Posted by Eugene A. Fox on October 27, 2011:

Dick and I go way back before World War II. Our families lived on Miller Loop at Fort Benning, Georgia. Our fathers were both Infantry officers. It was a great life there for kids in those days. We went to the elementary school abutting the Loop and would walk home for lunch. After school we would play for hours on the common area in the middle of the Loop. Such games as "Kick the Can" and "Hide and Seek" and plain old "Tag. Those games would go on until it got too dark to see each other. We also used to skate on the Loop with those old skates that clamped on to our shoes and were tightened down with a skate key. Dick and I were both members of the Blue Army and would engage in mock warfare with the Red Army from Austin Loop, about a block away. I think the victories were awarded to the army that showed up with the most troops. This frequently required us to enlist younger kids to include Dick's younger brother, Alston, and even his really little sister, Pamela. Dick's Dad was a great story teller and would frequently gather us kids around for an evening of mystery and adventure. His mother was always very nice to us all. She intrigued me as she was usually knitting something; this was a skill that look so complicated and far beyond my competence. Pearl Harbor brought this idyllic life to end.The US Army was building up for the big war and everybody spread to the four winds. Dick and I met up again at West Point, both in the Class of 1956. We didn't mingle too often as he was in Company B-1 in Central Area and I was in H-2 way over in the Lost Fifties. After graduation we went our separate ways; Dick into the Signal Corps and I into the Infantry. We did stay in contact and in 1977 he graciously hosted my family in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. I was there to participate in the Boston Marathon and Dick and Eva saw to it that my diet and sleeping regimen were catered to. I would have never made it to the end without their support! After that, Dick and I would get together when he came to Washington on business trips. It was always a pleasure to see him and talk over the old days at Fort Benning. We last got together about two years ago when he and Eva came down to DC for the annual class Xmas dinner dance. He was in fine fettle and the time passed all too quickly. Dick was a great friend and a wonderful father. His intellectual accomplishments were enviable and his contributions to the exploration of outer space exceptional. I will miss him but he will live on in my memory and in my heart.

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