Roy J. Herte

West Point, 1951

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by John H. Craigie on November 7, 2005:

On Sunday, 6 November, I drove down to Carmel to participate in funeral services for classmate, teammate, and lifelong friend, Roy Herte, Jr., I arrived at the Del Mesa Carmel Club House an hour or so early. Roy?s older daughter, Kelly Ann, greeted me, and took me over to the Herte house, where Mary Ann and I visited for a while, and I met their second daughter, Diana, son Jake, and most of the extended family. The get-together at the club went from 1330 to 1600. Mary Ann, Kelly, and Jake all noted that the whole affair was definitely against Roy?s wishes. He had stated in no uncertain terms that he wanted his ashes scattered quietly with no fuss or ceremony. The Herte family, however, made it clear that, with no disrespect for Roy, the services were for them, to help them deal with their loss. Coincidentally, I had come to a similar conclusion (I had heard Roy?s Neptune Society speech) and my remarks reflected that tension. After a very nice buffet lunch, Jake called us all together and began the ceremony with a beautiful 15-minute video set to appropriate music, including of course, ?Army Blue.? If you didn't shed or hold back an occasional tear, you didn't belong in the room. (Needless to say, we got a good look at Sully Johnson and some other homely K-2 faces!) Jake then read a very thoughtful letter from Peter and Marie Foss, and followed that with some humorous family vignettes. I was pleased but not all that surprised to read some very loving poems that Roy had written to and for his family. Four of his poems were on the back of four family picture cards that I will send back to the DC 51 contingent. Jake then introduced me as the Class of 1951 representative. My remarks are attached. Next, Jake invited various members of the group, mostly friends of the family, but also coworkers from the City of Salinas, who each had a message on what Roy meant to them. Kelly Ann concluded the individual talks with some very moving family stories. Jake then thanked us all for coming. It was a pleasure and an honor, Gentlemen, to be there for ?51. =========== Attachment 1 Services for Roy Herte Carmel, CA, Sunday 6 November 2005 Remarks by Jack Craigie, a West Point classmate and teammate. From Phyllis Muerer, quoted in the Monterey Herald article three weeks ago: ?He was an absolute pleasure to work with. He wasn't flashy, he was 100% straightforward in how he handled things. I feel comfortable speaking for the public when I say that he would never do something that wasn't in the best interest of the city.? The time, the place, and the milieu were very different, but the man I first knew at West Point more than 55 years ago was very much the same. Many people look at pictures of West Pointers on parade and think they are all a bunch of automatons, all alike. Nothing could be further from the truth. On our plebe (freshmen) swim team there were three guys as different as they could be. Two of them studied very hard, and one of them hardly studied. Buzz Aldrin worked hard because that was his nature. At the end of our first year, in our class of about 500, he stood # 1 over all, # 1 in math, # 1 in Phys Ed and # 1 in aptitude for military service. Back in 1948, long before the rest of the world learned about him, the saying in our class was that if you weren't just a little jealous of Buzz Aldrin, you weren't paying attention. Depending on how hard I was working at the time, I stood about a fourth to a third of the way down from the top of the class. I knew I could never excel like Buzz; but I also knew they were never going to flunk me in anything. So I pretty much coasted through, disgusting my father, who said, ?Jack, you are dead to ambition and immune to fear.? Roy was neither. He had to work hard just to pass; but Roy did not resent the fact that it was tougher for him than for others. He didn't let it get him down, nor did that fact define his life. He knew who he was, where he was, and why he was there. He was an unusual mix of mirth and earth. He was fun to be around, and his gallows humor was matchless. On the other hand, that humor was only humor; it did not mask a cynic. He was very serious about following in his father's path, serving his country and his society. Roy did it with style and grace, persistence and perspective. As noted in our yearbook: ?Roy taught us that there was something more to life than books ?.? [1951 Howitzer] I remember having a drink at a Washington, DC officers club with Roy after the Korean War. When I complemented him on his Silver Star and Purple Heart, he would have none of it. Although he was happy to serve his country in a hot part of the Cold War, he did not suffer fools lightly. The man who planned that mission, Roy told me, was just that. Roy objected to the needless danger to which his men were subjected on what was, as I recall, a night reconnaissance patrol. I do not recall the specifics, but something about the situation made it more of a fool's errand than a useful sortie. He was not thinking of his own safety, but that of those for whom he took a personal responsibility. Roy always did his duty, with honor, for his country. So, how did Roy?s passing hit me? You may recognize the words of W.H. Auden: ?Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. ?Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead, Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves, Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves. ?. ?The stars are not wanted now: put out every one; Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun; Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood. For nothing now can ever come to any good.? Well, guess what? I can hear Roy now; shaking his head with a wry half smile, and sighing that sigh that expresses a combination of exasperation, patience, and affection: ?Now, Jack, you really overshot with that one! You know I never went in for all that sentimental mush. I had a great family, a great tour of duty, a great life. The son of a West Pointer, an Army brat, a West Pointer and Army officer myself, a second career working with wonderful folks here in California, I was always a part of something very good, something greater than myself -- greater than any one person. What could be better than that? So enough with that muffled drums malarkey.? Roy, I can't tell you how sorry I am that, this time, I get the last word. Mary Ann, ladies, and gentlemen, as we are gathered here to honor the man, I would note Roy?s lifelong embrace of things larger and more profound than the personal entitlement and self-centered ego that are so fashionable in society today. That selfless sense of self is what Duty, Honor, & Country are all about. That selfless sense of self is certainly what Roy Herte was all about. Thank you for letting me share today with you, both as the representative of the West Point Class of 1951, and as a lifelong close friend and admirer.

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