Winding Down the Senior Year

Davis has had a fun but busy senior year, and his ROTC responsibilities came to a close Tuesday with the annual Senior Review, during which Benedictine's ROTC seniors pass the command over to the junior class. This was one of the less stressful tasks for Davis, who simply had to stand on the reviewing platform and salute as the other cadets marched by:

 

Then he helped hand out awards and medals, such as the tassel atop the banner awarded F Company, which earned the award for the best battalion. F Company was led by senior Thomas Barrow:

There's Davis on the right tying on the tassel. 

Thomas Barrow is behind the cadet on the far left. You can just see his elbow.

But in the photo above this one, Thomas is in the first row of cadets on the far left.

Other seniors receiving awards were Ben Summerlin and Bobby Crider. The role of cadet commander passed on to junior Ben Cannoles (he's the guy out front two photos up), and I'm sure Davis was delighted to let Ben assume those responsibilities. At the end of the ceremony, Davis got his very own sword!

  It has his name engraved on it and everything! The Cleary Sabre is given by the Cleary family every year to the cadet colonel. Mr. Bernie Cleary, Class of 1952, served as cadet colonel, as did all of his sons. So to honor that tradition, he presents a sabre to the outgoing colonel during Senior Review.

I wondered what Mr. Cleary was saying to Davis during this presentation.

I hope it was, "Do not use this thing to shave your face or cut your brother's hair."

Mr. and Mrs. Cleary were very gracious to pose with Davis for photographs, as were his dad and his grandfather, also BC alums. Davis's girlfriend Megan came to the ceremony. 

 

 

Here Davis poses with Mr. Cleary, class of 1952, Pop Pop, also class of 1952, 

Stephen, class of 1983, and Colonel Owens, class of 1951. Or is it 1961?

I think I'm getting all those years confused. 

 But Davis wasn't finished yet, before he could go, WTOC asked him to speak for a brief segment on the evening news.

  I was amused that when the reported asked Davis what he was going to do next, 

Davis replied, "I just want to go home." 

I was hoping he'd say, "I'm going to Disney World!"

So now Davis is finished with classes, and he has graduation next weekend. This sure has been an exciting senior year for him.  And after another year, Lawson will start high school at BC, and I'll get to post photos of him in his military uniform!