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<p>Loyal. Dedicated. Caring. These words described <em>Charles Edward “Charlie” Driscoll</em> throughout his life, and they applied in all his roles: father, son, husband, friend, engineer, rower, paratrooper, and soldier. As the “stroke” rower during his Army Crew career, Charlie set his crew’s stroke rate and rhythm. Just as a good stroke brings the very best out of each rower, Charlie brought out the best in his friends and family.</p>
<p>Charlie was loyal to everyone around him: his design team on one of many projects as a cadet; his fellow athletes on the crew team; his family; and the men and women under his command. He stood by all these people during good times and bad, victory and defeat. His loyalty to the nation shone through in his Engineer service: first in Ranger School, and then with the XVIII Airborne Corps and 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC. He served there as a platoon leader and company executive officer in the 307th Engineer Battalion, honing his craft as a military professional. After the Captain’s Career Course, he distinguished himself as a company commander in the 1st Infantry Division’s 1st Engineer Battalion at Fort Riley, KS. His battalion commander remembered him as an outstanding company commander who helped his fellow commanders excel.</p>
<p>In 2003, Charlie left active duty but soon felt the call of service once again in the Army Reserve. He volunteered for a deployment to Iraq in 2004 as the Engineer liaison to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Fallujah, Iraq. As the lone Army engineer in the command, he eagerly threw himself at any challenge while readily acknowledging what he didn’t know. His thirst for knowledge and willingness to get to the bottom of any issue were contagious. While in Iraq, he earned the rank of major, but his colleagues remember him more simply as “friend.” </p>
<p>Intensely dedicated in all endeavors, Charlie was a four-year member of the Crew Team and a stalwart of the lightweight eight, a rowing category where limits are placed on the maximum body weight of the competitors and the weight of the boat. In one such race, two rowers made maximum weight of 160 pounds but not a low enough weight to bring down the boat’s average below the limit of 155 pounds. Charlie immediately put on a set of sweats to work off another two pounds. No obstacle would stand in the way of his team. In fact, Charlie’s motivation was so powerful that it inspired all eight crew members to attend Ranger School after graduation.</p>
<p>At the time Charlie rowed, the International Rowing Federation said that the lightweight category existed “to encourage more universality in the sport especially among nations with less statuesque people.” No one who saw Charlie would ever describe him as “less statuesque”: his personality and force of will made him stand out no matter where he was. After a race, a teammate once remarked, “If only we would have gotten off the start quicker, we would have won that race!” Charlie scoffed: “Would’ve, could’ve, should’ve.” Charlie loathed the idea of losing, and he introduced two-a-day workouts to his teammates as part of that quest to constantly improve.</p>
<p>Charlie’s dedication extended into his academic work as a mechanical engineering (ME) major, notorious for its difficulty and demanding workload. Charlie’s <em>Howitzer</em> entry remarks on his propensity for Saturday night late lights to get the job done. His ME design teammates remember his passion for getting things right but also his willingness to learn from mistakes and move on. In Charlie’s view, one shouldn’t look back with regret at what wasn’t done right: one should do it right the first time, or simply learn from it and do it right the next time.</p>
<p>Charlie’s caring softened what could have been very sharp edges of his dedication. His wry sense of humor often helped defuse a tense situation and bring others around him to a greater level of comfort. One of his new cadets during Charlie’s service as a second detail Beast squad leader remembers him this way: “I was very fortunate to have someone so professional and good-natured as a squad leader. His calm and encouraging personality were one of the first positive influences I had at school, and I am certain it played a part in my overall outlook at West Point.”</p>
<p>One teammate of Charlie’s who rowed on the women’s varsity eight remembers this example of his caring: “We were at a regatta in upstate New York. Charlie skipped the pre-race pasta dinner and instead went out and bought nine bouquets, which they presented to us on the dock after a particularly hard-fought victory. Simply because he wanted to do something nice for his teammates.”</p>
<p>Charlie is survived by his wife, Constance St. Germain; his children, Grace and Claire; his parents, John and Xuan; his brother, Tom; and his in-laws, Henry and Edith St. Germain. He is buried in the West Point Cemetery. Seconds before a race began, Charlie would often say, “Leave it all on the water, guys!” Taken from us far too soon, Charlies led a loyal, dedicated, and caring life, and left it all on the water for us to remember.</p>
<p><em>— Classmates, friends, and family</em></p>
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