<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<div>Soldier, scholar, educator, and beloved friend of all who knew him. Such might be the epitaph of Herman Beukema, one of West Point’s most distinguished sons.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>At the time of his retirement as Professor and Head of the Academy’s Department of Social Sciences, a splendid biographical sketch of Herman was written by his close friend and successor, Col. George A. Lincoln, who has kindly given me permission to borrow from its contents without specific reference to the source in each instance.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Herman graduated high in one of West Point’s most renowned classes, of which he was an outstanding member. Within a year he returned to marry the gracious and charming Margaret (Peggy) Shaw, the daughter of Lt. Col. Henry A. Shaw, the USMA Chief Surgeon whom all who were there during his time remember so well. Then began the happy partnership that lasted for almost 45 years.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Herman’s career was divided into three distinct periods: Army officer, officer and educator, and civilian educator. After their marriage, the Beukemas spent two years on the Mexican border, and Captain (soon Major) Beukema then took a battalion to France, where he was wounded in action. His subsequent service, which included tours in Panama, at the Field Artillery School, and detail as a student at Leavenworth, were but the prelude to his major career as an educator. However, Herman always retained his love of the Artillery and looked back with pleasure on his years of service with the caissons and guns.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Herman came to the Academy in 1928 as an instructor, and within two years he was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Economics, Government and History, the name being later changed to Department of Social Sciences. At the time of Herman’s retirement, President Grayson Kirk of Columbia University wrote as follows:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>“He has been more instrumental than any other man in his generation in pulling up Academy educational standards. He has understood that, in these days when Army men so frequently become policymakers on matters which go far beyond the military and technical fields, they must be well and deeply educated or the entire Nation may suffer.”</div>
<div> </div>
<div>During Herman’s years as the Department Head, the important advances in the social sciences taught at West Point were many. As the allotment of time was increased, he added to the basic subjects of history, economics, and government subcourses in geography, economics of national security, and international relations. Known widely as a geo-politician, although he did not favor the term, he integrated the study of geography, international relations, and the economics of national security. His goal was always to open and broaden the minds of the cadets and to stimulate their thinking. In the years after graduation the thousands of officers instructed in his department realized the debt of gratitude they owed him. This has been well expressed by General Lauris Norstad, the first of Herman’s students to achieve four-star rank:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>“His contribution to the US war effort deserves the label ‘great’. He did not command armies or operate great logistics organizations. His success was due to the influence that he exerted on the lives of his associates and his standards of a lifetime in the Service. He opened up new fields of interest to many of us and instilled in us a curiosity in things other than technical military matters. Most of us contributed only ourselves and our own efforts; General Beukema contributed scores of officers whom he inspired.”</div>
<div> </div>
<div>One of Herman’s major contributions to the Academy was his own writings, and, perhaps equally, his encouragement of his Department personnel to write. Recently, for example, the Department was using as texts five books written by him and other Department officers. The text (commercially published in 1946) on contemporary foreign governments was the first in the field. All texts were prepared because of local need, but all were also in demand in civilian institutions or, as is true of the insurance and personal finance books, in the Service at large. In addition, Herman was co-author of six books prepared in collaboration with civilian educators.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Many years before the Military Academy adopted the goal of having its instructors educated in graduate schools prior to assuming their tasks, Herman was pressing for such a policy in his Department. At the time of his retirement, every member of his Department had at least a Master’s degree from a leading university. This achievement, among many other gains, contributed to cross-fertilization with civilian higher education.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>As the years went by, Herman’s reputation as an educator continued to grow, and he was kept busy showing the work of his department to visitors from near and far. He was in such demand by foundations and other organizations, and by colleges and universities, that Peggy must have wondered at times when he was going to “stay home.” He seemed to attract tough jobs. If a critical situation arose, he seemed to be the one who was tabbed. At one time the very existence of the Service academies appeared to be in jeopardy, a high-powered board of educators having been appointed by the President to make a thorough investigation. It was to Herman that the Superintendent turned to prepare an exhaustive report, with numerous supporting documents, that would show what had been and was being accomplished by the Military Academy. This monumental job was completed by Herman and the assistants he chose in a remarkably short time. The; result was that the Service Academy Board, instead of taking any adverse action with regard to West Point and Annapolis, recommended that an additional academy (the Air Force Academy) be founded.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I shall make reference to only one more of the many difficult jobs assigned Herman while he was on the faculty at West Point. During World War II he was detached from the Academy and placed in charge of the Army Specialized Training Program, or the ASTP, as it was called. A lesser man would have thrown up his hands when told that, starting from scratch, he was to select, screen, prepare curricula for, and place in training in 200 colleges and universities some 200,000 young men—all this in an incredibly short time. That was the mission they assigned him, and that was what he did, in spite of the active opposition of powerful persons hostile to the entire program. By his handling of this almost impossible task, he won the respect of the entire college world. Washington and Jefferson College conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Science, and honorary Doctor of Laws degrees were bestowed by Rutgers and Norwich Universities. The Army awarded its Distinguished Service Medal.