Lawrence L. Eppley

West Point, 1951

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Jose Andres "Andy" Chacon on January 22, 2006:

Lawrence L. Eppley, Jr. Born May 3, 1927 - Died December 14, 2002 Lawrence "Larry" Eppley, Jr. was born in Leetsdale, Pennsylvania on 3 May 1927 and was appointed to West Point from the Army of the United States. His West Point classmates recall: "Larry is very conscientious in all his efforts, so much so that it is occasionally feared that he has succumbed to exhaustion. Actually, he is only taking advantage of any available sack time. However, Leetsville can feel very proud of its representative in our midst. Incidentally those who follow us in the future may hear the name Eppley again for Larry will assuredly be a success in the Army." During his cadet days Larry was with the Radio Club all four years; with the Chapel Choir plebe, yearling, and cow years; with the Ski and Russian Clubs yearling and cow years; with the Glee Club first class year, and was a Cadet Lieutenant his first class year. Upon graduation, Larry went in the Air Force and after flying training reported to the 47th Flight Squadron in 1952. In 1960, Larry earned a Master of Science degree from Oklahoma State University and then in 1964 Larry attended the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and on completion was assigned to the Air Base Group at Hanscom Field where he served from 1964 to 1965. From 1965 to 1966 Larry served with the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing in Thailand and was decorated with the Bronze Star Medal for distinguished heroism against an enemy and the Air Force Commendation Medal for distinguished service. On return to stateside, Larry was assigned to the Air Force Weapons Test Range where he served until 1969 when he was assigned to the Atomic Energy Commission and served until 1971. Larry's next assignment was to Headquarters, Space and Missile Test Center, Vandenberg AFB, California where he served until 1974. Next Larry received orders to Armament Development Test Center, Eglin AFB, Florida in 1974 and a year later was named Vice Commander of the Air Force Weapons Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. In 1978, Larry was named Commander of the Lab and served as such until 1979 when he retired from the United States Air Force as a Colonel. Upon retirement, Larry and Vivian joined a religious laity, a Catholic Retreat Center, "The Jerusalem Community" in Belen, NM. Larry and his wife Vivian make their home in Glendale, Arizona. Both Larry and Vivian have withdrawn from real estate, and he was engrossed in genealogy when he died on December 14, 2002. Their 6 children and 16 grand-children and 3 great grandchildren are located in Phoenix, Lampoc, CA; Pacifica, CA, Colorado Springs; and Albuquerque." Click to find out what makes Fly Boys tick Air Force Values ufa

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