Assigned to Company I-2, Guy felt that he was the shortest cadet
in the company, although it was probably by no more than a quarter of an inch or
so. He gravitated towards H-2, in the “Lost Fifties,” where he would be among
the tallest. Few could tell the difference, and after Plebe year he stopped
being
concerned about that. During his short career at the Academy, he
was a member of the Water Polo Club and participated in intramural swimming. In
December 1951, he looked forward to his first Christmas leave at home since
entering the Academy.
His father, COL McNeil, was Inspector General for the Fourth Air
Force and stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base, CA. He had arranged for a C-47
training flight from Stewart Field to Hamilton for Christmas leave in 1951 and
actually served as pilot on the uneventful westbound fight. There were 24
cadets, including his son, Guy, Jr., on board. The return flight, piloted by MAJ
Lester Carlson, departed from Hamilton AFB on the morning of 30 December with 28
on board, of which 19 were cadets. Some of the original cadets missed the flight
or had made other plans for their return to West Point.
As a result of bad weather and navigation instrument problems,
the plane was off course as it approached Williams Air Force Base, AZ, for a
refueling stop. Tragically, it hit the side of Armer Mountain, northeast of
Phoenix, at 6500 feet. There were no survivors.
On 5 Jan 1952, the Superintendent, MG Frederick Irving, issued
General Order Number 9, which stated:
It is the sad duty of the Superintendent to announce the death of
Cadet Guy Lewis McNeil, Jr., a member of the Class of 1954, United States Corps
of Cadets, whose death occurred in an aircraft accident in the State of Arizona
on 30 Dec 1951.
Throughout his cadetship at West Point, CADET MCNEIL was a most
popular and highly regarded member of his class. He at all times justified his
appointment to the United States Military Academy and was in all respects a
credit to the Corps of Cadets.
The Superintendent, personally and in behalf of the Corps of
Cadets, the Officers and Enlisted Men of the United States
Military Academy, desires to convey to the bereaved parent and
relatives of CADET MCNEIL, the sincere condolences of all at West Point who knew
this splendid young gentleman. His regrettable and unfortunate demise is a very
definite loss to this institution and to the United States Army.
A Solemn Mass of Requiem for Guy was celebrated at St. Mary’s
Cathedral in San Francisco, and he was interred in the National Cemetery at the
Presidio of San Francisco.
His grave overlooks San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Years later, in 1974, his father, COL McNeil, and his second wife, Marie McNeil,
were buried in the same gravesite,
sharing a common gravestone.
