The Salem Evening News
Published: 06/12/2007
Peter J. Foss
ROCKPORT - Col. Peter J. Foss, Army officer,
professor, journalist, and horseplayer, passed away in his residence
in Rockport on Saturday, June 9, 2007 after a valiant battle
with leukemia. He was an accomplished man, having two full, distinguished
careers; commanding trust and respect from his soldiers and students
by his dedication to fairness and his enthusiastic, reassuring
leadership. His absolute devotion to family, duty, honor, and
service will be a loss too great to bear. He will be deeply missed.
Born on April 16, 1929 in Litchfield, Minn.,
the oldest boy of ten kids, he graduated Litchfield High '47,
and then from West Point Military Academy, Class of 1951. During
the Korean War, Peter commanded multiple units, and extended
his combat tour six months. While stationed at Fort Campbell,
Ky., Pete met Marie Gerrior, a flight attendant for American
Airlines. They married in Augsburg, Germany in May 1956. By March
1960, they had three children.
Peter served again in Korea in 1966, and
then attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison, for a Master's
of Journalism. In 1969, after a one-year utilization tour in
Kaiserslauten, Germany, he received orders for Vietnam. Peter
joined the 82nd Airborne and then took command of the 508th Airborne
outside Saigon. He extended his tour and commanded the 46th Infantry
in the jungles near Laos.
At Ft. Benning, Ga. in 1970 to 1971, Peter
was designated the Public Affairs Officer for the My Lai court-martial
trial of Lt. Calley, coordinating more than 100 reporters daily
for the highly publicized trial. Calley was found guilty of 22
counts of murder. All subsequent appeals against the press coverage
by Calley's defense team were denied and the verdict was upheld.
This was one of Pete's proudest achievements of his military
service.
Peter's last assignment was at the Pentagon
to handle the Policy and Plans Division for Office Chief of Information.
During the exchange of the POWs with the North Vietnamese in
1973, he was responsible for the Army public affairs planning,
assuring proper steps were taken with the servicemen to get their
affairs in order and reacclimatize before meeting with an eager
local press corps. Peter retired as a full colonel in 1973.
Peter headed, and expanded, the Media-Communications
Department at North Shore Community College for 23 years and
named Professor Emeritus and "Best of the Best" in
1995, an annual award given to the most respected teacher of
the faculty. In 1996, he retired from his full time tenured professor
position, but still taught an occasional evening class for many
years after. He was proud some of his students achieved acclaim
in the Mass Media field, and in following years, enjoyed running
into former students and hearing how much he had made a difference.
Peter was also a guest lecturer for the
Boston College, and served six years on the North Shore Regional
Vocational School Committee (1975 to 1981) during the start-up
and construction of the school. He taught a weekly class at St.
Mary's Parochial School, Beverly, on a volunteer basis from 1990
to 1996. From 1981 to 1992, he served on the advisory committee
for West Point Academy nominations. He was a member of the English
Lunch Club. Peter served on the parish council of St. Joachim
and a lector for many years.
Pete had a lifelong passion for the horse
racing, always taking in the nearby racetracks wherever his travels
took him. He was the king of the $1 trifecta box and always gave
Marie a cut of the winnings. "The Colonel" was a familiar
face at Suffolk Downs and Rockingham Park, and on August weekends,
attended the Mecca of horseracing, Saratoga. Peter wrote several
freelance magazine articles for horse racing publications, combining
his interests in racing history, personalities, and art. He was
an elected member of the New England Turf Writers Association
and served on the scholarship selection committee.
He is survived by his loving best friend
and wife of 51 years, Marie; his devoted children and their spouses,
Deborah Foss Cox and husband Steven of Rochester, N.Y., Peter
Michael Foss and wife Jenifer Locke of Gloucester, Mary Foss
Murphy and husband Bob of Beverly; his five terrific grandchildren,
Kellen Murphy, Kristin Cox, Steven Cox, Charlotte Foss, and Lena
Foss; his caring siblings, John Foss, Bernadette Hughes, Teresa
O'Brien, Claire Bauer, Martin Foss; along with many, many in-laws,
nieces, nephews, cousins and friends, as well as his dedicated
network of classmates of '51 West Point. He is predeceased by
his parents, Peter and Mary; and his siblings, Maryanne Delambre,
Joe Foss, Tom Foss, and Ted Foss.
ARRANGEMENTS: His funeral will be held
from the Burgess & Mackey Funeral Home, 201 Main St., Rockport,
on Friday morning at 9:15 a.m. A funeral Mass will be celebrated
in St. Joachim's Church, Holy Family Parish, Broadway, Rockport,
at 10 a.m. The burial will be in The West Point Cemetery, New
York. Visiting hours in the Burgess & Mackey Funeral Home
will be on Thursday 4 to 8 p.m. Relatives and friends are cordially
invited. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to his selected
scholarship funds, Peter J. Foss Memorial Scholarship at North
Shore Community College, 1 Ferncroft Road, Danvers, MA 01923,
Attn: Scholarship Fund or to The New England Turf Writers Assoc.
Scholarship Fund, c/o Tom Chace, P.O. Box 80007, Stoneham, MA
02180.
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