Posted by Col (Ret) Jack Sullivan on September 15, 2005:

I first met Jim and his family in 1961 at the Waterways Experiment station at Vicksburg. Jim and Carol graciously entertained a group of Army graduate students from Texas A & M. It was a great evening and I was captured by the humor and charm of our hosts. Jim and I served together with the 2d Infantry Division in Korea. Jim was the S-3 of the 2d Engineers and was a major contributor to the development of such things as the McNamara barrier on the DMZ and the Freedom Pagoda at Panmunjom among many accomplishments. He was well liked for his humor and level thinking and respected for his ability to get things done. He also had a liking for cigars and good brandy. Our next common experience was as battalion commanders together in the 4th engineer Brigade At Fort Leonard Wood. Jim ran a good battaion using his excellent people skills and was well liked for his senses of honor and duty. He was also a killer at racquetball and many of us had the scars to prove it. While assigned to nearby New York City, I learned how well suited Jim was as a math professor at West Point; he truly enjoyed helping slow learners overcome their fear of Math. We continued to socialize with the McNulty's during this period and established a lasting bond of friendship. To the amazement of us both we attended the Army War College together and further developed our bond of friendship. Jim encouraged learning while attending and actually gave math-tutoring classes at the college. It was enlightening to see how simple he made complex topics. He also cut quite a figure participating in a local race with the wings of Mercury on his head; he didn't win, but he definitely showed. In retirement, we ended up living close by and remained friends. Jim was in the private sector but longed to teach, which he finally did through to tenure at George Mason University. I will forever appreciate his teaching skills by his tutoring of a brain injured young woman, who at on point had lost all math memory. He brought her all the way through math to advanced calculus and differential equations. In retirement Jim strengthened his religious bonds and became a model to follow. Jim was one of the good guys, a professional, a fellow soldier and a friend! Jack Sullivan

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