REMEMBERING BRUCE....47 YEARS LATER I met Bruce while a freshmen at Ripon College in 1962. The meeting was during Rush week, before that I just knew of him as the hooked nosed guy who lived above me on the third floor of Scott Hall, our dorm. My roommate was rushing the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and suggested I should also. I didn't know if I wanted to rush any fraternity until my sophomore year. Well my roommate, Cliff, dragged me to the SAE rush party. There I met the brothers and Roger, Bruce's brother. Most of the rushers were from the second and third floor, East wing of Scott Hall. I was formally introduced to Bruce, and also met Tom Dougherty, Jeff Crabb, and Frank Wheeler. The rest of our pledge class I would jell with later. Still undecided as to rush a fraternity or not, Bruce, Tom, and Dan Ham took me out to the water tower on the first mixer dance night we had on campus. I was going to stay in the dorm and study. Well they got me to go out and told me they had some Booze we could share, and asked if I could handle it. (Well, being 19 at the time, I did not let them know that drinking was not new to me, seeing I was from Racine county and close to Kenosha County where the drinking age was 18. And like Bruce, I had been drinking since a sophomore in High School) Well, getting back to the story, that night was a soul letting for all of us as we each told our tales of hope, love, and losses during High School. We drank vodka & grapefruit juice, no ice. The more I drank, the more I listened and realized these guys were just like me. We ended up walking down the street back to the dorm singing (they were trying to teach me an SAE song). I joined the SAE fraternity along with my roommate, and Bruce plus most of the third floor. I remember one memorable event that happened in Scott Hall when we were SAE pledges: One night during the second semester, a water fight got started on third floor, where Bruce, Tom, Jeff, Frank, Dan , Bud, John, and the two Steve’s lived. As usual I just got back from the library and at the end of the second floor hall where my room was, across from the lavatory, and in between was a long double paned window that stretched from the first floor to the third floor with about an eight inch space between the floors and the window. Water was gushing down the window between the spaces; all the way from the third floor to the first. Loud yelling, obscenities, and curses were being gleefully shouted between the water throwers and the receivers of the garbage can sized containers of water. It took two men on each side of the container to throw the flood of water. (Well at about 8.8 pounds/gallon; the water containers had to be at least half full to manage and maneuver them quickly, so I figured that the volume of water thrown would be a giant slosh of about 176 pounds). And how does this all lead to remembering Bruce? Well there was a loud crash, glass falling, large volumes of water flowing, and Bruce hanging half in and half out of the third floor window. Luckily, at each floor there was a cross piece that supported the window sections. (He was running down the hall towards the Lavatory when a large volume of garbage can water assisted him on his way...slipping and hitting the window both feet first.) Bruce managed to grab the cross piece and was hanging on, both hands with arms curled around the cross support yelling something as trickles of blood mingled with the residual water on the broken window panes worked their way to the first floor. Bruce was quickly retrieved, his foot wrapped in towels, and off to the Ripon Infirmary he went. Bruce hobbled around campus but he healed quickly. I never found out what type of punishment the third floor, east wing, got if any. Bruce and I slowly grew together as brothers, each of us seeking each others counsel when our love life was going rough. We may have been the blind leading the blind. I met Patty at one of the SAE fraternity parties. Like me, Bruce had been going with Patty since High School as I had been going with my girlfriend all through High School. I think we all hit it off all right. The party was in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and on the way back to Ripon the girls had to Pee (I was known for not holding my liquor) and I got sick so we had to stop, girls to the right and boys to the left, and Jerry stop barfing in the car. We all got back to campus safely and dropped the girls off at the dorms where we had arrangements for them to stay for the night. I walked back to the dorm and walked right past the old Red Barn. The auditorium burned down that night while we were at the party and I did not even notice. Bruce got Patty to the dorm and he also did not notice the old Red Barn was gone. I guess the