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News & Photos
Memorial Day Observed
The school community observed Memorial Day on Thursday,
May 24, with a solemn service on Memorial Court. Alumni
Association President Jeana Gamber '95 and next year’s
senior class president, Gianni V. '13, placed a wreath at
the base of the monument. The Lower School bell choir and
chorus and the Upper School string ensemble added music to
the tribute. Nathaniel P. '11, Kelsey N. '10, Austin F. '13,
and Jack E. '10 played taps.
Each year, Director of Religious Studies, Character and
Service John
Grega recognizes a McDonogh graduate who gave his or her
life to defend our nation's freedom. This year, Mr. Grega
delivered the following remarks about the life of Edward
Focke, Jr. '40,
who lost his life in World War II. The theme: fight for
peace, strive for peace, ensure peace.
On the monument before us, and twenty-third on its
list
of names, is that of Arthur Edward Focke Jr. In September
1934, at the age of twelve, Arthur transferred from Garrison
Junior High to McDonogh’s Middle School. His parents
expressed a strong interest in McDonogh’s academic program
and its commitment to strong character and personal values.
His transition brought some challenges, yet Arthur
applied himself and excelled in geography and in physics,
with steady improvement in French. As many of us might
understand, Latin proved a challenge. Extracurricular
activities included JV football, Varsity tennis, the
school’s choral music program, and the science club. Rising
to the rank of platoon sergeant in the cadet infantry,
Arthur graduated in the class of 1940. It was an exceptional
class that would later provide McDonogh with one headmaster,
two chairmen of the board, and one beloved long-time math
department head.
Six months after the he graduated, America was plunged
into World War II and many students enlisted in the Armed
Forces. Two from the class of 1940 lost their lives in that
war; one was Arthur Focke. After he graduated, he joined the
Army Air Force, completed flight school, and served in Great
Britain. On December 1, 1944, his plane crashed in England
and Arthur died. Two months later, his father wrote an
extraordinary letter to Doc Lamborn, McDonogh’s headmaster,
and reflected not only on his son’s death but also on the
challenges facing McDonogh in the years ahead. He wrote:
“We had hoped that Arthur and thousands of other boys
would be privileged to come back from this war with the
resolute determination to take an aggressive attitude toward
maintaining the peace, to fight as hard for peace as they
fought for war. Doctor Lamborn, add to your work the
inspiration of a young people determined that peace is worth
fighting for. Inspire these boys not only to love peace but
also to work for it, and to take the initiative and
leadership to assure it for themselves and their
children.”
“To fight for peace,” to strive for peace, to pursue
peace with all one’s energy is an ideal central to this
morning’s commemoration. Too often in our world, the very
ideals that Mr. Focke loved and for which his son and others
died seem far from reality. Our world is torn by fighting of
all sorts, too often fighting against, not fighting for. The
violence of gunshots and bombs, the nastiness of political
debate in an election year, the harsh conflicts between
opposing interest groups, Tea Party vs. Occupy Wall Street -
- all reflect a society fighting itself, a society that no
longer has an Iron Curtain to breach or a Red Menace to
halt. We have not yet learned how to live without fighting
in hurtful ways. We have not yet learned to fight for peace,
for harmony, without denying the differences that do divide
us, and never failing to respect those with whom we differ.
You and I can help to build a society like the one Mr.
Focke wished for his son and his son’s generation. A society
bent on peace, not at any price, but a peace grounded in
ideals and values that promote harmony not rancor, that
inspire collaboration and not simply competition, that
assert the common good over self-interest. We move toward
such a society when we encounter bullying and stand up to
the bully, when we delay angry reactions and channel them
into thoughtful responses, when we learn to forgive a wrong,
not simply to retaliate for it, when we learn to build
bridges with simple courtesy, with service, with kind
initiative, with self-sacrifice. When we learn to fight for
peace, to strive for peace in this way, we shall have gone a
long way in making war and violence itself obsolete. And
then we will have done much to ensure a world of peace for
our own children and for their children. We will have proven
faithful stewards of the legacy of Arthur Focke and Nelson
Bolton and Hugh Crimmins and Harry Slater and all the others
whose names are etched on the monument before us.
