Robert Lloyd Johnson

West Point, 1951

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by John B. Lewis on March 29, 2008:

I had the pleasure of spending three years (1955 - 1958) in the Department of Mathematics, USMA with Bob Johnson. I knew Bob as a cadet and I had some opportunities to cross paths with him later in various places around the world while we were on active duty. I could recount many fond memories of our times together; however, I want to tell just one story because it reveals what the cadets that were fortunate enough to get Bob as a math instructor thought of this man and why they admired him greatly. During my third year in the Math Department, I was assigned to be OIC (Officer in Charge) of a cadet chess club trip to CCNY. When we arrived at CCNY for the chess match, I instructed the cadets to meet me at the Student Center when they completed their individual match. Later, the cadets began to arrive at the Student Center. I was seated at one table talking with several cadets and several more were seated at a table behind me. I overheard the conversation of the cadets behind me as they began to talk about Math Dept. instructors. They gave the name of one officer and all of them agreed that he was the worst instructor in the Math Department. Then I turned around and told those cadets that I heard their remarks, that I was in the Math Department and that I was surprised because the instructor they named had more advanced schooling than any other instructor in the Department. They apologized for their remarks and told me they did not know that I was in the Math Department. They went on to explain that the officer they named just could not explain things to them. Then I asked them to tell me which math instructor they considered to be the best. They immediately agreed that Capt. Johnson was definitely the best instructor. They said that whenever they had difficulty with a new concept or a difficult problem, Capt. Johnson could always explain in words they could easily understand. They said all cadets felt lucky to get Capt. Johnson as their math instructor because he could help them get through. I'm sure that Col. Calyer, our "AP4" (Associate Professor in charge of 4th Class Mathematics), was fully aware of Bob's unique ability to explain difficult concepts to Fourth Classmen in words they could readily understand and that is why Bob was always assigned as instructor of the last (24th) or next to last section of Fourth Class Mathematics. Bob was truly a wonderful man and I miss him like I had lost a close brother. John B. Lewis, USMA '51, Co. A-1

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