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<em>Graduation Day 1934 was a beautiful spring day. The bright green grass on the Plain and the springtime colors up the Hudson provided an appropriate backdrop for the auspicious occa­sion. I was graduating from the United States Military Academy! Never mind that I was pre­ceded by James O’Hara and followed by “B.J.” Richardson, and that the four of us, including Joe Barton, brought up the end of the line. Our diplomas had the same words and the same sig­natures as all those guys who preceded us. Tom Hayes and I and our dates celebrated graduation night at the Waldorf Astoria to the music of Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians—RNT</em></p>
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After graduating from West Point, <em>Robert Nabors Tyson </em>returned to his home state of Alabama before leaving for a trip through Europe, where he had the fateful experi­ence of seeing Hitler speak in the Tiergarten in Berlin.</p>
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That fall, Robert reported to flight school in the Army Air Corps. Eight months later, however, he transferred to the Field Artillery and was assigned to the 12th Field Artillery Regiment at Ft. Sam Houston, TX, the last of the horse-drawn regiments. There, he par­ticipated in horse shows and played polo quite often. He even learned to lay a battery with an aiming circle. Afterwards, he attended the ba­sic course at Ft. Sill, OK, before being assigned to the 5th Field Artillery at Madison Barracks, NY, the medium artillery of the 1st Infantry Division, the “Big Red One.” Soon, war clouds were brewing and the division began to move, training throughout the States (includ­ing the Louisiana maneuvers) before boarding the <em>Queen Mary</em> to cross to Tidworth Barracks near Salisbury, England. There, JU-88s flew over nightly on their raids over England. The London hotel where Robert stayed shook as the bombs fell, and the siege was a rude awak­ening for a peacetime soldier.</p>
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Three months later, the division sailed for North Africa. They landed on the northwest­ern shore of Algiers, 20 miles east of Oran, where Robert saw his first American casualty. After the division captured Oran, the 5th Field Artillery Battalion was detached from the di­vision and marched 1,800 miles to join (tem­porarily) the British 78th Infantry Division, which was fighting in a village on the outskirts of Tunis. Six months later, after severe fight­ing, many mistakes, and a few victories, the division considered themselves “bloodied.” However, for Robert, combat began in ear­nest and ended thirty-eight months later in Germany, after the division had crossed the beaches at Gela in Sicily and Omaha in France and fought across the continent of Europe. Robert was then transferred to the Twelfth Army Group, and after the surrender, to the Theater General Board. He sailed home to Camp Kilmer, NJ, on the <em>Fredrick Victory.</em></p>
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Robert vividly remembered the shock of seeing casualties, the heavy bombing and shelling, the fear and hopelessness on prison­ers’ faces, the controlled fear shown among the soldiers, the tremendous joy of the liberated people, and the great sense of being a part of the most powerful military force in our his­tory. During the war, Robert had occupied al­most every position in the battalion, from bat­tery commander to battalion commander.</p>
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Returning to the States, Robert was as­signed to the Field Artillery School, and a year later, he attended the Air War College at Maxwell Field, AL. After graduation, he served as an instructor at CGSC at Ft. Leavenworth, KS, a very rewarding experience for him.</p>
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After five years at Ft. Leavenworth, Robert was assigned to the European Command in Heidelberg. A year later, he was given com­mand of the 36th Field Artillery Group. From there, he was promoted to brigadier general and given command of the Second Armored Division Artillery in Baumholder, Germany, the second-largest training area in Germany. It was a fine command with excellent quarters. In fifteen minutes, by helicopter, he could ob­serve all the training on the reservation.</p>
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Robert then returned to the States, par­ticipating in the Atomic Division tests at Ft. Benning before moving to Ft. Bragg, NC, and the 82nd Airborne Division. Too soon, he was transferred to Korea, serving as the comptrol­ler of the Eighth Army. What a shock! As it turned out, the assignment proved to be very satisfying. Managing the large budget was an eye opener. Afterwards, he served in the Pentagon as assistant comptroller until retir­ing in 1964.</p>
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Robert then joined the Veterans Admin­istration and, after seven years, moved to the shores of the Rappahannock River. Working on the Administrators Advisory Council, he saw many of the VA hospitals and was im­pressed by the care given to the veterans.</p>
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Living on the Rappahannock River, Robert had sailed half the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in his twenty-year-old boat, which he had bought when she was three. He became part of the community, joined a number of clubs, served on the vestry and in other positions in his church, and presented speeches to various organizations. He played tennis twice a week, and he and his wife socialized often.</p>
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On 27 Dec 1938, Robert had married Lillian Nalle of Culpeper, VA, at the Ft. Myer Post Chapel. She was the best First Mate on the Chesapeake Bay and his best First Mate for the 66 years of their marriage. They pro­duced three children: Lucy, married to Richard Huffman; Robert, Jr., married to Wendy; and William, married to Mary. Robert took great pride in them, not only as their children but as outstanding citizens. Robert had seven grand­children: Robert Tyson III, Kristen Tyson, Christian Huffman, Charles Tyson, Brian Tyson, Stephen Tyson, and Olivia Pritchard. They were a source of much joy to Robert.</p>
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In February 2005, Robert passed away in his sleep at age 94. He was buried with full military honors at Christ Church in Irvington, VA.</p>
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<em>I was recently asked to present the commission to a young man who was being commissioned in the Army. He asked me what I thought about going into the Army. I told him of my wish at that moment: to be in his shoes, starting all over again—RNT</em></p>
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<em>Robert N. Tyson and his family</em></p>