View Photos
The school community observed Memorial Day on Thursday, May 24, with a solemn service on Memorial Court. Alumni Association President Jeana Gamber '95 and next year’s senior class president, Gianni V. '13, placed a wreath at the base of the monument. The Lower School bell choir and chorus and the Upper School string ensemble added music to the tribute. Nathaniel P. '11, Kelsey N. '10, Austin F. '13, and Jack E. '10 played taps.
Each year, Director of Religious Studies, Character and Service John Grega recognizes a McDonogh graduate who gave his or her life to defend our nation's freedom. This year, Mr. Grega delivered the following remarks about the life of Edward Focke, Jr. '40, who lost his life in World War II. The theme: fight for peace, strive for peace, ensure peace.
On the monument before us, and twenty-third on its list of names, is that of Arthur Edward Focke Jr. In September 1934, at the age of twelve, Arthur transferred from Garrison Junior High to McDonogh’s Middle School. His parents expressed a strong interest in McDonogh’s academic program and its commitment to strong character and personal values.
His transition brought some challenges, yet Arthur applied himself and excelled in geography and in physics, with steady improvement in French. As many of us might understand, Latin proved a challenge. Extracurricular activities included JV football, Varsity tennis, the school’s choral music program, and the science club. Rising to the rank of platoon sergeant in the cadet infantry, Arthur graduated in the class of 1940. It was an exceptional class that would later provide McDonogh with one headmaster, two chairmen of the board, and one beloved long-time math department head.
Six months after the he graduated, America was plunged into World War II and many students enlisted in the Armed Forces. Two from the class of 1940 lost their lives in that war; one was Arthur Focke. After he graduated, he joined the Army Air Force, completed flight school, and served in Great Britain. On December 1, 1944, his plane crashed in England and Arthur died. Two months later, his father wrote an extraordinary letter to Doc Lamborn, McDonogh’s headmaster, and reflected not only on his son’s death but also on the challenges facing McDonogh in the years ahead. He wrote:
“We had hoped that Arthur and thousands of other boys would be privileged to come back from this war with the resolute determination to take an aggressive attitude toward maintaining the peace, to fight as hard for peace as they fought for war. Doctor Lamborn, add to your work the inspiration of a young people determined that peace is worth fighting for. Inspire these boys not only to love peace but also to work for it, and to take the initiative and leadership to assure it for themselves and their children.”
“To fight for peace,” to strive for peace, to pursue peace with all one’s energy is an ideal central to this morning’s commemoration. Too often in our world, the very ideals that Mr. Focke loved and for which his son and others died seem far from reality. Our world is torn by fighting of all sorts, too often fighting against, not fighting for. The violence of gunshots and bombs, the nastiness of political debate in an election year, the harsh conflicts between opposing interest groups, Tea Party vs. Occupy Wall Street - - all reflect a society fighting itself, a society that no longer has an Iron Curtain to breach or a Red Menace to halt. We have not yet learned how to live without fighting in hurtful ways. We have not yet learned to fight for peace, for harmony, without denying the differences that do divide us, and never failing to respect those with whom we differ.
You and I can help to build a society like the one Mr. Focke wished for his son and his son’s generation. A society bent on peace, not at any price, but a peace grounded in ideals and values that promote harmony not rancor, that inspire collaboration and not simply competition, that assert the common good over self-interest. We move toward such a society when we encounter bullying and stand up to the bully, when we delay angry reactions and channel them into thoughtful responses, when we learn to forgive a wrong, not simply to retaliate for it, when we learn to build bridges with simple courtesy, with service, with kind initiative, with self-sacrifice. When we learn to fight for peace, to strive for peace in this way, we shall have gone a long way in making war and violence itself obsolete. And then we will have done much to ensure a world of peace for our own children and for their children. We will have proven faithful stewards of the legacy of Arthur Focke and Nelson Bolton and Hugh Crimmins and Harry Slater and all the others whose names are etched on the monument before us.