From the event brochure, November11, 2004

Guest Speaker Douglas H. Armstrong entered the United States Army in 1950 at the outbreak of the Korean War. He attended the Non-Commissioned Officers School at fort Jackson, South Carolina, and Officers Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He served as an Infantry platoon leader in Korea from August 1952 until 1953 with the 7th Regiment of the 3rd Division. Douglas Armstrong received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He taught at the University of Maryland before coming to Ithaca College where he taught Spanish for 27 years. He retired from Ithaca College in 1995.

Master of Ceremonies  Kim Dunnick is, is professor of music and chair of the performance studies department in the School of Music. He served in The United States Army Band, in Washington, D.C. from 1970-3.

Guest Speaker Timothy K. Merritt has been employed by the Department of Information Technology Services at Ithaca College since 2000 and is a Field Service Technician. Merritt entered the United States Air Force in 1986. He attended Explosives School in Denver, Colorado, and his first assignment was in Lakenheath, England, which deployed planes for the Lybia raids.

Mr. Merritt was next stationed at Blytheville Air Force Base in Arkansas, where he trained as a sniper, and then went on to EOD School (Emergency Ordnance Disposal). He also attended Non-Commissioned Officers School and was then stationed at Fairchild Air Force in Spokane, Washington, where he underwent survival training. He then joined the Air National Guard in 1993 and is currently assigned to the 174th Fighter Wing in New York.

After serving in the Gulf war for six months during the 1990-1, Mr. Merritt served in Iraq for a three month tour of duty. During both assignments he was on an explosives team that built upwards of 200000 bobs to support the aircraft. During the Iraq war he was crew chief for 20 military personnel which had no incident of serious injuries. His enlistment has taken him to Spain, Norway, Japan, Iraq, Kuwait, Turkey and Ireland.

Mr. Merritt received his A.A.S. degree in Computer Information Systems from Tompkins Cortland Community College in 1996. Prior to coming to Ithaca College, he was employed by Thomas Associates providing tech support for upwards of 500 people in five locations.

file-outline Remarks of Douglas Armstrong at 2004 event - armstrong04.doc (70.5 KB)