Posted by XXXXXX on May 7, 2008:

Joseph H. Meyer ’48 No. 16551 31 January 1924 – 5 June 2005 Died in Ogden, UT Interred in Memorial Gardens of the Wasatch, Ogden, UT mates and “Bud” to his hometown friends, epitomized the best in a West Point graduate. He served his country faithfully and well as an Army officer, his community as a dedicated public servant, his church as an active parishioner, the international community as a volunteer with the 2002 Winter Olympics, and his family as a caring husband and father. Joe was born in Salt Lake City, but, shortly after his birth, his family moved to Ogden, UT. He grew up there, met his future wife there, and it was Ogden that later beckoned him back. As a youngster, he loved sports, especially baseball and the developing sport of downhill skiing. After graduating from high school, Joe was awarded a one-year full scholarship to Utah State Agricultural College, now Utah State University. After the U.S. entered World War II, Joe joined the enlisted reserves and applied to his congressman for an appointment to West Point. While awaiting the outcome of the West Point application, Joe was called to active duty and went through basic training at Camp Hood, TX. Little did he know that he would return to Ft. Hood 25 years later as an artillery battalion commander. Upon his acceptance to West Point, Joe went to the USMA Preparatory School at Lafayette College in Easton, PA, and entered West Point on 1 Jul 1944 with the Class of 1947. When the war ended, West Point went back to the traditional four-year curriculum. Joe had the option of graduating in three years but chose the four-year program. Joe fit well into the role of a cadet. The extra year at West Point also gave him an additional year of skiing as a talented member of the Ski Team and president of the Cadet Ski Club. Despite Joe’s being at West Point and his love of skiing, he did not forget the girl back home. The romance endured, and Joe and Virginia “Ginnie” Biddle were married in the Cadet Chapel at West Point on Graduation Day. Following a year of service schools in the States, Joe and Ginnie departed for Germany to join the 5th Field Artillery Battalion, part of the 1st Infantry Division, where Joe served as a battery officer and battalion adjutant. The troops were impressed with his knowledge, and one corporal even commented that he had been in the unit for four years and had never seen anyone who could do an artillery survey as easily and quickly as Joe. Another soldier admired his maintenance knowledge and offered to give him a mechanic’s toolbox as a sign of Joe’s diagnostics skills. In 1952, Joe returned from Germany, subsequently serving at Ft. Lewis, WA, then in the 101st Airborne Division at Ft. Campbell, KY, at Ft. Collins, CO, and overseas in Korea. In 1961, Joe earned a master of science in mechanical engineering at the University of Southern California and was assigned to the Air Defense Center at Ft. Bliss, TX. In 1963, he completed Command and General Staff College and was assigned to the Army Staff at the Pentagon for the next three years. There he was awarded the Commendation Medal. Joe then served in Viet Nam with the Military Assistance Command, Viet Nam, where he was awarded the Bronze Star. In 1968, Joe returned to his Field Artillery roots, assuming command of an artillery battalion in the First Armored Division, Ft. Hood, TX. It was a difficult time in the Army, and being a commander was a very challenging assignment. Joe did very well and was awarded a second Commendation Medal. From 1969 until retiring in 1974, Joe occupied a number of important positions in the complex world of missile test and evaluation. He worked in the Washington, DC, Office for Joint Continental Defense Systems. Later, at White Sands, NM, he served as the deputy director of Army Missile Test and Evaluation and later as the director of National Range Operations. Upon retirement, Joe was awarded the Legion of Merit and lauded by the Technical Director as having been “the best director of range operations they had ever had.” After Joe retired, the Meyers moved to San Diego. After earning an associate’s degree in data processing, Joe worked for 12 years as a programmer and senior systems analyst in the San Diego Unified School District. There, he was known as a problem solver who could be relied upon to resolve any data problem quickly—occasionally in the middle of the night. On one occasion, Joe’s colleague presented research data—provided by Joe— to the superintendent of schools. The superintendent asked how long the data gathering had taken. When told three days, he commented that he had been told by his Data Processing Division that the research would take six months. In 1992, Joe and Ginnie returned to their roots in Ogden. They renewed old friendships and became very active in the First Presbyterian Church. Joe and Ginnie had always been leaders in their churches wherever they lived, with Joe often serving as elder or deacon and a member and soloist in church choirs. Joe played golf regularly and during ski season could be found on the ski slopes at Snowbasin two or three times each week. Joe’s own words “proudly proclaimed that his greatest achievements were marrying his beloved Ginnie and fathering three outstanding, brilliant, and overachieving children, Barbara [Barbara A. Meyer, M.D., Seattle, WA], Tom [Thomas J. Meyer, Ph.D., Rutherford, NJ], and Carol [Carol Meyer Zoellner, L.Ac., Salt Lake City, UT].” Joe had five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Joe’s love of skiing remained an enduring passion. He planned and arranged a Class of ’48 skiing reunion in 1996 that was greatly enjoyed by all who attended, and he served as a volunteer for the XIX Olympic Winter Games in 2002. We would like to think, like soldiers, old skiers never die, and Joe has simply skied away. Classmates and notes from Joe’s own reflections

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