Rance Hendrix Rountree

West Point, 1965

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by ART MARK on June 15, 2014:

My RANGER buddy Rance Rountree and I did not get to know each other until we graduated from West Point and went to the 101st Airborne and RANGER school together. Rance came from South Georgia and I was raised in Chicago and spent my summers on the farm in Michigan. As cadets at West Point he was in the 1st Regiment (A1 & B1) & I was in the 2d Regiment (E-2 & B2). I was into running track, choir, and band, while Rance gravitated to language clubs and outdoor sports. When we graduated we both ended up in the 10lst Airborne, but I went Infantry and was in the 2/50lst Infantry Bn. Rance went into the Signal Corps and was assigned to the Division signal battalion. Rance and I just happened to arrive at the exact same moment for RANGER school. We selected each other as "ranger buddies" and were like "peas in a pod" for the nine weeks of RANGER school. While I was always a HOOAHing Infantryman, Rance remained steadfastly laid back as he quietly took on the arduous tasks in patrolling. He would never balk at his turn at carrying the radio or the machine gun. Rance & I ended up walking "point and compass" on our patrols. He almost died one night when he fell into a 20 foot deep ravine in the Georgia mountain phase. He told me the next day that he was really OK after the fall, but had enjoyed being evacuated so he could sleep in a bed for one night. At the end of the six day patrol in the mountains we were promised a "hot meal" in base camp. We were first to arrive back and received our hot meal, a live chicken, a carrot, a potato, and an onion. Rance quickly told me that he was going to enjoy some good sack time and that I could have his share of the "hot" meal. I quickly gutted and cleaned the bird in good RANGER style. And cooked meat on a spit and made soup from the carrots, onion, and potato. He did awake to share our "hot" meal when he, having had good outdoorsman training at USMA, he caught the scent of the chicken cooking over the open fire. After RANGER school Rance & I returned to the 101st Airborne. Rance always carried his weight, but also seemed to get his rest. On one patrol he was selected as patrol leader to plan a contingency operation and to give the patrol order. As Rance enjoyed his well deserved rest from carrying machine gun, we prepared the order for home and managed to wake him up to give it when the cadre came to observe. After RANGER school, we returned to the 101st. Rance went back to the Signal Corps and I went back to the Infantry. We rarely got to see each other, but he did invite me to his wedding while we were in the 101st. I attended and got to be a saber bearer at that wedding in Georgia. After that 1st assignment in the 101st, Vietnam and the Army controlled our destinies to go on to other duties and other places. I had not heard about Rance until this year and his funeral. I enjoyed meeting with Rance' relatives and reuniting with classmates who attended the funeral and reception that followed at the Hotel Thayer. Events like these make me think how fortunate I am to have relatives and friends we can love and with whom we can still share our thoughts, memories and prayers. ART MARK

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