WILLIAMSBURG — A Williamsburg-area resident and retired Army colonel gathered members of his West Point class together Monday to present a donation to a charity that helps families of fallen military members and first responders.
Retired Col. Howard Bachman was joined by members of his United States Military Academy Class of 1964 at the Williamsburg Inn to present $103,000 to the Folds of Honor charity. The presentation was followed by a golf tournament at the Golden Horseshoe’s Gold Course in Colonial Williamsburg.
A Williamsburg-area resident for the past 20 years, Bachman, 85, has been the chairman of an annual tournament for seven years that raises funds for the Folds of Honor Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships to the spouses and children of America’s military fallen, disabled military and first responders.
The West Point 1964 class, at Bachman’s invitation, has attended the tournament three times, using the gathering as an unofficial reunion, said fellow retired Army Col. Dan Evans, chairman of the class. This year, nearly three dozen classmates and widows attended a special four-day program.
Retired Col. Howard Bachman speaks to about three dozen West Point Class of 1964 members and family members at a ceremony Monday that preceded a charity golf tournament. The class raised more than $100,000 for the Folds of Honor nonprofit. Wilford Kale/For The Virginia Gazette
Bachman, with Evans’ support, raised the money for the gift over the past few years, asking class members to recognize and honor their fallen classmates.
In accepting the funds, Allen Wronowski, regional impact officer for Folds of Honor, called the class “an amazing group of people” and added that “the scholarships will make an impact” in the lives of the recipients.
Prior to the golf tournament, the 1964 class members held a memorial service that included the reading the names of classmates who have fallen in action, primarily during the Vietnam War, followed by the playing of “Taps.”
Bachman was asked by KemperSports Management of Northbrook, Illinois, a long-time supporter of Folds of Honor, to be chairman of this local tournament. He agreed to become involved because “it was an opportunity for me to pay forward for people who have previously helped me, since I can’t pay backward.”
He added that education is “very important since it can be life changing” for the students.
Sponsors and supporters of the tournament raised $47,000 in additional funds which will allow the funding of at least nine other Folds of Honor scholarships.
Wilford Kale, kalehouse@aol.com
