Andrew J. Goodpaster *50

Gen. Andrew J. Goodpaster, NATO commander and West Point superintendent, died May 16, 2005, in Washington, D.C. at the age of 90. The cause was prostate cancer.

Both soldier and scholar, Goodpaster graduated second in his class from West Point in 1939. During World War II he fought in North Africa and Italy, earning many medals, including the Distinguished Service Cross.

In the late 1940s Goodpaster studied at Princeton, earning degrees in civil engineering and politics. During the next 15 years he served at the Pentagon, at Allied headquarters in Europe, and as adviser to President Eisenhower. Subsequently, he was deputy commander of American forces in Vietnam and NATO commander from 1969 to 1974, retiring from that position as a four-star general. In 1977 he came out of retirement to lead West Point through the aftermath of a cheating scandal. He sought to temper student hazing, strengthen the school's liberal-arts offerings, and ease the admission of women cadets. He retired again in 1981.

At work on his memoirs when he died, Goodpaster leaves behind his wife, Dorothy, two daughters, and seven grandchildren.