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George T. Neu
 

No. 19628Sep 9, 1932 - Mar 12, 2014          

Died in Woodbridge, VA

Interred Arlington National Cemetery

 

George Theodore ‘Ted’ Neu was born and raised in Georgetown, OH, where he graduated as valedictorian of his Georgetown High School class of 1950. Selected for appointment to West Point he joined the USMA Class of 1954. A serious and successful student, Ted helped other C-1 classmates with their academic challenges during their four years. That collaborative attitude and allegiance toward his classmates was also demonstrated as he served as the C-1 guidon bearer helping us keep in touch throughout both active duty and retirement years.

Upon graduation, Ted joined the Armor branch. Later at Fort Knox, he met ‘Betty’ Watkins, whom he married in 1960. The Army took them initially to Verdun, France and then to Nurnberg, Germany, where they lived at the time the Berlin Wall went up in 1961. Upon return to the States, Ted commanded a tank company in the 35th Armor Brigade. Ted’s career then changed direction when he became one of the first pilots in our class and transferred to the Transportation Corps. A short time on the staff and faculty at the Transportation School was followed by flight duty in RVN where he served with the 58th Transportation Battalion.

Ted earned a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, after which he was assigned as Director of Systems Engineering at Aviation Systems Command (AVSCOM). While there, he was the project officer responsible for developing a crash-worthy fuel cell for helicopters. Ted’s second short tour was with the equipment delivery team in Cambodia. He returned to AVSCOM initially as Deputy Chief of Development and then as Deputy Director for RD&E. He retired from active duty in 1975. Always a contributor, some of Ted’s awards included a CM, MSM, JSCM, LM, 2 BSMs and 2 AMs.

Upon retiring, Ted and family moved to Simsbury, CT where he began his civilian career as an engineer with Kaman Aerospace Corp. in Bloomfield, CT. During his 18 years with Kaman, Ted advanced from Research Engineer to Project Manager. Among other challenges was being Karman’s Project Manager for their portion of the B-1 program. Ted also served for 20 years as a member of Simsbury’s Zoning Commission.

Ted maintained strong loyalty throughout his life to the Academy, Army football, classical music, conservative politics and Cincinnati sports teams (late in life he also embraced the Washington Redskins as his own). He loved ice cream and rainy days, taking special delight in quoting Murphy’s Law as his personal creed. Ted’s engineering skill combined with an unusually well-developed sense of frugality resulted in more than 20-plus years of service from his classic VW Beetle. He also had a largely futile lifelong mission to promote usage of the International Phonetic Alphabet. In his later years, he fought his toughest battle, Parkinson’s disease, attributable to exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. He faced this last frustrating challenge with strength, dignity and the enduring support of his lifelong partner Betty.

Ted was a caring husband, loving father, indulgent grandparent, loyal friend and supporter of the Academy. He has earned an honored place in the Long Gray Line. It can be said, “Well Done, Be Thou at Peace.”

He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Watkins Neu, son Erik and daughter-in-law Beth of Woodbury, MN; daughter Noelle of Reston, VA; and three grand-children: Anna-Claire, Ainslee and Seth Neu of Woodbury, MN.

— Dave Thoreson ’54, and family

 

Originally published in TAPS 2015

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