USMA1982 list

USMA1982-FORUM list

From the Apalachicola Times

West Point classmates recall a leader

Times Staff Report

By David Adlerstein

 Rocky Baragona was a boy who dreamed of the stars who helped show others how to master the universe.

Considered by his colleagues and superiors as a brilliant military logistician, those who knew and loved him best remember him as a man with the uncommon virtues of humility, loyalty and caring.

“Dom's true virtue was his loyalty,” said his closest West Point roommate, Telemachus C. Halkias, a retired lieutenant colonel from the Army now working as a corporate vice president in Bennington, VT. “Both of us came from Old World Mediterranean families where you were worth nothing if couldn't back up your word. Dom's word was as good as gold - something you could take to the bank. And if you ever wanted someone to have your back in an ugly situation, it was Dom. I will miss him more than anyone knows.”

The grandson of Italian and Danish immigrants, Baragona as a boy loved nothing more than to rise before dawn in the chilly Ohio winter to gaze with his telescope at the stars. He displayed an advanced knowledge of mathematics and computers that exposed him to college course work well before he graduated from John F. Kennedy High School, a Catholic high school in Warren, OH in 1978.

“He was a good boy and said his prayers,” said John Gillen, who taught Baragona Social Studies in his senior year and recalled that he carried a 96 average in his class while taking difficult academic load. “He was a very, very nice young man, always focused. He seemed to have his life laid out, his future plans.”

As a history teacher, Gillen also noted Baragona’s death during war was similar in circumstance to George Patton, one of America’s greatest World War II generals.

“He (Baragona) was coming home in a short period. That in itself, my gosh,” said Gillen. “That’s the same thing that happened to Patton. He goes all through the war and he’s killed in a auto accident in Europe and the same thing happens to Dominic.”

Halkias, who has volunteered to write Baragona’s official biographical eulogy in the Assembly, the magazine of West Point’s alumni, also authored the passage under Baragona’s senior picture in the class’ 1982 yearbook. In that passage, said Baragona’s younger sister, Susan Gunn, Halkias called Baragona “The Star Man That Wasn’t,” referring to how his friend’s love for his fellow soldiers kept this otherwise brilliant student from seizing the elite “star” award that would distinguish his superior standing in the class.

“He was a man with a kind and giving heart,” said Lt. Col. K. C. Jones, another of Baragona’s classmates. “He never let the pressures of Academy life get him down. And he would often motivate me and others who would wear down under the pressure of the Academy spartan lifestyle. Our room served as a safe haven for both our younger brothers who attended West Point as underclassmen when we were seniors. I can remember weekend afternoons laughing and snacking on his mother's delicious homemade pizza.
“He was also a very quick study in any subject. Dom assisted me in preparing for a number of my engineering courses. He could pick up a textbook review it and explain the subject even if it were not part of his studies,” Jones said. “I'm sure he carried the same quickness of thought into his leadership responsibilities in the Army. The Army has lost another great leader, soldier and friend.”

Referring to Baragona’s nickname, classmate Mark Horstman, who left the service as a captain 16 years ago and now is a leadership consultant with a firm in Texas, said “’Cuda” distinguished himself early on as a leader in his squad.

“In our first summer together at West Point, the one legendary for hazing and general mental stress above and beyond anything else in the rest of one's life, we were close friends in a group of about 10 new cadets,” said Horstman. “He made me look like a complete loser, stumbling around, etc, while he appeared to keep it all together. He had a GREAT attitude – ‘We'll get through this; it's not as bad as you think; what can they really do to us - I mean, they can't kill us, right?’ He was funny, when funny was at a premium and fear was cheap.
He was part of the glue that kept us close through all the misery. I didn't know much then, but I knew he was a leader. It was obvious to everyone, and I looked up to him because of it.

“We lost a lot of classmates that first summer - I think more than the corps
expected - but the squad Cuda was in lost only one as I remember,” said Horstman, referring to those cadets who opted to leave West Point. “He was a big reason why.”

Lt. Col. Mark Tillman, who remains on active duty in Springfield, VA, said Baragona’s decision to remain in the military for 21 years displayed a patriotism that few possess when tempted by the lure of the private sector.

“He was an officer of the highest caliber as very few of us remain on active duty from our class,” he said. “Those who have remained on active duty past retirement eligibility do so for intense love of country, Army and soldiers far surpassing any monetary motive. Dom's tragic death occurred at a time in his career that was well above and beyond the call to duty.
“The one thing that I will always remember about Dominic was his character, his ability to do the right thing,” said John Hoffman, a classmate who is now a chief information officer in Santa Clara, CA. “He was a great friend.”

Contact the Web Master if you have questions,  comments, or requests for additions to this website.