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MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly Mar '94
James Madison McGarity
No. 15813 Class of 1946
Died 6 June 1993 in Naples, Florida, aged 68 years. Interment:
Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.
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ON 15 JUNE 1993, family, friends and classmates
gathered in the Old Post Chapel at Fort Meyer, Virginia to pay
their respects and say goodbye to James M. (Jim) McGarity. The
thoughts and remembrances of all who knew and loved Jim were
eloquently expressed in the touching eulogy delivered by Jim's
son, Lieutenant Colonel James M. McGarity, III, US Army:
"I commend to you James M. McGarity, Colonel
of Infantry, US Army, Doctor of Philosophy, my dad.
"Dad was born on Monday, 15 December 1924,
in Aiken, South Carolina of William Jay and Ruth Shaw McGarity.
Both parents were educators, giving him a thirst for academic
knowledge and an inquisitive mind.
"It was my grandfather who encouraged Dad
to go to West Point. During World War II, competition for the
service academies was keen, and Dad had his sights only on Annapolis,
earning an appointment there. On arrival in Annapolis, he learned
that he was physically disqualified for myopia, but since he
had qualified for the West Point exam that both parents had made
him take, he could go there instead. So, at 18, he boarded a
train for New York, determined never to return home a failure,
and a 33-year Army career began.
"Army life suited Dad. He found himself traveling
to and living among cultures he had only read and dreamed about
as a child. In Japan, he found and married Ruth Ellen Dennis,
our mother, his wife, friend and confidant of 44 years. Together
they raised four children: Annie, Ellen, Foster and myself all
over the world.
"Dad's assignments took them from Japan to
Georgia, California, Turkey, Lebanon, Virginia, Germany, New
Jersey, Washington, Rhode Island, Korea, Pennsylvania and England;
from Infantry platoon leader to Attache at the Court of St. James;
earning recognition from Army Commendation Medal to Bronze Star
Medal with Valor Device and Legion of Merit. Dad's most treasured
award, however, was his Combat Infantryman Badge.
"Through all these travels and times with
our mom, he continued his search for knowledge, studying where
ever he went and, when we were old enough, opening our minds
to the same. We children walked in the steps of St. Paul; climbed
the Acropolis; ran through the Amphitheater of Rome; scaled the
Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico; stood on Hadrian's Wall; and in
the Emperor's Palace in Kyoto. The memories are endless.
"Our father was not an athlete, but he shared
in our development and learning to swim, camp, hike, bike, sail,
play ball, ski, ride horses, and enjoy nature. For it was my
dad's rule to try everything once.
"Dad himself never quit his learning and earned
a master's degree and Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations.
In doing so, he met or saw a veritable Who's Who of American
heroes and characters: Lindbergh, Rickenbacker, Eisenhower, MacArthur,
Roosevelt, Bradley, Getty - an endless parade that fueled his
mind.
"When Dad's service ended in 1976, he and
Mom headed south to Florida, escaping the winter of Illinois
and alighting in Naples. There he learned real estate, taught
government at Edison, participated in the International Relations
Club and the Retired Officer's Club, founded the Civil War Round
Table, joined the Sons of the American Revolution, and attended
to mom as a husband of the DAR -'HODAR.' It was from Naples that
Dad homebased. From there, he and mom would go forward to see
you, their many friends, from all over the world, from his 33
years of service.
"Dad didn't want to make a big deal of his
passing, and I know he is watching this with interest. As Robert
E. Lee wrote in his letter of resignation in 1861, he thanked
all his superiors for their many kindnesses and his friends for
their companionship.
"In sum, as he wrote of his father's passing,
'He was the best dad one could have had.'
"Thank you for honoring my dad here today."
That eulogy, delivered by his son, must have made
Jim McGarity proud and happy. When Jim was asked how he wished
to be remembered, he wrote, "As a loyal American."
He was that and much more. It is with pride and admiration that
the Class of 1946 joins the family and friends of Jim McGarity
to echo those words from the Alma Mater: "Well Done, Jim;
Be Thou At Peace!"
'46 Memorial Article Project and his family
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