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Taps, Present Arms
Ferdinand
L.
"Fred" Eysel
Sergeant First Class
(Retired) Ferdinand L. "Fred" Eysel, 87, died on Sunday,
September 5, 2004, in Columbus, Georgia. Fred was
Distinguished Rifleman and member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit
Service Rifle Team shortly after the USAMU was formed in 1956.
Fred was born August 28, 1917,
in Brooklyn, New York. As a teen, he worked for the
Western Union, and joined the National Guard at age 17. At
age 18, he joined the U.S. Army, 16th Infantry Regiment at Fort Jay,
New York. During this time, he saved 19 lives one summer
as a lifeguard at New York's Rockaway Beach, and organized a Drum and
Bugle Corps with 106 youths.
Fred served in Hawaii in 1941
as a company bugler. His bugle calls were recorded and
sounded the alarm at Scoffield Barracks when the Japanese bombed
Pearl Harbor. Trained as a Sniper, Scout, and Raider, Fred
served with the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Division
in the Europe during World War II. Fred was wounded
twice during the Normandy Invasion at Utah Beach, and once during the
Battle of the Bulge. He later married his nurse, 1st
Lieutenant Louise Beyer, who cared for him in England after both injuries.
After the war, he was a
demonstrator and instructor with the Infantry Small Arms Committee
and a tester with the Infantry Test Board at Fort Benning,
Georgia. At the Test Board, he helped develop the M-14
Service Rifle. Fred was expert with most infantry weapons
including the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) and the
bayonet. He used to demonstrate firing the M-1 Garand
Service Rifle, firing 40 rounds in a minute. At the end of
the demonstration, he would shoot the weapon, one-handed, off his
groin and then his chin.
Fred fired at National Matches
at Camp Perry with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit. In
1956, he was awarded the 2,000th U. S. Army
Distinguished Rifleman Badge. In 1958, he was 5th in
the National Championship individual rifle match and was a member of
the first place Infantry Trophy Team and the Nevada Trophy
Team. Fred also coached the first U.S. Olympic
Biathlon team in Alaska, teaching the skiers how to
shoot. Additionally, he was a charter member of the Fort
Benning Rifle and Pistol Club.
Fred's military decorations
include the Bronze
Star Medal with "V" device for Valor and Oak Leaf
Cluster for meritorious service, two awards of the Purple
Heart Medal, Combat
Infantryman Badge, Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Medal
with baguettes, World War II Victory Medal, and World War II
theater ribbons.
Upon retiring from the
military in 1959, Fred was a Civil Service employee at the Fort
Benning Weapons Pool, and in Columbus, Georgia, a barber and a sign
painter. He was an artist, calligrapher, photographer,
rock hound, and lapidary. In addition to being an accomplished Army
bugler, he played harmonica and piano by ear. He was an
active member of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church since 1957.
Those who knew Fred will
remember him as one who never met a stranger, and more importantly,
was one always ready to help a person in need. In
addition, many of us will cherish his personal ministry
gift: a calligraphy print of The Lord's Prayer. |
