These are the memoirs of Reg Gardner. He grew up in Sydney and served in the military for over thirty years. At the peak of his career, he commanded the Australian artillery regiment in Vietnam and was the Australian defence attache to Japan. He was a witness and participant in many of the major events of Australia's Cold War. In the late 1970s, Reg retired from army service and became an undergraduate in classics at the Australian National University. There, through his undergraduate and Ph.D. years, Reg brought an inspiration that only a life lived in community can offer. Throughout his military and university life, Reg's story tells of his commitment to, and passion for, a deep belief in the positive value of maintaining traditions and fostering pride in a community. The Colonel-Doctor was a soldier and a scholar, a man of profound dignity, faith, and honour, a devoted family man, and the living definition of a gentlemen. Told with a wry sense of humour, the Cannon of Learning commemorates a rich and full life of service and inspiration."