Walter Reed Army Institute of Nursing - Pledge Yearbook (Washington, DC)

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SENIOR COUNTDOWN il77 Day is a milestone in the lives of senior students who are graduating from WRAIN. It is the point in their four years of college when they are exactly seventy-seven days from graduation e the ceremony which honors all of the work, worry, joy, and pain neces- sary to complete school. Traditionally, ii77 Dayli has been celebrated with a party planned exclusively for senior students. At the party, drinking, eating, singing, and laughter serve as a toast to the days which have been successfully passed and to the ones which are left before graduation. It is a time for forgetting the pressures of student life and for musing about the future. Students also reminisce about the past experiences they have come through together a the times that they never thought they would survive but Which are now history. From the iivantage pointt of 77 Day, the rest of the time till graduation seems short. The serious countdown to the llbig dayii begins and students start to fully believe that the end of their under- graduate college career is in sight. e skk

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It was planned for a month. Secret planning sessions in conference rooms on early Saturday mornings and under- cover rehearsals in student rooms and the auditorium. The creative talents of the junior class were assembled to plan the traditional farewell to the seniors in the Senior Brass Party. The creative ttthink tanktt - Faye Burnett, Lynn Fabish, Kathy Fidaleo, Cathy Cook, Donna Reed, Ann Trelev- en, Beth Bradley and Art Wallace - spent several hours brainstorming to cre- ate the five skits in the assembly. The San Antonio medley revealed the humorous aspects of bivouac, drill and ceremony, proper saluting and the compass course Gs that tree following us'D. Then the song of ttDelanot, recalled the images and sounds of the past two years, from no parking space to soap suds and GEN Bob. Visiting a troubled community family caused problems for Maudie Fle- mister as she encountered some familiar domestic chaos and breakdowns in com- munication. The dramatic entrance of the Mickey Mouse club, alias Faculty Follies T77, contributed their message in ttWe Taught You Everything We Know, as LTC Vineys, MAJ Boaz, MAJ Brice, CPT Hamer, CPT Ham- mond, CPT Rollings, CPT Stabingas, and Mrs. Guiterrez were applauded as the comedy hit of the night. Then the mood changed as the silent nostalgic thoughts and memories of two years at WRAIN were captured as John Den- verts song, ttPoems, Prayers, and Prom- ises? accompanied Betty Sauerbry,s coordinated slide presentation. The cli- max of the evening - the awarding of the brass tsans cadeusus due to local shortaget was heightened by the accom- panying songs and cheers of the Junior ttBroom Squadtt who created a tunnel for the ttnearlytt first lieutenants of the class of 1977. And the message of this event, as well as the approaching graduation and commissioning ceremo- nies, was captured in the last line of the class poetry selection: gLook well . . . to this dayPt e apw

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Senior class uniform inspections at WRAIN take on the qualities of a scavenger hunt and an adult-style show and tell session. Initially, many individuals are con- fronted with the task of locating a variety of items which are required to be ttln uniform? This job presents a real challenge to students as they rush from store to store in the local area. The WRAIN ttgrapevineh buzzes with information about where to find plain black pumps, Class A hats, and assorted pieces of Army ttbrassf, Once a complete Class A uniform is achieved, the student faces the job of learning how to wear the uniform properly in order to pass the show and tell session or as it is commonly called, itgreenst, inspection. A central part of these sessions is being able to face oneis self in the mirror without wondering who the person staring back from the glass is. Once this obstacle is crossed, other issues such as how to stand so that there are no wrinkles in the back of the jacket and how to place the various pins, name tags and ribbons properly, become important. With some luck however, students finally reach the final goal - to have all uniform pieces correctly aligned, ironed, and fitted in time for commissioning. e skk THE MAKIN G OF A F IRST LIEUTENANT