  Our Omega Mu veteran-brothers who served in the military are cherished and constant fraternal friends, and we would like to say thank you for the steadfast, purposeful commitment you made to our nation to defend those four freedoms we all believe in: “Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.” For those brothers who were killed in defense of these freedoms, they will always occupy a consecrated place in our linked fraternal heart because they exemplify the idea of superlative commitment, strength, and fortitude for the good to the end itself. The greatness of their collective purpose and will, on our nation’s behalf, will never be forgotten. By their “clear-eyed faith and fearless heart,” these brothers have left us a fraternal legacy that echoes what we often say about Omega Mu Fijis: “Perseverance and determination are omnipotent.” Their code of integrity, courage, duty, responsibility, and self-sacrifice on behalf of our nation is a powerful legacy that we will always be proud of as Omega Mu Fijis. Whether it was at New Orleans, Red River, Fort Blakely, Marianna, San Juan Hill, Santiago de Cuba, Chateau-Thierry, Verdun, El Guettar, Elba, Monte Della Vedetta, the Battle of the Bulge, Rabaul, Inchon, Pusan, Chosin Reservoir, Pork Chop Hill, Hue, Easter Offensive, Phu Cat, The Iron Triangle, Hamburger Hill, la Drang Valley, Bien Hoa, Khe Sanh, Rumaila, Al-Batin, Medina Ridge, Kabul, Kandahar, our Omega Mu brothers have demonstrated devotion to duty in defense of freedom and liberty. They are the stability of our nation, and we, the Omega Mu brotherhood, revere, honor, and salute their persevering and determined spirit within our great nation and our historic brotherhood. We will always honor the heroism of all of our brothers who have served in the armed forces from the Civil War to the present. Thank you. Omega Mu Veteran Clifford H. West, Jr., 1943
Omega Mu Years     Omega Mu Housemother, Mrs. Vickers   Omega Mu Housemother, Mrs. Walker   1940 Snow Sculpture          1941 Snow Sculpture  "Phi Gam's snow sculpture last week was probably the most beautiful this university has ever seen."    "One of the finest examples of snow and ice sculpture at the carnival was the "spirit of light" executed mostly in ice by members of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. It received honorable mention. Dudley Utterback was chief designer."  Dudley Utterback University of Maine Clubs   
    Military Career   Clifford H. West, Jr., was in the First Marine Division during World War II.        Clifford H. West, Jr. was part of the assault landing on Peleliu.  Landing craft, LTVs, moving toward the beaches of Peleliu.  Clifford H. West's description of the assault on Peleliu: "We thought the landing would be a piece of calk. We offloaded and circled in rendezvous positions. Our ships were still were still firing just a little way from us. Then they stated the waves going in for landing. Soon we stated to hear that there was difficulty. Boats were being blown up and the landing was being opposed. I was probably in the 5th or 6th wave. Boats were not getting to shore. They ran into protruding obstacles. Bodies and stuff were floating in the bay. By that time planes were still dive-bombing but the naval gunfire had stopped....I could not believe that there could be such a change...When we started we thought it was going to be a real picnic."      Clifford W. West, Jr. served as a forward air controller to provide accurate information on enemy targets in order to coordinate and control air, artillery, and naval gunfire during the Battle of Peleliu. In this capacity, he was in constant contact with"Chesty"Puller with the information he was gathering from his forward position.  A Marine Corps F-4 Corsair dropping napalm on a Japanese held position in the mountains on Peleliu due to accurate information provided by Clifford H. West. Jr.  Chesty Puller, second from the left, on Peleliu.
