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Robert Merrill Gomez
was born on March 22, 1930 to Manuel and Margaret (Sweeting) Gomez
in Rochester, NY. His father was a Colombian national and attended
West Point for a time as a cadet himself (with the Class of 1924).
Bob’s family moved frequently, including one time to Colombia, where
he was home-schooled.
Bob attended the Oklahoma Military Academy from 1948 to 1950. It was
there that Bob began his lifelong love affair with the Army and,
more specifically, the Cavalry. He served as a cadet major, in
command of its cadet corps. Concurrently, he was a horse cavalry
master sergeant in the 45th Division, Oklahoma National Guard.
While at West Point, Bob thrived on the military curriculum and
academics largely because of his love of the military and of all
things intellectual. He was on the Debate Council, Radio Club, and
the Howitzer staff.
Not surprisingly, Bob chose his commission as a second lieutenant in
the Armor Branch. His military schooling included the Armor Officer
Basic and Advanced Courses, Ranger School, the Armed Forces Staff
College, and the Army War College. He earned a Master of Science in
Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1962, but he vehemently
argued it was in “automotive engineering.”
His active duty career spanned 30 years and was characterized by
three common threads: Cavalry, engineering, and intelligence.
He
served as a tank platoon leader for a mere 40 days before assuming
company command in the 37th Tank Battalion at Fort Hood, TX. Upon
reassignment to Germany, he returned to his first love, Cavalry. He
commanded an armored cavalry troop in the 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry
Regiment, but with tanks, not horses.
Bob taught automotive engineering at West Point from 1962 to 1965,
when he was promoted to captain. This fun time would be short lived.
The Army and Vietnam were calling.
Bob was sent to the Special Warfare School at Fort Bragg, NC, then
he was assigned to the Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office, where he
began his intelligence career. His combat tour was different from
most. He never wore a uniform; he lived in a villa in Da Nang with
CBS newsman Charles Collingwood; he had his own personal bodyguard
platoon of Montagnard Rangers; and he had his own helicopter (shot
down twice on Christmas Day!).
Bob’s intelligence career continued with assignment to the Office
Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence. Years later, he would
recall hilarious “Get Smart”-like cloak and dagger tales of his long
since unclassified trips to retrieve Soviet tanks captured in the
1968 Arab-Israeli war.
Bob’s penance in the Pentagon was rewarded with his second battalion
command: the 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry in the 2nd Armored Division.
With both helicopters and tanks, he was in heaven!
In
1973, Bob’s career returned to intelligence with command of the U.S.
Military Advisory Group in El Salvador, where he not only got to
ride cavalry horses again, but also helped to modernize their army
with helicopters and air cavalry tactics.
In
1977, he took command of the U.S. Army Ballistics Research
Laboratory and returned to engineering. This prepared him for his
final task, which was establishing a credible ground weapons
analysis capability for the Office of Scientific & Weapons Research
of the CIA.
Bob retired in 1982, but he continued to serve his country as a
senior military analyst for the CIA. His technical analysis of the
Soviet T-72 tank became the seminal standard for weapons assessments
in the intelligence community.
In
1992, he retired from the CIA and moved to Florida. There he enjoyed
a successful career in the financial industry as Regional Vice
President for Primerica and Vice President for Operations at
American Reverse Mortgage. In retirement he doggedly pursued his
other lifelong love: automobiles. He restored two Jaguar XKEs and
added them to a litany of sports cars and sedans he owned over the
course of his life. When he was not in the garage, he was watching
football. He loved his Washington Redskins and loved to hate the
Dallas Cowboys, the NY Giants, and referees in general.
Bob had a quick wit and an acute sense of humor. For years he was an
avid pipe smoker, and many knew his pipe to be a semi-permanent
fixture of his persona. He quit smoking his pipe later in life, but
enjoyed an occasional cigar (especially when inspired by a single
malt scotch!). His daily routine included completing the NY Times
crossword puzzle, and he was proud to boast that he completed every
iteration of FreeCell on his computer (26,000!). Nothing was more
ritual to Bob than happy hour. Early in his career he enjoyed
Manhattans, then extra-dry Beefeater martinis (“Shaken, not
stirred!”), and ultimately Famous Grouse scotch whiskey, when a
single malt scotch was not to be found.
Bob was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2003. The disease plagued
him for nine years. He died peacefully in hospice with his family at
his side.
Bob is survived by his wife of 32 years, Barbara L. (Wayne) Gomez;
his former wife, Claire (McMennamin) Eubanks; his sons, Patrick and
Richard; his step-daughter, Stephanie Poole; and his five
grandchildren: Catherine and Christopher Gomez, Andy and Bobby
Gomez, and Jacob Poole). He was pre-deceased by his grandson Joshua
Poole.
He
joined the departed Long Gray Line following a lifelong embodiment
of Duty, Honor, Country where “…in a shady
green meadow are the souls of all dead troopers camped, near a good
old-time canteen, and this eternal resting place is known as
Fiddler’s Green.”
—
Patrick and Mickey Gomez |
