Engineer Memoirs
Then we went to Leavenworth for the usual
tour. Had a lot of West Point classmates in
the group. First time I'd gone to school with students who were from other branches. Always
before, I'd gone to school with engineers, but this time we had all branches.
The military schools work you pretty hard, but they are a very good change of pace-recreation,
in a sense. They give you a chance to put aside the pressures of day-to-day business, to think, and
to clear your mind.
It's hard to single out anything, but again classmates and friends-Bernie Rogers and Bob
Mathe-we must have had maybe 20 classmates at
Q .. Were some of the Iowa people there too?
A .. Well, let's see. I don't recall any right now. The ones that come to mind were not of the group
that were at Iowa. Miles Wachendorf from Mumau was a student, however. We enjoyed seeing
them again.
I don't know what to tell you about Leavenworth. It's just the traditional year. It does give you
a lot of exposure with the rest of the Army, not just the engineers, and that was important to me
because I had been only with engineers in my career to that point.
Q .. Well, this is during the Eisenhower massive retaliation era. I guess a lot of the curriculum must
have been devoted to nuclear weapons.
A ..
Yes, that's true and your question reminds me that President [Dwight] Eisenhower's son John
In those days the Army started a nuclear effects course, and those
was a classmate at
who chose to do so could stay nine weeks longer to complete a special weapons course. I was one
of a small group that did. Normally the scenarios were located in Europe using conventional
forces. We had a few in the Pacific. We would then have a final exercise on employing nuclear
but that was an addendum to the basic
weapons - w h e r e and what size and things like
education.
To encapsulate
you learn staff work and you learn how to write a five-paragraph staff
paper and order. You learn how to utilize the various elements of the military in various war
situations, combat situations, and integrate the infantry, the armor, artillery, et cetera. Those
exercises stand you in good stead for staff positions. For example, I'll still follow the five
paragraph concept; you know, the problem, facts bearing on the problem, et cetera, et cetera.
The other thing, which is not in the course outline, is this relationship with the rest of the Army.
You remember your classmates at Leavenworth all your military career. They're important to you
all along. It's easier to communicate with people you know, of course. So I think that was a very
valuable opportunity.
Besides the regular nine-month course, there was a three-month associate course.
Q .. Most of the students there have probably been in World War II or Korea, or both?
A
Yes, I think almost without exception. See, we were all majors or lieutenant colonels, and this
was 1954. The war had only been over nine years. You had to have over nine years of service to
go to
Again, I tried to quit smoking. Again, I didn't make it.
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