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 p465  Allen Annesley Cavenaugh
No. 7649 Class of 1925
Died August 14, 1930, at Lake Champlain, N. Y.,
aged 26 years.

Allen A. Cavenaugh was born at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, on February 16, 1904. The son of a Cavalry Officer, he never considered any other career than the Army. He was appointed to West Point, from Kansas, while attending Kansas State College, and reported on July 1, 1921.

He graduated on June 12, 1925, and chose the Cavalry. In September he was assigned to the 1st Cavalry, and reported at Fort Marfa, Texas, for station. He served at this station until 1929, when he went to Fort Riley as a student officer.

While at Fort Riley he married Miss Marion Wood, and upon the completion of his student course, he motored East with his bride to take a position as councillor at Brown Ledge Camp, Vermont, during a leave of absence.

On August 14th, Allen, with his wife and six young camp girls, were returning from a boat trip in an outboard motorboat towing a canoe. A storm blew up while the boats were well away from shore, and presently the canoe swamped. While trying to get its occupants into the motor boat, that capsized. Allen and Mrs. Cavenaugh dispatched the strongest swimmers for aid. They then bent their energies to calming the remaining girls, and made them cling to the half-submerged boat. Allen tried to make their position safer by detaching the motor, which was making the stern sink. While thus engaged he struck his head, became delirious, and, while his wife was rescuing a child, he was washed off the boat and sank.

A well-built, attractive, quiet man, Allen made a wide circle of friends among his classmates. At the Academy he performed his  p466 work conscientiously and well, with the result that he graduated No. 38​a in a large class. His military ability won him a high lieutenancy in his First Class year. His true metal was shown in the crisis surrounding his death, wherein he performed with calmness and bravery, and showed himself to be the loyal son of a long line of soldiers. His heroism will be a lasting credit to his family and to West Point.

"Greater love than this hath no man —"

C. H. B.​b

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Thayer's Notes:

a Cullum's Register, (q.v.), gives his class rank as 24.

b If the author was a classmate, as is very often the case, the only man whose initials fit was No. 1 in the Class, Charles H. Barth, Jr.

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