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>For 16 years I was on the Academic Board with Herman, as well as on many other boards and committees. He always made a distinct contribution to the solution of any problem under consideration. He could take part in a discussion, no matter how controversial the subject without losing his temper. Never once did I see him make a personal attack on a colleague. Most of the time his views coincided with those of the majority, or he won a majority to his side; but if his was a minority opinion, he presented it vigorously and, if defeated, his head was unbowed. We loved him for his considerate attitude toward those who disagreed with him and admired him for his integrity of thought.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>A remarkable development at West Point that was initiated and fathered by Herman was the Debate Council and Forum and the annual Student Conference on US Affairs (SCUSA). The Academy debating teams ranged far and wide and acquired a national reputation. The outstanding colleges and universities in the country sent representatives to SCUSA and to the annual National Debate Tournament at West Point. Many famous educators and statesmen were brought to West Point as lecturers by Herman and the organizations he and his Department sponsored, something that had never before been done on such a scale.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The interest of the cadets in Rhodes Scholarships was stimulated by Herman and his Department associates. The success achieved by the Academy graduates in winning these coveted scholarships was due both to this stimulation and to the sound instruction the cadets received in political science.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Herman would be the first to point out that he could never have accomplished the things he did without the help of capable and loyal assistants. But it was he who selected and led his associates, most of whom had received their initial training under him. Some important projects thrive for a while but die when the man who originated them passes on. But such was not the case with Herman’s work. Those who followed him have built on the foundations he laid, and his work goes on, not only at West Point but at the Air Force Academy, whose present Superintendent, Dean of the Faculty, and Head of the Department of Political Science were all former members of Herman’s Department.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>It was always a pleasure to observe the respect and love that Herman’s staff had for him. When he retired from the Department, there was a gathering of the clan from far and near to do him honor.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>General Lemnitzer wrote Herman at the time of his retirement:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>“Personally, your retirement has special significance to me. Since World War II I have, as you know, been with you on many seminars and other similar meetings. I have never failed to note the deep respect and admiration accorded you by the other participants at those meetings. I have seldom seen a military officer held in higher esteem by outstanding members of the Government and of the academic and business world. In addition I have noted the constant development and modernization of the course at the United States Military Academy. I have always attributed, and I believe rightly so, much of the credit for this progress to your own personal efforts. Needless to say, I am very sorry to see you leave West Point, but you can certainly be proud of what you have accomplished during your professorship.”</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Colonel Lincoln has well summarized Herman’s contributions to the Academy:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>“West Point has had few names that live in the history of our country’s higher education. Herman Beukema’s name will so live. He followed the great men of West Point before him in their vision of building an Academy that would serve our constantly changing national security problems. He led the minds of men in a way that caused them to advance with and in front of him, the highest achievement of an educator and of leadership. The future will record that he built well for his country. To the Academy’s motto of ‘Duty, Honor, Country’, he has been faithful. He has fought uncompromisingly and with foresight to maintain it. He leaves a monument more durable than stone: the Department he has built and the thinking he has shaped in furthering our national security.”</div>
<div> </div>
<div>When he retired from the Army in the fall of 1954, Herman was advanced to the grade of brigadier general on the retired list, a fitting recognition of his long and distinguished service. He then began his career as a civilian educator, a career that was to last for more than six years. He accepted an appointment as Director of the European Division of the University of Maryland’s overseas program for the Armed Forces, with his headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany. In this program well-qualified teachers are sent from the Maryland or other university campuses to conduct classroom college courses for officers and enlisted men at education centers located on military bases. In addition, qualified part-time teachers are obtained in the theaters. The teachers are selected or approved by the University’s department heads, and the standards of instruction equal those of the best institutions of higher learning. The students may become candidates for Maryland degrees or may apply the credits earned toward degrees at other universities which they may later attend.