Posted by James "Mike" Allen on February 7, 2005:

THE GIFT OF BOB EULOGY FOR ROBERT W. ANDERSON, USMA ?69 BOB, I TOLD YOU SO! JUST LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE HERE, ALL OF WHOM WERE INDEED TOUCHED BY YOU, AND HAVE COME TO PAY THEIR RESPECTS, INCLUDING MANY OF YOUR WEST POINT CLASSMATES AND FAMILY MEMBERS WHO HAVE TRAVELED GREAT DISTANCES TO BE HERE. YOU WERE ALWAYS OVERLY HUMBLE, AND SINCERELY DIDN'T THINK THERE WOULD BE, OR SHOULD BE, MUCH ATTENTION PAID WHEN IT WAS TIME FOR THIS LAST ROLL CALL. I'M NOT GLOATING, BUT IT WAS RARE FOR YOU TO BE WRONG, AND FOR ME TO WIN ONE OF OUR COUNTLESS BANTERING SESSIONS, SO THIS ONE BELONGS ON MY SIDE OF THE SCOREBOARD. AND EVEN THOUGH I KNOW I'LL NEVER HAVE A CHANCE TO DRAW THE SCORE EVEN, I DO WISH YOU WERE HERE TO TRADE OUR USUAL INSULTS BECAUSE, IN TRADING SUCH INSULTS, WE LAUGHED THE MOST. WE ARE HERE TODAY TO SAY GOOD-BYE TO A GREAT FRIEND, A MAN WHO WAS AN EXCEPTIONALLY SOCIAL PERSON, AN EXTROVERT EXTRAORDINAIRE, A MAN WHOSE WIT AND PERSONALITY DREW OTHERS TO HIM, AND A MAN WHO EMBODIED COMMUNITY SERVICE. AS I REFLECTED ON WHAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO SAY FOR THIS MEMORIAL, AND AS I THOUGHT OF OUR NEARLY 40 YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP, IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT THE LIST OF POSITIVE ADJECTIVES THAT DEFINED BOB WAS ENDLESS, YET INADEQUATE. SO, RATHER THAN JUST LIST ADJECTIVES, IT THEN SEEMED APROPRIATE THAT ONE WAY TO HONOR HIM WAS TO RELATE AN EVENT, ONE TRUE STORY IN BOB'S HISTORY. THIS STORY DEMONSTRATES THE STRENGTH OF HIS CHARACTER AND DEFINES BOB, BETTER THAN ANY ADJECTIVES CAN. WHILE IN VIETNAM, BOB WON THE SILVER STAR FOR GALLANTRY, OUR NATION'S 3RD HIGHEST MEDAL FOR HEROISM. BUT YOU WON'T FIND THIS MEDAL IN HIS BIOGRAPHY, OR IN HIS MILITARY RECORDS, AND THIS IS WHY. SOMETIME AFTER WINNING THE SILVER STAR, AND AFTER SUBSEQUENT COMBAT ACTION, BOB SUBMITTED AN AWARD RECOMMENDATION FOR ONE OF HIS ENLISTED SOLDIERS WHOSE HEROISM IN COMBAT EASILY WARRANTED A MEDAL FOR VALOR. THIS AWARD WAS DENIED BY THE HIGHER COMMANDER. THE REASON WAS THAT ARMY UNITS IN THIS PHASE OF OPERATIONS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE CONDUCTING 'DEFENSIVE' OPERATIONS ONLY. AN AWARD FOR VALOR WAS AN INFERENCE THAT OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS WERE ONGOING, AND THE COMMANDER REFUSED TO APPROVE ANYTHING THAT INFERRED HE WAS NOT FOLLOWING ORDERS. NEEDLESS TO SAY, BOB STRONGLY PROTESTED, ARGUING THAT WHEN THEY WERE ATTACKED IN DEFENSIVE POSTIONS, THE SOLDIER HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO ACT, AND ACT WITH EXTREME COURAGE, AND THAT HE WAS DESERVING OF THE AWARD. SUFFICE IT TO SAY, BOB WAS OVERULED, BUT HE FELT SO STRONGLY ABOUT HIS SOLDIERS ACTIONS THAT HE TURNED IN HIS SILVER STAR TO HIS COMMANDER WITH THE MESSAGE THAT HE COULD NOT TOLERATE SUCH AN INJUSTICE. HE THEN DESTROYED ALL HIS SILVER STAR AWARD ORDERS AND WITHHELD FROM HIS PERSONNEL RECORDS ANY INDICATION HE HAD EVER RECEIVED THE AWARD. THIS ACT DEFINES THE BOB ANDERSON WHOSE LIFE WE ARE COMMEMORATING TODAY. SUCH AN ACT IS DRAMATIC PROOF OF HIS CHARACTER, HIS ABSOLUTE INTEGRITY, HIS SELF-LESS-NESS, ..HIS LEADERSHIP. IT ALSO ILLUSTRATES HIS HUMILITY, HIS DEDICATION AND DEVOTION TO THE WELL BEING OF THOSE SERVING UNDER HIS COMMAND, HIS COMITTMENT TO DUTY, HONOR, AND COUNTRY. THESE ARE THE TRAITS THAT DEFINED BOB, A TRUE PATRIOT, A MODEL SOLDIER, AND THESE TRAITS WERE THE FOUNDATION OF HIS ENTIRE LIFE. BUT NONE OF US GATHERED HERE TODAY TO HONOR BOB NEEDS SOMEONE ELSE'S ANECDOTE OR STORY TO REMEMBER HIM, WE EACH HAVE OUR OWN RECOLLECTION OF A WAY IN WHICH BOB ENRICHED OUR LIVES. IT IS THE SUM OF ALL THOSE STORIES THAT CREATES THE LEGACY THAT BOB LEAVES. MOST OF US PROBABLY WONDER HOW SOMEONE COULD BE SO TALENTED, AND GENEROUS, AND HUMBLE. PERHAPS ITS BECAUSE WHILE THE REST OF US STRUGGLE WITH ETHICAL DILEMMAS AND INSECURITY, BOB NEVER DID. HE ALWAYS KNEW THE RIGHT THING TO DO, AND HE ALWAYS DID IT. THERE WAS NO EQUIVOCATION, NO REGARD FOR HIS OWN SELF INTEREST, AND ONCE DONE, THERE WAS NOT REGRET. THIS IS WHY BOB MADE EACH OF US BETTER, AND WHY 'WE' ARE HIS LEGACY. BOB LIVED HIS LIFE ACCORDING TO A MORAL CODE THAT VALUED SERVICE, RESPONSIBILITY, AND HARD WORK. FROM HIS DECISION TO LEAVE PURDUE UNIVERSITY AFTER TWO YEARS AND START A FOUR (4) YEAR EDUCATION AT WEST POINT, TO HIS VOLUNTARY SERVICE, TWICE, IN VIETNAM, THROUGH HIS CAREER AS A PUBLIC SERVANT, BOB'S PROFESSIONAL LIFE WAS ALWAYS IN SERVICE TO HIS COUNTRY, MOTIVATED BY DEEP AND MEANINGFUL PATRIOTISM. PERHAPS IT WAS THE CONFIDENCE THAT RESULTED FROM HIS UNWAVERING INTEGRITY THAT GAVE BOB THE GREGARIOIUS PERONALITY THAT EVERYONE LOVED. HE HAD A GIFT FOR MAKING US FEEL LIKE HE WAS ACTUALLY INTERESTED IN US, BECAUSE, HE REALLY WAS. IN HIS GOVERNMENT SERVICE, EVERYONE KNEW WHY THE CO-OPS AND THE NEW HIRES LOVED WORKING FOR BOB. IT WASN'T JUST BECAUSE HE ENCOURAGED DIRECT AND OPEN COMMUNICATIONS AMONG TEAM MEMBERS, AND THAT HE EXHIBITED FLEXIBLITY IN WHAT WAS OFTEN AN INFLEXIBLE ENVIRONMENT IT WAS THOSE THINGS, BUT THE HEART OF IT WAS HIS NATURAL LEADERSHIP, HIS INTEGRITY, HIS