Despite his preparation, that first term indicated a need for a fresh start. Dad went to “Sully’s” in Washington and reentered West Point in August of 1939 with what he always considered “his” class, graduating at the one-third mark in January 1943. He not only played corps squad lacrosse as a plebe, but also was an intercollegiate fencer for four years with both saber and foil. Additionally, he was an acolyte at the Catholic Chapel, which led to his meeting my mother. The Howitzer entry cited “Andy’s” willingness to help in French and retell stories of his oil field days as well as his friendliness, savoir-faire, and sincerity.

Paul Andrepont was commissioned in Coast Artillery but as a specialist in antiaircraft. That connection with radar and computers led to work at Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology plus a series of stateside posts with troops. Then, in October 1944, he went overseas to the Military Intelligence Division of European Theatre of Operations headquarters. By December of that year, an Allied Control Commission (ACC) was formed for Bulgaria in an effort to maintain freedom in that country. Dad spent 1945 as engineering officer of the ACC and 1946 as executive officer of the Intelligence Division. It was in these posts that Dad made his greatest contribution to the Army, winning the Bronze Star and Army Commendation Medal.

This intelligence experience ideally suited dad for his next two assignments — the Attaché Course at the Intelligence School and assistant military attaché in war-torn Greece, lying just south of Bulgaria. Here my mother and brother were able to join him. But there was no intelligence branch in that era, and in the fall of 1948 dad was ordered to the Advanced Course at Fort Sill. By March 1949 Paul decided that the various skills he had acquired over the years did not appear in his Army future, and his experience in a combat theater had not been in his basic branch. He resigned to see if civilian life might not permit a better combination of these skills in defense-related matters.

Moving back to the New York area, he started as vice president and treasurer of one firm, moving to Bendix as a sales engineer, and then as executive in a series of defense-oriented firms like Maxson, Reeves Instrument, and Bulova Watch. During all this period he kept his interest in sports and fitness. It seemed somehow ordained that when death came it would be suddenly while playing tennis at the Riverdale Yacht Club.

My mother, Audrey, and my father were introduced by Father Murdock, Catholic Chaplain at West Point. They were married the day after graduation at St. Margaret’s Church in Riverdale. Paul Jr. was born in November 1943, but the family did not go overseas until Athens, which was not a typical diplomatic assignment because of the civil war. I was born shortly after dad’s shift to civilian life, and John was born in 1953.

Mother started going to the “Black Knights” football games in 1939, and she continued cheering on the Army team even when dad was overseas. From 1949 and return to the Riverdale area until dad’s sudden death, the Andrepont family never missed an Army home football game or the Army-Navy game. My father was an avid golfer and taught all of us to play tennis, but nothing meant more to all of us than those Saturday afternoons (rain or shine) at Michie Stadium, or going to Philadelphia to watch Army “Sink Navy.”

To us, the spirit of this special, loving father will always be at West Point, and we think of him as we continue the tradition of supporting the Army team. He was survived by my mother, who continued to live in Riverdale until her death in 1987; by Paul Jr., an engineer in Michigan; by Cherie, married to an oral surgeon and living in Dobbs Ferry, New York; and by John, who works in Research and Development in Chicago. We all try to follow the example of my father: a dedicated family man who lived by the West Point motto — Duty, Honor, Country.

— Cherie Andrepont Freeman