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Gave the Caufield Crew and Sailing Center, Honorring his Father, General Frank J. Caufield Class of 1934  Attended Harvard and began a very successful Financial Career – Oak Grove Ventures 1971 and in 1978 Kleiver, Perkins, Caufield & Byers.

Frank Joseph Caufield was born on November 21, 1939 to Captain Frank J. and Mrs. Catherine Lallande Caufield at Fort Benning, GA. Frank’s father was a member of the Class of 1934. Frank grew up as an Army brat on posts in the United States and in foreign assignments in Spain and England. His father’s assignment in Spain from 1947 to 1950 was pivotal in Frank’s life; he developed a deep knowledge of Spanish culture and became fluent in Spanish. Later, his father served with the Military Assistance Group in London in the early 1950s. Frank was sent to a British boarding school where he was exposed to British humor and the rigors of boarding school discipline, two traits that would serve him well throughout his life.

Frank, at his father’s urging, obtained an appointment to West Point, where he joined the Class of 1962. At the end of Beast, Frank was assigned to Company F-1. Frank said that the four years he spent in F-1 forged friendships that lasted for his lifetime.

After graduation in 1962, Frank was assigned to an Air Defense Artillery battalion in Germany. Frank transferred to Military Intelligence and was assigned as head of the U.S. section of a multi­national center for the debriefing of East European refugees arriving in West Germany. This assignment gave Frank an in-depth understanding of the political, social and economic conditions in Eastern Europe.

In 1966, Frank resigned his commission and was admitted to Harvard Business School (HBS). By that time, Frank was married to Ronnie Morseth, a woman he met while stationed in Germany. Shortly before he started HBS in the fall of 1966, their first child, Frank Robert, was born. During his second year at HBS, their second child, Kirsten Nicole, was born. Frank said, “Getting through a demanding academic program and having two young children involved lots of learning, friendships and a hopeful future.”

After graduation from HBS in 1968, he took a job with a management consulting firm in New York City. During his second year in New York, Frank decided to get into the venture capital business. The field barely existed at that time and was principally located in the San Francisco Bay area. In 1970, he transferred to the firm’s San Francisco office and began looking for a venture capital job.

In 1972, Frank got a fortuitous call from an F-1 classmate, Dave Francis, who alerted him to an ad in the Wall Street Journal placed by Paul Cook, a legendary investor. The ad said that Cook, the CEO of a hi-tech company called Raychem, was looking for a financial manager. Later, Cook established a venture capital firm (Oak Grove Ventures) that Frank would run.

In 1978, with several years as a successful investment manager under his belt, Frank was asked to join what would become the world’s premier venture capital firm, Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers (KPCB). Frank helped the firm perfect its approach to investing in entrepreneurs who were building innovative technology and life sciences companies.

Over the next 20 years, KPCB was, by general agreement, the most successful venture capital firm in the country. One of the high points of this period was in the mid-1980s when Frank and classmate Jim Kimsey combined to start AOL.

Frank served on the boards of numerous companies and always played a key role in their success. After AOL merged with Time Warner in 2000, Frank continued on that board for many years.

In the late 1990s, Frank began to pull back from venture capital to pursue other things he wanted to do. He phased out of KPCB but kept on making venture investments on his own, and he began to devote more time to philanthropy and public and foreign policy issues. It also gave him time to take many trips with his classmate and former roommate from F-1, Buzz Kriesel. They travelled extensively for the next 15 years, to India, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Costa Rica, the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and Southern Italy.

Frank’s many philanthropic activities included Chairman of the Child Abuse Prevention Society, Director of the U.S. Russia Investment Fund (the U.S. Russia Foundation), Refugees International, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the San Francisco Film Society.

In addition to his venture activities, Frank was the former owner of Slim’s, a San Francisco club that he started with musician Boz Scaggs. He also worked with Scaggs and investor Warren Hellman to preserve San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall.

In May of 2002, Frank donated the Caufield Crew and Sailing Center at West Point to honor the memory of his father, Brigadier General Frank J. Caufield (Retired), Class of 1934. The Caufield Center is a state-of-the-art facility equipped with rowing tanks, a weight room, two locker rooms with showers and boat maintenance bays.

The West Point Class of 1962 has been blessed by some remarkably accomplished graduates. Frank Caufield, an entrepreneur who defined venture capital and American enterprise, is ranked with these distinguished graduates. His exceptional character and remarkable accomplishments make him one of West Point’s most distinguished graduates. He embodied and lived by West Point motto: Duty, Honor, Country

Frank is survived by his son, Frank Robert Caufield, and his daughter, Kirsten Nicole Caufield. Well Done, Frank Caufield; Be Thou at Peace.

