Edwin L. Seale, Jr. – Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army

From a contemporary press report:

Edwin L. Seale Jr., 78, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who also worked as a Christian ministry field staff adviser, died of cancer December 9, 1999 at his home in Vienna, Virginia.

Colonel Seale, who was a native of Alabama, served 22 years in the Army before retiring in 1962 as chief polygraph examiner for the Military District of Washington.

He commanded infantry combat units in the South Pacific and Europe during World War II and later served as an intelligence adviser to China, chief of the criminal investigation detachment to the U.S. Occupation Army of Japan, and chief of security to the Supreme Allied Command in France.

From 1962 to 1976, he worked as a civilian security official with the Army Materiel Command with authority over criminal investigations and training. For the past 23 years, he held numerous leadership positions within the Christian Business Men’s Committee, including field staff adviser for the northeast region.

His wife of 54 years, the former Catherine L. McFarland, died in 1996. Survivors include five children, LaVerne Bertin of Northboro, Mass., Caroline Plumb of Springfield, Charlotte Seale of McLean, Edwin L. Seale II of Charlotte and Roxanne Ankney of Annandale; a brother; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

SEALE, EDWIN L., SR., Lt. Colonel, USAR (Age 78)

Of Vienna, VA, on Thursday, December 9, 1999, at his residence. Beloved husband of the late Catherine McFarland Seale; father of LaVerne Bertin, Caroline Plumb, Charlotte Seale, Edwin Seale II and Roxanne Ankney; brother of Gary R. Seale. He is also survived by five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.  Procession will assemble at McLean Bible Church, 850 Balls Hill Rd., McLean at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, December 15 for the graveside service at Arlington National Cemetery at 9 a.m. with Full Military Honors. Family and friends will meet at the administration building at 8:30 a.m. Memorial services will be held at the McLean Bible Church on Wednesday, December 15, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the C.B.M.C. of USA for Metro Washington, 1800 McCallie Ave., PO Box 3308, Chattanooga, TN 37404, or to the Hospice of Northern Virginia, PO BOX 1576, Merrifield, VA 22116.

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard