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MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly Mar'92
William Charles Hall No.15418 Class of 1946
Died May 1982 in Rockville, Maryland, aged 58 years.
Interment: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia |
William Charles Hall, known to his family and friends
as Chuck, was born on 29 November 1923 in Cherokee, Iowa. Cherokee
is a small, rural farming town, and Chuck lived there until his
parents divorced during his early childhood. This event resulted
in Chuck spending his grade school years alternating a year in
Cherokee with his father and a year in Pasadena, California with
his mother. During these years the family sojourns to his grandmother's
cottage on Lake Okoboji in northwestern Iowa were the highlights
of Chuck's life. A family sanctuary, three and four generations
of family would gather there each summer. It was there that Chuck
developed a life-long love of the water. The cottage became the
root of his family life, and he continued to spend his vacations
there even as an adult. Chuck spent his high school years in
Cherokee, attending Wilson High School. Even in those years he
demonstrated a wonderful sense of dedication and loyalty. His
cousin, Marian Greenfield, recalled an incident during his senior
year in high school. Chuck was a mainstay in the marching band,
playing the clarinet. The band was to play in the national competition,
which happened to occur at the same time as Chuck was to be interviewed
for West Point. Going to West Point meant everything to Chuck,
but he couldn't let the band down. When the West Point interviewers
arrived and learned why Chuck wasn't there, they said, "He's
just the kind we want-someone who wouldn't let others down to
pursue his own ambitions." Chuck had already applied to
the California Institute of Technology and received a scholarship
there, so attended Cal Tech while waiting to receive his appointment
to West Point His wait ended alter one year; he entered West
Point on 1 July 1943 as a member of the Class of 1946.
Cadet life presented no major problems for Chuck.
His innate characteristics of self-reliance, dependability and
dedication to excellence enabled him to master each obstacle
that came his way. Chuck was a member of the Cadet Orchestra
as well as the Camera Club and the Fishing Club. He was on the
Wrestling Squad his last two years. His classmates respected
Chuck as a truly fine person, one who could be counted upon when
the going got tough. Quiet and unobtrusive, he nevertheless was
articulate in expressing his ideas and was always eager and ready
to help a classmate. At graduation Chuck became a second lieutenant
in the Ordnance Corps.
Chuck attended the Branch Immaterial Course at
Fort Benning, Georgia and then moved to Aberdeen Proving Ground,
Maryland for the Basic Officers Course. While at Aberdeen, Chuck
married May (Meg) Elinor at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Chapel in Washington, DC on 4 October 1947. From Aberdeen, Chuck
and Meg traveled to Sandia Base, New Mexico where Chuck served
as company commander of Headquarters Company, then as a student
in the Special Weapons Course and finally as a mechanical engineering
officer with the 122nd Special Weapons Unit. The summer of 1950
saw Chuck move to Japan, where he became ammunition supply officer
with the 63rd Ordnance Battalion. After a year, he became chief,
Supply and Transportation Branch, Ammunition Division of the
Joint Logistics Command. Meg was able to join Chuck in Japan
and they enjoyed their sojourn in the Far East
Chuck later became assistant chief of Depot Operations for the
Ammunition Division in the Joint Logistics Command. Following
his tour in Japan, Chuck earned his master's in mechanical engineering
at Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana. With degree in hand,
Chuck and Meg moved to Picatinny Arsenal, Dover, New Jersey,
where Chuck was deeply involved in the ammunition research and
development process. It was during this tour at Picatinny that
their first child, Carolyn, was born in 1955. The next two years
saw the Halls holding student status. At the Ord-nance Officers
Advanced Course at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, Chuck again
demonstrated his dedication to excellence by becoming the honor
graduate in that course. A son, Jeffrey, was born to the Halls
at this time. Then on to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where Chuck
attended the Command and General Staff College.
Germany was the next stop for the Halls. Chuck
was commanding officer, Army Ordnance Plant in Boeblingen, from
1960-63. The Halls' second son, Andrew, was born in Germany in
1961. Returning to CONUS in 1963, Chuck was assigned to the US
Atomic Energy Commission in Germantown, Maryland. The majority
of this three-year tour was spent as chief Special Nuclear Projects
Branch in the Tests Directorate. After Germantown Chuck served
an unaccompanied tour in Korea, where he commanded the 83rd Ordnance
Battalion. Returning to CONUS in 1967, Chuck was made product
manager for Mortar Ammunition at the Munitions Command in Dover,
New Jersey and received the Legion of Merit. The Halls moved
from New Jersey to Washington, DC in 1969 when Chuck became chief,
Weapons Munitions Systems Division, Directorate for Research
and Engineering, US Army Material Command. In 1972, Chuck became
assistant to the director of Special Projects in USAMC. In 1973
it was discovered that Chuck had cancer and he retired from the
Army on 31 May 1973.
Retirement for Chuck, especially under medical
circumstances, was extremely difficult He never complained, however,
and continued to demonstrate his ever ready sense of humor. He
died at his home in Rockville, Maryland on 28 May 1982. He is
survived by his wife Meg; daughter, Carolyn; and two sons, Jeffrey
and Andrew.
William Charles Hall was one of those people about
whom everyone always had something nice to say. Quiet and unassuming,
he never intruded but was always there if a friend was needed.
A classmate, Ken Van Auken, recalled that Chuck was a particularly
outstanding person and greatly admired by his fellow Ordnance
officers. He was always pleasant to be around, as he was so "upbeat,"
even under the most trying times. Ken also remembered Chuck's
love and devotion for his wife Meg. Chuck never articulated his
pride in being a West Pointer, but it was evident in all his
actions. He loved his family. He was a loving husband and devoted
father. He had so much to give to his country and to his family
that the onset of the disease that took both away from him was
a cruel blow. His family, his friends and his classmates feel
a terrible emptiness in their lives now that Chuck Hall has finished
his "course on earth." It is fitting that all who knew
and loved him say, "Well Done, Chuck; Be Thou At Peace!"
'46 Memorial Article Project and his wife, Meg
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