James Robert McClure

West Point, 1964

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Dick Knight on November 6, 2011:

I was fortunate in having had great roommates. Jim was definitely one of the best. We remained good friends and stayed in touch up until the time of his premature passing. My recollection is that we roomed together for our last two years. Jim, to me, then and now was a wonderfully complex person. By that I mean he could seem gruff, but actually had a big heart. He did not appear to be a diligent student, but definitely was as evidenced by his class standing and Wharton MBA. He never boasted of athletic prowess, but was a great athlete. He was a very well-rounded, understated guy; the consummate student-athlete, and totally unassuming. I am seeing and hearing him as I write this. A number of specific memories come to mind. When Jim would study, he was totally focused and concentrated. I can remember him sitting at his desk deep in thought. I could tell when he was in "the zone" because he would twist a lock of his hair. I also marveled at how hard he could study after he had had football practice or a game. He had great stamina and endurance. I did not serve with Jim in Vietnam. However, I have no doubt he was brave and did whatever a mission required. I saw early indications of what was, to me, his bravery as he would repeatedly challenge Dick Nowak to wrestle with him. This was something I would never do voluntarily. Dick lived downstairs, and he and Jim would really go at it. Jim seldom won, but he remained undaunted. I remember wrestling with him a few times and he was as strong as a bull. I believe he was also Tom Kerns' back up on the football team. After graduation, Jim arranged with his Dad for several of us to work for his company, Rogele, for the summer. So, I saw a lot of Jim, plus as best I can recall, Jack Scotnicki, Tom Kerns, and Bobby Reich (I stayed in his grandmother's home in Steelton, PA). We had regular Saturday evening barbecues at Jim's Dad's house in Camp Hill, PA. Another related memory is that when starting to work, I believe I said something to Mr. McClure that went like, "Please don't treat me any differently from all your other workers". Mr. McClure then said he would not and had "just the job for me". It turned out to be helping to fix a broken sanitary sewer main leak in downtown Harrisburg across from the State Capitol! I was impressed with the number of attractive young ladies walking by from the Capitol, but "remarkably" they never wanted to talk to this guy (me) down in a sewer trench. JIm got a kick out of this. We went our separate ways after that summer, but kept in touch by mail a few times each year. Jim was a good and loyal writer. He later offered to help when I was going through some difficult times. This was yet another demonstration of his unconditional friendship. When Jim passed suddenly I was unfortunately unable to attend his funeral. However, I did write a long letter to Judy extolling Jim's virtues and telling her what he had meant to me and the many others he touched. Jim was simply a good man, and the epitome of what a West Pointer should be in all respects, both while at the Academy and after. Man-to-man, I loved and miss him. I want his family to know what a great person he was and that he often wrote proudly of all of them.

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