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Herman’s energy, enthusiasm, and vision were applied to the development of this important education program in which he thoroughly believed and which presented unique difficulties. Starting with the modest program that he found in existence, he used his talents as an organizer and education administrator to expand the opportunities for learning at the college level until they reached far-flung bases in the many lands where US Armed Forces were stationed. At the time of his death, college courses were being conducted at more than 150 education centers in Germany, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Libya, Morocco, Turkey, and Ethiopia; truly an empire of learning. During the final academic year of Herman’s service to the University of Maryland, more than 17,000 part-time students enrolled in college courses at education centers in the countries named. In addition, more than 350 full-time students, sons and daughters of Armed Forces personnel, attended the junior college at Munich, Germany, a branch of the European Division. What was to be the last of the six commencement exercises conducted by Herman took place in May 1960, in the auditorium of the University of Heidelberg, in the presence of the Governor of Maryland, the President of the University of Maryland, the Dean of University College, and hundreds of guests that included the Commanding General, USAREUR, the Rector of Heidelberg University, and other high military and civilian officials. The 123 graduates who received the degree of Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts were addressed by Mr. Willy Brandt, Mayor of Berlin.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Herman became ill in the late summer of 1960, and on 26 November his heart failed him as he and Peggy were walking in a little park on the outskirts of Heidelberg, one of their favorite spots. A few days later he was buried at West Point, where so many years of his life had been spent. From points distant and near his friends and former colleagues came to pay their final tribute. Flying in from the Air Force Academy were its Superintendent and Dean; from the University of Maryland were its President, its Vice President for Academic affairs, and other University officials. From Washington came General of the Army Bradley; Lieutenant General Farrell; Major General Irving, a former Superintendent of the Academy; Brigadier General Boye, President of the Class of 1915; and many others.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Messages from far and wide came to Peggy, testifying to the love and respect that all felt for Herman. President Eisenhower cabled, "Mamie and I have just learned, with the deepest distress, of Herman’s death. He was a distinguished soldier and a warm human being whose friendship I valued highly. We shall miss him very much." The President of the University of Maryland wrote, “Few men have had such a rich life and accomplished so much...Before joining the University of Maryland, he could have justified complete retirement on the basis of noteworthy accomplishments over an extended period of time. But, fortunately, he (along with you) chose to carry on his great career; and the life of the University of Maryland and thousands of young men have been enriched by his impressive personality and unusual talents. We shall miss him, but the mark he made will last forever.”</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Warm messages of sympathy were also received from the Prorector of the University of Heidelberg, the Mayor of that city, former Governor McKeldin of Maryland, and many others.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Reference has been made to SCUSA, the annual Student Conference on US Affairs that is held at West Point. The report of the twelfth conference, held shortly after Herman’s death, records these remarks to the members by Dr. Joseph E. Johnson, President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>“I should like to say a word here tonight about a man who died in Germany last week. General Herman Beukema, former Professor of Social Sciences at West Point, was a man who did more for his country than most people in this country will ever know, in what he did at West Point at this Academy, where he was a Professor for 26 years, in the education of the Army officers and many of the Air Force officers of our country. He was a man to whom all of you here, even though many of you may never have heard of him, are deeply indebted. Without the kinds of things that General Beukema stood for, the kinds of ideas that he had, a conference like SCUSA at West Point would probably not have gotten going. He was a man who despised cant, who respected intellectual integrity, who sought out quality, who encouraged excellence, and who loved his country. Those of us who knew him will miss him very much indeed.”</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Mr. Dean Rusk, then President of the Rockefeller Foundation, spoke of Herman at the same meeting:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>“I am especially privileged, and I shall not say sadly because I do believe that he would have had it that way, to be at the United States Military Academy when you are preparing to pay your respects to that remarkable soldier and statesman, General Herman Beukema.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>“Those of you here at the Academy know, perhaps better than any of the rest of us, how much he contributed here, but some of us on the outside can testify to you how much he contributed to the university-world and to the world of public service far beyond the walls of this institution. If my remarks this evening are to have any merit that would be worthy of it, it would be a privilege for me to lay these with yours in tribute to that remarkable man.”</div>
<div> </div>
<div>But Herman would have appreciated most of all this letter to Peggy that was signed by each of the 42 American and German members of his Heidelberg staff:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>“For six years we were happy working with your husband, General Herman Beukema, our Director. We learned a great deal from him— much more than office procedure or the daily routine of contacting armies and universities.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>“Because he set an example of strength and humanity that we could only admire. Disagree though we might (and he encouraged us to) we could still appreciate the originality of his thinking and the honesty of his purpose. Tough, fair, eloquent on the one hand; he was also our friend.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>“And we loved the enthusiasm with which he embraced every problem that came his way. He negotiated with the NATO Supreme Commander or for the burial of a German carwasher in the same spirit of impartiality and dedication.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>"We feel better as individuals for having known him, and we wanted to tell you so.” In addition to Peggy, who will make her home at the Westchester, in Washington, Herman is survived by two daughters and 10 grandchildren. Margery, the older daughter, is the wife of Brig. Gen. C. F. Leonard; and Alice, the younger, the wife of Col. J. G. K. Miller. Their only son, Maj. Henry S. Beukema, was killed when his jet fighter plane crashed near Langley Air Force Base, Va., in 1954.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><em>—Thomas D. Stamps</em></div>
</body>
</html>