Richard Clay Breakiron

West Point, 1951

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by M.G. Sheftall on October 7, 2006:

Like some other eulogy posters here, I never had the privilege of meeting Dick in person; rather, our relationship transpired entirely in cyberspace via WP-ORG. Nevertheless, Dick's fine character and kind-heartedness shone through in every interaction we shared during our three or four years of "virtual" acquaintance. Most of my contact with Dick was in the venue of Gray-Net -- a WP-ORG mailing list for families of cadets facing imminent separation or dealing with the aftermath of separation (sometimes years or even decades after the event) -- on which Dick and I were both online counselors. In the context of Dick's numerous contributions to the mailing list over the years, he never made a single disparaging, cynical or even just confrontational remark while he helped many suffering people with warm and kind advice, and sometimes it seemed almost as often, headed off at the pass potential "flame wars" between other posters with fairness, graceful wit, diplomacy, and when the situation called for it, the unassailable aplomb and authority of a venerable "Old Grad". It was with great sadness that I received the news of Dick's passing, and I wish to offer my most sincere condolences to his surviving family members and other loved ones.

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