Posted by Terry Powers on February 19, 2023:

ROBERT B. ENNIS 1949 Cullum No. 17219-1949 | May 13, 2006 | Died in Alexandria, VA Interred in West Point Post Cemetery, West Point, NY Robert Brower Ennis, son of Charles and Marion Brower Ennis, was born in Brooklyn, NY, while his father was a hisAAtory instructor at West Point. His ancestry was mostly Scottish and Dutch, Brooklyn businessmen on his mother's side and farmAAers in Lyons, NY, on his father's. Many men in the family served in the military. A great-great-uncle was mortally wounded outside Atlanta while serving as a major in the Union army. An uncle, COL Gerald Brower, was a pioneer Army aviator and member of the Early Birds of Aviation. He was killed in the Sudan in 1941. Bob's father was a career Army officer, and Bob grew up with his younger sister Sally on Army installations in the U.S., Panama, and the Philippines. His family left the Philippines just a few months before the Japanese invasion. Bob graduated with honors from ClearAAwater High School in Florida in 1943. He then attended Millard's and Sullivan's Schools in Washington, DC, before enlistAAing in the Army in 1944. While attending Officer Candidate School at Ft. Benning, GA, he was discharged to attend West Point in 1945. Bob got on well with his fellow cadets. "From early cadet days, he was a man who moved out fast to accomplish the mission," recalled roommate Dick Bowman. "He was always ready to do his duty and support his associates." The 1949 Howitzer noted his "profound flanker complex...beautiful gift of gab, magnetic demeanor, capable efficiency, and his complete sincerity and devotion to any cause he believes in." Upon graduation, Bob followed his uncle into the Air Force. After earning his wings, he spent a year stateside flying C-54's before being reassigned to Japan. While classmates were fighting and dying in Korea, Bob was aide-de-camp to the commander of the 315th Air Division. He wrote home, "I can't sit here in this luxury when guys are really fighting in Korea." The next day he volunteered for combat duty. Bob flew 50 missions at Kunsan AB, Korea, in the Douglas B-26 light bomber with the 13th Bomb Squadron known as the Grim Reapers. "I feel like I'm doing someAAthing for my country and the Air Force," he wrote home. "I'll be back someday my conscience will be clear-that I've done my small part in one war." After Korea, Bob's assignments shifted back and forth between flying jobs and staff jobs. He was an instructor at the Squadron Officer School at Maxwell AFB, AL, when he met the former Wren Mixon of Montgomery. They married in 1955, and their son Chuck was born at Maxwell. Daughter Cindy was born while Bob was on the staff of the new Air Force Academy. When the Academy graduated its first class in 1959, Bob's sense of accomplishment was complete. "Bob did his best to instill his own mission-oriented 'can do' spirit in the organization of the new academy and in the cadets themselves," Bowman recalled. "I'm sure there is a lot of Bob's spirit still there working with the cadets." Later years took Bob back and forth across the globe. He flew C-130s engaged in world-wide deployments that included airlift for the Viet Nam buildup, the Dominican Republic, U.S. Southern Command and support for the Gemini Space program. In 1970, he was assigned as deputy commander for operations and later as vice commander of the 463rd Tactical Airlift Wing, at Clark AB, Philippines. In 1972, he became director of operations and later acting commander of the 7th Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center, based in Thailand. His last tours were in the Washington, DC, area, where Bob retired as a colonel in 1978. His decorations include the Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Bronze Star, six Air Medals, two Meritorious Service Medals, and four Commendation Medals. Bob kept active in retirement, working as a consultant and traveling the world with Wren. He was endlessly curious. He read newspapers and magazines interactively, underlining in red the basic facts and strikAAing details. He rarely passed a roadside historical marker without stopping. It might have added hours to his journey, but he was sworn to defend this country, and he was determined not to take it for granted. Bob's son Chuck, a Duke graduate, became a software engineer with the space program. He and his family settled in Florida. Daughter Cindy, a Wake Forest graduate, married an Army officer and later settled in Alexandria, VA. For a while, all five of Bob and Wren's grandchildren lived in the DC area. Bob was a doting grandfaAAther. He donated trees to the nation's capital in honor of each grandchild-cherry trees along the Tidal Basin for the girls, oaks near the Viet Nam Memorial for the boys. In 1997, Bob was disabled by a stroke that paralyzed his right side and left him all but speechless. The loss of his voice was the hardest thing Bob ever had to endure. He was the most extroverted man you could ever meet. He would talk to anyone-sales clerks, bus drivers, policemen, nurses. Bob's stroke didn't change that. He was just as outgoing, just as interested in others, just as determined to make a connection. "I was always struck by his vigor and enthuAAsiasm, even with the disabilities affecting him," recalled classmate Dave Bolte. "His limited ability to speak did not deter him from communicating enthusiastically." Bob and Wren celebrated their 50th wedAAding anniversary in 2005 at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, VA. They cut the cake with his father's sword, just as they had at their wedding. Classmates and comrades gathered around the piano, singing West Point and Air Force songs. Bob sat among them, beaming with delight. He died the following May, but he is ever in our hearts.

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