party was a success. One Spring break Bruce, Mike Armatto, Tom Doughty, John Kleiner, and myself went to Daytona Beach, Florida. We drove down there in Mike's Dad's 1964 Riviera Grand Prix, we were really riding tall. The week there was very eventful and exciting. We were living "Where the Boys Are" but it didn't turn out like the movie. Our junior year Bruce and I roomed together in the SAE dorm. One thing we did every night was have a night cap of Early Times and water, about three fingers of liquor and a whisper of water. I was 21 by that time and was on a first name basis at Milt's liquor store. This was a troubled time for me. The year before my girlfriend of five years broke up with me and now this junior year of college another girl broke up with me. This put me into deep depression and Bruce would try to rationalize with me to get me out of it. He was very helpful and understanding. I told him things that I never told anyone else and bared my soul to him. In this vulnerable state I was in, Bruce, that year, over time picked me up, dusted me off, and put me back together. I owe him a lot for being there for me, but isn't that what brothers are for? To help each other when needed? Somehow I feel that Bruce and I had a special relationship to each other, each willing to help when needed. Our Senior year was uneventful, I guess we matured enough that we knew how to stay out of trouble or at least not get caught. Most of the class that pledged to SAE in 1962, went into the advanced R.O.T.C. and we graduated in 1966, were commissioned as Second Lieutenants, and were released into the world. I met my wife to be at a resort at Browns lake, Wisconsin in August of 1966. Her name was Mary, we had fun together as friends, and each of us went off on our own when we wanted to. I'd go to Ripon to spend the night in the dorm and get up early to go duck hunting at lake Poygon, about 40 miles away from Ripon. I'd be home by Sunday evening and on the phone calling her to see if I could go over to her place. In February 1967, I went into the army as a 2 LT. at Fort Benning, Georgia, for IOBC (Infantry Officers Basic Course) training. While at IOBC Bruce and Patty got married on April 1 st of 1967, I couldn't attend the wedding and felt bad for this. Graduating from IOBC it was to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, for four months before off to Viet Nam. During this time Bruce and Patty were at Fort Rucker, Alabama, where Bruce was in Flight training. One long weekend arrangements were made, Mary flew to Columbia, South Carolina, and we drove to Fort Rucker to visit Patty and Bruce. That was one wild time and enough said of that. I went to Viet Nam in October of 1967; Bruce finished flight training and was sent to Viet Nam, I think in December '67 or January '68. He was in the 1st Cav, air mobile group. While we were in country we both wrote back and forth on ccasion When I left to fly back to the states Bruce had given me Patty's phone number, she was teaching in San Francisco. We made arrangements to visit and Patty was living with four other school teachers. Needless to say, I caught a cold two days before leaving Viet Nam, was miserable on the airplane with the pressure changes, so when I got to San Francisco I called Patty and told her I had a bad cold (as she could probably tell from my voice) and was extremely sorry that I would miss seeing her and her single school teacher friends. Bruce got back from Viet Nam and eventually went on to law school while I stayed in the service for the next five and a half years. Mary and I got married in December 28,1968, in a blizzard in Racine, Wisconsin. Many of the guests did not make it to the wedding due to the weather. We honeymooned at Green Lake, Wisconsin, and celebrated New Years Eve at the Heidel House. The New Year's Party was fun because again we had brothers there, Bruce and Patty, Bob Gerkie and his wife, Jim Thorson, John Kleiner and his wife, and some other brothers that I can't remember now. Bruce and I started talking about our Viet Nam experiences and I for some reason started to cry. Bruce said he knew how I felt but before too much could be said the women pulled us apart to the dance floor.Mary and I went on to various duty stations and the most memorable was Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico. While stationed there, contacting Bruce and Patty we found out that they also had a High School friend of Bruce's who also was in Puerto Rico working for a container shipping company. I think his name was Polish sounding, like Jack-ko-bow-ski or something. I had only met him once before at Ripon when he came up to visit Bruce. That night we all had too many adult beverages, and ended up pushing together the two beds in our room to make one big one