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Charles Alan ‘Chuck’ Debelius
was born and raised in Baltimore, MD. He left home at the age of 17
and arrived at West Point frightened, bewildered, and worried about
whether he could possibly succeed amongst a horde of screaming men
in gray. He survived Beast Barracks, during which he gained a
half-pound, a feat the Beast Detail tried to make him regret.
Never a star athlete, he contributed his time and talent as a
cartoonist, a cheerleader, and an academic coach for classmates and
companymates whose grades needed a boost. Just after graduation, he
was fortunate enough to marry his high school sweetheart and the
love of his life. As one of his four granddaughter philosophers told
him on his 45th wedding anniversary, “You married the right person!”
Truer words were never spoken. Together, Bettie and Chuck raised
four successful children, who gave them seven grandchildren, all of
whom bring joy to their parents and grandparents.
Chuck chose to join the Corps of Engineers, and he proudly served
that branch for 24 years. Not unlike Forest Gump, he was close by
when a number of newsworthy events transpired. As a captain and
major, he served as resident engineer for the construction of a deep
water port in Somalia, where the project was a part of the U.S.
foreign aid program. He was the district engineer in Alaska when the
pipeline was constructed.
Much later in his career, Chuck managed the environmental cleanup
after the disastrous Oakland, CA fire that destroyed 2,500 homes and
produced a high death toll. He held corporate responsibility for the
Boston Harbor Cleanup in the 90s, one of the few multi-billion
dollar projects completed in the last half of the twentieth century
for which there was a surplus of about $600 million dollars. He
served as program manager for the Army’s $330 million Total
Environmental Restoration Contract, where he managed cleanup of
military installations throughout the Northeast. As deputy program
manager for a $2 billion contract for facility and installation
management at Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, and Patrick Air
Force Base, Chuck was there to support Senator John Glenn’s reentry
into orbit in 1998. He particularly enjoyed playing a role as a
senior manager for privatization of military housing at Fort Meade,
MD, where Picerne Military Housing builds, renovates, and manages
military housing. During Chuck’s tenure with Picerne, the program
was selected for a national award for excellence.
Despite his involvement in large projects, Chuck’s most treasured
memories had to do with his time on the faculty at USMA and as a
commander of troop units at every level, from platoon to brigade.
When he taught physics, he tried to liven up the arduous task of
learning new scientific concepts by illustrating his lessons with
cartoons drawn daily on the chalkboards as he spoke. Many years
later, he met one of his former students, now a brigadier general,
who told him, with all sincerity, “I don’t remember what subject you
taught, but I really enjoyed the cartoons!”
He
commanded two battalions in Vietnam: the 20th Engineer Battalion
(Combat) and the 815th Engineer Battalion (Construction). Bettie and
the children lived in Baltimore while he was overseas. He loved to
tell the story about when he sent home a picture of him and his
command sergeant major shaking hands outside the battalion
headquarters. A tall, handsome, African-American soldier, Command
Sergeant Major Smith smiled happily in the photo. Ken, Chuck’s
youngest son, took the picture to his school for “show and tell.” In
the late 1960s, Baltimore was still a hotbed of bigotry. When one of
the other students said, “Hey Ken, which one is your Dad?” the
teacher later told Bettie that she was about to deliver a lecture on
diversity and race relations when Ken responded. Ken, who had been
raised on military posts, where friends were neighbors and where
skin color was unimportant, replied, “Boy, are you dumb! You can’t
even tell the difference between a lieutenant colonel and a sergeant
major!”
As
commander of the Engineer Center Brigade at Fort Belvoir, VA, his
units included a topographic engineer battalion, a combat engineer
battalion, a MASH, student battalions, and several EOD teams.
Brigade Headquarters was located in a World War II temporary
building, where Chuck’s office was at the end of a long corridor,
but it was also accessible from the parking lot. On one sweltering
summer day, the door swung open and a young soldier swaggered in. As
his eyes began to adjust to dimmer inside light, the soldier began
to realize that he had entered the commander’s office. “Soldier,”
barked Chuck, “Didn’t you see the sign on the outside of that door?”
Springing to attention, the soldier responded: “Yes sir. The sign
says ‘Private Entrance’ and I’m a private!”
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Written by Charles Alan Debelius |
