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<em>GEORGE ELLERY HUSSEY </em>was the son of Ellery and Bea Hussey. He grew up in Swampscott, MA, and set his sights on a military career early in life, prompted, in part, by his admiration for his maternal grandfather, a British brigadier.</p>
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His happy youth was filled with school, working with zoo animals, music and, quite obviously to those of us who got to know him later, a lot of mischief. His talent with a trumpet won him a music scholarship to Valley Forge Military Academy, where he completed high school and two years of junior college. His involvement in a myriad of activities while there showed he was already interested in all those things that made life interesting and fun. Winning an appointment to West Point, he joined us on the Plain in July 1954.</p>
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While a cadet, he paid close attention to his many interests, to include keeping us all a little off-balance with his high jinks,vast electronic gear, disc-jockeying for KDET (always trying to discover a foolproof way of playing one of "those" records), and dragooning plebes into starring in his homemade training films for leadership classes.</p>
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While taking great pride in his ability to tutor others, he did not find academics to be a particular challenge. Therefore, he had ample time to devote to living with intensity and developing, almost inadvertently, an ability to get others to join him in his various "nonapproved" activities. His independence of thought, curiosity, and ability to act decisively were key to his development as an officer and a leader.</p>
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Having concluded that it would probably provide the most fun, George selected Infantry upon graduation.</p>
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After the usual schooling, George and his new bride, Marilyn Monteith, found themselves in Germany with the 3d Armored Division, living in Bad Nauheim, West Germany. For more than four years, George got to be an Infantry platoon leader and company commander, the best of all possible worlds to him. Following that, the Hussey clan went to Ft. Gordon, GA, to train soldiers.</p>
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This was duty right up George’s alley. All his talents came into play with the raw material of young recruits and inductees. He got to transform them into his ideal person: a competent, knowledgeable soldier, tough and ready. His personal satisfaction couldn’t have been higher. At the same time, he took great delight in involving his family in the learning and recreational opportunities available to them. It was there that involvement in the outdoors really began to take root, with fishing and camping being foremost.</p>
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On orders for Viet Nam for his first tour, he was sent first to language school and then to Viet Nam to be a unit advisor, a decidedly difficult and dangerous job. It fit George well: he was very nearly his own boss. He could innovate, learn from his counterparts, and make his part of the war somehow better and more meaningful.</p>
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Decorated for valor, he was brought home to be an ROTC instructor at Norwich University in Vermont. While there, he and Marilyn and their two boys, Kevin and Shawn, took full advantage of the academic way of life and the great outdoor activities the area had to offer: skiing, fishing, camping, and touring. At the same time, his impact as an instructor was being felt. His teachings and appealing antics (to include completely preparing and serving a meal of wild pheasant to his students) instilled in his students that love of life, living, learning, and doing that was so much a part of him.</p>
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When he got the call to return to Viet Nam in 1969, he relocated his family to Denver, CO, so they could enjoy "really good skiing while he was gone."</p>
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On 4 May 1970, George was mortally wounded during a mortar attack while serving with the 25th ARVN Division during the incursion into Cambodia.</p>
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A year later, the Hussey Compound in Cu Chi was dedicated to him "as a fitting tribute to a member of the Long Gray Line who gave his life in our common cause." George was a great friend, a loving father and husband, and a dedicated and exuberant soldier.</p>
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We miss him.</p>
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<em>Family, friends, and classmates</em></p>