Colonel Lewis "Chesty" Puller, one of the most celebrated Marine Corps officers. Clifford H. West's talking about Chesty Puller: "Puller was a real leader and fearless. When were pinned down there on Peleliu, he was walking around telling people to do this or move there, sometimes hollering at them if a person was cowering or not pulling his load. He was very severe with them. Just seeing him being as fearless as he was helped an awful lot. He was a good leader. He was like a bull in a china shop. He would push ahead a lot."     Clifford H. West was part of the assault landing on Okinawa with the 1st Marine Corps Regiment, and he was a forward air controller providing accurate information on enemy targets on the island.         When World War II ended, Clifford H. West was sent with the 1st Marine Corps Regiment to Tienstin, China.     The 1st Marine Corps Regiment was in Tienstin for occupation purposes, as well as to provide railroad protection from Peiping and Tienstin to Chinwangtao.   “What if the space be long and wide, That parts us from our brother’s side A soul-joined chain unites our band, And memory links us hand in hand.” (Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)    Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82 Perge
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Omega Mu Voice Gregory M. Scott, 1981
 Chadbourne Hall Friends of the Castle Greg Scott, 1981 Wandering down College Ave, from Chadbourne Hall, to the Fiji House my freshman year with Earl McGillicuddy seems like a very long time ago and, then, in some ways, it feels just like yesterday. Earl and I pledged the house together. The house was in a rebuilding mode, with some great guys committed to the task: Billy Horr, Craig Shaknis, Dave Higgins, Mike Burns, and Dean Collins come to mind, and there were many others. Their enthusiasm for the future of the house and the brotherhood hooked both of us. The 11-2 parties did not hurt. They were held every Wednesday night and were considered the first official party of the weekend at UMO. The drinking age was 18, and UMO was a party school; something that the administrators of today would like to forget.  Earl McGillicuddy
Bill Horr and Craig Shaknis
Dave Higgins and Mike Burns  Dean Collins One of the things that attracted me to the house was the connection to others on campus and to friends back home. Unlike some of the other Fraternities on campus, Fiji was open to friends and family. Even as a rushee, or a pledge, it was not unusual to meet a cousin or a friend of a brother who was in town and invited to the house.  This continued into our time at the house. I can remember Earl’s friends coming down from Houlton, Jimmy Joyce’s friends coming up from Dedham, MA, and the guys from third floor Chadbourne were always coming through the front door, and a crew of Ricky Bean’s Rangelites were always welcome. Now that was a mixture of personalities! The guys even came complete with their own nicknames: Boomer, Turtle, Woody, Woodskunk, Smokey, Willie and McGuirk are a few I can remember. Throw a sorority into this mix, and you had the feeling that Fiji was a good place to be. Ever wonder where the Phi Gamma Delta sign that hangs on the wall behind the bar came from? It was hand carved by Steve Symonds, a Chadbourne Hall friend. His nickname is McGuirk, and he was one of our number on Fiji Island.
Jim Joyce and Ricky Bean Friends of Fiji
Steve Symonds and Greg Wilson  Steve 'McGuirk' Symonds hand-carved our Phi Gamma Delta sign Fiji Island 
  Greg Scott and McGuirk on Fiji Island “What if the space be long and wide, That parts us from our brother’s side A soul-joined chain unites our band, And memory links us hand in hand.” (Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)    Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82 Perge  Omega Mu Voice Gregory M. Scott, 1981
Gregory M. Scott Omega Mu, 1981 Living in Chadbourne Hall the fall semester of my sophomore year and getting to know the crew on third floor Chad was an experience. The guys stuck together naturally, like their own small fraternity. I was glad to be part of it and introduce many of them to Fiji. Several of the guys became Fiji brothers: Buddy Cote, Bill Shaboski, Chip Chapman, Steve Farrar, Chris Skillma, and, yes, Ricky Bean from Rangeley, Maine. 
Buddy Cote and Bill Shaboski
Chip Chapman and Steve Farrar
Chris Skillman and Ricky Bean Ricky was light-hearted, smiling, enthusiastic, and always positive. It did not matter if he just missed an important prelim, lacked beer money for the weekend, it would turn out fine. There was no need to worry. Ricky did not just believe this for himself but would encourage others who might be having a bad day, bad week, or an entire semester.
