<div>
Major <em>Walter Busill Tully Jr.,</em> returned to West Point on a wintry Wednesday in March 1969. He was accompanied on his last journey by many who had known and loved him since his boyhod visits to the Academy from his home in New Jersey, during Cadet years in Company H-1 with the Class of 1959, and on the joyous occasion of his marriage to Connie Cooperider at the Chapel of the Most Holy Trinity in 1966. As we followed his bier to a resting place overlooking the Hudson Valley, we grieved deeply at the premature loss of a proud and loyal member of the Long Gray Line, struck down during his most fruitful years as a loving husband, father, and son, as a trusted and delightful friend, and as a thoroughly professional and absolutely dependable colleague in arms.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
As the son of a West Pointer, and later the son-in-law of a graduate as well, Buse Tully developed an abiding love for the Military Academy early in life, and drew nourishment from the camaraderie, code of ethics, and education which he and his classmates took with them into the Army upon graduation. His sharp wit and professed impatience regarding the superficial aspects of military life sometimes concealed his true dedication from casual acquaintances. In fact, until one got to know Buse well, his unbounded zest for the good life and his compassionate nature might have seemed incompatible with the regimentation and management of violence inherent in the profession of arms. Quite to the contrary, thst rare blend of vivacity, gentility, and professional competence which Buse consistently demonstrated throughout his career encompassed the highest ideals to which every gentleman worthy of the title aspires.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
To the Academy credo of "Duty, Honor, Country,” Buse added a fourth dimension of uninhibited yet unpretentious "Individuality” which enabled him to rise above the crowd of equally dedicated officers with whom he served.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Extraordinary success in his personal and professional endeavors alike was preordained by his heritage, upbringing, and education, and was confirmed in his blissful family life and in his accelerated promotion to field grade positions of responsibility. There is no doubt in the minds of those who knew him best that Buse would also have been selected for early promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and eventually to General Officer if only he had survived his second ordeal in Vietnam. But it is a sad fact that those who dedicate themselves to their missions and men in combat too often pay the ultimate price for their courage. During his first tour in Vietnam with the 1st Air Cavalry Division in 1965-66, Buse had experienced firsthand the trauma which is the lot of combat infantrymen. Yet he also satisfied himself that his men had been well led, and that he had saved lives by his presence that might otherwise have been lost unnecessarily. In pursuit of these same goals, Buse Tully was killed two months after returning to combat with the Americal Division while leading an airmobile assault force into an active landing zone on the Batangan Peninsula.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
In his earlier career as an airborne platoon leader in Germany, as Aide-de-Camp to General William B. Rosson, as an instructor at the Infantry School and later at Ohio State University, and as a Company Commander with the 11th Air Assault Division, Buse earned the friendship and admiration of his colleagues. The high esteem in which he was uniformly held by his superiors is evident in their glowing appraisals of his truly outstanding performance and potential. During his abbreviated career, Major Walter B. Tully Jr. was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star with "V” and three Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm, and the National Order of Vietnam, Fifth Class.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
But the full measure of the man cannot be described adequately by the reports and records in his file, by his awards, or by the words we use to express our sense of grief and unfulfilled destiny. Although eulogy is insufficient to honor the memory of one we loved so much, we can take comfort in the sure knowledge that Buse lives on in the hearts of those he touched during his allotted thirty-two years; not only his devoted wife Connie and their precocious daughter Eileen, his parents Mr. and Mrs. Walter B. Tully, his sister, Clare Rosamond, and his classmates and friends; but also the untold thousands of men and women who cherish fond memories of his beneficial influence on their lives. Few men are fortunate enough to experience the joys and achievements which Buse Tully managed in his short lifetime. Few men are privileged to have known a friend like Buse. In death, as in life, he stands above the crowd as an inspiration to us all.</div>
<div>
</div>