For community and country

By Dale M. King
CITY EDITOR

The last four years have been an odyssey for three Boca Raton men – Kevin Howard, James “Jim” Masterson and Louis “Lou” Feaman.

They all graduated in 2004 from different high schools in Boca Raton.  But they all ended up attending the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

All three are graduating this week.  And before they leave homes and loved ones to serve in the military, the four Rotary Clubs of Boca Raton honored them at a special meeting Wednesday.  Also on hand was Mayor Susan Whelchel, who presented them with proclamations.

Ironically, Kevin Howard was unable to attend the meeting because he was taking his final exam.  His parents, Dianne and Brian Howard, accepted the proclamation – and the acclaim – for him.

“I don’t know if this has ever happened before,” mused Whelchel as she stood at the podium. “Three young men who graduated from Boca schools the same year and started studying at the Naval Academy the same year.”

“We have every right in the world,” she said, “to be proud of these men.”

She first called Feaman to the podium.  He walked to the front of the room in a crisp, white uniform.

English Major

The mayor said Feaman attended St. Paul Lutheran School and graduated from Spanish River High School, where he was a varsity letter athlete, captain of the football team and member of the National Honor Society. He majored in English at the Naval Academy, was a company commander and company information officer.

He will be commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marines.

Watching from the audience was his father, Peter; mother, Janice and stepmother Sally; his 87-year-old grandmother who drove from Fort Myers; his football coach, Bill Brethick, and Feaman’s girlfriend.

James “Jim” Masterson, dressed in a blue suit, next walked to the podium to receive his proclamation.   He attended Eagles Landing Middle School and graduated from Pope John Paul II High, where he was president of the math and history clubs and ranked 12th in a class of 200.

Electrical Engineer

He studied electrical engineering at the Naval Academy, where he was a platoon commander, squad leader and leadership presentation team member (giving speeches on leadership to high school students in the Maryland area).

Masterson moves on to become an ensign in the Navy, where he will be a surface warfare officer. Along with his parents in the audience was his former basketball coach, Chris Kilian, who is now assistant principal at Pope.

Dianne and Brian Howard received the proclamation for son, Kevin, who will soar as a Navy pilot.

He attended St. Joan of Arc School and graduated from Boca Raton High, where he was a scholar and an athlete, said Mayor Whelchel. At the Academy, he was a comparative politics major, played on the men’s volleyball team and was on the dean’s list four times and the commandant’s list four times.

As each Navy man took his turn, the audience applauded – and gave each a standing ovation as they prepare for five-year commitments in the armed forces.