Citadel Alumni Deaths

COL Walter George Kersey, 78, U.S. Army (Retired), of Williamburg, VA, a
30-year career officer who was honored with a Distinguished Service
Medal and whose career included postings at the Pentagon, in Vietnam and
multiple tours of duty in Europe, died peacefully Oct. 25, surrounded by
his family at Walter Reed Hospital in Gloucester, Va. COL Kersey died of
pneumonia after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. An Air Defense
Artillery Army officer fluent in German and French, George Kersey began
his military career as a Second Lieutenant and Battery Commander, 73rd
AA Battalion and an Aide-de-Camp to the Commanding General, 34th AAA
Brigade in Karlsruhe and Mannheim, Germany, respectively. He returned to
Germany in 1969 as a LTC when he activated and served as the first
Commander, 1st Battalion, 59th Artillery (Chaparral/Vulcan), and as the
Acting Chief of Staff, G-1, for the 8th Infantry Division, in Mainz and
Bad Kreuznach, respectively. He served as a Senior Advisor to the
Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces (RVNAF) in 1963. He also had two NATO
assignments, first serving as Secretary to the Army Board, NATO Military
Agency for Standardization in London, England, and then as Director of
Administration, Security, and Personnel to the U.S. Mission to NATO in
Brussels, Belgium. During this last assignment, he coordinated the NATO
visits of President Jimmy Carter and Secretary of Defense Harold Brown.
His last tour of duty was as Post Commander of Fort Myer in Arlington,
Va. During this assignment, he was the Executive Director of President
Ronald Reagan’s first Inaugural Committee. He retired from the Army in
1981 and went to work for Martin Marietta. In 1989, he and his wife
retired to Williamsburg, Va. W. George Kersey, the only son child of
Rev. Walter O. and Louise H. Kersey, was born in Clarkesburg, W.Va., on
Dec. 8, 1930. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from
The Citadel, class of 1952. Upon graduation and commissioning as a
Second Lieutenant, he attended the University of Southampton, England,
and the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins
University in Bethesda, Md., as The Citadel’s first Fulbright Scholar.
He is also a graduate of the Field Artillery Basic and Advanced Courses,
Command and General Staff College, and L’Ecole Superieure de Guerre (the
French War College) in Paris, France. During his Army career, COL Kersey
was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal; Defense Superior Service
Medal; Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf; Joint Service
Commendation Medal with oak leaf; Army Commendation Medal; Republic of
Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal – First Class; Army of Occupation
Medal, World War II, Germany; Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with
bronze service star; National Defense Service Medal with bronze service
star; Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with date bar; Republic of
Vietnam Gallantry Cross Medal with palm device; and the Army Overseas
Service Ribbon, four tours of duty. COL Kersey was also awarded the
Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge and the Army
Staff Identification Badge for service on both the Secretary of
Defense’s and the Army Staff. He earned the MACV combat patch. He is
survived by Margaret, his wife of 56 years; his children, Jessica Kersey
of San Carlos, Calif., Ian Kersey of Williamsburg, and Andrew Kersey,
Esq., of Fairfax, Va.; as well as five grandchildren, Thomas (a Plebe
following in his grandfather’s footsteps at The Citadel), Emily, Andrew,
Jack, and Will. The family will receive friends on Wednesday, Oct. 28,
2009, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Nelsen Funeral Home, 3785 Strawberry Plains
Rd., Williamsburg. A service will be held on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 11
a.m. at Williamsburg United Methodist Church, 500 Jamestown Rd.,
Williamsburg. Interment will be on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010, at 1 p.m.
at Arlington National Cemetery, Fort Myer Chapel, Arlington, Va. In lieu
of flowers, please send memorial contributions to The Respite Care
Ministry of Williamsburg United Methodist Church, 500 Jamestown Rd.,
Williamsburg, VA 23188. View and post condolences on our online
guestbook at dailypress.com/guestbooks.

Tags: 1952