Born at Reveveille

Russell Potter Reeder, Jr., was, in fact, born at reveille, just as the saluting gun boomed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, March 4, 1902. An Army father, an Army family, and Army life as an Army brat were his from the start. His memories are vivid—including the wonderful characters of the peacetime Army, his preference for sports over textbooks, his struggles at West Point, his war service, and the start of a new career. As he recalls his role in the preparations for the Normandy invasion, the pattern of Colonel Reeder's life and its unconscious direction toward the crisis of battle become clear. It was in the Normandy action that an enemy shell closed his command career. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, and also holds the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Croix de Guerre with Palm, French Legion d'Honneur, and other citations. In recent years, as Assistant Director of Athletics at West Point, and as the author of more than fifteen books for young people, he has continued to instill the ideals and principles of leadership that he learned so well himself in his many years as an Army man.