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Show Pershing's Parsing Ability to parse a sentence better than a fellow contestant for an appointment ap-pointment to West Point gave to the United States its greatest living soldier General, John J. Pershing, according to a story recently published. Back in 1881, when three Missouri boys appeared before an examining board which was to select an appointee to fill a vacancy at the United States Military Academy. Pershing was one of the three. He and another boy nam ed Mallory were so evenly matched that the board was hard put to decide de-cide between them. As a final test the board proposed for parsing the sentence: "We are as near heaven by sea as by land." Persti ing did a perfect job of parsing, while Mallory fell down, so Pershing got the appointment, was graduated from West Point, rose to high military rank and eventually became commander of the A. E. P: His rival, J. D. Mallory, has had a modest but useful career, and is still living as a rural school teacher near Purdin, Missouri, having taught all these years. Possibly he could beat Pershing in parsing that same sentence sen-tence today. |