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MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly Sep '90
Lynn Wood Hoskins, Jr. No.16128 Class of 1946 Died
21 July 1988 in Tucson, Arizona, aged 63 years.
Interment: Knoxville, Tennessee
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"It feels good," Lynn Hoskins said as
he stretched out on a bench in the locker room after 18 holes
of golf. He began to feel ill on the 17th and his foursome urged
him to quit, but he finished and went into the clubhouse. Those
were the last words anyone heard him say. He died of a heart
attack.
Golf was one of Lynn's favorite pastimes and he
played it well in the low 80s. Lynn was the son of the late Lynn
W. Hoskins, Sr. and the late Bettie Ayers Hoskins. He was horn
19 January 1925 in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was the youngest
of three children; both his sisters were several years older.
He attended elementary and high school in Knoxville. While Lynn
was still in school his parents went into semi-retirement, taking
an apartment at the Whittle Springs Hotel. This enabled Lynn
to discover golf at the hotel's golf course, where he became
quite proficient at the game. After high school Lynn attended
one year at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville; he was
a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. Lynn also helped in his
father's business, making plain label chewing gum, to he marketed
by national distributors under their own names. During World
War II, sugar curtailed the business. To use the capacity of
his factory, the elder Hoskins, a long-time conservationist,
designed and manufactured birdhouse kits for marketing through
the five-and-ten chains. Lynn helped his father and one of his
brothers-in-law run the plant.
With the war underway, Lynn sought an appointment
to the Military Academy and attended Cochran Bryant Preparatory
School in Annapolis, Maryland. He was appointed from the Second
Congressional District of Tennessee and entered on 1 July 1943.
Lynn's easy going, good humored way made him many
friends at West Point. Today he would be called "laid back."
From the beginning, the system caused Lynn little trouble, but
academics did not come easy. He was dogged in his preparation
and spent long hours after taps studying. Lynn's many talents
came to the forefront as a cadet. In plebe boxing, his classmates
quickly learned to choose a partner before they had to pair up
with Lynn. He was tall, rangy and fast. Billy Cavanaugh, the
instructor, smiled when Lynn went into the ring. Cavanaugh was
reported to award a 3.0 if blood was drawn. Lynn confessed he
took tap dancing when in grade school. His instructor of the
old school, reminiscent of the antebellum dancing masters in
the South, believed that boys who learned such social graces
should also know how to defend themselves if taunted by peers.
Since fencing was out of vogue. Lynn was taught to box for his
defense and to improve his footwork. Lynn could still tap a mean
foot.
All cadets had suitcases and other luggage in the
trunk room, but Lynn had a different item. One case was Archie's
home. Lynn was an amateur ventriloquist and Archie was his dummy,
who closely resembled Charlie McCarthy. Lynn had performed frequently
in Knoxville, also appearing on a local weekly radio show with
Homer and Jethro, who later moved to Nashville while Lynn went
to West Point. In barracks Lynn frequently entertained friends
with his routines. He was also a fierce competitor and sure shot
in pickup or intramural basketball. His social life was not a
short suit, either. The Class Howitzer noted that Lynn "dragged
pro femmes."
Lynn was graduated and commissioned into the Coast
Artillery shortly before the merger of all artilleries into one
branch. After a two-month leave he went to the basic course at
Fort Sill. The year long course included a three month finale
at Fort Bliss. At Sill Lynn's golf prowess came into play as
he was in demand as a partner and was sponsored by senior staff
officers for weekend tournaments.
Lynn reported to Panama in November 1947 and joined
the 65th Antiacrart Artillery Group where he served as a battery
officer and battery commander. Soon after arrival Lynn's penchant
for "pro femmes" surfaced. He found one of the prettiest
girls on the Isthmus, the daughter of a colonel who was troop
commander of the ship that brought Lynn to Panama. Lynn and Beverly
Bottoms were married 27 December 1948. A son, Lynn III joined
the family in October 1949
In 1950 Lynn joined the 3rd Infantry Division as
a battery officer and battery commander of it's anti-aircraft
artillery battalion during the first year of the Korean War.
Next, after the Advanced Course at Sill and Bliss, he was assigned
for two years as an ROTC instructor at The Citadel, where another
son, Robert, was born.
Germany followed, where he commanded a gun battery,
advised the German Army Air Defense School, and was S-2 of a
brigade. In 1957 Lynn returned to Fort Bliss for three years
as an instructor and staff officer at the Air Defense Center.
While there he attended and graduated at the top of his class
from the Guided Missile Systems Officer Course, which set the
tone for his subsequent career. He and Beverly rounded out the
family in El Paso with the arrival of daughter Patti in 1958.
After completing the regular course at Fort Leavenworth,
Lynn embarked on a period of schooling and assignments in strategic
missile intelligence. In 1964 he commanded a Nike battalion in
Greenland and later served as commander of an artillery group
there. He returned to the Pentagon and spent a year in the office
of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics before attending the
Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He also obtained his
master of science degree in business administration from George
Washington University. Lynn was promoted to colonel from the
outstanding list. He then served in the Office of the Secretary
of Defense before moving to Fort Bliss to command a training
brigade. He was chief of staff for the Safeguard program for
a year, and in 1970 he was assigned to the North American Air
Defense Command. He was promoted to brigadier general and in
1972 assumed command of the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade
in Korea. There he was known as a commander whose concern was
for the welfare of his troops and one who turned around an organization
that was having difficulty passing annual IG inspections. For
the last three of his 30 year career, Lynn was assigned to the
NATO staff in the Netherlands and was commanding general of the
United States Army element there.
After retirement, Lynn and Beverly moved to Tucson
where Lynn continued his love for golf. He served as president
of his homeowners association and president of the southern Arizona
West Point Society. He also took up cross-stitching and turned
out beautiful portraits and scenes. Al a crafts display he was
approached and commissioned to do family portraits by persons
who saw his work. He was truly a man of many talents.
Lynn is survived by Beverly in Tucson; their sons,
Lynn III in Chattanooga and Robert in Americus, Georgia; daughter
Patti Bass in Atlanta, Georgia; and sisters Betty Lynn Jasper
of Knoxville and Margaret Canning of Tucson.
In addition to various service medals garnered
during his 30 year career, Lynn was awarded the Distinguished
Service Medal, Legion if Merit with three Oak Leaf Clusters,
Joint Services Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal with
two Oak Leaf Clusters, OSD Identification Badge and General Staff
Identification Badge.
REK, roommate
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