COMMITMENT TO GUIDING YOUNG PROFESSIONALS AND MAKING OTHERS BETTER AT WHAT THEY DO, AND OF COURSE, HIS DISREGARD FOR OFFICE POLITICS. AND NO CO-WORKER IN THE GOVERNMENT OR AT BOEING, EVER WONDERED WHY BOB WAS FOREVER THE HEROIC FIREMAN, ALWAYS ASSIGNED THE TOUGH JOBS AND I MEAN THE REALLY TOUGH, LOST CAUSE PROJECTS, PROJECTS THAT HE WOULD TURN INTO SUCCESSES. THOSE WHO WORKED WITH BOB KNEW THAT HE REPRESENTED THE ESSENCE OF WORKPLACE ACCOUNTABILITY, OF GOOD PERFORMANCE, OF TRUE TEAM WORK. HE DEFINED THE TERM 'PEOPLE PERSON' IN THE WORKPLACE. AND HE WASN'T TOO SHABBY AS AN ENGINEER EITHER. THIS IDEA OF SERVICE WAS NOT LIMITED TO THE BROAD AND PUBLIC ARENA, BUT CARRIED INTO BOB'S PERSONAL LIFE AS WELL. WITH HIS WIFE SHIRLEY'S HELP, HE TOOK CARE OF HIS FRIEND GEORGE ALLEN FOR MANY YEARS. HE CARED FOR THE LENTZ'S, ELDERLY NEIGHBORS NEAR HIS CABIN, AND FOR NINE YEARS HE OPENED HIS HOME TO HIS BROTHER DAN. HE ALSO TAUGHT WOODWORKING TO TEENAGERS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. BOB WAS THE FRIENDLIEST, MOST HELPFUL PERSON ONE COULD EVER MEET. WE CAN'T SPEAK OF BOB WITHOUT A COMMENT ON ANOTHER TRAIT, HIS SENSE OF HUMOR. HE HAD A GIFT FOR PUTTING PEOPLE AT EASE. SOMETIMES HIS HUMOR COULD CATCH PEOPLE OFF GUARD AS IT DID A FEW MONTHS AGO, WHEN BOB MADE ONE OF HIS ALL TOO FREQUENT VISITS TO THE KAISER MEDICAL PHARMACY. OBSERVING A LONG LINE OF ELDERLY LADIES, ALL WAITING FOR THEIR TURN WITH THE PHARMICIST, BOB LOUDLY SPOKE UP TO ALL IN THE ROOM SAYING: "I'M A MAN, AND I HAVE IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO, SO I'M SURE ALL OF YOU LADIES WILL STEP ASIDE AND LET ME GO TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE!" YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW MUCH BOB ENJOYED THE LOOK ON ALL THEIR FACES. SPEAKING OF LADIES, I'M NOT SURE BOB KNEW HOW HIS MAKING FRIENDS COULD ALSO WORK AGAINST HIM. AS MANY OF HIS NEIGHBORS KNOW, BOB WAS FRIENDLY WITH ALL OF THE LADIES WORKING AT THE LOCAL SAFEWAY. AFTER BOB'S BYPASS SURGERY, BOB WAS UNAWARE THAT WHILE THEY TALKED AND CHATTED WITH HIM, THEY WERE ALSO DILIGENTLY GIVING SHIRLEY SECRET REPORTS ON HOW MANY DONUTS HE WAS EATING DURING HIS SHOPPING VISTS. WHICH LEADS ME TO THE NUMER ONE LADY IN BOB'S LIFE, SHIRLEY. SHIRLEY, BOB OFTEN TOLD ME THAT YOU WERE THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO HIM. I USED TO SAY, ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT? WHAT ABOUT ALL THOSE BS GREAT TIMES WE HAD AT WEST POINT, AND ON SUMMER LEAVE? (BS WAS SHORT FOR "BEFORE SHIRLEY"). HE SAID HE DEARLY LOVED WEST POINT, THE EXPERIENCES