TLS as president, 7 x 10.25, personal White House letterhead, August 31, 1960. Typed letter to Dr. Ralph W. Sockman, in full: "In February of 1945, during the latter phases of the European campaign of World War II, I wrote to Dr. James Rowland Angell endorsing the name of Sylvanus Thayer for membership in the Hall of Fame of New York University. This endorsement I based largely on the contributions of Sylvanus Thayer to the moulding of West Point, stressing that in a very real sense every officer serving in our World War II Army of over seven million men and women was the beneficiary of his teachings.
Now, more than fifteen years later, I consider it a privilege to reiterate my endorsement of Sylvanus Thayer wholeheartedly. The views which I expressed first during the heat of the European campaign, I still hold, even more firmly. In addition, the impact of technology, which Thayer did so much to promote in this country, has made itself felt to an ever increasing extent in the last decade and a half. His contributions to the building of our remarkable system of technical education may well prove to be every bit as significant as his part in the formation of the Military Academy. Once more, I would recommend the name of Sylvanus Thayer to join those other great Americans whose memory is perpetuated in the Hall of Fame." In fine condition. Thayer was a colonel and brevet brigadier general (1785-1872) who was an early superintendent of the United States Military Academy and is remembered as the 'Father of West Point.'
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