Ralph Robert Wensinger

West Point, 1959

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Rosalyn Wensinger Sands on January 26, 2002:

REMEMBRANCES ABOUT MY BIG BROTHER, RALPH WENSINGER I remember our trip across country in June of 1959 to attend Ralph's graduation from West Point. Pop, Mom and I left San Mateo in our 1952 metallic blue 4-door Plymouth and headed East. I was fourteen years old. This would be my first time to see West Point, and I was so excited about the whole idea. As we made our way across country, we stopped in Ashland, Ohio, to pick up Grandmother Wensinger and then on to Cleveland to pick up Grandmother Reynolds. My older sister, Marilyn, was not able to go with us as she was going to have a baby -- my niece, Karen, was born on June 16, 1959. Ralph made arrangements for all of us to stay at a guest house located somewhere along Storm King Highway on the beautiful Hudson River. Ralph was so happy to see us all there and gave us the royal treatment and grand tours of everything. He looked so handsome to me in his uniform, and he always walked ramrod straight. I remember being in the bleachers looking for him in Company H-1 as the cadets passed in review marching to the military band music. I will never forget the feeling that welled up inside me with tears in my eyes on that day. To this day, I still get that same reaction whenever I have the chance to see members of our Armed Forces marching in review to a military band, hear the Star Spangled Banner or God Bless America, see our flag being raised, or hear taps. Ralph had lots of mementos and many personalized presents for us all during our visit to West Point. I still have the necklace with the pendant being a gold football with the letter "A" enameled on one side and 1959 engraved on it. Ralph gave me his West Point hats too. I have the gold pins that he gave my Mother on that day. Ralph's present to himself was a gold and stainless Rolex watch. He surprised my father with an identical Rolex watch. I have both of their watches now. I have Ralph's West Point Ring too. It is a big ring with a one-carat diamond set in a gold bezel surrounded by black onyx. Little did I know then that I would be the future custodian of these wonderful gifts and the last family member to hold these special memories. One thing that Ralph did not buy himself was a new car. I will never forget the graduates taking receipt of their new cars. It seemed as if most of the new cars were the big, long, sleek Pontiac Bonnevilles -- the most beautiful cars I had ever seen, especially the convertibles. Of course, with my being a teenager, I always thought our old 1952 humpy-backed blue Plymouth was the ugliest car on the road, and the new sleek models confirmed that. Later that Summer, Ralph bought his first car, a rather distinctive car. It was an old one, but it was functional, and he liked it. I remember it being a bright metallic green slant-backed Plymouth about 5-years old. Because of its green iridescent color, it reminded me of an insect -- a Japanese Beetle. Ralph didn't care if everyone else thought it was less than desirable -- it got him to where he was traveling. I remember Ralph presented all of us ladies with corsages for the graduation ball. Mom and the Grandmothers were all dressed in their finest. I was just metamorphosing from tomboy to debutante, so I was all enthralled with my new pink party dress and white high heels. I remember how Ralph danced continuously with us all during the evening, making sure we all had equal time on the dance floor. He made everyone feel special. We all loved him so much. During the graduation ball when Ralph and I danced, I didn't stand on his feet this time. Years before, Ralph and I would dance in our living room. He wanted to practice the steps to the ballroom dancing that he just learned, and also he wanted me to learn how to dance. I would stand on his feet, and we would waltz around the living room to the music of the 78 record playing on the big Philco radio/record player console. Then Ralph would ask me to show him how to do the new rock and roll dance called the Bop. Mom and Pop wouldn't allow rock and roll music to be played in the house. They thought it was a bad influence. So I would show Ralph the Bop with my legs shuffling and crossing, and arms and elbows in rhythm with my feet all the while singing, "Rock, rock, rock around the clock." We looked pretty silly, and I could tell that Ralph thought waltzing was a lot more dignified. One thing happened just before Ralph's graduation. He abruptly broke off his planned engagement and marriage to his girlfriend named Mary. I don't remember her last name. Mary was from Minot, North Dakota, and attended Lady Cliff, a private college near West Point. Later in my adult life, Ralph told me about Mary and the reasons why he changed his mind about marrying her. That is another chapter to be told later. The diamond that Ralph placed in his West Point ring was intended to be Mary's engagement diamond. After graduation, Ralph traveled back to California with Mom, Pop and me. We dropped off the grandmothers at their homes in Cleveland and Ashland, and then the three of us decided to travel back to the West Coast across the southern part of the Canadian Provinces. Of all our family vacations traveling around North America, we had not been through this part of Canada before. Ralph was quite fit and physically active, so sitting in the car for sixteen hours a day made him restless. My father believed in covering a lot of ground each day -- only stopping during the day for educational sightseeing or finally at night for sleeping. Each time we stopped for any reason -- meals or pit stops -- Ralph would make me jog up and down the road with him, do jumping jacks, or he would chase me around the car. During this time, Ralph decided to make me his "project." I was a captive with no place to hide from what I thought was his grueling regimen. When we reached the West Coast, Ralph wanted Mom to join us in more of the physical activities, even though she initially protested. We were sightseeing around Crater Lake, and Ralph and Pop talked Mom into hiking from the parking area down to the lake with us. The hike down was a breeze with lots of skipping and whistling, the weather was so pleasant and cool and in no time we reached the lake. We didn't realize how far we had gone until Mom and I looked back up at the trail with dread. The altitude was high, the incline was a killer, and Mom and I were turning into crabby, wheezing, sweating complainers with just the few first steps on our ascent. With Mom and my having to stop every few steps to catch our breath, it would take us hours to reach the top. Ralph realized this hike was a lot harder on Mom than he had anticipated. To keep Pop from becoming disgusted at Mom, and me, for being such mamby-pambies, Ralph got behind Mom and literally pushed her all the way up the steep trail, for which she was grateful. Ralph always had a special love for Mom, and he was always very caring and deferential towards her. He always did nice things to make her happy.

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