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JOSEPH GANAHL, JR., was born while his parents, CPT Joseph and Constance Ganahl, were stationed at Ft. Sill, OK. Joe had a normal military childhood at several Army posts before his father was ordered to GEN MacArthur’s staff in the Philippines in the fall of 1941. The family settled in Shaker Heights, OH, because of the menacing situation in the Pacific.
Joe, Sr., Class of ’27, was captured at Bataan, the Philippines, and survived the Death March and the bombing of two Japanese ships carrying prisoners to Japan, only to die of wounds in a prisoner of war hospital six months before the end of WWII. Joe, Sr., received the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism at Bataan.
Joe, Jr., played football and hockey at Shaker Heights High school, graduated with honors and received a Son of a Deceased Veteran appointment. In 1950, he came to the Academy determined to follow in his father’s footsteps. Shortly after finishing Beast Barracks, Joe learned that his half-brother, William Otis, Class of ’50, was killed in action in Korea. This shook the family. Joe’s mother agonized over the loss of her husband and her son, and now another son was embarking on a military career. The strain on a just-turned 18-year-old was severe, but Joe persevered.
West Point years brought no academic difficulty for Joe, but the Tactics Department was another story. The 69 steps across Central Area were paced many times, but Joe took it all in stride. He had an immense intellectual curiosity not confined to the curriculum. Poetry, philosophy, and even handicapping the horses were just a few of his pursuits. Joe was always ready for conversation but he never let that stop him from helping out anyone less academically inclined.
After graduation, Joe went into the Infantry, attended Airborne and Ranger training, and then disappeared into a super-secret assignment. He never talked much about it, except to say he worked in the State Department, but more probably it was the Central Intelligence Agency. Joe met and married Madeleine Mayher shortly after that assignment. Three children — Constance, Joseph, and Susan — were born to that marriage, but in 1965 Joe and Madeleine divorced.
Joe decided to transfer to the Field Artillery while stationed in Hawaii in 1957. After the Advanced Officer School at Ft. Sill, he attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and earned a master’s degree in mathematics in 1961. An enjoyable three years teaching math to cadets followed. In 1964, Joe went to Korea and, then in 1965, he was assigned to the Combat Developments Command Air Defense Artillery at Ft. Bliss. There, he embarked on a lifelong quest to provide command and control systems which would “improve the odds” for our military. Joe’s innate analytical abilities served him well there, in assignments that followed, and even in retirement with the defense industry. His practical sense and mathematical skills provided the direction necessary to, as one of his subordinates stated, lead a bunch of unruly computer programmers and devise workable solutions.
In 1968, Joe met Dorothy Trimble, and after a brief courtship, asked her to marry him. She said yes, and “Dottie” and Joe were a fun and loving couple for 32 years until his passing in January 2000. Their daughter Katherine was born in 1971.
After CDCADA, Joe attended CGSC and then commanded the 3rd Battalion, 26th FA, at Ft. Sill. In 1970, Joe commanded the 2d Battalion, 94th FA, a 175mm cannon outfit, operating near the DMZ in Viet Nam. Joe was a decisive commander and a technical expert on field artillery gunnery. He also ensured that his men were properly cared for and gained their respect and commitment in doing so.
The Ganahl family moved to the Washington, DC, area when Joe returned from Viet Nam in 1971. He was assigned to the Office of the Chief of Research and Development there, where, among other duties, he was the research and development representative for standardizing NATO ammunitions. Joe then attended the Air War College in Montgomery, AL.
In 1975, Joe began his final assignment at the Battlefield Systems Integration Directorate at DARCOM. There, he and a group of other highly motivated officers designed systems that set the Army on a path toward a computer-based command and control and sensitive intelligence systems.
Joe retired in 1977 after a distinguished career during which he was awarded two Legion of Merits, a Bronze Star, a Meritorious Service Medal, and two Commendation Medals.
After retiring, Joe worked on the Army Command and Control Master Plan at IBM’s Federal Systems Division. His substantial military and technical expertise significantly contributed to that seminal plan. Joe continued his work as chief systems engineer with Loral Corporation and, finally, with Lockheed Martin. In each effort, he led, taught, and guided his engineers to do better than they had before he arrived. That is his legacy.
Joe worked almost to the end, but he still maintained diverse interests outside of the workplace. He was an avid Civil War buff, reading about and visiting battlefields throughout Virginia. He had a passion for horses. Riding with the Bull Run Hunt or with his daughter Kathy at the Great Falls Pony Club, Joe was in his element. He and Dottie kept their horses on their beautiful Great Falls property.
Joe began to have periods of vision, balance, and memory problems and was diagnosed with a rare and terminal neurological disorder called Creutzfeld-Jacobs disease. After struggling with the disease for months, he finally succumbed to respiratory failure. Dottie and the four children lovingly cared for him throughout his ordeal. Joe was buried with full military honors near his father and half-brother in Arlington National Cemetery.
A warm and generous person, Joe attracted a wide variety of friends and brought out the best in people. He was a dedicated officer and loving husband, father and grandfather and will be sorely missed.
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