When Ricky pledged the house, he carried this same positive attitude with him as a pledge. It did not matter if he had wake up duty or it was hell week, Ricky had a genuine smile on his face. He became a brother and a good friend to many of us.  1982 picture of the Castle Cedar tree to the left, next to the second floor window Ricky invented what we called tree jumping. It involved leaping from a second story window into a pair of cedar trees located about 10FT from the house and climbing down to the ground. After several of us mastered this small feat, Ricky upped the ante and started doing it after midnight in nothing but his ratty blue bathrobe. Of course, many of us followed his lead, bathrobes and all. It lost it’s appeal one night, in the pouring rain, with several sharp broken branches adding blood shed to the challenge.  
 Rick was not a morning person. Well, that would be an understatement. He could be found snoozing in the Ram after three attempts by a diligent pledges to wake him, or he would be wandering around in the kitchen barefooted in his dirty blue bathrobe 15min before an 8AM class in Stevens Hall. Several of us signed up for 8AM classes on purpose, needing to get certain requirements completed. If Rick had an 8AM class, we would gang up on him to join us for the cold hike onto campus. Our success rate was probably less than 50%.  The cold hike to campus  Ricky was incredibly sharp. If he put his mind to it, he could earn an A in any class, or on any paper he wrote. If he was disinterested or distracted, forget it, his mind was elsewhere.
Then along came the Air Force ROTC program. It was new to UMO and Ricky joined. It was like someone flipped a switch. He had a direction and a goal. He was going to serve his country and be an Air Force pilot. No class schedule, course requirement or grumpy professor was going to get in his way. I remember when he received his dress uniform. He showed us how to put it on, situate the insignia and even how to properly tuck the shirt in the pants! What happened to the happy go lucky brother we all knew? Well, he had a dream and a goal. We were all proud of him. His enthusiasm for the journey ahead was infectious.
This made the news of his passing all the more painful. Fiji was well represented with several brothers making the trip to Eustis ME for the graveside service complete with an Air Force fly over.        We had a remembrance for Ricky at the Newman Center. His family made the trip from Rangeley because they knew how much the brotherhood meant to him.  The last time I saw Ricky was the last time for many of us. It was the day he and Deborah became man and wife. On the way to the wedding, Steve Swan stopped by LL Bean to buy a wedding gift. We still laugh about that huge cast iron frying pan that Steve bought. He bundled it up in LL Bean paper shopping bags, a card, and a ribbon, and plunked it down on the table with all of the nicely wrapped wedding gifts. Classic. The frying pan was a hit. Ricky and Deborah loved it. Now time has passed. All of us that knew Ricky are pushing 60 years old, plus or minus, and I wonder what would Ricky Bean be like if he was with us now, say at a Pig Dinner? The answer is simple: same smile, same positive attitude, same brother that we enjoyed being around. The only change would be a few gray hairs and some real good stories that he would enjoy telling. He will always be remembered for his great spirit, his true love for his family and our Omega Mu brotherhood, and for serving our nation in the United States Air Force.  “What if the space be long and wide, That parts us from our brother’s side A soul-joined chain unites our band, And memory links us hand in hand.” (Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)    Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82 Perge  Our Omega Mu brothers who served in the military are cherished and constant fraternal friends, and we would like to say thank you for the steadfast, purposeful commitment you made to our nation to defend those four freedoms we all believe in: “Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.” For those brothers who were killed in defense of these freedoms, they will always occupy a consecrated place in our linked fraternal heart because they exemplify the idea of superlative commitment, strength, and fortitude for the good to the end itself. The greatness of their collective purpose and will, on our nation’s behalf, will never be forgotten. By their “clear-eyed faith and fearless heart,” these brothers have left us a fraternal legacy that echoes what we often say about Omega Mu Fijis: “Perseverance and determination are omnipotent.” Their code of integrity, courage, duty, responsibility, and self-sacrifice on behalf of our nation is a powerful legacy that we will always be proud of as Omega Mu Fijis. Whether it was at New Orleans, Red River, Fort Blakely, Marianna, San Juan Hill, Santiago de Cuba, Chateau-Thierry, Verdun, El Guettar, Elba, Monte Della Vedetta, the Battle of the Bulge, Rabaul, Inchon, Pusan, Chosin Reservoir, Pork Chop Hill, Hue, Easter Offensive, Phu Cat, The Iron Triangle, Hamburger Hill, la Drang Valley, Bien Hoa, Khe Sanh, Rumaila, Al-Batin, Medina Ridge, Kabul, Kandahar, our Omega Mu brothers have demonstrated devotion to duty in defense of freedom and liberty. They are the stability of our nation, and we, the Omega Mu brotherhood, revere, honor, and salute their persevering and determined spirit within our great nation and our historic brotherhood. We will always honor the heroism of all of our brothers who have served in the armed forces from the Civil War to the present. Thank you. Omega Mu Veteran Ricky M. Bean, 1982
