Howard Sharp Bennion came from Vernon, Utah, to join the Class of 1912 when we entered the United States Military Academy in March of 1908. His very innocent and trusting look had added to it a marvelous expression of cordiality, to the extent that it seemed he was surrounded with a self-propelled aura of good will. I’ve heard it said that due to this mellifluent status of Howard’s outward appearance, upperclassmen bent on vigorous hazing did not always attain their desired objective. I often wondered if Mormonism had endowed Howard with these elegant qualifications but later I was to get an answer to my query.
My first station after graduating from West Point was Salt Lake City, Utah. There I met many Mormons, some real close friends and others just acquaintances. Although I still think the Mormons are a grand people I soon found out that Howard’s attributes just mentioned may have been atavistic, but they were not due to his Mormonism—as a matter of fact, I think they were just due to Howard. All of this does not mean that he could not be displeased or even angry on occasions. That he could do as well as enrich his environment with comforting consolation. When one of these instances took precedence then we were not to witness an explosive blowing of his top—no, not that at all—but this time, again his environs seemed to be overcrowded with radiations from his human motor, but of a different character than before.
The feeling was not evidenced to a great extent by his facial expression but his eyes, his eyebrows, his eyelashes and, in fact, the whole area around his organs of sight seemed to become darker than midnight in a heavy torm. But even so while his attitude was fully expressed, and no fooling, his voice always remained under superb control, and his spoken diagrams of what should be corrected were just as even-toned as when he was in better spirits. This entire ensemble of expression, both in good spirit and anger, gave those surrounding him a deep palpability of confidence in him. Such an attribute is a gift and one which is always necessary, no matter how it is symbolized, in every great teacher or commander. This was fully recognized by all of us in 1912, and as others who served with him came to know.
Howard was not just bright, he was brilliant, and he seemed without exaggerated effort to graduate at the top of the Class of 1912. But while accomplishing this effulgent task he took many other important and highly responsible problems of our cadet life in stride in his contribution to our success. A whole book could be written about his extra-curricular activities but here I will only list them. On the purely military side he was Cadet Corporal, Battalion Quartermaster Sergeant, and Lieutenant, and in rifle practice a sharpshooter. With his eye toward athletics he was assistant manager of the football team. He was on the HOWITZER Board as assistant editor. He was a hop manager and took part in the horse show. Howard was indeed human; he was an AB (Area Bird), and not only that but a BA (Busted Aristocrat—a former cadet officer bereft of his chevrons, responsibilities and privileges). I might add that this last-named fall did no bodily harm to him so far as we could observe; he landed on his feet and with his chin up enshrined in his understanding, knowledgeable and intrepid personality.
My first two stations after graduation from the United States Military Academy were Salt Lake City (for which place and its gracious people I will always be homesick) and El Paso at the time of the Mexican uprising of 1913. We were sorrowful at leaving Salt Lake City but soon found out the El Pasoans were indeed making a happy home for us in the midst of our rather strenuous border duties. Not long afterwards I was sent to the Philippine Islands, having been delayed en route for several months in Panama due to the big slide which had occurred at its center rendering the Canal impassable temporarily.
When we arrived in the Philippine Islands, Howard was already there on duty in the Chief of Engineers Office. After a few months service in Manila at the Cuartel d’Espana I was detailed to the group which was to make an instrumental survey of the surrounding country for the defense of Manila, if and when it became necessary to take such action. Howard, much to my pleasure, had been detailed to conduct the mapping school which we were all to attend before going out to do the practical job. As I remembered at the United States Military Academy I never made a grade in map making which would have landed me in the Engineers—no, I came out much closer to the “goats.” I may sound as if I’m trying to put on a song and dance but nothing could be further from the truth. Here it is—in the few weeks we attended mapping school Howard simply exuded knowledge about transits, levels, and topography in general to the extent we all seemed to eat, drink, and breathe it—it was not in the nature of medicine but more like being on a picnic with a lunch of fried chicken and all that goes with it. I can remember how disgusted I was with myself for having done no better than I did in mapping at West Point—the things which were obstructions to me back there were now wide-open, easily-traveled roadways. But I soon realized that I didn't have to be so mad at myself—it was not all me—here in Manila that which made those topographical knots become untied was Howard—it was his ability to teach which made the subject simple to all of us so we could absorb the knowledge and apply it. Later on, out in the field, for the purpose of making the practical map of the ground surrounding Manila we were broken up into several parties and assigned certain terrain to map. Although I thought I had learned all there was to know about the subject I still ran up against a few snags. But when Howard came to visit our party with nothing more it seemed than pleasant conversation, he straightened out all of our troubles. He made us feel as if our problems were his main thoughts in life. You can bet your boots that for the time he was with us, at least, our worries were his principal occupation in life. Aside from the official reasons for his visits to us we enjoyed having him as a visitor and friend—he always kept us well posted on what was going on in the outside world.
