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<p><em>Alan Scott Black</em> was born on September 17, 1956 in Columbus, GA and was the son of Clifford P. Black Sr. and Catherine Friedwagner Black. He had two brothers, Clifford and Kenneth, and two sisters, Renate and Susan. In some ways, Alan was destined to attend West Point. His father was a career soldier, having fought in both World War II and Korea. Alan grew up in Columbus, next to Fort Benning, GA. His older brother, Clifford, attended West Point, as did some of his closest family friends. </p>
<p>Young Alan was known to be a “handful.” His sister Susan recalled an illustrative family story. They were all on a troop ship headed to a new assignment in Germany. Their father was the company first sergeant. While their dad was talking with the company commander, the captain said, “Oh what a cute little boy!” He picked up Alan, and, in no time, Alan had managed to remove all his insignia from his uniform. The captain handed the boy back to his father and said: “Here, you take care of the baby, and I’ll take care of the unit.”</p>
<p>Alan attended Columbus High School and was very active in several school extra-curricular programs, including being the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. As editor, he researched the school’s commitment to raising funds for a charity that he proved was not worthy. He ran the article against the advice of the school administration and was marked as a rebel by the principal for the rest of his time at the school. The newspaper won several awards at the state level under his leadership. Alan always stood his ground on issues that were important to him. </p>
<p>He was also a member of Quill and Scroll, the National Honor Society, DeMolay International, Key Club International and the Boy Scouts. He graduated with honors from high school in 1974. </p>
<p>On July 8, 1974, Alan joined the Class of 1978, “Proud and Great.” He followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Clifford, who had graduated in 1972. For his plebe and yearling years, Alan was a member of Company C-2. He was always known for his wry smile and made his academic studies seem easy. He gave the appearance of a casual dedication to scholarly excellence, but this was mere camouflage for his academic success. His intelligence always shined through, especially when he helped others through the academic obstacle course (calculus and English were his specialties). As an underclassman, he was a master of playing mind games with the plebes. </p>
<p>After the class shuffle, Alan joined Company G-4 in the fall of 1976. Alan was anything but idle while at USMA. He was an active participant all four years on the Ring and Crest Committee and helped design his class’s ring. Alan was a member of several school clubs, including the Outdoor Sportsman Club, Ski Club, SCUBA Diving Club, Sailing Club, Astronomy Club and Marathon Club. He ran in the New York City Marathon in his senior year. He helped to recruit students to USMA as a participant in the Cadet Public Relations Council. Never one to strictly follow the USCC rules, Alan was also a proud member of the Area’s Century Man Club. He graduated on June 6, 1978 as an infantry officer. </p>
<p>After graduation, and always choosing the most challenging path forward, he completed Airborne, Ranger, and Air Assault schools. His first assignment was as an infantry officer in Hawaii. This cadre of young officers maintained a lifelong affiliation with annual reunions. He was also selected to serve as an exchange officer with the New Zealand army. </p>
<p>Alan resigned his Regular Army commission in 1983 to attend medical school at the University of Virginia. After graduation in 1987, Alan did his internship and residency training in anesthesia at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He was then assigned to Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center as a staff anesthesiologist. In March 1990, Alan married Susan Bailey, a cardio-thoracic ICU nurse, who he had met while they were attending UVA. After leaving the Army, the couple enjoyed many years of private practice. While in Augusta, GA, Alan took a sabbatical from his practice to hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. When he reached Bear Mountain in New York, Al decided to go to West Point. At the gate, the MP looked at Al, who was fresh off the trail, sporting a scraggly beard, and asked him for some identification. Al showed him his West Point ring and, after hearing his story, let him pass. </p>
<p>After many wonderful years in Augusta, the couple decided to move to North Carolina to be closer to Susan’s family. Unfortunately, Susan passed away shortly after the move, on September 23, 2012. Alan never truly recovered from this loss, and he decided to take some time away to process it all. At this later point in his life, he decided to work as a traveling anesthesiologist. This allowed him to enjoy longer periods off, traveling in France and connecting with friends. He was working in Rome, GA when he died. Alan is buried beside his wife, Susan, in the Historic Matthews Cemetery in North Carolina. </p>
<p><em>— Howard Lazarus, Classmate, and Clifford Black, Brother</em></p>
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