Richard Lew Morton

West Point, 1949

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Ri chard Craig on October 1, 2002:

RICHARD MORTON OUR FRIEND In London's Westminster Abbey is the grave of the great dramatist, poet, and Shakespeare's good friend, Ben Johnson. His tombstone contains only the words "O Rare Ben Johnson". Today, in my mind's ear, I hear the words: " O Rare Dick Morton". The name, Richard Morton, says many varied things to people: good neighbor, capable administrator, leader, innovator, athlete and gymnast, witty and thoughtful writer, general officer, war hero, a beloved one. To me, he was a friend. What was the nature of a friendship with him? He prized friendship, and constantly worked to insure it did not wither from lack of his effort . Even in the midst of the Korean war, letters arrived from Dick, often tinted with a bit of his laughter, addressed to a friend in another part of the front line, reestablishing communication, asking about the latest news of other friends, and pointedly insisting on a return letter. It was impossible to refuse him. Throughout the years, the letters continued to arrive and be exchanged - news letters of himself, news of friends, inquiries about other friends, invitations to come to visit in Canada, in New York, in Pennsylvania, and to go fishing in the frozen North when the ice broke, or in the Atlantic. He never stopped telephoning, writing, arranging opportunities to meet, to visit, and finding time to make a friend feel uniquely esteemed. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: "Let (my friend) not cease an instant to be himself. I hate where I looked for ..... a manly resistance, to find a mush of concession." Dick's friendship was never Emerson's "mush of concession". It brought out the best thoughts of each friend. He was both a generator of ideas, and also a careful listener to the thoughts of others. He willingly spoke, providing Emerson's "manly resistance" in occasionally, but thoughtfully disagreeing with his friends. Friendship with Dick was spent with frequent laughter. A lovely wit dwelt just below the surface of this man who signed his letters "Rigor". This warm and quirky humor was always there and unexpectedly burst out on all occasions. Bank clerks in Carlisle smile and recall that, after they cashed a check for him, he would say: "You've done a good job here - Take the rest of the day off!" Some of the most precious moments with friends were spent in silence, walking, or fishing together in still waters of a Missouri rock quarry, in West Coast waters, or in a Canadian lake. As many of you know, in speaking German, the word "du" is the intimate form of address, used only with a beloved friend or family member. A German speaking classmate once told me that he was greatly moved during a long quiet afternoon salmon fishing in a boat with Dick. The stillness was broken when Dick very simply said to him: "From now on, you may call me "du"." In speaking with other friends this past month, I have become aware that I was hearing one of two repeated sentences. These were either: "Dick Morton was the best friend I ever had.", or "Dick Morton was the closest friend I ever had." I heard those words again and again. ABRAHAM LINCOLN said this about his closest friends: "I desire ..... that, if, at the end, when I come to lay down the reins..... I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside of me." Richard L. Morton was such a friend, and will remain down inside of us.

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