In his book About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior, David Hackworth said of soldiers: “Twenty, thirty, even forty years down the track, they may not remember their buddies’ first names, but they always seem to remember where they came from.” To me, not only his name but his address remains strong in my memory: Arnold Robert Stankus Jr., 1142 East 76th Street, Cleveland, OH. Though Arnie grew up in a “blue collar” neighborhood, he had his eyes set on higher things from the start. He attended the prestigious St. Ignatius High School, from which he sought and obtained an appointment to West Point. His high school years were not all study and discipline though. He loved the hometown sports teams, the Indians and Browns, and in his growing-up years he had many happy memories at a neighborhood establishment, the Bosegav Tavern, or “Bozes.” At West Point, Arnie often expressed interest in owning it one day.
Classmates remember Arnie as a true Renaissance man. Mike Healy recalls his uncanny penchant for the stock market, making some occasional extra money for weekend excursions. Scotty Nix recalls the day Arnie spotted singing sensation Frankie Valli on the streets of New York and got his autograph.
Arnie branched Artillery, and after graduation leave activities, he attended the Artillery Basic Course at Fort Sill, OK, followed by his initial overseas assignment in the 1/15th Artillery in Korea. Two significant events happened in Korea: a training incident, which precipitated his decision to leave the Army after five years, and meeting his life mate Suki.
After Korea, he returned to Cleveland to work in an Army Recruiting and Examination Station and to begin the lengthy process of bringing Suki to the United States to become his bride. The next few years Arnie married Suki, lost both his parents and left active duty.  Arnie lost no time in pursuing his boyhood dream of owning Bozes. He successfully ran the tavern for several years, by which time both his son, Arnold, and daughter, Allison, were born.
A change in the clientele at his beloved tavern created an environment unsuitable for raising a family. Arnie divested himself of Bozes and entered Cleveland State University, earning an MBA. He passed the CPA exam on his first attempt and secured his first job in industry at Republic Steel. When that company was acquired in a leveraged buyout, Arnie joined White Consolidated Industries, where he worked until a month before he died.
Arnie and Suki secured a large, Victorian-like home on Rocky River Road in Cleveland, just a few blocks away from Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church, where he was a faithful parishioner.  The house was perfect for him and provided an opportunity for Arnie to pursue his passion of continual renovation. It became their happy home, where he and Suki enjoyed welcoming guests. Always the consummate host, Arnie had a unique way of making any guest feel like the most important person in the house.
In the Class of 1969 Legacy Book, his son wrote:“Some called him Kus, some Butch, some Captain, some HA (lapuh) JEE, but we called him Dad, the man who consistently set the example, teaching the morality and humility to help us navigate our lives. He always put helping others and guiding his family before himself. Our family was the most important thing in his life.
“His professional life, though, was taxes, and he shared his knowledge and skills readily to friends and family, which eventually became friends of friends, until the spare bedroom in the house was full of files. But there was still plenty of room for love, too, and not a day went by that his humor and love did not shine through. Even when he held us to his high standards, it was done with his ever-ready comic quip. He was the joy of our lives, especially during the Christmas holidays, which he always made brighter and funnier, leading the way every year as we cut down a live tree and struggled to erect it in the house, despite our mother’s concerns.
“I remember the day that I enlisted in the Navy, rather than go to college. He told me that to serve your country, in any capacity, should be part of any American’s life, and that he was extremely proud of my decision. My dad was the one who taught me the values that led to choosing that path, and for the right reasons.
“He also taught me the fortitude to succeed and, as I eventually realized, became the role model that I subconsciously tried to emulate. To this day we are trying to emulate him. He is missed every day by his loving wife, Cha Song “Suki” Stankus; his daughter, Allison McConville and her husband, Matt; and four grandchildren: Sophia, Emma, Benjamin Arnold and Audrey; and, of course, by me, his son, Arnold Robert Stankus III, USNA ’98. I know he is up there watching over us and we feel his continuous love.”
To this, his classmates and friends can only add that his impact on our lives was more than a passing reflection or an occasional remembrance. He became and remains part of us.