Posted by Harry Jerrol Raymond on April 16, 2010:

The Most Unforgettable Character I Ever Met. Remember the Readers Digest feature by that name? My friend C.C. was near the top of my list of Unforgettable Characters. Cicero was a turnback, so we first met second semester of Plebe year. We immediately became friends, partly because of our mutual Southern heritage. We spoke the same language, as it were. C.C. had a story or saying to cover almost every situation. One that sticks with me even after all these many years is a bit of advice from his Daddy, "Don't ever stand up when you can sit down, and don't ever sit down when you can lie down." The older I get the more I can relate to that little gem. He got in a little trouble a few weeks before our Ring Hop, some may recall. Consequently, and in spite of his most sincere and repeated requests for a reprieve, he unhappily spent the afternoon and evening confined to quarters. It was decided that someone, the TAC I believe, would present him with his ring at a company formation. C.C.'s reaction (he stuttered a bit when he got angry or excited) was, "Wh-why don't they just s-send it over by the B.P.!" Another incident I remember, in spite of my most ardent efforts to forget it, happened in math class near the end of yearling year. C.C and Mike West and I were, as almost always, seated on the last row of last section. Just the three of us. The professor, a dedicated and kindly full Colonel, was doing his very best to prepare us for the WGR's looming on the horizon. Suddenly, the room got quiet, which woke up all three of us! We looked around kind of sheepishly. He just looked at the floor and slowly shook his head from side to side. (I think he might have been crying.) He could have gigged us all, but didn't. His academic challenges notwithstanding, he graduated with us and went on to a fabulous career, of which any one of us would be proud. His assignments included a tour with the Iranian Army, in the days of the Shah, up on the Russian border. He also served as attaché at the embassy in Jakarta, where I understand he did a lot more than just dance with the Russian ambassador's wife. These two plums were scattered in with some very satisfying tours on staff and with the troops. Upon leaving the Army in 1976 he continued to serve, this time as supervisor of a correctional facility for young people in his native North Carolina. In speaking with him in later years, I got the impression that he was very proud of what he was able to accomplish there. He was last section math, but he was first section in caring about people. He spent his well-earned retirement years in a beautiful lakeside home in a gated community near Southern Pines. He was blessed to have Norma, his caring wife, with him, and to have had his sons nearby. I visited with C.C. two or three times and telephoned him every few months for the past several years. The last couple of times we talked it was pretty clear the Old Soldier was losing ground. He was a fighter, but Parkinson's is a powerful adversary. I will miss him greatly. R.I.P. old Friend. You made us proud!

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