Darlington Community Veterans Highlights: The 1950s

Veterans Day is Nov. 11, 2020, and we are honored to recognize the veterans in our Darlington family. Throughout the month of November, we are highlighting our veterans in several blogs and on social media. We hope you follow along all month and help us honor all of our veterans.

Today’s blog features experiences from alumni who graduated in the 1950s.

Following graduation from Darlington and the University of Georgia, the late Biddy Braden (’50) served in the United States Army as a 1st Lieutenant from 1954 - 1957. After attending flight school, he served as a pilot of L-19’s in Korea, patrolling the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. Upon his return to the States, he was a flight instructor at Ft. Rucker, Ala. Biddy was the father of three Darlington alumni: Pamela (’76), Mark (’76) and Doug (’87). He also had five grandchildren and two step-grandchildren that graduated from Darlington.

Jack Curtis (’50) served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps 1952 - 1960 and achieved the rank of Sergeant First Class.

Doug Connah (’52) served in the United States Army from July 6, 1956 - July 2, 1958, and he was discharged as a Specialist 3rd Class [E-4]. Doug’s draft notice arrived in June 1956, just days after graduated from Vanderbilt. He spent most of the next two years in Germany in a combat engineer battalion on the Rhine River. They were training for the day the Russians would come storming through the Fulda Gap, which they never did. Doug shared, “Getting drafted back then was the best piece of dumb luck in my working life, though I didn’t think so at the time. It meant that my commitment to Uncle Sam ended long before the Vietnam War. Even better: although we Cold War vets hadn’t qualified for World War II or Korean War GI Bill benefits, Congress grandfathered us into the 1965 Vietnam War GI Bill.” Without ever firing a shot in peril or getting fired upon, Doug was now eligible for federal money for more education. Ten years out of college, he entered law school with six semesters’ worth of free tuition. He closed with, “Having been drafted at 21 transformed me at 35 from a low-wage newspaper drudge into a practicing lawyer with sky’s-the-limit possibilities.”

Charlie Cookson (’53) served as a 1st Lieutenant in the artillery branch of the United States Army from 1957 - 1959. When sharing about his time of service he said, “We just served. There was a feeling that all of us should do our part. You seldom heard the sentiment of ‘let someone else do the job.’" Many years later, you can still find Charlie serving others. He volunteers as a tutor, reading to pre-K students. He said, “That is also a vital job we should do and not just leave to others.”

After graduating from Emory University in 1958, Fred Wood Snell, Jr. (’54) began his six years of service as a Staff Sergeant with the Air National Guard of Georgia, 129 ACWRON. Fred said, “Our unit was not called to active duty but we were ready.” He was honorably discharged on May 11, 1964.

Pete Gilbert (’57) served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy from 1967-1969. When asked about his time of service he said, “It was an honor.” Pete and his wife, Suzy, have three children that attended Darlington: Barritt (’83), Amy (’85) and Ivy (’86). He is the grandfather of four Darlington alumni: William (’11), Lizzy (’12), Thomas (’14), and Mary Harbin (’18). Over the years, Pete has been a Darlington volunteer, including a Board of Trustee member. 

Merv Gould Jr (’57) served as a Captain in the United States Air Force from June 1962 - July 1968. Merv is the grandfather of three Darlington alumni: Maddie (’10), Virginia (’14) and Joseph (’18).

John McKinley, Jr. (’57) served as Rear Admiral (O-8) in the United States Navy. He served active and reserve duty from Sep 1961 - March 1999. John returned to active duty in 1998, when he served as Deputy Commander in Chief Naval Forces Europe in London, England.

John DiPrima (’58) was a Captain in the United States Air Force. He served from November 1962 - December 1967. John was trained as a Traffic Management Officer. He spent two years in Texas, one-and-a-half years in Germany, and one-and-a-half years in Great Britain. John’s wife traveled to Europe with him, where they had a son born in Germany and one born in England. John and his family returned to the United States aboard on one of the last voyages of the SS United States. He shared about his time of service, “We were very blessed to have had the opportunity to serve our country in this way.” 

After receiving his medical degree, Lew Flint (’58) served as a Major in the United States Army from August 1967 - August 1969. He arrived in Pleiku, Vietnam, five days before the start of the 1968 Tet Offensive. Lew was assigned to the 71st Evacuation Hospital. On the third day of the Tet Offensive, he and his team performed 224 operations in 24 hours. He shared, “The Vietnam experience was heart-wrenching, but was the most important period of my professional career because it was then that I decided I wanted to become a trauma surgeon.”  Trauma surgery was his professional pursuit for 34 years. His two children, Katie (’09) and Matthew (’09), attended Darlington.  

David Addlestone (’59) served as a Captain in the United States Air Force from 1966-1968.

If you are a veteran and haven’t had the opportunity to share your story and a picture with us, please email alumni@darlingtonschool.org.