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| Charles Junior Osterndorf
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| NO. 17449 • 12 January 1927 – 16 November 1990
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Died 16 November 1990 in San Antonio, Texas, aged 63 years
Interment: Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, Texas
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CHARLES JUNIOR OSTERNDORF was born in Platteville, Wisconsin on 12
January 1927 to Charles and Minna Osterndorf. In 1944, like many American
families with no previous condition of military service, the Osterndorfs had
two sons fighting in Europe and the Pacific. Chuck, only 17 at the time, sought
to join them. He was inducted into the Army Reserve and assigned to the Army
Specialized Training Program (ASTP) in engineering at the University of
Wisconsin. At the conclusion of the academic year, Chuck was inducted into the
Army and sent to Fort Robinson, Arkansas for basic training. He was offered the
opportunity to continue in the ASTP and was sent to the Virginia Polytechnic
Institute for additional schooling in civil engineering. He subsequently was
accepted to Engineer Officer Candidate School at Fort Belvoir, where, about a
month and a half into the program, his commanding officer, offering
congratulations and a cigar, informed Chuck that he had been accepted to West
Point.
Thus, Chuck was a little more worldly than most of his classmates when he
joined the Long Gray Line that fine summer day, 1 July 1946. His experience
notwithstanding, Chuck found Beast Barracks quite a challenge, one that he was
sorely tempted to forego. However, a family with a newly established military
heritage and a generations ‑ old tradition of never quitting, wouldn't
hear of it. With firm resolve, Chuck applied himself to the task and graduated
in the top 20 percent of his class on 6 June 1950 and was commissioned into the
Corps of Engineers.
His post‑graduation leave was cut short, however, with the advent
of the Korean War. Within months, Chuck found himself with the 62d Engineer
Construction Battalion in Korea. This hazardous and demanding first assignment
was the cornerstone of a distinguished career that found Chuck serving in a
variety of demanding positions. Subsequent assignments included Resident
Engineer on Baffin Island in the Aleutians, Assistant Resident Engineer in the
Azores, a tour in the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Taiwan, and command
of the 13th Engineer Battalion in Korea. West Point also beckoned, and in 1957,
after obtaining a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering at MIT, Chuck
returned to the shores of the Hudson to teach in the Department of Mechanics.
Chuck's last several assignments with
the Corps of Engineers, Huntsville District, and with the New England Division,
and finally with the Engineer School as Deputy Assistant Commandant, capped a
distinguished career. He retired in 1977 and headed for Texas.
Chuck's love for the Army remained strong, but devotion to
his family was his first priority. He had met Evelyn Kruschel in Milwaukee, and
they married on 31 May 1952. Though Evelyn had never left Milwaukee before, she
became his steadfast partner throughout the ensuing odyssey. They were joined
by Brian in 1954 and Steve in 1956, and life became a series of Cub and Boy
Scout meetings, Little League games and church activities. Chuck had always
said that the only success that really counted was measured by and through the
children. He was quite a champion.
Retirement from the Army brought an unaccustomed but welcomed stability.
Chuck and Evelyn bought a house on a golf course in Austin, Texas and quickly
came to enjoy life in the Hill Country. Chuck's work with the Texas State
Department of Parks and Wildlife kept him busy, but he continued to pursue
lifelong bobbies of golf and playing the piano. Happily, his enthusiasm for
both avocations was never diminished by his inability to master either.
The happiness ended far too soon with the diagnosis in 1987 of the rare
and incurable blood disease that led to Chuck's death. The physical toll of the
disease, which robbed him of all his vigor and strength, could not daunt the
spirit, and he faced the certain end with courage and composure. West Point
lost one of its finest on 16 November 1990.
Chuck is survived by Evelyn, who now lives in San Antonio, Brian (USMA
Class of 1976), Steve, Steve's son Daniel, whom Chuck greatly enjoyed, and
Brian's daughter, Lydia, whom Chuck never had the chance to meet.
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USMA 1950