Posted by Bob Frank on March 21, 2026:

I barely knew Bob as a cadet although he had already had a significant impact on my life. Bob was part of the administrative apparatus that made SCUSA (Student Conference on US Affairs) work. His Firstie (senior) Year, he headed the SCUSA team. This conference afforded me my Cow and Firstie Years the chance to participate in deliberations and discussions of world affairs with students from other institutions of higher learning, as well as with experts in their fields. I continued this effort by also participating in NAFAC, the Naval Academy's similar forum. These two fora started me on the academic track that I pursued several years later. Where I really got to know Bob was five years after graduation. We both showed up at UCLA to study European History on our way to West Point to teach in the new Department of History. For the next ten years, Bob and I were assigned to the same organizations doing the same jobs. That has got to be a record in the Army. With that came the opportunity to get to know Bob and his family really well. I got to witness a man who had a strong drive for academic excellence and also a superb military officer. His performance in the classroom both as a student and as a teacher was simply superlative. After two assignments in Europe, Bob was selected to return to the Department of History as the head of the European Division. His superb sense of organization as well as his mastery of teaching European history soon brought additional responsibility. Having proved himself on the administrative side, Bob was soon elevated to Deputy Head of the Department. With the selection of Department Head to become the Dean of the Academic Board, Bob was advanced to become the third Head of the Department - one of the youngest heads. During his long tenure, he molded the Department into one of the strongest parts of the cadet academic experience. Simultaneously, the Department developed strong ties to the Army beyond West Point. Bob's advice was eagerly sought by senior leaders on questions of import. Similarly, Bob's careful selection of young officers to join the Department resulted in their being called upon for similar support and advice. In short, Bob put the Department on the map. As Dave Hurley has pointed out in his remembrance, Bob was also a direct influence on numerous cadets, both his students and those with a different connection. It is somewhat daunting for a cadet to have close contact with a senior Colonel, but one of Bob's strong desires was to make himself available. As such, he wound up mentoring many, whether it be in academics, deer hunting, fishing or something else. Such outreach was not common when Bob was a cadet, and he never forgot it. There is so much else to say about Bob, but I need not go on. The only thing I must say is that Bob was one of my closest friends, in or out of the Army. I miss him deeply.

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