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MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly Jan '93
Allen Howland Wood, III No.16085 Class of 1946
Died 6 January 1992 in Arlington, Virginia, aged 68 years. Interment:
Mount Hebron Cemetery, Montclair, New Jersey.
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Allen Howland Wood, III, was born 23 June 1923
in Boston, Massachusetts. By the time Allen entered high school,
his parents had divorced and his mother remarried the general
manager of the New York Yankees. Allen's high school days were
spent at Bordentown Military Institute, Bordentown, New Jersey.
There he was an honor student, played varsity basketball and
played in the student band. Following graduation, he received
his coveted appointment to West Point and joined the Class of
1946 on the banks of the Hudson, 1 July 1943.
Three of Allen's cadet roommates: Jim Johnson,
Jim Nelson and Tom Stapleton recalled:
"One's initial impression of Allen was, 'Here is the quintessential
extrovert'. He was completely at ease with everyone and his warm
smile and outgoing manner put all at ease with him. As we grew
to know him, we learned to appreciate other facets of his character.
He was also a generous, caring and helpful friend.
"Allen was naturally neat, orderly and well organized; all
traits which served him well as a cadet. His battles with academics
were monumental and often bloody. While he had a flair and talent
for languages, math and science were another matter. In spite
of nightly after hours studying and cram sessions with roommates
coaching, daily recitations and written exams were touch and
go for all three years. His intelligence was never in question,
witness his subsequent academic accomplishments. Even with this
intense academic pressure, Allen never lost his good humor and
aplomb. He viewed academics as a game where either he won or
'they' won; and if he won over half the daily battles, he would
graduate.
"Allen loved music and his phonograph records. He had an
excellent voice and would render all verses of Johnny Mercer's
Jamboree Jones at the slightest excuse. He enjoyed singing in
the choir and glee club and his role in the Hundredth Night Show,
Those of us who were far from home enjoyed the hospitality extended
by Allen and his parents. The Weiss household provided many hours
of relief from the West Point grind and included box seats at
Yankee Stadium.
"During first class year, Barbara Bender reappeared in Allen's
life. They had been next door neighbors during their childhood.
Allen seemed to become more focused, and we all knew this was
something special as the song says, 'They fit together walkin'."
Another lifetime friend, John W. Callaghan, recalled:
"I met Allen for the first time on a quiet Sunday afternoon
in September 1943 in a stairwell leading to the sinks in A-1
Company, I was visiting my brother, a first classman, who lived
in the same division as Allen. I had ventured into the halls
in a bathrobe and literally ran into Allen, who was the perfect
model (at least for me) of a then modern plebe. Totally relieved
that I had met a classmate and not an upperclassman, I became
his friend for life. For a fleeting moment, we chuckled at the
ridiculousness of the situation, exchanged names and quickly
got out of the danger zone. We saw each other off and on during
our years at West Point, and never failed after our retirement
to have a good laugh about our chance meeting in the halls of
A-I Company. As a cadet, Allen was always smiling and had a terrific
sense of humor. He seemed to be relaxed but perseverant and serious
about what he was doing:
When graduation rolled around, Allen became a second
lieutenant of infantry. While on graduation leave, Allen and
Barbara (Bobbie) Ann Bender were married at Short Hills, New
Jersey on 18 June 1946.
Following the Infantry Basic Officer Course at
Fort Benning, Georgia, Allen went to Korea with the 7th Division
and moved to Japan with the Division. He returned to the States
for assignment as adjutant of the 2d Battalion, 3d Infantry Regiment
(The Old Guard) at Fort McNair, Washington, DC. His friend, John
W. Callaghan, was in the same battalion and recalled: "As
you might suspect, Allen was a handsome adjutant on the parade
ground, being over six feet two inches tall and ramrod erect.
He was also a top flight administrator, which we platoon leaders
found out from the company commander if we had not done our paperwork
correctly."
Next Allen went to the 82nd Airborne Division at
Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In 1952, the Woods moved to Hawaii,
where Allen served with Headquarters, US Army Pacific. In 1956,
Allen was accepted into the Army Foreign Specialist Program.
