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MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly May '98
Milton Sherman - '46
No.15450 * 5 Aug 1922 - 7 Nov 1996
Died in Eugene, OR * Ashes scattered along Oregon coast. |
Milt was born in Clatskanie, Oregon. His family
moved to California when he was quite young and eventually settled
in the Los Angeles area. He graduated from George Washington
High School, Los Angeles, in 1939 with an outstanding scholastic
record. Milt entered UCLA after high school but quit after one
semester to join the Army Air Corps. He was trained as a radio
operator and cryptographer before being assigned to Accra, Gold
Coast (now Ghana). It was there that he won an Army competitive
appointment to West Point. He arrived at West Point before the
start of Beast Barracks and being the senior enlisted cadet to
be (tech sergeant) was in charge of marching all the future cadet
enlisted men from the barracks on Cavalry Plain to Central Area
to start Beast Barracks on 1 July 1943.
With his military experience and inherent scholastic
ability, cadet life was a breeze for Milt. He was an important
part of the cadet Radio Club during his time as a cadet. He loved
jazz music and went to New York City whenever possible to hear
Billy Holiday, Sarah Vaughn and others. He was selected to be
Company Commander, F-1 Company his first class year. Milt opted
for Air Cadet Training yearling year and graduated as a second
lieutenant in the Army Air Corps with his pilot wings.
After twin-engine transition training at Enid AAFB,
Oklahoma, Milt entered the Air Force Institute of Technology
at Wright Patterson AFB and graduated in August 1949. He then
gained a MS in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of
Michigan in February 1951. He was assigned to "Training
with Industry" at North American Aviation, Downey, California.
There he covered the North American and Northrop guided missile
programs. He also was a production test pilot for North American.
His next assignment was to Wright Patterson AFB as Project Engineer
for the Navaho strategic guided missile program. In 1956, Milt
resigned from the Air Force to try his hand at civilian life.
He went to work for North American Aviation as
a Project Engineer for the Navaho guidance system project office.
When the Navaho was canceled, Milt was appointed Director, Plans
and Programs . In May 1961, he was appointed Assistant Program
Manager for the APOLLO command and service modules. In 1968,
Milt transferred to the North American Aviation Divisions Office
as Director, Strategic Business Planning. A heart attack in 1970
caused Milt to leave North American which by then had become
Rockwell International.
He moved back to his home town of Claskanie, Oregon
and became City Administrator in 1971. He remained there until
1977. In 1981, he accepted a position as Deputy Centrifuge Machine
Manager, Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Program for the Department
of Energy in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He retired from the Department
of Energy in 1985 and moved to Eugene, Oregon.
Milt was married shortly after graduation in 1946
at West Point. That marriage ended in 1964. He remarried and
his second wife, Julie died in 1991 of cancer. Milt married Catherine
Beilock, whose husband had also recently died, in July 1991.
Milt and Cathy had decided to move to California
to be near friends. They had already picked out a home when his
doctors suggested that Milt have some arteries from his heart
cleaned out prior to undertaking the move. Milt underwent heart
by-pass surgery and died in ICU on 7 November 1996. He is survived
by his wife, Cathy; daughters, Dian Norman, Terri Sternberg,
Cynthia Beal; sons, Michael Sherman, John Sherman, Tom Lauritsen,
Stephen Lauritsen, David Beal, Jeffrey Beal, Daniel Beilock;
brother David and 12 grandchildren.
His wife, Cathy, recalled the man who was Milt
Sherman: "Once in a lifetime, if you are lucky, you meet
someone who is an ideal companion, husband, helpmate and an all
around good person. We had both lost our spouses after many years
of illness for both of them. Milt walked like a young cadet at
the age of 74. We both loved jazz and classical music and both
had jazz collections which we combined. Milt really knew lyrics.
He knew even verses to songs that most people, including professional
singers, only knew the refrain. Whatever he did in life, whether
personal or professional, it was done well. His integrity was
everything to him. West Point was his model for life. Our trip
to his 50th Reunion at West Point in 1996 was one of the most
cherished times in our life. We participated in the repeating
of our marriage vows in the chapel. He was so proud of West Point
and he had such loyalty to the Point and to his classsmates.
He was an incredible human being and I shall always miss him."
Friend and fellow AF officer, Mike Robinson (USMA
Jan '43) wrote: Milt was the kind of person one expects USMA
graduates to be. He always did his best, accepted responsibility
fully , was completely honest and a pleasure to work for and
with. Duty, Honor, Country was his life."
High school friend, West Point classmate and fellow
AF officer, Bob Burke remembered: "He had an unshakable
zest for happiness. He was always considerate of others and made
friends with everyone because of his quiet, easy going manner.
He was a sincere, warm hearted friend with an outstanding personality.
He will certainly be missed by all who were fortunate enough
to call him a friend."
To these words of love and friendship about a true
son of West Point, the Class of 1946 is honored to add the phrase
that would mean so much to Milt Sherman: "Well Done, Milt;
Be Thou At Peace!"
'46 Memorial Article Project and his wife, Cathy
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