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In Memory

Randy Brown

 
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08/14/22 03:24 PM #1    

Jaimie Honey Blackstone

Somehow, somewhere, quite awhile back, I was told Randy went to Viet Nam and was KIA.

Randy Brown, Paul Gary, Eddie DePetersey and I kinda got together as Juniors to form probably the biggest bunch of misfit, trouble making, semi-dangerous teens Grady probably has ever known. It was ROTC in 1969 and the four of us just came together. Randy was 1st Sgt of B-company, I was 1st Sgt of A-company, DePetersey was battalion adjutant, and Paul ran the armory (btw - I was on the rifle team) - definitely not a group that should be left unsupervised. But we were. DePetersey would dismiss companies to drill, then  company Cpt's would turn over to 1st Sgt's who would dismiss platoons to drill, the three of us would head to the armory to pickup Paul, and if there was an assembly after ROTC class, we took off to the bowling alley off Cheshire Bridge Rd for two hours of messing around. Otherwise - usually me the monkey - would go to the third floor unlocked janitor's closet, climb up the latter to the lower roof, then up the short roof latter to the upper roof, down thru the roof hatch of the abandoned Boy's High Observation Dome (that most didn't even know was there! I'd discovered it in one of my more adventurous jaunts), down the stairs to the door at the top of the middle school stair case, that was locked from the stair side but bot the observatory side, and let my co-conspirators in and we'd all go up to this hidden world for the remainder of the ROTC period. Just a place to goof-off and check out all the weird stuff up there. Then there was this halloween when we were all four driving around in my parent station wagon - all windows down including the rear one, I think about three dozen eggs, toilet paper, etc. - well, you get the picture ~ Holy Terrors!

If you want to read about our 'BIG CAPER' on the last day of school in 1971 - goto my profile and read all about it!

NOTE: the school has gotten air-conditioning over the years and guess where they put the A/C equipment? YEP! The observatory is gone now... checked out Google Maps aerial mode.


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