Wilson Sporting Goods Company and later opened his own sporting goods store with hsi brother.
Jim Vance SMA '60	Combat veteran who served two tours in Vietnam and earned a Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. He served in the Army's only helicopter gunship company in Vietnam in 1965-66. After his tour, he was sent to Fort Rucker. "I hated southern Alabama," he said. "So, I volunteered to go back to Vietnam. This time [1967-68] they were shooting real bullets." He is now Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vance & Engles Aircraft Brokers in Annapolis, Maryland.
John Wieland SMA '35	Killed in action (KIA) during WW-II in the Southwest Pacific on December 2, 1944. The Wieland Gate was given to the Staunton Military Academy in 1948 by Mrs. J. A. Walls of Baltimore, Maryland, in memory of Dr. John Thomas Wieland, Lieutenant, USNR. Representing the courage and steadfastness to duty for which Lieutenant Wieland stood, the gate is a symbol of the strength and beauty of our school.

We know we haven't listed every alumnus that belongs in the Hall of Fame. Please let us know about others that you feel should be added.

We know we haven't listed every alumnus that belongs in the Hall of Fame.
Please let us know about others that you feel should be added.