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MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly Mar '91
RICHARD EDWARD HALE No. 15929 Class of
1946 Died 11 September 1961 in Washington, DC, aged 35 years.
Interment: West Point Cemetery, West Point, New York |
Richard Edward [Dick] Hale was born 6 February 1926 in Honolulu,
Hawaii. His father was skipper of a submarine based at Pearl
Harbor at the time. Life as a "Navy junior" saw Dick
living in many different places. Always a happy child, he had
his irrepressible grin early in life. His brother, Francis J.
(Joe), USMA '44, recalls that when Dick was seven, they went
to a fancy Catholic boarding school in Philadelphia. Joe remembers
that every time he saw Dick, one of the nuns had him by the ear
and was hauling him off (still with that grin on his face) to
the penance room. Dick's father died on active duty in 1934.
In 1935 the family moved to Washington, DC. Dick attended Woodrow
Wilson High School in Washington for three years and then went
to Randles Preparatory School and won a Presidential appointment
to Annapolis. Since his high school class was just finishing
its senior year, Dick went back, took the exams for what would
have been his senior courses and graduated with his class. He
was unable to pass the physical exam for Annapolis, but was able
to become a qualified candidate to West Point. He received
a late appointment and arrived at West Point late, in the middle
of the second week of Beast Barracks.
Cadet life was a busy time for Dick. He was engaged in numerous
activities from athletics (boxing, soccer, baseball) to acolyte,
missal reader, ski, camera and fishing clubs. Dick's infectious
grin and engaging personality made him known throughout the Corps.
Graduation saw Dick go into the Infantry.
Following schooling at the Infantry School at Fort Benning,
Georgia, Dick went to Japan for assignment with the 1Ith Airborne
Division. He stayed with the 11th Division for four years, serving
in various positions from platoon leader to company commander
to regimental communications officer. In 1951, Dick, by now a
master parachutist, was assigned to the Airborne Battalion at
Fort Benning, when he received orders for Japan with what was
later to become the Military Assistance Advisory Group. He became
the Plans and Policies Officer at the Japan Military Academy.
He was particularly pleased with this assignment as he felt his
dedication to West Point and its ideals made him suited to this
task. It was during this time that he met his bride-to-be, Pat
Crawford, who was in the Russian Order of Battle Section of Army
Forces Far East G-2. The year 1953 saw Dick go to Korea to serve
with the 65th Infantry Regiment as battalion S-3 and then regimental
S-3. Dick and Pat were married in Tokyo on 3 July 1953 while
Dick was on R & R from Korea. Dick took an inter-theater
transfer back to Japan for an assignment to Central Command.
In 1955, Dick and Pat returned to Fort Benning where
Dick attended the Infantry officers Advanced Course. From Benning,
Dick went back to West Point where he was assigned to the USMA
Admissions Office. The summer of 1959 saw the Hales move to Fort
Leavenworth, Kansas where Dick attended the Command and General
Staff College. Upon graduation in 1960, Dick went to Fort Monroe,
Virginia for assignment to Continental Army Command. It was during
this assignment that Dick learned that he had terminal brain
cancer. He had always been deeply religious and his faith at
that time gave him the strength to peacefully accept this diagnosis.
After learning of this diagnosis, Dick traveled to France. One
of his best friends and classmate, Bob Malley, was stationed
at SHAPE Headquarters at the time. Bob accompanied Dick to the
shrine at Lourdes. Bob recalls that up to that point, Dick had
not had double vision, a sign of progression of the disease.
While on their visit to Lourdes, Dick started having double vision,
so he was immediately returned to the States. Dick died at Walter
Reed Hospital on 11 September 1961. Even though his father was
buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Dick's devotion to West
Point was evident in his request that he be buried there. He
was survived by his wife Pat, three daughters, Mary, Sharon and
Patty, and a son, Richard.
Dick was an easy-going extrovert who loved outdoor activities.
He made friends easily and will always be remembered by all who
knew and loved him for his infectious grin. He was a great believer
in continuing education. He had completed all the requirements,
for a master's degree in international Relations at Columbia
University except for submission of his thesis.
A bright, talented young officer joined "The Long Gray
Line" much too early in his career. The following Memories
of a "Roomie" prepared by one of Dick's roommates,
Mike Sanger, best puts into words the remembrances of Richard
Edward Hale by his family, friends and classmates: "If there
is one picture that immediately comes to mind when thinking of
Dick, it is one that shows him with that highly infectious grin
and that one eyebrow cocked high onto his forehead.
"That's the way he looked as we went through the Point
years, whether he was coming back from boxing practice; returning
from a brief respite at his firstie brother's room during plebe
year (with much pride in Francis J.'s stripes and gold stars);
visiting with his beloved mother Theresa, who, though an early
widow, had managed to get both her sons into the Academy; or
just being his own natural self.
"That look came and went as he learned his trade at Benning
and then undertook duty in Japan. 11th Airborne types will understand
why he called his dog Rakkasan. He had "the ability to bring
forth that grin when I visited him in a bunker of the 65th Infantry
in Korea. And that look must have done much to win the
love of dear Pat as they lived on the economy in Japan. It was
there that he typically bought a series of name
plates that included every rank from second lieutenant to general
of the Army a most symbolic gesture that showed his love of the
Army and his feeling about duty.
"He could summon that look very easily when stationed
at the Point where he and Pat had one of the oldest quarters
on post, shared with their lovely children, Mary, Sharon, and
Patty Sue. I know he had it when his namesake Richard appeared
on the scene. And that look too must have been there when he
learned of his final illness as well as during his trip to Lourdes
with Bob Malley, a trip that spoke of his deep faith in God.
It was a look that was typical of his gutsy way through life.
"A grin, a smile, and beneath them a soldier who
loved his God, his country, his Army and his family with a depth
and understanding that didn't belie the smile but showed how
he could present it to the world with confidence and courage.
“Dick Hale: He is missed!”
"46 Memorial Article Project and his wife, Pat
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