Part 1: Combining Mathematics, the US Army, and a Family 1/23/2021
Part 1: Combining Mathematics, the US Army, and a Family 1/23/2021
by Dr. Jim Herod
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When I was an undergraduate at the University of Alabama, nearly all male undergraduates were required to take two years of either Army or Air Force ROTC. To get into Advanced ROTC, you had to apply and be accepted. That I was going to apply was simply always understood. As I have looked back in my family tree, most all of us simply served in the military for a while. My father was a brief WWI veteran and my older brother was commissioned through ROTC before going to the University of Alabama Medical School. After he had the doctor’s degree, he served in the medical corps. Even one of my sons has carried on the tradition by wearing a uniform for a period – his was a NOAA uniform.
Of course, I planned to apply for Advanced ROTC. No one in the family asked if I would. They only asked if I had filled out the papers. I knew I would not be accepted because of really bad vision. And maybe the cadre knew I was going to present a case for why they should make an exception. I did and they accepted me.
In May, 1959, I received a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from the University of Alabama and a commission from the United States Army. My fiancé was a year behind me in school. I certainly did not want to leave her at the University while I went away for my military service. Instead, I asked permission to delay going on active duty while I studied for a master’s degree. Permission was granted. During that year, the math faculty at the University thought I should continue my studies and earn a PhD. On their advice – on the University faculty’s advice – I requested permission from the Army to work toward a PhD.
Look: my brother was allowed to delay active duty until he had a doctor’s degree. Let me, too. After all, I was a science and mathematics nerd. I had declared myself a physics major when I was a freshman, a biology major when I was a sophomore, and a chemistry major when I was a junior. I showed I could stand before a crowd by being a chemistry lab coordinator as a junior and senior and had taught freshman algebra and trigonometry as a master’s student.
The Army agreed, though I would have to show each year that I was making progress.
As a result, in the summer of 1960, my wife and I moved to North Carolina. For each of the next three years, I gave proof that I was making progress in my studies and requested a continued delay in going on active duty. In May, 1964, I received a PhD in Mathematics from the University of North Carolina. I also received orders to report for active duty.
Jim's future wife pinning his 2LT bars with his father looking on at his commissioning in 1959
So, get this: I met with a basic officer’s orientation, leaving my wife, one son, and seven ninths of another with my inlaws.
For the first time in twenty-one years, Jim Herod was not a school boy! Hmmph! My father called me Doctor Herod. I corrected him. “At the present time, Dad, I am Second Lieutenant James Herod.”
It seemed like the most natural thing in the world for me to stop at a barbershop just off base. The barber asked if I was reporting for active duty for the first time. “Yes, sir.” His response: “First haircut is free.” And he didn’t ask how I wanted it cut.
A little later and in uniform, it was: “Lieutenant James Herod reporting for active duty, sir.”
I tell this story of getting a delay on going on active duty after being commissioned for a reason. The young men and women who want to both go to graduate school and to serve their country in some capacity, encourage them. In these sixty years since I was an undergraduate, I have seen how much science, engineering, and mathematics has been done by young men and women serving in our country. Help make a place for them and help then find their place.
Dr. Jim Herod served in the Army from 1964-1966, was a visiting professor at the United States Military Academy from 1981-1982, and is a professor emeritus at Georgia Tech.
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