After receiving his master's from the University of Pennsylvania
in Asian Studies he, Bobbie, and their three sons traveled to
New Delhi, India under the Foreign Area Specialist Program. Returning
to the States. Allen served with the Defense Intelligence Agency.
He transferred to the Adjutant General Corps in 1964. In 1965,
he received his Ph.D. from Georgetown University in Asian Studies.
He next became the first commander of the Army Chief of Staff's
Computer Center. Allen retired from the Army in 1966 as a lieutenant
colonel.
Allen started a second career in teaching shortly
after retirement. First as a lecturer in Asian Studies in the
History Department, Trinity College, Washington, DC, he progressed
to become Associate Professor of History. In 1971, he was asked
to become director of Special Programs for the College. Allen
loved teaching and his years at Trinity were some of the happiest
of his life. He was often referred to as "the last of the
Episcopalian Republicans teaching Hinduism to Catholic ladies."
Sister Margaret Claydon, Professor of English at Trinity was
a friend and associate of Allen's during this period. She recalled:
"While at Trinity, Allen was an important member of the
whole college community. He was a good teacher and a popular
one. The Class of 1970 elected him to be their class advisor,
and be was a member of the faculty student Senate. After appointment
to administrative duties, he was a member of the Executive Committee
of the College and, in that capacity, made an important contribution
during a period of great student unrest. I relied on his advice
considerably and although I did not always follow it, considered
it valuable. Allen Wood was a good friend, a highly respected
colleague and one whom we missed very much when he moved on to
another area of his career. His contribution to Trinity College
was an important one in a very critical time for all in higher
education."
In 1974 Allen became dean at Tusculum College in
Greenville, Tennessee. After three years in that position, the
Woods moved to Greenwich, Connecticut. They returned to Springfield,
Virginia in the early eighties, and Allen was able to pursue
his other interests, such as golf, stamp collecting and researching
his family history. In 1990 Allen learned that he had cancer
and died on 6 January 1992. He is survived by his wife Barbara
(Bobbie) and three sons, Daniel, Allen H., IV, and Bruce.
Allen H. Wood, III, was proud to be a West Pointer.
He was a man of very high principles. He believed strongly in
Duty, Honor, Country and added family to the list of ideals he
held dear and sacred. When asked how he would like to he remembered,
Allen said: "As a good man, nothing more."
His three roommates said; "If one had to describe
Allen in one word it would have to be 'Joy' and when reflecting
on old friends, Allen Wood is one of the first to mind. We will
all surely miss him." His long time friend, John W. Callaghan,
said: "To the end he was the perfect gentleman in every
respect -- a model husband, a good father, a great friend and
a credit to the Long Gray Line." At his funeral, Allen's
three sons each delivered a eulogy for their father. These eulogies
are a beautiful tribute to a very fine man--a good man. Excerpts
from these thoughts, intermingled, give some idea of the kind
of man Allen H. Wood, III was and how he was loved by his family
and all who knew him:
"We come here today not to mourn the passing
of Allen Wood, but to celebrate his life and to rejoice in our
brief moment together with him."
"My father lived his life with strong expectations
and convictions in the pursuit of achieving meaningful achievements."
"With this memorial, we do something quite
singular: each of us, formally and privately, synthesizes our
memory of Allen. Each expression is unique. Each relationship
is special. By sharing these expressions we come closer to knowing
the man."
"He was a man of immense pride, a gentle man
and a caring man in an age characterized all too often by heavy
handed indifference."
"Because of his ways, he taught me a great
many things, to include the importance of honesty, respect, courage,
commitment and the meaning of friendship."
"Truly, the measure of a person's legacy is
that they were loved by many and that they made a difference
by being here. By those standards, Allen Wood's life was exemplary."
"I can never thank you enough for your love
and friendship hut instinctively know that your presence will
guide me in my own efforts to achieve my own accomplishments."
"Without a doubt, the greatest gift that my
father shared with me was his love of family. I'm truly blessed
with this gift. It has given me a sense of security that I can't
possibly describe."
To this, the Class of 1946 joins his family and
friends in proclaiming. "Well Done, Allen: Be Thou At Peace!"
'46 Memorial Article Project and his wife, "Bobbie"
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