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<p>Captain <em>Donald Campbell III</em> (Retired) passed away on March 2, 2015 in El Paso, TX, due to complications from pneumonia. He was the son of Army Colonel Donald Campbell II and his wife, Bette Lee, and the grandson of Brigadier General Archibald Campbell, Class of 1889. Don was born December 3, 1943 in Carlisle, PA. He and his five brothers were raised at several military installations throughout the world. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point on June 8, 1966 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. He earned the Ranger Tab at Fort Benning, GA in the fall of 1966 prior to his first assignment as an Air Defense officer.</p>
<p>Don served in various command and staff positions in Air Defense units in the United States, Germany, Korea, and Vietnam. He spent a great deal of time in the Air Defense Artillery with Hawk Missile units. He became a technical expert on the Hawk Missile system. His travels took him across the globe from Babenhausen, Germany to Vietnam, where he commanded a Hawk Missile Battery. In Germany, during 1970-72 with the 6-59th Air Defense Artillery, his battalion participated in many readiness alerts. One never knew when the alert came if it was the real thing or just another practice alert. At times during these alerts the Hawk batteries would remain on site. During other alerts they would pack up all the unit equipment, including radars and launchers with missiles, and head out for a field training exercise. Once a year the units in the battalion would return to the States for live-fire exercises at the White Sands Missile range to certify their readiness.</p>
<p>While stationed at Fort Bliss, TX, Don’s broad experience and technical know-how led him to author the Army instruction manual for operation and maintenance of the Hawk Missile systems. He was in the stands in Cairo, Egypt on October 6, 1981 when Anwar Sadat, the President of Egypt, was assassinated during the annual victory parade to celebrate Operation Badr, during which the Egyptian Army had crossed the Suez Canal and taken back a small part of the Sinai Peninsula from Israel at the beginning of the Yom Kippur War. The assassination had been ordered by Omar Abdel-Rahman, a cleric later convicted in the United States for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The assassination was undertaken by members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad.</p>
<p>Don retired from the Army in 1987 but continued his service to the nation as a contractor advising the Royal Saudi Air Defense Force for 18 months. He then returned to El Paso, TX, where he taught mathematics and science to underprivileged boys and girls at Hanks High School for 10 years. Don was able to provide academic as well as life lessons guiding his students with commonsense counsel from a veteran who spoke with authority born from experience. He was proud of his students, introducing them to his brothers during their visits to El Paso.</p>
<p>Don was a loving husband and father, and he is survived by his wife, Rosa, his five children: Marybeth, Don, Jose, Luis, and Rosita; his four grandchildren: Jacob, Yves, Brisa, Cielo; and his brothers: Gordon, Allan, Colin, and Stuart. His brother Bruce (USMA ’72), also an Air Defense officer, passed away in 2018.</p>
<p>Fondly remembered by his West Point companymates for his sense of humor and his seeming irreverence for the cadet systems, Don sometimes struggled to stay between the lines with the Tactical Department and spent some hours on the Area in penance for his differences. Julia, a first cousin who lived in Manhattan while Don was a cadet, relayed that she was a coconspirator in some of Don’s escapades enabling him to escape the bonds of everyday cadet life. Given Don’s propensity for skirting established rules, one would think he didn’t like being a cadet. Nothing could have been further from the truth. This free-spirited soul had a deep appreciation for the values and traditions of West Point and the Corps of Cadets. While he struggled with academics and often suffered the strong arm of the Tactical Department, he was determined to graduate. His strong will and independent spirit sometimes put him at odds with contemporaries; however, he never let differences create animosity. He was always the first to laugh and enjoy the companionship of classmates keeping his spirits up despite the day-to-day challenges. While his younger brothers may beg to differ, Don’s gentle demeanor and good spirits were ever present. Always good natured, he was a kind friend and a reliable neighbor throughout his life.</p>
<p>Upon his retirement he welcomed friends to his retirement home on the banks of the Rio Grande River. He enjoyed grilling steak, caring for his family and his pets, and being an active, sometime acerbic contributor to the Class Forum. He offered his mildly offbeat analysis to lighten otherwise overly lugubrious discussions, just as he had done as a cadet.</p>
<p>Ever mindful of being a contributor, he chose to donate his body to medical research. Upon return to his wife, his remains were interred at the Fort Bliss National Cemetery on July 5, 2019. God bless him, he was a good and faithful servant. May he rest in peace. In the words of his brother Gordon, “I will miss his great sense of humor and his sharp as a tack wit.”</p>
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