Concord University Magazine Spring 2025

Robert Bennett Crawford '58

II nt hoansebwe ea ny oa nr ai nn toetrheesrt, i In hg apvrei vbi leeegne i tnov po levresdo nwailtl hy Ck no on wc o sr de vme no rper et hs iadne 6n 5t s yoefatrhsi. s great institution and to work or directly report to three. My campus life as a student was not typical. It took a meandering path before arriving at the “college friendly on the campus beautiful.” I was born in Bluefield, st ht aart t seudms cmheoro il ni nt hWe eKl cahn, agwr ahda uCai tt eydg fl ar os smpCl ahnatr ll oe satdoi nn gHfirgehi gShcth coaorl satnodewa ronr kme odn e y for college. Then in 1951, I entered VT as a cadet and soon found out military sI cohpot oe dl dt iod vnool ut na tgereere fwo ri tthh me de r. aHf ot , wa etvweor,- fyaecaerdc wo mi t hmbi temi negn td, raanf tde ds i gi nnteodt hu ep mt oi l i t a r y, become a glider pilot. I was ready to defend the USA as a proud member of the 101st Airborne, the Screaming Eagles. Fortunately, I was spared from the battlefield as a truce held between our nation and North Korea. Later, my unit was transferred to Europe. Because I had less than a year to fulfill my two-year commitment, I did not go with them. MC oyntcoour rd i inn stehrev fi ac el l roef a1f f9i 5r m6 . eBdeti hn eg da ef suilrl e- t it mo oe bs tt auidnean tc ot al lkeigneg daesgmr eaen. yI ea ns t2e1r ecdr e d i t ht i omuer sf opresrt tuedremn,t l ai vcitni vgi toi fefsc. aImdpi du st h, aonudg hwpoar rktiinc gi piant eP ri ni nac ef et own Sdi igdmn a’ t Ml e ua veevme nut cs ha n d made good friends: Bill Shaw, Charlie Webb (both veterans) and Vic Foti, among others. In less than three years, I had a degree in business administration (1958)

from Concord and entered graduate school. BD eunb lCi nr a, VwAf o. rPdhaott ot hceo Vuer tt ee rs ay nosf CBeemn eCtrearwy fionr d . VP ri ce sFiodtei natnMd aI ,r as lho on fgf ewr ei tdh mo teh ae rj oabl utmo nwi o, frokuinndtehde an es uwcl cyecsrsef au tl ecdh aCpe tnetre ri nf oRroEa cnoonkoe m. i c Action and to teach Economics. I accepted and spent another three years at Concord in tphr ee smi di ed n6t 0o’ sf . bToetnh yCeoanrcsol radt e&r iBnl ut he ef i eml di dS 7t a0t’es ,, aI na dc cwe potrekde da na no of ftehrefrr ot wmoDyre. aCrosf ff ionrd a f f e r, him until the merger ended and then another year to create a smooth separation. President Freeman took office and I worked a couple of months closely with him, ds er ti vt liendg ahni md aacrcol ui mn da t tehde t roe tghi oe na raenad. iHn et r wo dour ck iendg ohui mt a t joo bk eoyf fpe er rfsoor nms et ot oh ec lopn ht iinmu eg eatt CstoantecoorfdW. eI sdteVcliirngeindiaa.nd returned to Charleston as Director of State Planning for the Eo vv ee rr yt hheosuer 6s5p ey ne at rast lCeoa nv ec owr do nhda es rbf ue le mn ee nmr oi crhi ei ns .gI ta ni sdwi ni tthe rdaecet ipo an ns dwei tnhd sutrai fnf ga gn rda ft ai tcuudl tey wC ohnecno Ir dt h—i nf ke l ol of wt hset umdaennyt sf ,r fi ae cnudlst ym, satda ef f aanl ldt ot hoenfur ime ne dr os uh si ptso smt reenntgi ot hne, nbeudt wb ehcaatue svee ro f mbeotdteircupmerosof nsubcecceasussIehoafvCeohnacdoirsdl.argely because of them. I have a better life and am a

Ben Crawford in 1954. Photo courtesy of Ben Crawford.

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CONCORD UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE SPRING 2025