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View a eulogy for Rex Van Noy Perkins, USMA '55, who passed away on June 30, 2016.

Rex Van Noy Perkins

West Point, 1955

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Louis "Vern" Pace on July 8, 2016:

Rex Van Noy Perkins is a name fit for a king. In this case, our king was born in the thriving city of Bolivar, MO. He came from Drury College in Springfield, Missouri to the dreary winters of West Point, New York. That extra college experience and a year or two in age always made Rex seem more mature than the rest of us. And there was no doubt; Rex was a man's man. The lyrics from the Broadway show, Out of the World, seemed to fit him. In the play, Jupiter sings, "I Jupiter, I Rex; I Jupiter, am positively teeming with sex."

Company K-2, or Kappa Dos, had a reputation that was earned over the years of being the only fraternity at West Point. Rex epitomized K-2's reputation for laxity and indifference in attitude when it came to inconsequential and nonsensical traditional cadet harassments. He was able to carry this off with a laissez-faire attitude that was admired by the rest of us. However, he was always able to separate the important from the unimportant and act accordingly. Thus, his successful military career was of no surprise to any of us.

I do not pretend to speak for others from K-2 or the rest of his cadet and military comrades. But, his passing closes out a list of minor legends and stories that I have told about him for many years. Rex was a one-of-a-kind and although we were not physically close all these many years, it was always a comfort just knowing he was around. Rex Van Noy Perkins - the king - will be missed very much.

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