March 2007

OUR GUEST SPEAKER FOR REUNION 2007

Colonel Robert (Bob) C. Carroll, U. S. Army Retired, will be our guest speaker at the banquet on Saturday, 28 April 2007 at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Inn Gateway in Kissimmee, Florida.  Bob was an adviser to the Vietnamese Ranger School in 1965 during his first assignment in the Republic of Vietnam.  He extended and served as the leader of the LRRP Platoon for the 173d Airborne Brigade.  The late Roy Boatman, one of the founders and long-time leaders of the 75^th Ranger Regiment Association, was a member of his platoon.  The 173d LRRPs were the first LRRP platoon of a US unit to receive the 5^th Special Forces training in Nha Trang.  (After his assignment with the LRRP, then-CPT Carroll commanded a rifle company in the 1^st Battalion, 503d Infantry.)  Former LRRPS Roger Brown and Jake Jakovenko served under Bob Carroll; they were inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame with Bob�s support.

From 1969 to 1972, Bob Carroll taught leadership in the Military Psychology and Leadership Department at West Point.  He served as a member of the Continental Army Command (CONARC) Leadership Board under then-Brigadier General Hank Emerson.  We both served in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel (ODCSPER) during his last assignment in the Army.  His big office was down the hall from my �foxhole.�  Bob was the head of the Leadership Division; he and his staff had oversight responsibility for the leadership training in the Army.  After 21 years on active duty, COL Carroll retired in 1983.  He worked in the banking industry for a few years before embarking on a career as a consultant to corporate leaders.  Bob was a Vice President of the Senn Delaney Leadership Consulting Group for several years.  He is currently founder and partner of the Action Leadership Group, a consulting company advising corporate leaders on how to improve their own leadership effectiveness and that of their teams.  Be prepared to receive a tutorial on leadership at the banquet.

Bob and I were in the same cadet company at the U. S. Military Academy, West Point, NY.  When I was a yearling (sophomore), Bob was plebe (freshman).  I flunked Chemistry in my yearling year and was turned back to Bob�s class (after passing the re-entrance exam and returning to the active Army for a semester as a private).  During my cow (junior) year, I struggled again in academics.  One of the subjects was the Mechanics of Solids, a branch of Physics.  Bob was an excellent student and tough athlete as a cadet.  He was assigned to be my tutor/coach in Solids.  He would meet me in the hall after Taps (lights out); he risked the chance of receiving demerits if caught by the Officer of the Day and sacrificed the much treasured sleep.  Bob has a superb gift for teaching.  He got me through my battles in Solids.  I will be forever grateful for all that he did for me.  After flunking in Electrical Engineering, I was discharged as a cadet.  I received my commission from the Infantry Officers Candidate School (OCS) at Ft Benning, GA.

Life was interesting and unique for Bob as a youngster.  When Bob was 4 years old, his dad, Pete, was deployed in France during World War II serving as the Executive Officer of the 2d Infantry Regiment, 5^th Infantry Division.  He then assumed command of the1st Battalion, 2d Infantry Regiment.  He served in combat with distinction.  After the war, he was assigned to the General Staff in the War Department at the Pentagon.  He worked successively for three Chiefs of Staff of the Army: George Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, and Omar Bradley � all ended their Army careers as five-star generals.  Evidently, Pete Carroll became a favorite of Dwight (Ike) Eisenhower.  When President Truman recalled Ike to become the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, Pete was assigned to Ike�s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Paris, France.  Pete had a reputation for being a �scholar � modest, articulate, and forceful.�  He was Ike�s military assistant; his responsibilities included handling correspondences and assisted in speech writing.  The Carroll family lived on the second floor at the Trianon Palace Hotel in Versailles along with the other staff families.  Ike and Mamie Eisenhower lived in a suite at one end and Ike�s deputy, General Alfred Gruenther and his wife, lived in a suite at the other end.  The children (Bob was then 11 and 12 years of age) of the staff who lived on second floor were invited to watch western movies in pajamas in Ike�s suite.  Ike was also in pajamas and was often the only adult present.

In 1953, Ike became the President of the United States.  Pete Carroll became his Aide-de- Camp.  He later became the Secretary of the White House staff and was promoted to brigadier general by Ike.  Bob Carroll recalls visiting the White House several times; he would take in the Oval Office when Ike was not there.  William Bragg Ewald Jr, who authored the book: Eisenhower the President, wrote that Pete was destined to become Army Chief of Staff.  On 17 September 1954, Brigadier General Paul (Pete) T. Carroll died from a second heart attack during his White House tenure at age 44.  Bob Carroll was 14 years old.

Crossings of Paths.  General (Retired) Wayne Downing, Ranger Hall of Fame Inductee (1999).  Brigadier General (Retired) Joseph Stringham, Ranger Hall of Fame Inductee (1995).  Colonel (Retired) John Lawton, Ranger Hall of Fame Inductee (1997).

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