—His F-1 classmates  

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 STEPHEN J. KOTT  1962

Cullum No. 23916-1962 | October 31, 1967 | Died in Died in Hanoi, No. Vietnam 

Interred in Arlington National Cemetery, VA

It really was a dark and stormy night when Stephen Jay Kott’s A6 Intruder took off from the Marine Airbase at Da Nang, South Vietnam. On Oct 31, 1967, Steve’s mission would take him over Hanoi, North Vietnam, for dangerous low level bombings. Steve’s aircraft could fight and survive under the worst of night flying conditions, but on this evening, it was not to be. During Steve’s low level run, his wingman saw a bright flash in the vicinity of the target and nothing again was heard from Steve or his fellow Marine crew member.

Steve never took the easy way out. He spent his life for the very military mission that unfortunately took his life. He was born in Nassau County, NY, on May 12, 1940, to Samuel and Thelma Kott, but moved to Greenville, SC, when he was ten years old. While there, he became a boxer and rose to be a Golden Gloves Champion. He graduated from Staunton Military Academy in Virginia and received a Congressional appointment to West Point, where he joined Company K2 with the Class of 1962.

Life at the Academy was rarely a challenge for Steve. He was bright, tough, and determined. He would often bounce into classmates’ rooms with that big smile and share funny and relevant stories. He left his mark on Company K2 as a great football player on the 150 pound team and as a Corps’ Champion boxer, winning both Regimental and Corps Championships for his weight class. He was quick, had a terrific right hook, and coached the K2 boxing team his First Class year. Not only was Steve very successful in his studies, but he was always ready to provide help to those company classmates struggling in theirs. Academic departments identify cadets who demonstrate potential to be future instructors—in Steve’s case, the then Department of Military Psychology and Leadership wanted him to return to West Point to teach its courses.

Steve married Julie following graduation and, because of his toughness and determination for something different, chose a Marine Corps commission. The two headed for Quantico, VA, where Steve attended The Basic School (TBS). They loved every minute of the grind of being a Marine family. After graduation from TBS, they left for Ft. Sill, OK, where he attended Officer’s Basic Artillery School. There he would take his new Studebaker Golden Hawk over the Oklahoma prairie chasing buffalo and long horns; Julie took it all in stride with their first baby, little Stevie, in her arms. After Ft. Sill, they were off to the Fourth Marine Brigade at Kaneohe Bay, HI, where Steve was assigned to “H” Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Artillery Regiment. In addition to other duties, Steve coached the Marine Pacific Boxing Team and was as a competition marksman for the Marine Corps. While there, they grew their family with the birth of Tara.

Steve loved artillery but longed to be a Marine aviator. After a year as a “cannon cocker,” he applied for flight school at Pensacola, FL, and while there welcomed his third child, Jack. From the T28 to carrier qualifications, Steve loved flight school. After graduating he was trained in the A6 Intruder as a bombardier navigator and assigned to the 2nd Marine Air Wing at Cherry Point, NC, where he was promoted to captain. In August of 1967, he was assigned to the I Corps at Da Nang, South Vietnam, and was assigned to his A6 squadron, the VMA (all weather) 225, 2nd Marine Air Wing. He was with his squadron only three months when shot down.

He was declared Missing in Action, and his family hoped and prayed he was safe and alive and would return home when the war was over. When the POWs returned, Steve was not among them, and his status was changed from MIA to Presumed Dead. Then in 1984, North Vietnam returned the remains of eight Americans, including Steve’s. As sad as it was to bury his remains, the family felt fortunate to at last have him home because many were still unaccounted for. Steve was laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on Aug 13, 1984. His military awards include the Distinguished Flying Cross with one gold star, four Air Medals, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Commendation, Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation with Gallantry Cross Colors, Republic of Vietnam Unit Citation with Civil Actions Colors First Class, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

At his funeral, many classmates and close friends came to welcome Steve home and say goodbye. Steve’s parents never gave up hope that he was alive and would come home, but they passed away before his remains were returned. Steve’s final resting site is near the intersection of Patton and Eisenhower streets and in view of Headquarters, Marine Corps, which is quite fitting. After the ceremony, many classmates gathered Steve’s children and regaled them with stories of mischief, adventure, toughness, and brilliance that they had experienced with their father. In the proud tradition of West Point, his classmates were there to comfort and assuage the painful sense of loss and grief of 18 years of hope extinguished and to share in the bittersweet realization of his children’s prayers answered, “Please bring Daddy home”.

It was our personal loss as well as our Nation’s when Steve died. But his memory and devotion to country, Corps, and family was carried on by his loving wife, Julie. To this day, his children: Steve, Tara, and Jack; as well as his grandchildren, hold his memory dear to their hearts.

When you, his classmates, visit Steve’s grave at Arlington, place a stone on his headstone in the Jewish tradition and say a prayer for him, affirming that he is respected, remembered, and revered for his service and sacrifice. He would love that.

When you visit the Vietnam Memorial, you can find Steve’s name on Panel 28E, Line 104.

—Tom Faley ’62, Jerry Garwick ’62, and Steve Kott’s Family