Delt General Returns to his Hometown...

[DeltAlum]

Rockford native returns as general
The marine reports directly to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

By MELISSA WESTPHAL, Rockford Register Star
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ROCKFORD -- A homecoming for Gen. James E. Cartwright on Friday meant plenty of handshakes, photo opportunities and references to his time spent as a West High School student performing as mascot Chief Wahoo.


Black-and-white yearbook photos of Cartwright, known then as "Jimmy," in full chief garb and as a member of the swimming team, brought a casual smile to his face when he visited his alma mater.


Cartwright, 55, is a Marine general with four stars who serves as commander of U.S. Strategic Command, meaning he controls weapons and other strategic forces for national security objectives. He reports directly to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.



Seemingly relaxed with a green jacket over his uniform, Cartwright met with ROTC students at Auburn High School before making his way to West, which now is a middle school. Former classmates and neighbors greeted him in the school's memorabilia room.


They chatted and laughed, catching up about jobs, spouses and children. Brandon Nobile and Brandon Falzon, both 10, talked as they stood at Cartwright's side and pointed to his uniform.


"Four stars!" Nobile exclaimed. "Usually, you only see people with two, but he had four."


Falzon's grandmother, Rockford resident Audra Welden, graduated with Cartwright's mother, Dianna, and brought the boys to West on Friday.


"It's exciting to have him here," Welden said. "We're so proud of him."


While at West, Cartwright dedicated a wreath at the school's memorial garden. Officials also gave him an engraved brick, pieces of West memorabilia and a T-shirt, at which he joked, "at least it wasn't a swimming suit."


Former West Principal Michael Golden gave Cartwright jars of pizza sauce from the former Dom's Pizza restaurant that was next to the school when the general was a student.


The restaurant since has relocated about a mile north.


Cartwright was in Rockford as the guest speaker for the Northern Illinois Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, which conducted a dinner meeting at Cliffbreakers.


Before the evening event, Cartwright stopped at Memorial Hall, which he admitted he had never been inside.


He said the day had been a "walk down memory lane" and spoke to audience members about his confidence in the current crop of military men and women.


"They're on the right track," he said.


"You just can't help but fall in love with these kids."


Rockford resident Tom Pillmore and Bob Buchta of St. Charles were part of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity with Cartwright at the University of Iowa.


They went to Memorial Hall to visit and snap pictures.


They said Cartwright was driven and "very focused" in college, and they joked that he probably stayed alert by drinking 10 to 12 cans of Coke each day.


"To have someone accomplish what he has is amazing," Buchta said.


"We're in awe of what he's done," Pillmore added.