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RICHARD GEORGE ZIEGLER's high school
profile could serve as a template for a future
cadet: leader, scholar, athlete. From East
Greenville, PA, he was appointed to the
Academy by Senator Francis Myers (D). Dick
graduated from the local high school as a legend
in his own time: class president; honor
roll student; voted “Most Popular,” “Greatest
Dynamic Personality,” and “Best Athlete;”
varsity letterman (football, basketball, and
baseball all four years); captain of the football
and basketball teams; editor-in-chief of the
school newspaper; associate editor of the yearbook;
student council representative; band
member; glee club member; and male lead in
the senior play. Where did he find the time?
In high school, Dick played fullback on
the All-State football team and was recruited
for the Army team. Coach Earl “Red”
Blaik and line coach Vince Lombardi liked
offensive linemen to be big, strong, and fleet-footed,
and Dick was all these. Blaik moved
Dick from fullback to guard, a change Dick
initially hated. However, he became an outstanding
offensive blocker. Having dislocated
his shoulders playing football, he was later excused
from doing pullups in annual physical
fitness tests.
During Beast Barracks, new cadets were
lined up alphabetically to issue equipment,
and the time remaining until the next formation
was always very short. Dick’s lament
was, “Why always alphabetically? Reverse it!”
Ziegler was always the last man, after Zartman
and Zerkel. Plebes often had to cut a dessert
pie in a few seconds, and the firsties wanted
their pieces to be BIG (on a gravity flow table,
they got first choice and plebes got slivers).
Their scheme was thwarted if Dick, back
from a corps squad table, was on the knife.
He could cut ten equal pieces in the blink of
an eye.
Dick was an easygoing gentleman who
possessed great human warmth behind his
intimidating physical appearance. He had
a wide smile and a mischievous glint in his
eyes, truly the dynamic personality recognized
in high school. He liked to act and was
memorable as the dumb football player in the
100th Night Show. As a cadet, Dick learned
the fundamentals of refereeing football and
basketball games and qualified as a Division
I referee. During his First Class year, a football
coach arranged for Dick to referee local
high school games.
Following graduation, Dick attended
Infantry Officers Basic Course at Ft. Benning,
GA, followed by Airborne and Ranger
Schools. He was one of the first to wear Bermuda
shorts with a coat and tie to the Benning
Officers Club (Ziegler had legs!). In
the late 1950s, he served in Japan and Korea
and then became an instructor at the Ranger
School, service for which he received the
Commendation Medal. In 1962, Dick was
selected to be among 150 outstanding captains
serving as field advisors in Viet Nam.
He served in the IV Corps Zone as the operations
officer for LTC John Paul Vann in My
Tho. Dick’s innate planning skill combining
infantry and helicopters during those early
years of America’s involvement is chronicled
in Neil Sheehan’s book A Bright Shining Lie:
John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam. For
heroism at the battle of Ap Bac in January
1963, Dick was awarded the Combat Infantryman
Badge, Commendation Medal, and
the Bronze Star (V).
A promising Infantry officer, Dick was
twice promoted ahead of his year group. After
Viet Nam, Dick was assigned to Ft. Riley, KS,
as a company commander in the 18th Infantry
Regiment and subsequently assistant G-4 of
the 1st Division, the “Big Red One,” receiving
the Commendation Medal. After attending
Command and General Staff Collete, he
entered Indiana University in Bloomington,
earned a master’s degree in physical education,
and taught in the Department of
Physical Education at West Point. Dick’s next
assignment was to the NATO staff in Iceland
as J-3 (Plans), where he was awarded the Joint
Service Commendation Medal. In 1969,
he commanded the 5th Infantry Training
Battalion at Ft. Dix, NJ. During 1970–73, he
was chief of Programs Management, Combat
Development Command at Ft. Belvoir and
received the Commendation Medal. Dick
concluded his career as the professor of military
science and tactics at Gannon College
in Erie, PA, service for which he received the
Meritorious Service Medal. He retired in
August 1974.
Dick then returned to Pennsylvania and
became a successful financial planner with
the Lincoln Financial Group, with an office
in Allentown. He was a 32d degree Mason,
and he officiated at football and basketball
games in the Missouri Valley and Eastern
College Conferences. He also officiated
football games in the Big Ten and Atlantic
Coast Conferences. For 20 years he served
as a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic
Association official for high school football,
basketball, and soccer games.
On 13 Sep 1995, Dick was refereeing
a soccer match between Whitehall High
School and Freedom School. One minute
before halftime, according to the Freedom
coach, “Ziegler was following the play, took
two or three steps, then went backwards two
or three steps, and fell.” One of the coaches
was an Emergency Medical Technician and
administered CPR, but he felt that Dick was
dead before he hit the ground. In the newspaper
report of his death, coaches were quoted
as saying, “He would always do what’s right.
You could count on him;” “He had a lot of
patience with kids. But he always took charge
in his quiet, respectful way;” and “He was a
gentleman and always did his job in a very
fair way.”
Soon after graduation, Dick had married
Betty Stahl, his “OAO” since their sophomore
year in high school. In 1968, their marriage
ended in divorce, but they had three
children: Kendra, Kerra and Derick. In 1970,
Dick married Katherine “Cookie” Weber.
They had one son, Barret, and Dick adopted
Katherine’s daughter Carrie.
Dick is survived by his wife, children, and
10 grandchildren.
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