Donald Chessman Beere ’38 *48

Fittingly, Don was born May 19, 1916, in West Point, N.Y., son of a USMA Field Artillery lieutenant colonel. Our classmate died in his retirement venue, Del Mar, Calif., on Apr. 13, 1993, of encephalomyelitis.

An Exeter graduate, Don was with us for freshman year. He transferred to the Military Academy for his BS and 2nd lieutenancy in the regular army in 1939. WWII led him to France and Germany as commanding officer of 861st Field Artillery Battalion, 63rd Army Infantry Division, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Commendation Ribbon, and Croix de Guerre with Star.

The Army returned Don in 1946 to Princeton Graduate School, where in 1948 he earned an MS in nuclear science. During four years at Supreme HQ Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), he drafted the text for NATO ground forces. He retired in 1959 as colonel. Next were five years with General Atomic in San Diego, researching advanced nuclear physics.

On Feb. 6, 1942, Don married Mary Susan Shallcross, who died in Oct. 1995. The class extends sympathy to their children, Donald B., Christopher N. "Nick," Julie W. Berg, and Susan M. Wilkerson, and five grandchildren. Taps!

The Class of 1938