The Friends are grateful for the shared expertise and leadership of the following members:
RADM William “Bill” A. Retz, USN (Ret.)
RADM Thomas Marfiak, USN (Ret.)
CAPT Kerr Smith, USNR (Ret.)
CAPT John Gazzola, US Merchant Marine, Rhoads Industries Shipyard
Mr. David Beard, Director, Boyertown Transportation Museum
RADM William “Bill” A. Retz, USN (Ret.) completed his active Naval service in October 1995 after 32+ years as a Surface Warfare Officer. His increasingly responsible experience included commands at sea at the ship (USS Stump DD978), squadron (DESRON 22) and group (SURFGRUMIDPAC) level. Ashore he worked predominately in the area of personnel/manpower management where he was a proven specialist and included two flag tours at the Bureau level. He served in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. He participated in the planning for Operation Desert Storm. From 1992-94 he also commanded the naval base at Pearl Harbor, was in command of the Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific and was the final commander of the Philadelphia Navy Base.
Rear Admiral Retz’ decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (3 gold stars), Bronze Star with combat “V”, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal with gold star, Navy Commendation Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, Meritorious Unit Citation and various campaign and service awards.
After leaving active duty, Admiral Retz was employed as Vice President ARAMARK Corp in Philadelphia from 1996-1999 and later opened his own consulting business. In Sep 2000, Rear Admiral Retz was named CEO of NOFIRE Technologies Corp. a publicly traded company specializing in the manufacture of fire retardant coatings and engineered products. Following this, he assumed responsibilities as Executive Director, operations for the American Competitiveness Institute (a NFP company dealing in advanced circuit board technology) and head of the Center for Rotorcraft Innovation. He left that position in 2005 and concentrates full time on his consulting business. Rear Admiral Retz is Chairman of the Texoma Technical Enterprise Council, a director of the Denison Development Foundation, Trustee of St. Lukes School and a member of the Navy League, Surface Navy Association and other military related organizations. He and his wife Julia reside in Denison, TX.
RADM Thomas Marfiak, USN (Ret.) is CEO/Publisher of the U.S. Naval Institute, and was formerly Commandant of the National War College, National Defense University, at Fort McNair, Washington, DC. From 1996-1997, he served as Director, Plans and Policy (J-5), U.S. Central Command. Rear Admiral Marfiak began service in frigates, destroyers, and cruisers, and rose to command, USS BUNKER HILL (CG-52) and USS KITTY HAWK Battle Group. In BUNKER HILL, he acted as Air Warfare Commander for Operation Desert Storm, directing the actions of four carriers and several hundred land and sea-based aircraft. His first flag assignment was Director Plans, Programs and Budgets for the Surface Warfare Division staff of the CNO. From 1995-1996 he commanded the Kitty Hawk Battle Group. Ashore, he served on the staff of the CNO in strategy and plans and as Deputy Director and Acting Director. He previously served on the immediate staffs of both the SECNAV and the SECDEF.
An Olmsted Scholar at the Institut D’Etudes Politiques de Paris, he earned a Master’s Degree and at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, he was awarded both the Master of Arts and the Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy. Tom also attended the National and International Security Managers seminar at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
His personal decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (five awards and combat “V”), the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (two awards). Rear Admiral Marfiak has also been awarded the John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational Leadership.
Rear Admiral Marfiak and the former Patricia Hurwrey of Torrington, Ct have three children, Jennifer Garland, Thomas Michael and Sarah, and three grandsons.
CAPT Kerr Smith, USNR (Ret.) graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, in June 1972. He served on active duty in the U.S. Navy from 1972-1980 on USS Glennon (DD-840), USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20), and USS Miller (FF-1091). He continued his service in the Naval Reserve in 1980 and retired as Captain, USNR, in 1995.
Captain Smith began his civilian career at Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation in 1980 as a project engineer where he was later appointed Principal Engineer, Nuclear Group on the River Bend Project. He subsequently held key positions at Cochrane Environmental Systems, Henkels & McCoy, ACT Engineers, and Pickering, Corts & Summerson. Captain Smith is currently in his third year as President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Naval Academy Alumni Association. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Penndelphia Scholarship Foundation and the Philadelphia Viet Nam Veterans Memorial Fund.
CAPT John Gazzola, Merchant Marine, is a 1982 graduate of the Maine Maritime Academy. He is a professional mariner/maritime industry executive with over 30 years experience who specializes in towage, dredging, marine construction and ship repair. Captain Gazzola worked for Crowley Maritime Corp. in the Pacific Northwest before coming to Philadelphia in 1985 to join WeeksMarine/American Dredging Co.. He is past president of the Ports of Philadelphia Maritime Society and the Independence Seaport Museum and currently is employed by Rhoads Industries Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Mr. David Beard, Director of the Boyertown Transportation Museum, has worked as a professional marine (underwater) archaeologist from 1985 until 1999 including several state agencies and private environmental engineering firms. His projects range from excavations of the sunken port city of Port Royal, Jamaica, to cataloging and documenting shipwrecks in the Great Lakes. In 1999, he accepted the position as curator of maritime collections at the Maryland Historical Society. From 2001 to 2005, he was curator of Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia. He returned to his native Arkansas in 2005, where he was assistant director of the Rogers Historical Museum for two years. While there, he developed a traveling exhibit, “The Life Atomic: Growing Up in the Shadow of the A-Bomb.” He returned to the maritime field in 2007, where he served as assistant director and curator of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum until 2010. In August 2010, he accepted the position as executive director of the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles.
Mr. Beard received a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, with a specialization in historical archaeology, from the University of Arkansas in 1983 and a master’s in maritime history, with a specialization in marine archaeology, from East Carolina University in 1989. He currently lives in Boyertown with his wife, Christine, and their two dogs, Daisy and Buster.
