Dempsie Augustus Davis

West Point, 1955

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Bill Streett on November 16, 2009:

During our 2nd class year, the Tac of I-1 arranged for Mike Garn and me to room with Dempsie Davis, to help him in his struggles with academics. He didn't need much help because he was determined to do whatever it took to succeed and graduate from West Point. He worked very hard. One day we read in the news that a woman diplomat from India, Madam Pandit, had been named President of the UN General Assembly, the first woman to hold that position. We all agreed that this appointment would likely be the subject of a question on the next "pop quiz" in Social Sciences, and Dempsie said, "I can remember that name: Bandit/Pandit, just remember "Bandit" and change the "B" to a "P". Sure enough that was the first question on the pop quiz the next day, and when we read it Dempsie gave a big smile, knowing that he had the right answer. However when the instructor read the answers a few minutes later Dempsie put his hand to his head and said "Oh no!" It turned out that he had written "Madam Purglar", having substituted "Burglar" for "Bandit" before changing the "B" to a "P". Dempsie had been an enlisted man in the Air Force before entering West Point, and he was commissioned into that service. He always said that he would name his first airplane "Madam Purglar", but I never learned whether he did that. Dempsie was a wonderful man, friendly, outgoing, and always ready to help others. He will be sorely missed.

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