Francis H. Lanahan

West Point, 1955

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Bill Harris on March 2, 2004:

Frank and I first became good friends at Sully's in Washington. We would go to church every Sunday morning together, attending 7:00 AM Mass at St. Thomas Apostle Church, across the street from what today is the Marriott Washington Hotel, but in 1950 was the Wardman Park Hotel. After church, we would stop for breakfast at the Toddle House on Connecticut Avenue, as we walked back to Sully's. Frank was an inspiration to all with whom he came in contact. He was a good student, but most important, he was a good friend, with a word of encouragement for anyone when one was necessary. We remained good friends after we both were admitted to West Point, though I didn't venture too often into his "Neck of the Woods," since not being a flanker (H-1), was an invitation to disaster visiting him. Obviously his visiting our barracks in South Area had the similar effect. It was both a surprise, and a bitter disappointment, when I learned he had cancer, and then in the summer of our Cow year, to learn he had passed away from cancer. He was a great friend whom, in spite of the almost fifty years since his death, I have never forgotten. The long talks, as we made the long walk back from Church, were a source of pleasure as we talked about the news, sports, and our future at West Point and beyond. "Rest In Peace, old friend, until we meet again."

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