Posted by Keith McCombs on July 3, 2011:

I am still trying to grasp the fact that Mr. Barlow is no longer with us. I know you and your family are still trying to make sense of such a quick period from diagnosis to his leaving. He was such a wonderful role model for me, particularly when I was just really beginning my career. I wasn't so sure when I heard a retired Colonel would be joining DOR, but I quickly learned he was exactly what the Department needed. I learned so much from watching him, his easy going style and how he worked with people....he always made the person feel special and never gave the impression that he was better than the person working for him. He took a big chance on me in 1986 in recommending me to a director position and I will never forget that. Much of the success I had over the years can be traced back to his belief in me and what I learned from him. I so enjoyed the common bond we had in talking about West Point and stories of his time as a cadet and then when he went back to work there....I particularly enjoyed the story of admitting women for the first time and his involvement in selecting the uniforms they would be wearing as cadets. I feel that I have lost a true friend, but my life has been made much richer from my having known Mr. Barlow. He loved you, his family and West Point and it is appropriate that he should be laid to rest in a place that gave him so many good and lasting memories. We will forever remember the fond memories we had of Mr. Barlow and the joy he brought to our times together. Sincerely, Keith and Julia PS: I notified many people who were either still at DOR or had retired, and everyone I spoke to or wrote to, expressed their sorrow and that they remembered him as such a nice person to work with and how much he did for the Department.

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