Posted by Clay Greene on August 30, 2012:

I knew Norman Webb as "Captain Webb". He was the company commander of my basic training unit at Ft. Benning during March and April of 1968. He had returned from Viet Nam and shortly after our graduation I believe returned for a second tour. I never forgot Captain Webb. He was a true leader of men. He told us at the beginning of basic that we had to finish number one in the competetion for best company in our battalion. The day that our rifle scores came in (the first of the company competitions) and we finished last was a day I'll never forget. He scared the hell out of us and said we would now work night and day on physical fitness and whatever the other competitions were. By the force of his will we overcame the last place finish on the rifle range and finished first in all other competitions and finished as the top company in the Battalion. I never saw Capt Webb again after graduation but I did correspond with him in the 80's. He told me that in 1968 he had concerns about the war but felt that the one thing he could do for his basic trainees was to turn them into the best soldiers he could thus giving them a greater chance of survival in Viet Nam. He was one of the most inspiring men I ever met. It deeply saddens me that he has passed.

admin