Frank Everson Vandiver (December 9, 1925 in Austin, Texas – January 7, 2005 in College Station, Texas) was an American Civil War historian, the 19th president of Texas A&M University and the former president of the University of North Texas, as well as acting president of Rice University. Vandiver wrote, co-wrote, or edited 24 books, and published an additional 100 scholarly articles or reviews. One of his books was a runner-up for a National Book Award.
Jack Royce Woolf (June 10, 1924 – June 10, 2014) was an American academic who arrived at Arlington State College in 1957 as dean of the college. After one year as dean, the Texas A&M Board appointed him acting president in 1958 and president in 1959. In 1967, upon the university leaving the Texas A&M System for the University of Texas System and with the accompanying name change, Woolf became president of The University of Texas at Arlington. Woolf resigned the presidency in 1968, but continued service to the university until 1989.
Theodore Milton Wassmer (February 23, 1910 – November 26, 2006) was an American painter. Wassmer was interested in art at a young age, but decided to become an artist after attending the 1934 Chicago World's Fair. He supported his family throughout the Great Depression. Wassmer has studied under multiple teachers and studied the work of painters in museums. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He has donated several of his paintings to several museums in Utah. He produced more than 2,000 works of art including paintings, watercolors, and sketches that are displayed in museums around the world. In his personal life, he married fellow artist Judy Farnsworth Lund in December 1945.
Kenje Ogata (Japanese: 緒方 健二, June 1, 1919 – January 18, 2012) was an American soldier and one of five documented people of Japanese descent to serve in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II.
Clifford "Cliff" Eugene Barker (January 15, 1921 – March 17, 1998) was an American basketball player who won the gold medal with the USA national basketball team at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London and two national championships at the University of Kentucky.
While at the University of Kentucky, Barker was an All-SEC (Second Team) and All-SEC Tournament guard during the 1947–48 and 1948–49 seasons.
A member of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, Barker was a B-17 Flying Fortress gunner and spent 16 months as a prisoner-of-war.
Colonel James Helms Kasler (May 2, 1926 – April 24, 2014) was a senior officer in the United States Air Force and the only person to be awarded the Air Force Cross three times. The Air Force Cross ranks just below the Medal of Honor as an award for extraordinary heroism in combat.
Kasler was a combat veteran of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. In Korea, as an F-86 Sabre pilot with the 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, he was recognized as an ace, credited with shooting down 6 MiG-15s. Kasler flew a combined 198 combat missions and was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam from August 1966 until March 1973.
He flew a total of 101 combat missions in an F-86E Sabre and scored 6 confirmed air-to-air victories and two more damaged against MiG-15s, becoming among the first jet aces of the Korean War.
Charles Lund Black Jr. (September 22, 1915 – May 5, 2001) was an American scholar of constitutional law, which he taught as professor of law from 1947 to 1999. He is best known for his role in the historic Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case, as well as for his Impeachment: A Handbook, which served for many Americans as a trustworthy analysis of the law of impeachment during the Watergate scandal.
Wayne Wright Connally (March 19, 1923 – December 20, 2000) was an American politician. He served as a Democratic member for the 58th district of the Texas House of Representatives. He also served as a member for the 21st district of the Texas Senate.
Walter Henry Breen Jr. (September 5, 1928 – April 27, 1993) was an American numismatist, writer, and convicted child sex offender as well as the husband of author Marion Zimmer Bradley. He was known among coin collectors for writing Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins. "Breen numbers", from his encyclopedia, are widely used to attribute varieties of coins. He was also known for activity in the science fiction fan community and for his writings in defense of pederasty as a NAMbLA activist.
Joseph P. Muranyi (January 14, 1928 – April 20, 2012) was an American jazz clarinetist, producer and critic.
Muranyi studied with Lennie Tristano but was primarily interested in early jazz styles such as Dixieland and swing. After playing in a United States Army Air Forces band, he moved to New York City in the 1950s, and attended the Manhattan School of Music and Columbia University. In the 1950s he played under Eddie Condon, collaborating with Jimmy McPartland, Max Kaminsky, Yank Lawson, Bobby Hackett, and Red Allen. During that decade he also played with the Red Onion Jazz Band (1952–54), Danny Barker (1958), and Wingy Manone.
In 1963, Muranyi played with The Village Stompers, a Dixieland band which reached the pop charts with its song "Washington Square". From 1967 to 1971 he was the clarinetist with the Louis Armstrong All-Stars. Armstrong, after initially struggling to pronounce Muranyi's Hungarian family name, introduced him on stage as "Joe Ma Rainey", to Muranyi's own amusement. Following this he played with Roy Eldridge, World's Greatest Jazz Band (1975), Cozy Cole, Lionel Hampton, Herman Autrey, Wild Bill Davison, Zutty Singleton, and others.
Muranyi did extensive work as a record producer, and wrote liner notes for hundreds of albums. He was also an enthusiastic vocalist and played both soprano and tenor saxophone.