Dear Editor: I always read Bob Mitchell’s view in the paper. This is in response to his article of Aug. 24 in regard to his remarks about Bill Reno in the section “Alumni Idea.”

Bill Reno is my cousin. He went into the Army to save enough money to go to what was then the Rolla School of Mines (now Missouri Science and Technology). He had been accepted but there was not enough family money for him to attend. This story is from him to me. He entered the Army as all enlisted people do, as a “slick sleeve private.”

Through a series of tests, he earned entry into West Point. Not bad for a Barry County farm boy!

Bill and I were in the Army at the same time; I was a Chaplain and he an Engineer officer. We were never stationed together, but we heard about each other through fellow officers.

Bill retired Lieutenant General and I Lieutenant Colonel. He outranks me! But, you could never tell by his demeanor. He is humble and generous.

Immediately after retirement, he was deputy to Elisabeth Dole in operation of the American Red Cross. He was never a president of a university. He had a three-year assignment at West Point teaching mathematics.

He was selected to go to smaller European countries to assist them in improving their military status. I think his headquarters was in Romania and he travelled to other small countries. I am not sure how long this lasted, but I think it was more than 10 years.

He is now retired, and he is 6 years my junior. He has travelled extensively and he now lives in Virginia in the summer and Florida in the winter. He maintains warm regards and commitment to Barry County and especially to the Mineral Springs community where he was born and grew up.

Don Beeson

Cassville