Archive - April 14, 2011

On the afternoon of Saturday, June 20, 1981, Sarge Shriver spoke at the second National Conference of former Peace Corps Volunteers and Staff at Howard University in Washington, D.C. It was the 20th anniversary of the Peace Corps and it was a wonderful weekend, mostly because of Sarge. He bought the house down late in the afternoon in one terrific speech delivered at the close of the long weekend. When Shriver rose to speak so did the packed house of RPCVs who rose to cheer him. These were mostly “his Volunteers,” and they loved him. They were also cheering themselves, cheering the memory of who they were and what they once had done in the development world. Some say the applause went on for twenty minutes. No, it was closer to ten minutes, but it was warm and rich with memory. It brought tears to many eyes as Shriver tried . . .