 |
MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly Jan '97
Richard Boyer Diver
No.15537 Class of 1946
Died 21 February 1995 at Upland, California, aged 70 years. Inurnment:
Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside, California.
|
Dick Diver was born 21 February 1924 in Meyersdale,
Pennsylvania. He spent his youth in the Inland Valley of Pennsylvania
and after graduating from Meyersdale High School enlisted in
the Army. He was training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma when he received
his appointment to West Point.
Roommate Dave Colaw recalled: "Dick was fun loving and had
a lively sense of humor; however, he was by nature serious and
rather quiet. He was conscientious in all tasks, knew the rules,
played by the rules and seldom, if ever took shortcuts. I never
heard him speak ill of anyone. Academics came easily. He was
never content to simply get the answer; always he wanted to know
why?"
Friend and classmate Bill Lincoln wrote of Dick: "We became
friends in Beast Barracks and came to know each other thoroughly
and to respect and appreciate each other. Dick was a good person
to be with when the going got tough. He was so sensible and level
headed. Seen through his eyes, difficulties were not so bad,
problems were solvable, all that was needed was effort and persistence
- and of course, his subtle humor added at just the right moment
always helped put things in perspective."
Dick's branch of choice was Field Artillery and he returned to
Fort Sill after graduation for basic schooling. His first assignment
was to the 519th FA Battalion in Germany. It was during that
assignment that he met and married R. Lucille Briscoe in Obersdorf,
Germany on 24 October 1948. Lucille was an Army Service Club
Director at the time. In 1950, the Divers returned to Fort Sill
where Dick attended the Artillery School. Next, Dick was assigned
to the Field Command, Armed Forces Special Weapons Command in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Then to Fort Bliss, Texas, first as
a student and then on the faculty of the Army Air Defense School.
His boss in this assignment, Colonel Joe G. Waterman recalled:
"Dick Diver was one of the two most intelligent men I have
ever known. I soon found I had received a jewel. No task was
too large or too small for Dick. It wasn't long before I relied
on him for support on just about everything." Dick then
served an unaccompanied tour with the 1st Cavalry Division Trains
before returning to Fort Sill on the Staff and Faculty of the
Artillery and Missile Center. In 1965, the Divers moved to Alaska
where Dick was assigned to the Arctic Test Center. The Divers
returned to the lower 48 in 1967 when Dick was assigned to Headquarters,
NORAD. Dick retired in 1969 to seek a second career in his area
of expertise, missiles.
First, he earned a Masters in Systems Engineering at the University
of Arizona, Tucson He then was employed with General Dynamics
(G.D.) in California where he worked on several missile development
programs. Kelman Miller, friend and associate at General Dynamics,
wrote: "I remember the day Dick started in the Weapons Test
Analysis Group. He was sent to a test site to perform pre-flight
analysis on a missile before a test firing. In true Diver fashion,
he pitched right in, tackled the job and made the best of the
resources he had. Although Dick was assigned to perform analysis
and reporting tasks his first few years at G.D., he told me he
always enjoyed test planning. When he was put in charge of RAM(Rolling
Airframe Missile) test planning, he really excelled. He was a
first rate planner and an excellent teacher of those in his charge."
Donald Bean, G.D. Project Engineer, remembered: "I learned
very quickly that Dick's exceptional knowledge about missile
systems and his leadership skills he learned while in the Army
and West Point enabled him to take lead positions on programs.
I used Dick whenever possible to help train new engineers how
missile systems worked, how to analyze test results and how to
prepare proper technical reports."
Dick retired from General Dynamics in 1989. He spent his retirement
doing the things he enjoyed, traveling, hiking and spending time
with his family. He died on 21 February 1995 after a long battle
with liver cancer. He is survived by his wife, Lucille, and three
sons, Richard, Jr.(USMA '73), David and Fredrick .
Dick Diver left a lasting impression on all who knew him. That
impression made all who were fortunate enough to know him realize
they had come in contact with one of those rare people who are
inherently good. His friends and colleagues each remembered Dick
a little differently, but the thrust of their remembrances all
reflect the greatness that was Dick Diver.
Dave Colaw: "Certainly, West Point, the Corps and the concept
of Duty, Honor, Country meant as much to him as to any other
man I have ever known. Dick was a wonderful roommate, a treasured
friend, and one of West Point's finest sons."
Kelman Miller: "I will always be thankful for Dick as a
friend, helper, mentor and a wonderful human being. He is one
of the few people in my life I consider to be a true friend.
I miss him. I look forward to seeing him in the next life."
Donald Bean: "I will never forget Dick. I believe the world
would be a much better place if everyone contributed as much
as Dick and Lucy have."
Bill Lincoln: "The values and precepts of West Point typified
Dick. Duty, Honor, Country - that's Dick; the Honor Code - Dick
again. I think that the West Point Cadet Prayer describes Dick
and the way he lived his life wonderfully well. We miss you,
Dick. I guess we always will while we remain here behind."
The Class of 1946 would like to add these parting words to those
of Dick's friends and family, "Well Done, Dick; Be Thou
At Peace!
'46 Memorial Article Project and his wife, Lucille
|