Ernest Graves
Both [Colonel James Franklin] Jim Scoggin and I--he graduated number one--we
were doing better than the prior classes. We both had higher averages than the top men
in recent classes.
I didn't resent this at all. Sometimes it was tedious to copy all my grades when they
were posted in the sally port each week. But I didn't feel that I was being pressured by
my father about any of this. Often you run into the situation, when the parents take the
kind of interest that my father did in everything I did, that the child is resentful, that
there's pressure and interference. I didn't feel that way at all. The mechanics of doing
it may have bothered me at times, and I sometimes made mistakes, and my father would
say that he couldn't keep track of it if I didn't get it right.
But I didn't feel that I was being overly pressured by my dad. I had grown up used to
having him interested in every detail, and it was tremendous support for me.
Q:
Did you have any memorable instructors when you were there? Any that stand out?
A:
One of the ones we remember best was a man named Metzler, who taught calculus. He
had a consummate knowledge of the calculus book, and on his desk he had a black
notebook that had every problem worked out. But he never opened either book. The
routine in class was amusing. We would go in, and he would say, "Are there any
questions?"
Then my West Point classmate, [Major Robert] Bruce Codling, would say, "Sir, may
I ax [sic] a question." And Metzler would say, "Mr. Codling, I asked you first." Then
Codling would say, "Sir, how do you work the first problem?" And Metzler would
usually tell him something about the first problem.
Then, Codling would say, "Sir, how do you work the second problem?" And Metzler
would say, "That's enough Mr. Codling." And then he would say, "Are there any other
questions?" No one else would have a question. Then Metzler would say, "Take
boards." Then we would be given five calculus problems to work on the blackboard.
That happened almost every day! Bruce Codling is here in town. He was an engineer,
but he resigned from the Army long ago and is an executive with the gas company here
in Washington, D.C. We see him occasionally.
A:
There's a whole long string of instructors I could mention. One of our math instructors
was Colonel [John S. B.] Dick, who later became acting dean of the academic board.
He filled the position when it was first created.
Later, [Brigadier] General [Robert C.] Tripp was one of our math instructors.
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