George L Monahan Jr

West Point, 1955

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Dick Fontaine on January 13, 2002:

I was enormously proud of George when he was promoted to Lieutenant General. He was serving his second Air Force Acquisition tour in the Pentagon. He was unaware that a D2 Classmate also worked in the Pentagon every day as contractor; however, I quietly watched him and sat in the back of a Senate hearing room on Capitol Hill when George was called to defend the F-16 program. The F-16 was in trouble because the widow of a pilot proclaimed to the press that the plane was unsafe. The senators were performing for the press. George never became the least bit nervous or upset, responding to questions with so much poise that the senators began to retreat. I was very proud of him. Weeks later, I unexpectedly encountered him in a hallway of the Pentagon. He seemed very glad to see me; I felt honored when he brought me to his office and told his executive officer not to disturb us while we talked about West Point, D2, and all the years since the days of our youth. The next time I was with George was at his funeral, which was too soon, too soon for such a good man. Dick Fontaine D2, '55

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