Joseph Powel Franklin

West Point, 1955

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Edward Olivares Jr. on April 13, 2017:

As a member of Class of 1982, General Franklin was my Commandant for three years. I had the privilege of meeting him officially only once before he handed me my diploma on May 26th, 1982. Unfortunately I ran afoul of DPE after an all nighter spring of Firstie year. While the details are unimportant, eventually it resulted in a knock on the door from my Tac with instructions to report to the Com immediately. Literally minutes later, I knocked on his door prepared for the worst and then reported in best form. Rather than keeping me at attention, he invited me to sit down and relax so we could have a chat. Unbeknownst to me, my father - a K-1 company mate (USMA '57) - had called him to advise him (register concern, complain?) of my situation. He asked me if I knew that my father had contacted him, and I truthfully said that I did not. Completely satisfied with my answer, he then took the time to determine the nature of my situation and counseled me on potential courses of action. Thankfully, I survived my encounter with the "Master of the Sword" and was able to graduate on time. But I'll always remember, and have tried to emulate the quality of General Franklin's leadership that afternoon. In particular, he asked me to sit down before he ascertained if I had put my father up to contacting him. Whether I did or not was not important; what mattered to him was that one of his cadets needed a gentle assist back onto the straight and narrow. He accomplished that while allowing me to retain my dignity, and for that I will always be grateful.

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