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View a eulogy for Kenneth Roland Ladensohn, USMA '45, who passed away on February 25, 2002.

Kenneth Roland Ladensohn

West Point, 1945

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Andrew Favret on July 3, 2005:

Some Memories of Kenny Ladensohn


I met Kenny Ladensohn at West Point in the summer of 1942. He was from Ponca City, Okla. and I was from Cincinnati, Ohio. We had both spent one year in college before coming to West Point. After " beast barracks" we were assigned to the same room in barracks along with two other Plebes, Joe Berg, from Indiana and Nile Soik, from Wisconsin. It was an arbitrary assignment. The entire first year at West Point is difficult-miserable at times-and you become very close to your roommates. Kenny and I resonated in a special way. When we had a little free time ?among other things-we liked to sit smoking our pipes and playing chess.

Kenny introduced me to wrestling. I believe he had had some experience in high school in Oklahoma .I had none except for growing up in a family with lots of brothers. There was an incentive here. If a Plebe was on an athletic team, he was permitted (during the season) to eat all meals at a special table-not required to sit "at attention" and be harassed by upperclassmen at every meal. Thanks to Kenny we both went out for, and made, the Plebe wrestling squad. Life was a little better then.

Another sport we both enjoyed was handball. They had good handball courts at West Point and, particularly in upper-class years, we enjoyed playing together. We were pretty evenly matched, but very competitive.

Our company, B-2, was notoriously tough on Plebes. During that first year we both got our share of Demerits. If one exceeded the monthly allowance of demerits, he would have to do punishment Tours ("walk the area"). This meant that you spent part of Saturday afternoon marching back and forth with a rifle on your shoulder along with perhaps dozens of other cadets. Although we both spent time on the area, Kenny was much better than I at keeping things neat and tidy and following all the rules. He didn?t spend quite as much time on the area as I did.

At the end of that first year we were moved to a different section of barracks and I believe we were allowed to indicate preferences for roommates. We were now going to a three person room (the 4 person room in Plebe year was very unusual) . Kenny and I ended up together along with Jim Tanner* from Ohio. The three of us were together for the next two years. One Protestant, one Catholic, and one Jew-a very ecumenical group.

We each had girlfriends from home that we wrote to regularly. Realize that there were no telephones in cadet rooms. There was only one phone out in the company office; but, it could only be used for emergencies. Letter-writing was our primary means of communication. Remember also that it was wartime and travel-particularly over long distances-was difficult and rare. Kenny and Jean Katz wrote regularly several times a week and, of course, each letter was eagerly anticipated.

I remember at least two occasions when the flow was interrupted. I don't know what caused the rift/misunderstanding; but there would be a period of perhaps a month or so of "hardness of heart", unhappiness, and despair. Somehow, eventually it all resolved and sunshine returned to the earth. At those times Kenny may have talked about dating someone else; but there never was anyone else. She was always his "O A O" (one and only). During the last six months the focus was on the big wedding on graduation day. It was the first Jewish wedding I had attended. I think I remember the custom of breaking wine glasses after a toast. There was a wonderful reception at a hotel room in Newburgh, New York. Many Ladensohn and Katz relatives were there.

After graduation leave and Branch School we were both assigned to the U.S. Army of Occupation in Germany. We ended up going overseas on the same ship along with other classmates and some German P O W's. Jean had to remain in the states for another year.

One sidelight. At graduation Kenny and I disagreed on when the war would finally end-so much so that we bet on it. (I don't think we ever bet on anything else.) I thought the war would be over by the end of 1945. (We had no knowledge of the development of the A-bomb). Kenny disagreed. The bet was a case of whisky! He paid off before we left for Europe and we enjoyed some of It on the ship.

Although we were stationed In different parts of Germany, we both ended up in the U.S. Constabulary. (We functioned something like a State Police force.) After Jean arrived I was able to visit them. First, it was near Schwabisch Hall, I believe. Then later I visited them near the Chiem See (east of Munich). What a beautiful spot!

After Germany we seldom saw each other; but we kept in touch. We resolved to write each other twice a year, Once around Christmas and again about the 4th of July. They were always hand written and several pages long. We kept up with job changes, family events , travel, etc. We did this faithfully until Dec. 2001, a few months before he died.

I believe Loretta and I visited Ken and Jean in Albuquerque (he was at AFSWP) and to we were at Fort Bliss, Texas. He occasionally came to Washington D.C. while we were living there and he would always insist on taking us to a very nice and restaurant. With many young children at home at the time, we really appreciated it.

Shortly before our 55th reunion at West Point(May 2000), Kenny called me and asked if I would be able to come up to West Point for a day during the reunion. I had not signed up, but was able to make arrangements at the last moment. We met at the hotel in New Jersey and rode up and back to West Point in a bus with classmates. It was the day of the alumni review. It was a wonderful opportunity for the two of us to talk together after many years-it was a special blessing.

Another fortunate occasion. In January 2002 I flew to San Antonio for an overnight visit. Kenny arranged for me to stay at his apartment building. Once again we had a wonderful visit, this time with Jean present also. He and his son, David, took me to the airport for a final farewell. It was less than a month before he died and we both knew it was imminent.

 
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