MEMORIAL ARTICLE Published Assembly  Sep '90 Christopher Booth Sinclair, Jr.   No.15669  Class of 1946 Died 16 May 1973 in Fort Knox, Kentucky, aged 49 years. Interment: West Point Cemetery, West Point, New York.

                                  
Christopher Booth Sinclair, Jr., known to his family and friends as Kit, was born 26 March 1924 in New Orleans, Louisiana. At an early age, Kit moved with his family to Virginia, and he graduated from Hampton High School, Hampton, Virginia in 1942. He received a congressional appointment to West Point and attended Columbian Preparatory School in Washington, DC, prior to entering the Academy on 1 July 1943.
 
Kit easily fit into life as a cadet. A good student, he finished in the upper half of the class without too much strain, A good athlete, he was a decided asset to his company's intramural teams. He had a positive, friendly approach to life which showed in all that he did. Always in control of himself and the situation, he never took himself too seriously, never complained. but simply coped with the hand he had been dealt.

Upon graduation, Kit was commissioned in the Infantry and attended the Infantry Basic Course and became Airborne qualified at Fort Benning, Georgia. On 26 October, 1946 at Fort Benning, Kit married Virginia Thornton (Gina) a native of Syracuse, New York, whom he had dated during his last two years as a cadet.

Kit's first duty assignment was with the United States Constabulary, on occupation duty in Germany. Gina was able to join him about six months later and their first son, Bryan Carter, was born in Schweinfurt, Germany. Service in the Constabulary, which was based on Cavalry organization, kindled in Kit an enthusiasm for the Cavalry tradition and esprit and led him to transfer to Cavalry in 1949. His first duty in his new branch was as a troop commander with the 14th Cavalry Regiment in Germany.

Kit returned to the United States and was assigned as assistant S-3 with the 3rd Cavalry Regiment at Fort Meade, Maryland from 1950-51. This was followed by a year at the Armor Advanced Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and an assignment as a ROTC instructor at Murfreesboro (Tennessee) State Teachers College from l952-54. During this assignment, two more sons, Christopher B. III and Steven Whitney, were added to his family. From Tennessee, Kit went to Korea where he served as assistant plans officer, G-3 Section, I Corps. At the conclusion of this assignment, the Corps Commander, LTG Collier, stated that Kit was the most outstanding staff officer of his rank and experience that he had ever known.

His next assignment was at Fort Hood, Texas where he served as S-3 of the 508th Tank Battalion of the 4th Armored Division and then in the G-3 Section of III Corps. This was followed by selection to attend Command and General Staff College. In 1958, while attending C&GSC. Kit applied and was accepted for training at the Army Aviation school at Fort Rucker, Alabama where he received his wings as both a fixed wing and helicopter pilot. Upon graduation, he remained at the Army Aviation School with the Tactics Department to help develop new tactics for the fledgling Army Aviation Branch. From 1962-64 Kit was assigned to the Pentagon with the Army Aviation Section of the Officer personnel Directorate.

In 1964, Kit returned to Germany to command the 3rd Tank Battalion, 33rd Armor, 3rd Armored Division. After a year and a half in this command assignment, Kit was selected to return to Fort Knox, Kentucky to organize and train the 3rd Squadron, 17th Air Cavalry Regiment. He deployed to Vietnam with his squadron in October 1967, where he led it in combat for another six months before becoming deputy commander of the 12th Combat Aviation Group.

That summer Kit was assigned to Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, having been selected to attend the 1969 Class of the Army War College. Upon graduation he immediately returned to Vietnam for a second tour, this time as commander of the 160th Aviation Group, l0lst Airborne Division.

Kit returned to the United States and from 1970-72 was assigned to the Combined Armor Group at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He then moved to Fort Knox as the deputy commander for Combat and Training Developments at the Armor School. On the evening of 15-16 May 1973, Kit was a passenger on a UH1 helicopter flight which was demonstrating a night vision device. The helicopter never returned from the flight and was found the next morning with eight passengers dead. A classmate, Major General George S. Patton, was the assistant commandant of the Armor School at the time, and George recalls that in the longest ride of his life, he drove to Sinclair's quarters to break the tragic news to Gina. George says of Kit that "he was a close friend, a superb soldier, and a great American."

On 15 October 1973, the Army recognized Kit's outstanding service to his country by awarding him posthumously the Distinguished Service Medal. The award was presented to Gina by General William E. DePuy, Commander of the United States Armv Training and Doctrine Command. Kit's other military awards include the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star with Valor Device and Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Air Medal with 20 Oak Leaf Clusters.

Kit was further honored at Fort Knox when the Armor School's Combat and Training Developments headquarters building was designated Sinclair Hall. There is a large portrait of Kit hanging in the entry hall and a brass plaque on the doorway of Sinclair Hall, the predominant building on the parade ground at Fort Knox.

Kit is remembered as a dedicated soldier, a loving husband and a devoted father. He is sorely missed by his classmates and his many friends, but most particularly by Gina and his three sons; Bryan, an engineer with General Electric; Chris, a 1974 West Point graduate and an officer in the United States Air Force, and Steve, a geologist with Atlantic Richfield.

Personal Eulogy