Posted by David Litzau on May 17, 2010:

In the early 90's, I went back to school to retool for a better career. In the process of getting a bachelor's degree, I was required to take a Computer Security class as part of the degree requirements. Everyone talked about this hard nose instructor that took no guff and held you to the highest standards to get through his class. The instructor was Dr. Norm Webb. All the scary stories seemed to be relevant to those that did not apply themselves...I got along great with Dr Webb. After I had been working in the field for a while, I was invited back to the school to take on a teaching job myself and before long was invited by Norm to take over his class. What an interesting experience that turned out to be. Norm was quite the character...sneaking in to the class while I was teaching and causing a stir, telling my students to keep an eye on me and to report any problems to him. We would spend a lot of time talking, but Norm was never really forthcoming with information about his personal life. He would joke around so much that when he would let on to some insights to his life...I never knew when to believe him. "I'm on the board of trusties at ___" "I was a Captain in the Army" "I do some reffing for the NFL"...I would often reply "yeah...and I'm an astronaut". But as the internet became easier to utilize, all of the things he said turned out to be true...in a big way. One time he snuck up behind me while I was giving a test and caught me scouring the NCAA Lacrosse finals results. Soon he was telling me that he used to play goalie and completely out of character he mentioned that he was in the Lacrosse Hall of Fame. I told him that's not funny as that is sacred to us "real" lacrosse players. Well...with a little digging I soon found out that he did indeed have a place in the Hall. When I finally had the opportunity to visit Johns Hopkins and see his picture in the Lax HoF, he had already left us and I have always wished that I could talk to him about his days at West Point. For only knowing Dr Webb for several years, I have a lot of wonderful memories of being his student and working with him. I can honestly say that he had a real impact on my life. I recently learned that he left 4.5 million dollars to US Lacrosse...he still has surprises left for me even after he passed. Rest in peace my friend. David Litzau San Diego, CA

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