AND ALL IT STOOD FOR, BUT THOSE WERE THE THIRD BEST THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO HIM. SHIRLEY, OR 'DOLL' AS HE AFFECTIONALLY CALLED YOU, WAS DEFINITELY #1, AND HIS DAUGHTERS WERE #2. THERE IS NOTHING MORE I CAN SAY TO CONFIRM HOW MUCH YOU MEANT TO HIM, WHETHER RAISING YOUR FAMILY, BUILDING A HOUSE OR A CABIN, OR EXERCISING YOUR TENACITY IN MANAGING HIS CARE THE LAST YEAR, YOU WERE ALWAYS THERE FOR HIM. AS WERE BOB'S DAUGHTERS, ALSO A SOURCE OF GREAT PRIDE. HE NEVER CEASED TO BRAGG ABOUT THE CHARACTER ANDREA DISPLAYED IN INSISTING ON WORKING HER OWN WAY THROUGH COLLEGE, EVEN THOUGH BOB AND SHIRLEY WERE WILLING AND ABLE TO FUND HER EDUCATION. AND HE WAS TRULY GRATEFUL FOR TANYA'S SKILL AND COMMITMENT TO TRAVEL FROM ARIZONA TO HELP THE FAMILY CARE FOR HIM THE PAST SIX WEEKS. AS ALL OF YOU KNOW, BOB WAS INDEED A 'RENAISSANCE' MAN, WOODWORKING WAS A SKILL THAT HE MASTERED ALONG WITH GOURMET COOKING, CAKE DECORATING, RUG HOOKING, AND FLY FISHING, HE WAS GENUINELY INTERESTED IN EVERYTHING! BUT HIS INABILITY TO SPEND TIME IN HIS WOODWORKING SHOP CAUSED HIM GREAT FRUSTRATION THESE PAST FEW MONTHS. STILL, THERE WAS ONE WOODWORKING GOAL THAT HE NEVER LOST SIGHT OF, AND THAT WAS TO COMPLETE A HANDMADE WOODEN TRUCK FOR EACH OF HIS GRANDSONS, BRUCE, CHARLIE, AND ELIJAH. TYPICAL OF BOB TO SET THIS GOAL AND MAKE HIMSELF ACCOUNTABLE, IN THE FACE OF SUCH ILLNESS, BUT IN THE LAST THREE YEARS, HIS GRANDCHILDREN WERE DEFINITELY THE APPLE OF HIS EYE! AND, AS YOU MIGHT EXPECT, HE REACHED THIS GOAL, THANKS TO THE HELP OF HIS FRIEND, RICK WHITE. IT'S NOT ALWAYS EASY TO SUM UP A MAN'S LIFE, OR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS, IN TEN OR FIFTEEN MINUTES. BUT IN THE CASE OF ROBERT ANDERSON A EULOGY IS EASY BECAUSE HE HAD THE CHARACTER, AND THE INTEGRITY, THAT WE WOULD ALL LIKE TO HAVE. AND THOSE AREN'T JUST WORDS. HE PROVED THAT HE HAD THESE TRAITS AT A YOUNG AGE WITH HIS DEEDS IN COMBAT, AND WITH HIS COMMITMENT TO SETTING THINGS RIGHT. LATER IN LIFE HE PROVED HIS CHARACTER AND MADE HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIETY BY SETTING AN EXAMPLE FOR PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT, AND BY MENTORING MANY PEOPLE IN WHAT IT MEANS TO BE PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS, AND BY SERVICE TO HIS NEIGHBORS. AND FINALLY, HE LIVED AN EXEMPLARY LIFE AS A LOVING HUSBAND, FATHER, AND GRANDFATHER. WE MISS HIM ALREADY, AND I, FOR ONE, BOB, WILL FOREVER REMAIN IN AWE OF YOU. THANK YOU (Delivered by Mike Murphy, USMA 70)

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