Phillip Thomas Boerger BGen (Retired)
Brigadier General Philip T. "Pete" Boerger, US Army, died March 25, 2014 at The Fairfax in Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. Born on May 3, 1924 in Milbank, South Dakota, he was the second son of the late Frank and Jeanette Boerger and the brother of the late Frank C. Boerger.
Pete was drafted into the Army in World War II, graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1947, was commissioned in the Army Corps of Engineers and served overseas in Alaska, Korea, Germany, Iran, and Vietnam and retired as a brigadier general in 1975. He earned graduate degrees from the University of Minnesota and the George Washington University.
General Boerger was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, and the National Security Merit Medal (Korea). Additionally, he was a 32nd Degree Mason and a Shriner.
Upon his retirement from the Army, he was employed in the private sector in Washington, DC; Beaumont, Texas; and Los Alamos, NM. In 1986, his wife Betty and he moved to Carolina Trace in North Carolina. He was a volunteer fireman, served on the Carolina Trace Volunteer Fire Department Board, was a volunteer instructor in Adult Basic Education at the Central Carolina Community College, sang in the Lee County Community Chorus, the Get Happy Chorus, and with the Trace Players, as well as serving on committees of the Carolina Trace Country Club. They moved to The Fairfax, Fort Belvoir, VA, in 2006 where he formed and led The Fairfax Chorus. He was elected to the Resident's Council and to the Board of Directors of the Army Retirement Residence Foundation -Potomac.
General Boerger was preceded in death by his daughter, Judi. He is survived by his wife of sixty seven years, Betty; a son Tom and his wife, Tana, of Carolina Trace; a son-in-law, Bob Humphreys of Herndon, VA. He was "Bompa" to a grandson, Trevor, and great-grandson, Cody, and a great-granddaughter, Stella, of Washington, DC; and granddaughters Deni Cunningham and Keri Staley of Northern Virginia, and twin great-grandsons, Austin and Clark Staley and great-granddaughter, Joelle and great-grandson, Coulter Cunningham.
General Boerger's Celebration of Life was held at The Fairfax, 9140 Belvoir Woods Parkway, Fort Belvoir, VA, on April 5, 2014 at 2 p.m. An inurnment at West Point will follow at a later date.
Published in The Washington Post on Mar. 30, 2014