Education: Room at the Top

In the summer of 1956, two young graduates of Dallas' Highland Park High School embarked on the most rigorous ordeal of their young lives: the plebe year at the U.S. service academies. Annapolis Midshipman Alton K. Thompson and West Point Cadet Charles Paddock Otstott (who had spent a year at Southern Methodist University) had impressive records to maintain. At Highland Park, both were presidents of their senior class, both were members of the National Honor Society, and both were recipients of the top award given by the National Honor Society for all-round excellence in grades and extracurricular activities.

Last week, as they...

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