United States Military Academy West Point - Howitzer Yearbook (West Point, NY)

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f he man who occupies the office on the second floor of the Head- quarters building holds a position quite unlike any to be found in the normal college administration. He is the Commandant of Cadets, ap- pointed by the President as head of the Tactical Department and charged with the supervision of the administration and discipline of the Corps. Military education, leadership, character, physical fitness, these are the far flung bounds of his responsibilities. The scope of the office alone tends to make the occupant an enigma in the eyes of Cadets. When General John L. Throckmorton became the forty-eighth Comman- dant of Cadets, we knew of him as the Superintendent ' s Chief of Staff, a former Commanding Officer of the First Regiment, and at one time an instructor in the Chemistry Department. We heard of the service he had rendered as a Regimental Commander in Korea, service which brought him the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, and an Oak Leaf Cluster to the Legion of Merit awarded him in World War IL Soon we found that our new Commandant was a man of spirit, a consistent supporter of all athletic teams and extra curricular activities. We would chance upon him at football practice, at intramural boxing, or find him judging debates in the West Academic Building. January brought him the title, Protector of First Class Privileges, a title never to be admitted for the very idea seems to conflict with the inscrutable title. Commandant.