LANCE FREMD, MIDN, USN
Lance Fremd '73
Lucky Bag
From the 1973 Lucky Bag:
Lance Fremd
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.
— Tennyson
Lance Fremd
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.
— Tennyson
Loss
Lance died in a skydiving accident on August 6, 1972 in Ridgely, MD.
From The Pittsburgh Press:
EASTON, Md. - A Pittsburgh area midshipman at the U. S. Naval Academy plunged to his death in a skydiving accident near here. Lance Fremd, 21, son of Mr. and Mrs. Osborne Fremd, 900 Valley View Road, Mount Lebanon, was diving at the Pelican Sports Aviation Air Field yesterday when his main parachute failed to open and backup chute became entangled, authorities said. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Memorial Hospital. Fremd was starting his fourth year at Annapolis. He was a 1969 graduate of Mount Lebanon High School. Besides his parents, survivors are two sisters and a brother. Services will be at 7 p. m. tomorrow at the Naval Academy chapel and burial will be in the U. S. Naval Cemetery there.
He is buried in the Naval Academy cemetery.
Remembrances
A meeting room at Dahlgren Hall was dedicated in Lance's memory during renovations in 1975. From an article announcing that dedication in The Pittsburgh Press on January 5, 1975:
Lance was a first-classman and planned to become a Marine Corps pilot after graduating as a second ileutenant.
It had been tough getting that far, his parents knew. There still were some rough spots ahead.
But, quietly and with great confidence, he long had set his goals.
And, with a dedication that had surprised them when he was younger, he had pursued them.
Lance, for example, had wanted to sail on the ocean, and he went to sea at 14 aboard the schooner, Brilliant, out of Mystic, Conn.
The family lived in Harrison, N. Y. then. Lance, aiming at the Naval Academy, joined the Sea Scouts.
He decided to compete for one of nine berths on the crew of the Scout ship which was scheduled for a 10-day cruise along the Atlantic Coast.
The Fremds were doubtful anyone his age could win such a competition with much older youths, but Lance proved them wrong.
He also joined the Harrison High School swimming team, winning a letter before the Fremds moved to Mount Lebanon.
Lance was a junior when he arrived at Mount Lebanon and bent on breaking away from land once again, this time with the sky his goal.
He took flying lessons, paying for them himself with money he had saved delivering newspapers.
Lance never lost sight of the Naval Academy, although he knew it would be toucher getting an appointment from a local congressman because he was a stranger.
To make himself known to the late U. S. Rep. James G. Fulton, Lance went campaigning.
"He drafted a resume stating his credentials and went calling on 200 business and community leaders," said his dad.
"To those who would talk to him, he asked, 'Could you please write a letter to the congressman recommending he appoint me to the academy?"
It was Lance's own idea. But it was obvious a bit of his dad's skill as a sales executive for PPG Industries had guided him.
Then, said Mrs. Fremd, when Richard Nixon came to Pittsburgh in 1968 during a campaign swing, Lance said he was going to get his recommendation, too.
His parents were dubious. But Lance hitched his chances of meeting Nixon to the Mount Lebanon High School Band and Rockettes. They were to greet the candidate at the airport.
"Lance waited for the ceremonial lull he fully expected would occur," said Mrs. Fremd, "When it did, Lance rushed up to Nixon, who was not yet the President. "
'Mr. Nixon,' he pleaded, 'Will you read this?'
"Nixon said; certainly, he would, and took the resume. But he gave it to an aide who pocketed it. So, we were fearful Nixon wouldn't read it.
"As it turned out, Nixon not only read it, he wrote Congressman Fulton asking him to consider strongly giving Lance an appointment."
Fulton did.
Memorial Hall Error
There's no indication that Lance's loss was operational in nature; it was at a private facility and over the summer.
Lance is one of 10 members of the Class of 1973 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
