Ralph Robert Wensinger

West Point, 1959

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Glenn Hall on May 10, 2002:

I was fortunate enough to be Ralph's company mate in H-1 for four years. I remember Ralph as friendly, somewhat quiet, and very self-confident in a low-key, unassuming way. As a plebe I remember that he was extremely mature, poised, and unflappable, quite a tribute considering what plebes went through back then. It's impossible to think of Ralph without remembering his athletic prowess and courage. He played plebe football, then varsity, and then, in 1957, quarterbacked the newly formed Army 150 lb. team to an undefeated season and league championship. In one plebe game I saw Ralph make one of the most devastating tackles I have ever seen, before or since. Ralph was playing on the kickoff team (for all I know, considering his talent he may have been the kicker). The opposing team's return man had eluded several tackles and had an excellent return in progress. He looked as though he might score until Ralph hit him at a dead run, absolutely straight head-on, chest high, at about midfield. Ralph was a bit woozy after the tackle, and came out of the game for a minute or two. As I recall, the other player was carried off the field and did not return. Ralph had unbelievable arm strength for someone his size, which was around 5 feet 10 inches and 175 pounds. We played on H-l's intramural water polo team together one year during one of the rare seasons when Ralph wasn't playing varsity sports, and I remember his throwing a "frozen rope" for a goal from about ten feet in front of our own goal--almost the entire length of the pool. Since you're treading water when you throw the ball, and obviously you can't plant your feet, a water polo throw depends on pure arm strength. The other team had at least two guys guarding Ralph, or trying to, after that throw. I witnessed another example of Ralph's enormous arm strength one year during the Physical Aptitude Test or PAT (the one that emphasized raw strength and athletic ability over conditioning). The PAT included such events as the vertical jump, standing broad jump, and kneeling basketball throw. For the basketball throw the P.E. department had marked lines at one-foot intervals on the gym floor to measure how far the cadet threw the ball. Ralph's first throw landed about thirty feet beyond the line that indicated a "max" or 100 points, for the event. The P.E. instructor said something like "Wow! Great throw, Mr. Wensinger." Ralph was an all-around fine cadet and a great friend and classmate. We miss him.

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