Omega Mu Years     
 Military Career  Ricky Bean was a pilot in the United States Air Force.  “An Air Force B-1 bomber plunged into a training range in Colorado today in the first crash of a production model of the nation's newest long-range strategic bomber. Three crew members survived and three were killed, the Air Force said.”      "Captain Bean, an Air Force pilot in the B-1B Lancer ("Bone") Formal Training program, is one of the three crew members killed in the first Rockwell production model B-1B bomber crash."   New York Times article about the crash   The 96th Bombardment Wing B-1 bomber left Dyess Air Force Base near Abilene, Texas and went down in southern Colorado near the town of La Junta in southern Colorado.  96th Bombardment Wing patch.  “The three who were killed were Maj. James T. Acklin, 37, of Champaign, Ill., an instructor pilot, First Lieut. Ricky M. Bean, 27, of Rangeley, Me., a student pilot, and Maj, Wayne D. Whitlock, 39, of Johnson City, Tenn., an instructor in defensive systems.” (New York Time Obituary)    
 Rangeley, Maine           “What if the space be long and wide, That parts us from our brother’s side A soul-joined chain unites our band, And memory links us hand in hand.” (Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)    Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82 Perge Truthfully, there is no fraternal brotherhood quite like Omega Mu at the University of Maine. We are proud of our history, and we are proud of the impressive number of fraternal brothers who played on many University of Maine athletic teams. With conviction and commitment, our Omega Mu athlete brothers brought a great deal of joy and satisfaction to the university community, creating many wonderful memories since the first baseball team was established at Maine State College in the 1870's. The worked together for the success of each Maine team, and the overall civic good of the University of Maine. The sheer number of Omega Mu athlete brothers is an unqualified triumph for the University of Maine. They each gave their best efforts on each team, and what they achieved perfectly compliments what we fraternally believe: drive and determination. It is a heady athletic legacy. Accordingly, their accomplishments claim our fraternal attention and respect. For the eminence of their athletic success; and, above all, for being our Omega Mu brothers, we are proud. Therefore, in the linked soul and spirit of our long fraternal history, we gratefully remember and celebrate our QTV and Omega Mu brothers who participated on many varsity athletic teams at the University of Maine. Our scorecard is deep, and we appreciate, and we are proud of, all of our Omega Mu athlete brothers. Thoreau said it best: “What a difference, whether in all your walks, you meet only strangers, or in one house is one who knows you, and whom you know. To have a brother…How rare these things are.” How true that is, and we remain that way to this day. Omega Mu Athlete Cecil J. Cutts, 1926  Omega Mu Years          The First Phi Gamma Delta house was destroyed by fire in 1924,  
Henry Eaton, Joesph Murray, William Murray
Clarence Hart, Donald D. Mitchell, Thomas Glynn, Russell Dyer   "Although the boys are having to put up with a lot of unfavorable circumstances, they are willing to, when they walk down College Avenue and at the new chapter house in the process of construction." Castle, 1925       "All in all the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity has a house, which can hardly be surpassed in New England."    "Each house was suitably decorated for the occasion, many of them having dance orders, favors, and confetti dances."
 
University of Maine Athlete          Cecil Cutts, Quarterback          "Sam Cutts...often smashed through with the ball himself for gains."  Omega Mu Brothers at Homecoming 
Philip H. Taylor, Samuel J. Cutts, and Theodore Curtis  “What if the space be long and wide, That parts us from our brother’s side A soul-joined chain unites our band, And memory links us hand in hand.” (Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)    Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82 Perge |
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