Francis Magoun, intellectual ace

[Barrett]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Peabody_Magoun

Leading us to wonder, again, what superb talents were lost in the Great War.

Among many other attainments, Magoun spoke and wrote Finnish. Long ago I met a former naval attache' to Helsinki. He'd finished nuclear power school and said learning Finnish was the hardest thing he ever did.

(Sidebar: Someplace I have a list of ace PhDs. The one I knew best was Walter Beckham, 18 victories and a POW who became a leading USAF scientist. He tried explaining quantum mechanics to me with a notable lack of success, then wandered off to join the barbershop quartet.)

[VtwinVince]

I agree, Finnish is not a Germanic or Indo-European language and hence very foreign to our ears.