Engineer Memoirs
I would have been very happy if the other boys had gone in. Their personalities were
different, and they weren't particularly interested. We certainly never pushed them.
They didn't even apply to West Point.
Q:
You have a daughter in the military, too, don't you?
A:
Yes. But not a West Pointer. Many times she was asked by acquaintances if she would
to go to West Point. But she was raised by parents who feel women do not belong
there.
Q:
Oh, is that right?
A:
I feel that way. If you think we pushed the children towards the military, we certainly
pushed her away from being among the first women at West Point.
Q:
Why do you feel that way?
A:
I feel it should be combat training for officers to run our military, and I'm very old-
fashioned about the role of women. They don't need to go to West Point.
A very small percentage of officers are academy graduates. I think there are many,
many places for the females in the military, but I don't think they have to be educated
at the academies. I think this has changed the academies, and I just don't think women
belong there.
They can go ROTC [Reserve Officers Training Corps]. Our daughter went through
OCS [Officer Candidate School]. We're very proud of what our daughter is doing, and
the fact that she went through basic training at Fort Dix. She's a non-athlete, and she
managed to do all the physical requirements and went to OCS--
Q:
Is very rigorous.
A:
Both her father and her brother feel OCS is one of the hardest ways to get a
commission.
Q:
Yes, it is.
A:
And she did that. She's an AG [Adjutant General Corps] officer. We're very pleased.
I have two daughters-in-law who are military. An Army nurse is one of my daughters-
in-law, and my newest daughter-in-law is Carole Smith, [Brigadier] General [Frederick
A.] Smith's daughter--Freddie Smith's daughter. She is an ordnance officer.
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