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MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly Sep '92
William Stephen Culpepper, Jr. No.16003 Class of 1946
Died 23 June 1983 in Baltimore, Maryland, aged 58 years.
Interment: West Point Cemetery, West Point, New York. |
William Stephen (Bill) Culpepper, Jr. was born
24 November 1924 in the post hospital at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
His place of birth tells that Bill was an "Army brat."
His father was a physician in the Army Medical Corps, so Bill
spent his childhood traveling from one Army post to another.
As was the case with many Army children of his generation who
lived overseas, Bill took up radio as a hobby that he continued
in his later life. Bill graduated from Lowell High School in
San Francisco, California. From there he attended Sullivan Preparatory
School in Washington, D.C. in order to achieve his lifelong ambition
to enter West Point. This dream became a reality when he entered
the Academy in July 1943 with the Class of 1946.
Having grown up in the Army, Bill had an idea
of what to expect from cadet life. He was one of many who kept
a low profile and made no waves. Academics were a challenge for
him, but, with much diligence, he managed to stay ahead of the
Academic Department. His companymates remember Bill as quiet
and rather withdrawn, keeping mostly to himself. He continued
his interest in radio by staying active in the radio club during
his stay at West Point. Graduation saw Bill become a second lieutenant
of Infantry.
Following basic schooling at Fort Benning, Georgia,
Bill served in Japan from 1947-50, first with the 19th Infantry
and then at Headquarters, Far East Command. From Japan, he moved
to Fort Carson, Colorado for an assignment with the 14th Infantry.
On 30 June 1950, Bill married Virginia Pekor in Columbus, Georgia.
Bill and Virginia traveled to Germany, where he first served
with the 26th Infantry and then transferred to the Ordnance Corps.
He spent the remainder of his tour as a logistics officer with
Headquarters, Seventh Army and then as commander, 357th Ordnance
Heavy Maintenance Company. The Culpeppers returned to the States
in 1954, where Bill became a supply management officer in the
Ordnance Training Command at Aberdeen, Maryland. In 1956, Bill
was selected to attend Syracuse University, where he obtained
his master's degree in business administration. With degree in
hand, Bill became the assistant comptroller for Aberdeen Proving
Ground, Maryland. Bill and Virginia had two sons, William and
Robert, before their divorce in 1957. Bill was married to Harriet
Fox in Maryland in early 1959. He served at Aberdeen until May
1959, when he traveled to South Vietnam for assignment with the
US Army Military Assistance Advisory Group in Saigon. This tour
was interrupted after three months when Bill was assigned to
the Office of the Chief of Ordnance in the Pentagon. In 1960,
Bill left the Army to try his hand in civilian life.
Bill's first job was with the AC Sparkplug Division
of General Motors in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he was a contracts
coordinator for the Titan II Program. He returned to Aberdeen,
Maryland in 1964, where he became a management analyst under
civil service. Bill again traveled to Vietnam in 1966, where
he was a program manager for non-military construction, first
for the Navy and then the State Department. He returned to the
States in 1968 and went to St. Louis, Missouri in the civil service.
He and Harriet had three children, Stephen, Phillip and Susan,
before they were divorced in 1968. Bill returned to Maryland,
this time to Headquarters, First Army at Fort Meade. He remained
at Fort Meade until 1980, when he retired from civil service.
In June 1983, Bill entered a hospital in Baltimore, suffering
from emphysema and heart problems. He died 23 June l983 of complications
from these conditions.
Bill Culpepper had wanted to be a soldier from
his early childhood. That he was able to attend West Point and
serve his country in the Army and then in civilian life was the
thing that made his life a success in his eyes. His son William
III remembered his father's unstinting commitment to, and love
for, his country and its armed services. Bill Culpepper was proud
to be a West Pointer. His earthly remains are at West Point,
the focal point of Bill's life, both as a young man and in his
later life. That he has come full circle, back to the place where
his dreams were fulfilled, would be a source of great pride to
him. Rest in peace, Bill.
'46 Memorial Article Project and his son William
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