Leaving a Legacy of Leadership
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Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air. Up, up the long delirious, burning blue, I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or even eagle flew - And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod The high untresspassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand and touched the face of God. Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee |
Love of flight, belief in country, and faith in future generations are the hallmarks of the life of the late R.F. "Rocky" Durso. Through his estate plans, he honored these values with the creation of the R.F. Durso ROTC Scholarship Endowment at the ASU Foundation. The Durso Scholarship will be awarded annually to a student cadet in the ASU Air Force ROTC program.
Born in 1915 and raised in Somerville, New Jersey, Rocky developed an interest in powered aviation. In his youth, he often washed bi-planes at nearby Hadley Field to earn flying time with the owners. In 1943, Rocky enlisted in the United States Army, hoping to be assigned to the Army-Air Corps for training. Instead, he was accepted into Officer Candidate School where he graduated, was immediately promoted to Corporal and assigned to anti-aircraft artillery training. Rocky often mentioned that his Army service was the irony of fate. For all of his love of aviation, he spent 44 months in the military as an anti-aircraft gunner.
In 1969, as an employee of Johnson & Johnson Company, Rocky came to San Angelo with his wife B.M. "Byl" Weeks Durso to manage the San Angelo Ethicon Company's transition to new equipment and procedures for manufacturing medical sutures and needle windings. He quickly became active in the San Angelo community. As the five-term president of the San Angelo chapter of the Air Force Association, he was adamant about providing leadership and support for the college ROTC and high school Junior ROTC programs.
Because he developed a close relationship with the administrators and student cadets at Lake View High School, preference for the scholarship will be given to ASU student cadets that participated in the Lake View High School Junior ROTC program. The first Durso ROTC Scholarship will be awarded for the 2006-2007 academic year.