and the three of us crashed on the make shift king size bed. So I guess I can say I slept with Bruce and his best friend while in college. It is only now that I would mention that. Bruce and Patty made arrangements to visit the both of us in Puerto Rico. They arrived and spent a short time on base with Mary and Me. During that time we went to one of the hotels to a Los Vegas type floor show. When the show started, I was taking some of my drink when I saw those bare boobs bouncing around and the high kicks from the dancers. I swallowed the ice cube in my drink. Mary was seven or eight months pregnant at that time and Bruce almost fell on the floor laughing at me. The girls just looked at each other and shrugged like “little boys will be little boys.” They left the base to spend time with Bruce's boyhood friend and we went to visit them on San Juan Batista Day. This day is our Columbus Day but in Puerto Rico it is a big thing: party, cook out, party, and at night (maybe midnight) you go to the ocean and walk into the water backwards for a year of good luck. Well some.where during Bruce and Patty's visit to Puerto Rico, the San Juan Batista party, and walking backward into the ocean, we believe that Patty became pregnant with Jeffery. Mary and I returned to the states and I got out of the service. We managed to visit with Patty and Bruce and see Jeffery, I think he was about seven months old at the time. We never did get to see Katie but I will meet her this weekend. I did talk to her on the phone once. I called Bruce, got the phone number from Patty's Christmas letter, and Katie answered the phone. I asked to speak to the douche bag, I could hear Katie saying loudly, “Somebody wants to speak to the douche bag." In the background I heard both Bruce and Patty say at the same time, “Rudat”. The bond between us exists even though both families went on to raise their children and pursue their careers. We stayed in touch through Patty's Christmas letters and I would write back on what our family was doing. When my job would take me to Milwaukee I would try to contact Patty and Bruce, at times I was successful and at others they were off on vacation. One time we met at the Hanger or was it the Landing across the street from Mitchell Field. The give and take between Bruce and I remained strong. For example, after my heart surgery in 2001, I wrote Bruce and told him about it and the possible cause was probably too many pitchers of beer and brats while at Ripon. What does Bruce do, he calls me and accuses me of blaming him for the heart surgery. I was glad he called because we talked for a long time and I needed that. Again he was there to pick me up, dust me off, and put me on the right path in his own certain way. I sent e-mails, jokes and pictures to the Bruce and Patty e-mail address. It took some time before I found out that he was not very good at the Computer stuff and Patty was getting to the material first, so the guy picture stuff ceased and the jokes were screened for good taste, however, the political material was sent as is. When I was told of Bruce's cancer I offered to come to Pinehurst and visit. He asked me to wait about two to three months to see if he was feeling better and he would let me know. In October of 2009, I was given the go ahead to come to Pinehurst which I did. Patty was going to Milwaukee to check with her airlines on some matters. Bruce and I would be keeping an eye on each other which we did. I would fall from my bad back, nerves being pinched and left leg not getting a signal from the brain...down I'd go. He'd laugh at me and say we were a hell of a pair and I'd say well we were about 47 years ago. That was one memorable week for me and I hope for Bruce. Discussions of our college years, the Who, What, How, and Why not: reminiscing, disclosing family secrets, fears, prejudices, hopes., and just sitting on the balcony looking at the lake and listening to the birds. Maybe a good fart now and then. After I left, we talked on the phone several times. Bruce was always asking about my back and how I was. I was afraid to ask how he was doing, but eventually I would ask and Bruce would say, “Still vertical, still vertical, and that's good”. Patty informed me when Bruce passed and told me he was at home with all of them around. Bruce could not have had it better: wife, Jeffery, & Katie at his side as he slipped off to his next life. We are brothers in the bonds of friendship and I miss you my brother, We only had a short time, our college years, for you and I. to develop into the type of men we would be and each going our different ways. We stayed in touch checking on the progress of each and later on the health of each. Knowing that some day our time would pass. PHI ALPHA BRUCE IN THE BONDS OF FRIENDSHIP ARE WE