Aspirational And Inspirational: Marc Gunnels’ Decades As An Ambassador Of West Point

Marc Gunnels was born in February 1955 and grew up in Hartford, Connecticut. His father, Charles, became an architect after graduating from Georgia Tech, but during World War II, following his first year in college, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and served in Germany and Italy as a Radio Tower Operator from 1946 to 1948. His mother, Gerry, grew up in Maine and Canada, but moved to Hartford when she was 12 years old. She was dating a guy in Charles’s unit, but began corresponding with Charles instead. When Charles returned from Europe, he traveled to Hartford to meet Gerry, and they fell in love and were married. Marc grew up with an older brother, who majored in engineering at Iowa State and became an electrical engineer in Chicago. Marc enjoyed history, sports, and music, even soloing on an album with the jazz choir. He gravitated towards football, and his uncle was a coach at Georgia Tech. He met his wife “Kaki” (Caroline) in 1971, and they dated through high school and West Point. In high school, Marc was aware of the Vietnam War winding down. As a student who played football and baseball, was involved in student government, and participated in Boy’s State, he was recruited by a West Point football coach, Byron Price. In high school, Marc had been aware of West Point. He enjoyed watching the Army / Navy football game, especially when Rollie Stichweh was playing, he was an avid follower of the space program (he remembers when Ed White was killed in the fire in 1967), and he studied Eisenhower. After being recruited to play football, he set his sights on the Military Academy. Arriving for R-Day, he recalls it being a “blur” after his parents dropped him off at Michie. Fortunately, his roommate had attended the Prep School. Unfortunately for Marc, his Beast Squad Leader had a twin, and sometimes they’d swap to bedevil the New Cadets. On September 13, 1973, Marc broke his neck playing football as a Plebe, and during his three months in the hospital (he was allowed to attend classes after 3 or 4 weeks, but had to remain in the hospital overnight for observation) he developed close relationships with a few important leaders. One was COL Howard Prince, the head of the department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership. Later, as a Firstie, Marc was part of the first Cadet Counseling Unit under COL Prince. Another important leader was CPT Art Boniface, Marc’s math professor, who visited the hospital several times a week to ensure Marc was not falling behind in Math. He recounts a humorous story of how Marc feigned sleep, hoping CPT Boniface would leave, but instead, the instructor sat down, opened his briefcase, and began grading until Marc showed signs of life. Also, during Marc’s Plebe year, Kris Kristofferson performed a concert in the field house. One of his company mates proclaimed that he was going to meet Kristofferson, and during a break between sets, he disappeared. When Kris returned to the stage, he gave a shout-out to Marc’s company. During Marc’s Buckner summer as a Yearling, he was injured during Recondo training. He recalls being at Ft. Knox the week Nixon resigned and watching that on TV. He appreciates the strong relationships he developed with his classmates during their time at Buckner. As an upperclassman, he completed an extended CTLT (Cadet Troop Leader Training) at Kaiserslautern with a transportation unit, and he appreciated the professionalism of those big-rig truck drivers. He enjoyed his history and social science classes, but recalls he was “not high academically.” He did well physically but found the IOCT a challenge. He excelled militarily, and served as a Platoon Leader, the Company Executive Officer, and Honor Officer. He started out in Company B-2, but after the honor incident in the spring of 1976, his class scrambled, and he ended up in Company E-1. B-2 was not implicated in the Electrical Engineering honor incident, but E-1 was hit especially hard, losing many Cadets. Marc recalls the Commandant, General Ulmer, taking him to the Pentagon for a briefing on the honor incident. Through it all, he recalls Superintendent Sidney Berry as the epitome of a professional officer. The honor incident left everyone paranoid of being accused of either cheating or tolerating. A few months later, the first women arrived at the Academy, which was contentious. Marc served as a Cadet Counselor, helping Cadets evaluate their decision to stay at West Point. When it came time to choose a branch, Marc thought he’d get ranked into the Infantry but was fortunate to get Artillery, which he picked based on positive interactions with his Tac Officer. When he picked his post, he selected Germany and was able to get assigned to a Pershing Battery. Upon graduating, he received a clean bill of health, as his fractured neck had healed completely. In the basic course, he focused on learning gunnery, and in the Pershing Officer’s Course he learned targeting. In March 1978 he signed in to B Battery, 3rd Battalion, 84th Field Artillery in the 56th Field Artillery Brigade in Heilbronn, Germany. As a nuclear-capable missile, a Pershing Battery was commanded by a Major. The Army had over 500,000 troops stationed in Europe at the height of the Cold War. Mark and Kaki found the German people very welcoming, and they had lots of opportunities for traveling. When Marc’s dad came to visit, he took them to his old air base and was able to reminisce with them. An interesting aspect of the Cold War was that the Americans, French, British, and Soviets had liaison teams operating as observers in each others’ sectors, and Marc occasionally observed the Soviet teams (SMLM – Soviet Military Liaison Mission) when his Pershing unit was in convoy. Marc’s first assignment was as the company Motor Officer, and a Pershing battery had