Howard, upon graduation at the United States Military Academy, was given the Bachelor of Science degree as were all graduated cadets. At that time in 1912 he was commissioned 2d Lieutenant, Corps of Engineers. In World War I he served in France as Chief of the Camouflage Service. I can vouch for it, this was an important and vitally necessary piece of work, mainly because in World War I most all of our supply and logistics in general were handled by animal-drawn vehicles—this required that all roads be properly camouflaged from away back right up to the battle area practically. It was the only means of saving our transportation from devastating air attacks. Even with expert camouflage we had trouble but without it the war would have been hung up on an impossible dilemma. Of course, camouflage was necessary in many other instances; for example, to conceal troop movements, highly important troop positions, various installations, etc. Howard performed his duty here in a visibly outstanding manner. Later in the war he served as Executive Officer for the Chief of Engineers of the American Expeditionary Forces. Those assignments and his superb performance of duty therein were positive proof that he was considered eminently worthy even by the top brains of our highly capable Corps of Engineers. Other positions held were Assistant Chief Engineer with the Federal Power Commission, 1920-1924. He was District Engineer of Flood Control work on the lower Mississippi and was located in New Orleans.
Howard resigned from the Army to accept the high position of Director of Engineering of the National Electric Light Association, 1926-33. He later accepted the position of Assistant Managing Director of the Edison Electric Institute in 1933.
Howard had married Marion Morris Cannon on 16 September 1920. My wife Dorothy and I got to know Marion in New York after World War II. We were there on a trip just prior to my retirement for physical disability. We were completely charmed by Marion (as well as by Howard). They were then living in New York while Howard was with Edison Electric. Marion had the delightful faculty of making us feel so comfortably and insouciantly at home that we truthfully hated to bid her goodbye when we left. And added to this, of course, Howard was a most dynamic mnemonic symbol of all that our early days at West Point and in the Philippines meant.
They invited us to the Stork Club for dinner one evening and it was so much fun. Howard, at the time, was suffering some from stomach ulcers and he didn’t eat anything at all while Marion, Dorothy and I ordered everything that looked good on the menu—and no fooling, Mr. Billingsley had chefs who knew their business. We didn’t know at the time about Howard’s affliction and he made lots of fun about why he was not eating—finally, Marion couldn’t let the joke go any further and she informed us of the truth. They accepted dinner invitations and also took their guests out to dinner—but this was the trick. Marion always prepared Howard’s special diet meal at home and he ate it just before leaving. That night at the Stork Club was a wonderfully enjoyable evening and Dorothy and I often recall it and talk about it. When we do we always get a kick out of remembering how the three of us had all of this good food on the menu while Howard sat, looked and talked his way through the evening. The whole truth about this matter is that Marion and Howard believed we would enjoy more an evening at the Stork Club than anything else, so he prepared and put himself unselfishly through the paces just to be sure that Dorothy and I had a good time. Bless his heart and also Marion’s.
Sometime after this, Howard retired from active business and Marion and he went back to Utah (Salt Lake City) to live. From there they took a trip around the world. You can bet it was no hurried sightseeing affair. I know that both Marion and Howard went to enjoy themselves and leam—so they stayed wherever they wanted as long as they desired.
I am positive that on this trip they made friends everywhere who will always be happy that they met and knew Marion and Howard.
Howard was awarded the following medals and acknowledgements for his very worthy and exceptionally outstanding service: The Distinguished Service Medal (Army), French Legion of Honor, Cross of Valor (Poland). He was a Fellow of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers and a member of the American Association of Military Engineers. As indicated before, Howard was a dedicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
We will never feel that Howard has left us, but that he is watchfully waiting to assist us in our landing on the far shore, where we prayerfully sense his spiritual assets will make him as irreplaceable as he was here on earth.
—Major General W. G. Weaver, USA Ret.