For relaxation, Hap often visited the West Point pistol range on weekends. He returned from the range one Sunday afternoon and reported meeting a “crazy girl” who liked to fire a pistol. She was Joan Robinson, an assistant to Mrs. Barth, the Cadet Hostess. Hap liked what he saw. A whirlwind romance followed. Hap and Joan were married shortly after graduation, and she became the focus of his life.

After graduation leave, Hap and Joan reported to Ft. Benning, GA, for the Basic Infantry Officer Course. Late in the course, Hap and his other classmates who had taken French attended a secret meeting. They were invited to accept a one-year assignment to Southeast Asia in the CIA’s counterinsurgency effort, which Hap did. He and four classmates worked with the Thai Border Police. At the end of that first year, the five were invited to extend the assignment for another year. Hap and Robert Morris (of Company C-2) accepted the extension because it included a provision allowing them to bring their wives to Thailand. While the work was serious and dangerous, the four had a fascinating time. the highlight of the tour involved driving a vintage Land Rover down the entire Malay Peninsula to Singapore. One of Hap’s favorite pictures shows Joan striding through the jungle with her .45 caliber M3 submachine gun swinging from her side. Life with the Liebers was never dull.

After Thailand, the Liebers reported to the 101st Airborne Division at Ft. Campbell, KY. The 101st was an ideal place for an Infantry officer in the late 1950’s. It also afforded an opportunity to rejoin the class. Many ’54 Infantry officers were serving in the 101st, and Joan and Hap were well remembered for participating in the frequent class activities. During this period, Hap and Joan decided to learn to fly. They trained and received private pilots’ licenses and purchased an airplane. Caroline, their oldest child, remembers the joy of riding with her mother in the back seat while Hap piloted up front, particularly when her mother would asks Hap to pass the cigarettes: Hap would dip the nose slowly, and the cigarettes floated gently toward the rear where Joan plucked them from the sky. Caroline still marvels at the thought.

In 1960, Hap and Joan returned to Benning for the Infantry Officer Career Course and the company of many classmates (the only downside of this year was that they lost their plane on the ground to a tornado). After Benning, Hap went to Germany and served in several assignments before returning to the United States in 1964 to join the 1st Infantry Division at Ft. Riley, KS. A year later Hap deployed with the division to Vietnam. Hap was the XO of 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry, and served on the 2nd Brigade staff. Returning to the States, Hap worked at the Armor Combat Development Center at Ft. Knox, KY, before returning to Vietnam in 1968 for a tour with MACV. After a tour at the Army Materiel Command in Alexandria, VA, Hap retired in 1974. Hap then had several business ventures before joining the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1980.

Around 1986 he and his sister Anne inherited most of “Piney Grove,” a 500-acre farm near Chestertown, MD, which had been in the family since the 1800s. Hap retired from the EPA and with Joan moved to the farm. This began a very satisfying period for Hap as he started two major endeavors. The first focus of his remaining years was to work on upkeep and repairs of the old home. He loved the work and strove for perfection. His second endeavor involved starting

a vineyard.

Joan died of cancer in 1988. Joan and Hap had enjoyed a great life together. Classmates and friends who served with them had fond memories of all the times together. Their marriage was blessed with three devoted children. In 1990 Hap married Cristine Aschman, a retired insurance broker from Philadelphia. Between them they kept both houses and six dogs, “having a very good time,” as Hap said. Hap spent the last few years of life with failing memory in the nearby Charlotte Hall Veterans Home. He passed away on Aug 29, 2009.

Hap was survived by his wife Cris (who since passed away in January 2013), by his three children: Caroline L. Baldwin of Avenue, MD; Jeramie L. Bruce of St. Leonard, MD; and Albert C. ‘Chip’ Lieber of Rockhall, MD; by six grandchildren, and by one great-grandchild. Hap is remembered by his classmates as a wonderful person, full of humor and life, who always represented West Point and its values.