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View a eulogy for Eugene D. O'Neill, USMA '65, who passed away on August 11, 2013.

Eugene D. O'Neill

West Point, 1965

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Robert M.S. Anderson on August 15, 2013:

I was so sorry to learn of Gene's passing into that part of The Long Gray Line that lives on in our hearts.

I had the privilege of being Gene's last roommate as we completed First Class Year at West Point. We lived in a convivial company, H-1, within the Corps of Cadets. Several other alumni of H-1 have preceded Gene in "crossing the river" - as General Douglas MacArthur put it in his Farewell Speech to the Corps of Cadets - - a speech we all heard delivered in Washington Hall where we ate our meals.

I remember Gene's easy-going friendly manner and that he extended his friendship to all of us. And great it was to have Gene as a roommate when trying to do some science or other homework that had stumped me. He was several sections in academic aptitude ahead of me and easily gave me some insights I didn't have. Gene was also proficient in wrestling - as well as in the classroom.

We didn't follow each other with correspondence or bump into one another as graduates sometimes do after Graduation Day, June 9th, 1965. But I can see by Gene's rank that he acquitted himself well in doing his duty wherever his assignments took him. What was written about Gene in our 1965 Yearbook - The Howitzer was very prescient: "Gene's congenial personality coupled with his capacity for hard work, will stand him in good stead as a member of the Army Blue." Well done, Gene.

We'll miss Gene but continue to retain the picture of him as a good, decent, comrade in arms, who was also a great friend.

 
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