George Alden Sundlie

West Point, 1951

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by JA "Andy" Chacon on November 26, 2010:

On Thanksgiving day 2010, I received the following message from Sunlie's son Scott, who survived the auto crash that killed Sunlie on September 26, 1952. Dear Mr. Chacon: What a wonderful Thanksgiving gift it was for me to find the Eulogy you posted on West-Point.org about my father, George "Alden" Sundlie. I suppose I should introduce myself - my name is Scott Alden Sundlie Campbell, and Alden was my Dad. After Alden was killed in the car accident in September of 1952, my Mother and I moved back to Florida, where she grew up. In November of 1953, Mom and my step-father, Lyman Campbell, were married and he adopted me. During his working life, my step-father worked here in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, which is where I grew up. When he retired, he and Mom moved back to Florida to fulfill a dream of hers to "return home." Both are still living and reside in Lakeland, FL. In fact, my wife, Sandy, and I took them on a cruise last month to celebrate Mom's 80th birthday. As I mentioned, I was raised in Texas and in fact, was born in Lubbock, Texas on May 7, 1952 at Reese Air Force Base, where Alden was stationed. Interestingly, I always had aspirations to fly for a career, but didn't get to fulfill that dream due to a stigmatism that the Air Force discovered when I was going though my physicals to enter Air Force ROTC. I've always enjoyed swimming, too, and qualified as a Water Safety Instructor while I was in college. You may recall that Alden was a very strong swimmer. Two of our children, Travis and Ashley, graduated from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. I met my wife, Sandy, in Florida in 1970 and we married in 1974. We have three grown children, Amy Nicole (31), Travis Scott (27), and Ashley Marin (26). We also have a grandson, Alden Jaxon Owen, born 12/27/09 and a granddaughter, Adilynn Reese Owen, born 4/29/10. I was so pleased and surprised when Amy and her husband, Charles, informed us that they were going to name their son after Alden. I have attached a few photographs that I thought you might enjoy, particularly the ones of me and Alden in front of my baby portrait. I've been told that I bear a strong resemblance to Alden and I think you would agree that young Alden bears a strong resemblance to me. I can't tell you how many people say, "Oh, what a lovely name he has," when they meet Alden, and we always enjoy explaining how he came to have that name. After I graduated from The University of Texas, I began my professional career in human resources management. I spent the first 16 years of my career in the banking industry, the next 5 in the hospitality industry, and for the last 14 years, I have worked in the logistics/distribution industry. Currently, I am Vice President -- Human Resources & Corporate Support for Roofing Supply Group, LLC. We are the 4th largest roofing distributor in the U.S., with annual revenues of approximately $800 million and 1,000 employees in 60 locations in 23 states (none in Oregon, yet). It's funny, but if I remember correctly, my grandfather, George K. Sundlie, had a roofing business in Salem. Like you, I have a passion for HR and organizational behavior. I always tell people that I never know what kind of opportunity or problem will present itself when the phone rings, but I always answer with interest and enthusiasm, and constantly marvel at the things that people sometimes do. With our grandson's birth, I have experienced a renewed interest in Alden's life and legacy. I had Alden's USMA diploma framed many years ago and it hangs in an honored place in our home. My daughter, Amy, has already informed me that she would like Alden to have it some day. I have some of Alden's other things, such as his Boy Scout knife and his Eagle Scout merit badges, etc. One of these days, I need to go up into the attic and retrieve an old suitcase that has some of his things in it. As I recall, his USMA uniform was given to a museum in Salem by my grandparents, George and Ethel. George passed away in the late sixties (I think 1969) and Ethel passed away in 1980. I don't know what ever became of the flag that covered his casket. I think my Mom gave it to Ethel. I recently "adopted" a 48-star burial flag that belonged to another soldier, whose identity is not known, and have it framed in remembrance of my Dad. It seemed to me that that flag should have a good home and now it honors two service men instead of just one. Mr. Chacon, thank you so much for posting that Eulogy. I had never seen it before and it was so interesting to read what my grandparents wrote about Alden when he died at such a young age. I recently discovered that Buzz Aldrin was also a member of your graduating class. I have written to him, but have not yet received a reply. I can only imagine how much mail he receives. I also read your career and life bio, and it certainly seems like you have had a very distinguished and fulfilling life thus far. And, your family certainly has an impressive legacy of service to our country. I was saddened to read about your brother's murder. It's a shame how little respect some people have for the lives of others. I hope this message brightens your day as much as the discovery of your kind remembrance of my Dad did mine. If you have any personal thoughts or memories about my Alden that you would like to share, I would certainly be interested to hear from you. Also, if you are in contact with any other classmates who might remember him, I would certainly like to reach out to them if you could help facilitate that. Kindest regards, Scott A. Campbell 1908 Drew Lane Richardson, TX 75082 Tel. (972) 234-5270 Cell (972) 816-4822 FAX (214) 956-5216

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