The Long Gray Line lives in Massachusetts

Below is a letter sent to Debbie Todd, FMS Alumni Affairs Director, from Mr. David Coyle ’43, on August 16th, 2010.

Dear Debbie:

Enclosed you will find a photo taken last Thursday of Sam Hollander ’10, and myself. We had been in touch by telephone and I suggested to meet someplace local for lunch and talk about how we found out about Fishburne. We told all kinds of stories.

We both lived in Belmont, MA when we started Fishburne. I’d say he lives less than three miles from my house, his folks both work in Belmont.

Belmont is about 8 or 9 miles west of Downtown Boston. The population is somewhere around 28,000 – it is a town, we elect three selectmen; cities such as Boston have a mayor.

Sam told me that he searched the internet for military schools and that was how he selected FMS. My dad was told by a friend about Fishburne. Back in those days (I started September of 1939) Fishburne had a small ad in National Geographic, he told me that he called Fishburne in early summer of 1939 and talked to someone and was told that Captain Paul D. Wylie was one of their instructors, that he had graduated from Harvard College and he lived in the Boston Area.

The school was in touch with Captain Wylie and they had him get in touch with my father. Captain Wylie was invited to come to the house and that is a quick story about my going to Fishburne. My folks drove me down to Fishburne.

Going home in those days, a train out of Waynesboro to D.C., a train to New York City, sometimes I had to change railroad stations in order to get a train for Boston. Sam was telling me that there are some flights out of Staunton and Roanoke to D.C. or Baltimore. I may look into this if I am able to make it next year for Alumni Weekend, it is much too far for me to drive by myself.

Thought you might like to see one of the newest grads and one of the older ones.

Very truly yours,

David Coyle ’43
FMS Class Agent