a lot of vehicles. The missile itself was the size of an 18-wheeler trailer, and it was difficult to move through German villages. His next role was as a Firing Platoon Leader. He developed a good relationship with his Platoon Sergeant who expected him to prove himself. This was a challenging period for the Army following the end of the Vietnam War, and many Soldiers were disgruntled and had low morale. In fact, Marc’s driver was given a choice of joining the Army or going to jail. As a Pershing Platoon Leader, Marc recalls spending a lot of time decoding secret messages. When his unit was alerted, he remembers fighter aircraft constantly circling overhead. Their mission was to destroy the Pershing missiles if they were compromised. Marc describes alerts happening anytime day or night, and later, as the Executive Officer, he recalls frequent evaluations and receiving Emergency Action Messages. He recalls a surreal memory from one Christmas Eve when he was on duty in the control center, and they were listening to Christmas music on Armed Forces Radio (Greensleeves was playing), the snow was lightly falling, and the nuclear-capable missiles were lit up by security spotlights. In February 1980, Marc’s platoon was recognized for their proficiency and were sent to Cape Canaveral, Florida, to conduct a test launch of six Pershing 1A missiles. The platoon did so well that they were commended by NATO evaluators for outstanding performance. It was a rare opportunity and honor for his Soldiers, many of whom could spend their entire time in Germany never seeing the launcher erected to firing position because that was considered a wartime action and was verboten. While in Florida, they saw the Space Shuttle under construction, which thrilled Marc, who had an affinity for the space program. In 1982, Marc and Kaki returned to the United States, where Marc attended the Advanced Course. He focused hard on improving his gunnery skills in anticipation of his next assignment with guns. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery at Ft. Riley, Kansas, where he served as the Battalion S2, Intelligence Officer. In 1983, the battalion was reflagged to 2nd Battalion, 5th Field Artillery, and he took command of Headquarters and Headquarters Battery. During this time, Marc was at a crossroads. COL Howard Prince, his old mentor, had offered him an opportunity to teach in the Department of BS&L. He was excited about that proposition, but an event in his unit really soured him on the Army and changed his career. One of his NCOs was deeply in debt, and was barred to reenlist. The NCO had filed for bankruptcy and sued the unit for discrimination on the job since he was barred to reenlistment. Marc ended up spending two to three months going to hearings and at the conclusion of the case, Marc decided to leave the Army. In 1984, he took a job with SIECOR (Siemens & Corning Glass) which later became Corning Cable Systems, the world’s leading manufacturer and supplier of fiber-optic cable. It was a great first job, with many graduates of USMA and USNA working there and a great culture of shared values. By 1986, Marc had become Sales Manager, with telephone companies as his major buyer. In 2001, there was a major shift in markets for communication companies, and Marc was let go in the third round of layoffs. He wanted to stay in sales and jumped at the suggestion of an old roommate, Ralph Masi, who asked if he wanted to work for the Association of Graduates (AOG). Mike Hogan, USMA ’82, invited him for an interview because Seth Hudgins, USMA ‘64, wanted to hire grads as Major Gifts Officers. The initial offer was too low, but a counteroffer was good, and in 2003, Marc returned to West Point. He joined AOG at a good time; the Bicentennial Campaign had just ended, having raised 220 million against a 150 million goal. Marc’s first assignment was thanking people for their generosity. His job at AOG built on his skills from sales, and he shared with prospective donors how private money was shaping the Cadet experience by providing “out of classroom” Margin of Excellence experiences. Marc lived in the space where passion meets opportunity, and during more than two decades at AOG, he was able to raise over $53 million for the Academy. He describes engaging with Brian Haig, USMA ’75, Al Haig’s son. Marc recalls that Al Haig, USMA ‘47, was a very generous donor, and as recognition for his lifetime giving, Marc was able to get the ornate conference room in the new Jefferson Library named in Haig’s honor. Marc reflects on selecting photos for the hallway in the Haig Room to illustrate Haig’s story. Some of Marc’s projects include renovating Egner Hall (USMA Band building), getting the Ulysses S. Grant statue placed on the Plain, as well as raising money for the McDonald Conference for Leaders of Character, the Resnick Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, the Michie Stadium preservation project, the Brent Scowcroft Series in Military History, the West Point Center for Oral History (with classmate Lance Betros) (Thank You!), and securing the largest single gift ever given to the AOG’s Long Gray Line Endowment. Marc found it easy to work with “people I idolized.” Marc also worked with Army Athletics. He served as an Officer Representative for the football team, was a mentor for numerous Cadet athletes, and was a long-time member of the Army Sports Hall of Fame Selection Committee. While living at West Point, he planned and served as co-chair for his Class’s 30th and 35th Reunions, as well as a mini-reunion in 2011. Marc is grateful for the opportunity to have returned to his Rockbound Highland Home working for AOG. He is proud to work on behalf of the institution and reconnect graduates with West Point. He states, “What I do reflects on West Point.” Attending West Point was something Marc aspired to, and he concludes by saying, “It has inspired my life.”