ST SEBASTIAN’S

SPEAKERS
Introduction of Colonel Bob
Loynd ’82
By Headmaster Bill Burke
Honoring Those Who Serve
Colonel Loynd ’82 Headlines Alumni Dinner
It is my great pleasure and distinct
honor to introduce this evening’s
speaker, distinguished St. Sebastian’s
alumnus, Colonel Bob Loynd USMC
from the Class of 1982.
For six years, Bob commuted from Concord
to our former campus in Newton.
While at St. Sebastian’s, Bob played
football, hockey, and baseball, served
on the Yearbook staff, and did an outstanding
job as Editor-in-Chief of the
Walrus and as Chairman of the Blood
Drive. This citation appears on Bob’s
yearbook page: His leadership, reliability
and dedication were evident in
everything he did whether in the classroom
or on the playing field.
After earning a B.A. at Colby College,
where he majored in American Studies,
Bob joined the Marine Corps and
learned to fly jets. During Operation
Desert Storm, Bob flew 35 combat
sorties in the pilot’s seat of an EA6B
Prowler set up to jam enemy electronics.
He has been deployed in Russia
and Central Asia, and in Japan, Korea,
and the Philippines. He spent a year
at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
at Tufts University, where he
earned a master’s degree in international
affairs.
Colonel Loynd served as Senior Watch
Officer in the 3rd MAW Tactical Air Command
Center during Operation Iraqi
Freedom.
After three years as the senior-ranking
Marine Corps Officer on Guam and the
Mariana Islands, Colonel Loynd is now
serving in the Marine Corps’s Plans,
Policies, and Operations Department in
the Pentagon...
Please help me welcome Colonel Bob
Loynd.
Close to 150 people attended the
St. Sebastian’s School Alumni
Dinner on Thursday, October 25,
2012. This year, the School’s Alumni
Association honored Arrows in the
Armed Forces – Past and Present.
A brief cocktail reception preceded
an emotional evening which featured
music, videos, and special guest
speakers.
The formal program started when
John McNamara ’81, President of
the School’s Alumni Association,
welcomed the group and explained the
significance of the event prior to Fr.
John Arens, a United States Marine
Corps veteran, offering the opening
prayer. The College of the Holy
Cross Honor Guard then presented
the Colors before the St. Sebastian’s
Schola, under the direction of Meyer
Chambers, led the group in the singing
of our National Anthem.
Following dinner, Schola sang the
four Armed Forces themes and a video
presentation honoring Arrows in the
Armed Forces - Past and Present was
shown. The video paid special tribute to
Sgt. William Cloney ’64, who was killed
in action six weeks into his tour of duty
in Vietnam in September 1968. Captain
Ed O’Connor ’88 and Headmaster Bill
Burke then presented Mia (Cloney)
Benjes with a plaque honoring her
brother’s service to our Country.
The evening’s keynote address
was given by Colonel Bob Loynd ’82
(pictured above center with his father
Richard and brother Andy ’98). Colonel
Loynd, using a video and PowerPoint
presentation to emphasize his point,
spoke on how global interdependency
has changed and evolved our world
over the years and how these changes
have affected national security and the
United States’ involvement in world
issues. He urged everyone to keep the
members of our Armed Forces in their
thoughts and prayers.
44 | ST. SEBASTIAN’S MAGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I