Theodore Scott Westhusing

West Point, 1983

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Mike Lerario on June 17, 2005:

Ted Westhusing was my dear friend. I've known him since the summer of 1980 and served with him in Italy, Fort Bragg and here at West Point. That doesn't make me best qualified to speak about Ted, in fact I am probably not worthy, but I am honored to tell you things I remember and know about this incredible man. Beyond the obvious, my greatest regret is that we are eulogizing him today, not at a point in time some forty or fifty years from now. We all know that Ted was an English professor here at West Point. Although Philosophy and the Ancient Greeks were his forte, he no doubt studied Shakespeare. I'm sure that as a soldier, the following excerpt rang true in his ears and resounded deeply in his heart: Henry V, Act IV, Scene III- "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother..." As best I can tell, Shakespeare never spent a day in uniform, but he captured the essence of being a soldier with those few lines. Ted spent his entire adult life in uniform, and he was a great student and practitioner of the Warrior Ethos. He served for god and country, but he lived everyday of his life true to this brotherhood. Ted Westhusing was my brother. I can say that with great pride, but not with any great distinction because there are so many who call him brother. And what an impressive brotherhood; you can see in the group that came to pay last respects doctors, lawyers, captains of industry, educators and soldiers. If you could look across the Long Grey Line and the Army at large, countless scores of men and women you will find, all proud to call Ted Westhusing their brother. Like a magnet is to iron fillings or a lamp at night is to moths, Ted attracted all who surrounded him with his personality and light. And for good reason; he was a man a great intellect. He delighted in teaching and often made his point by playing "Devil's advocate" taking a contrary position just to force you to defend your own ideas and beliefs. But in the end he'd almost always be right, but right or wrong, he'd laugh, actually a chuckle, happy in the discourse and learning that had taken place. But he was a great soldier too. So much more than just proficient as an Infantryman and as staff officer, Ted was at his best and most impressive when he was leading soldiers. The Expert Infantryman's badge is probably the toughest skill badge to earn in the Army, but when he was a company commander, his company had the highest percentage in the Army of eligible candidates to test for and earn the EIB in 1988-1989. That's a fact and it was based in part on the skills of his men and his NCO's, but it was Ted's leadership that made it all come together. One day while doing unit PT, Ted decided that he needed to turn it up a bit and led his entire company up and over a building in the brigade area. That building turned out to be the Division Education Center and pictures were falling off the walls as Ted and his men ran over the roof. The Ed Center folks went nuts, and Ted apologized for messing up the testing that was going on, but I guarantee that his men never forgot that run or the fact that their commander always pushed them, but he did it from the front. That wasn't the last time that Ted shook up an Educational environment. He was an iconoclast - that's a word he taught me - and followed his own path. Yes Ted was a professor of English here, but that wasn't his first choice. Graduating third in our class he probably could have gone to any department to teach, but he was first in our class in Physics and that's where he initially wanted to teach. But, Ted was as personable as he was professional and while he was a company commander, he hand wrote a letter to the Physics Department saying that he would like to become a member of their faculty. The reply he got back from the deputy head or XO of the Department, (I'm not sure which it was, I've just always referred to that guy as "some idiot") said: "I think you are asking to join our department, but I couldn't really tell because your chicken-scratch handwriting is so poor. Next time you write, have the professional courtesy to type the letter." Now, at the same time, COL Peter Stromberg was also working to get Ted to the English Department and did so in such a manner, and such a tone of voice as to inspire Ted. When the Physics Department found out that Ted was going to the English Department, they quickly called Ted up and asked what was wrong; was it something they said? When Ted told me that story, me being somewhat less than the consummate professional that Ted was, I told him he didn't have a hair on his butt if he didn't let that idiot in the Physics department know he was going to the English Department on the recommendation to improve his penmanship. Wisely Ted didn't take my advice, but graciously explained that his interests had changed and politely thanked them for asking. I don't know where Ted ranked in our class in English, but I can tell you that watching him teach Philosophy when I was a Tactical Officer at USMA, you might think he was first in our class there too. Something else you might not have known about Ted is that he was a professor of Leadership. I'm not trying to say that Ted worked in BS&L, but that he understood that teaching and study leadership didn't just happen with an open text in the classroom, but it goes on everyday in the real world with an open mind and in Ted's case a huge love for soldiers and soldiering. He knew well the first rule of leadership is to lead by example. He couldn't wear his uniform and his cross rifles without feeling compelled to serve and to set and example, so he left academia behind to serve in Iraq. Discussions of Geo-politics, strategy and tactics aside, he no doubt had in mind to help fight the war on terror and build a safe and better Iraq, but really he went because he felt it was his duty to serve and to lead by example. It was an example for those who serve at West Point and wear the Green Uniform, but it was also an example for those who serve at the Military Academy and wear the Gray Uniform. It was his quest for knowledge and understanding combined with his sense of duty and his desire to set an example and it led him to Iraq. I know first hand some of the impact Ted was having in Iraq. He had vast responsibility to help build the Special Operations and Counter-Terrorist units within the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior, and some of those units worked closely with U.S. Special Operations units. So every day, and every night, evil men were brought to justice and Iraqis were working to make Iraq a better place and Ted Westhusing was there helping to make all that happen. But it wasn't about glory or fame or nation building, it was all about setting an example and being able to talk intelligently about what it was like--should any one ask. You see, Ted was a Mentor in the truest sense of the word. He knew that you cannot decide or choose to be a mentor; mentorship is a mantle conferred on the mentor by the mentoree. Ted knew that you can only decide to lead by example and maybe, just maybe, those who see will choose to follow and to learn. I've been a Catholic all my life and as a general rule, Catholics don't normally quote scripture but there is one passage that the Special Operations community has taken on as an unofficial motto and I think it applies to Ted as well. Isaiah, 6:8 "And the Lord said, whom shall I send, and who shall go for us? Then said I, here I am, send me." Ted was a Catholic and a Christian and he no doubt had heard that passage before; no doubt too, he heard that calling. Before he left for Iraq, Ted spent a few days with us in Fayetteville so we could read him on to some classified programs at JSOC and so that he could get a direct flight to Iraq. One night after dinner we went to Barnes and Noble. We all were very interested in Ted's projects with the Trojan War and the Discovery Channel documentary and he recommended we read the Iliad and the Odyssey, and he picked out what he thought were the best translations. Knowing that I fancy myself a student of leadership, he said that I should pay special attention to Book 9 of the Iliad, a discourse on leadership by Achilles. Ted said that chapter was the subject of much debate and he would like to know my thoughts on it. Although I'm sure he had a pretty good idea of what was going on in Book 9, the fact that he wanted my opinion meant a lot. We never got to have that discussion, but I look forward to someday discussing it with friends, my sons and Ted's children and remember that Ted was a heroic figure, and a great leader. Life is full of mysteries. Each day we are confounded with new ones and today is no different, but this much I know to be true beyond any doubt. You could search you entire life and never find a more dedicated, selfless and loving husband, father, friend and soldier than Ted Westhusing. We will all miss him, but we will never forget him. Mike Lerario---15 June 2005

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