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Ralph A. George, early member of the National Ski Patrol
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...021602432.html
Ralph A. George, 79, Versatile Army Lawman By Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, February 17, 2006; B06 Ralph Abdo George, who lived a life of intrigue and diplomacy as an Army officer, who climbed mountains and dived to the depths of the sea and who founded a Washington area heavy-construction business, died Jan. 20 of a heart attack at his Silver Spring home. He was 79. A decorated veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam and a career military police officer, Col. George was described years ago in the Seattle Times as "probably the most versatile and well-traveled lawman outside of Ian Fleming's fictional James Bond, old agent '007.' " After enlisting at 18, he trained as a liaison to the Soviet military and took language courses. He was a by-the-book MP in Garmisch, Germany, when he unwittingly arrested a Bavarian prince at a fuel depot. He also locked up the crew of the first B-29 to fly nonstop across the Atlantic after they became too raucous in a bar one night. At the close of World War II, he was a young lieutenant when he was ordered to take a rifle squad with him and escort a train full of supplies to Soviet-occupied Germany. At the rendezvous point, the Russians unloaded the train and a Russian officer ordered the engineer to drive the train farther into Russian-occupied territory. Ever vigilant, the lieutenant knew he could not let that happen. "So he unholstered his pistol and pointed it at the engineer and told him in no uncertain terms that he would not drive the train into Russian territory," said his grandson, Michael Jon Jeffries, recounting the story his grandfather told him. "At this, the Russian officer pulled his pistol and pointed it at Papa and again ordered the train to be moved. Not to be outdone, Papa's rifle squad immediately leveled their rifles at the Russian officer. Papa then wagged his finger at the Russian and said, 'Naughty, naughty!' " Jeffries said that when the locomotive was returned, a day later than expected, his grandfather was reprimanded by his commander, who then added with a grin, "George, you were the only one who brought their train back." From the Cold War through the end of his service, Col. George continued to be a go-to guy for critical missions. In 1952, during the occupation of Austria by the four world powers -- the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union -- he was the U.S. representative for the jointly controlled international sector of Vienna. He also was appointed U.S. governor of Spandau, the allied prison in Berlin for major Nazi war criminals, including Rudolf Hess and Adm. Karl Donitz, the last leader of the German Third Reich after Hitler. In Vietnam, he was a senior adviser to the Vietnamese provost marshal general. A skilled scuba diver, he dived for bodies and aircraft off the coast of Vietnam. He was chief instructor at the Military Police School at Fort Gordon in Georgia, teaching about the treatment of prisoners of war and the rules of the Geneva Conventions. He spent his last three years in the military as chief of the Armed Forces Police in the Pacific Northwest before retiring in 1967. Among his honors was the Bronze Star. Col. George was a native of New Kensington, Pa. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor's degree in military science and received Phi Kappa Phi honors. He moved to Silver Spring after retiring from the Army and founded the Maryland office of a family-owned heavy-construction equipment business, George Associates. An expert in American-Russian relations, Col. George was a founder and member of the board of governors of the Friends of the Russian Cultural Center in Washington. He and his wife often held dinners at their home for embassy diplomats and others. In May, he was among nine U.S. veterans invited by the Russia Embassy to travel to Moscow, where he was awarded the 60th-anniversary medal, issued by President Vladimir Putin, commemorating the victory in Europe. At the VE Summit ceremony, he shook hands with President Bush. He also had received the 50th-anniversary medal, issued by President Boris Yeltsin, and a 40th-anniversary medal. Col. George loved guiding his boat around the world and planning cruises for the Solomons Island Yacht Club. He was twice named cruiser of the year. A man with an adventurous spirit, he was an early member of the National Ski Patrol, helping to rescue stranded skiers. He was one of the earliest scuba instructors in the country and once owned a dive shop. He also climbed to the top of Mount Rainier in Washington state. Col. George was a trustee of the Fraternal Order of Police, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Retired Military Police Officers. |
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Mike wrote:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...021602432.html Ralph A. George, 79, Versatile Army Lawman We're losing the WWII generation - I miss them; my heroes one and all. Has anyone else read Minnie Dole's book about the beginnings of the ski patrol and the selling of the idea for the 1st Mountain Div to unreceptive army brass? |
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lal_truckee wrote: Mike wrote: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...021602432.html Ralph A. George, 79, Versatile Army Lawman We're losing the WWII generation - I miss them; my heroes one and all. Has anyone else read Minnie Dole's book about the beginnings of the ski patrol and the selling of the idea for the 1st Mountain Div to unreceptive army brass? No, but I like 10th Mountain history. My great-uncle was one of the originals. |
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Mary Malmros wrote:
lal_truckee wrote: Mike wrote: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...021602432.html Ralph A. George, 79, Versatile Army Lawman We're losing the WWII generation - I miss them; my heroes one and all. Has anyone else read Minnie Dole's book about the beginnings of the ski patrol and the selling of the idea for the 1st Mountain Div to unreceptive army brass? No, but I like 10th Mountain history. My great-uncle was one of the originals. The book is _Adventures In Skiing_ by Minot (Minnie) Dole and that "1" in the post above is, of course, a "10" - I'm surprised that the "0" seems to be invisible; must be bit rot or something. Has a foreward by Lowell Thomas; very interesting book. Apparently he first help found the ski patrol, then took his list of patrollers to the army and convinced them (after no small effort) that the patrol members could be the nucleus of a Mountain Division. One of my copies is inscribed with "no sitzmarks" and signed by Minnie. |
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