Rear Admiral Charles Woodford Rixey, SC, United States Navy (Retired), affectionately known as “Woody” his entire life, passed away on May 18, 2008.
He attended Plattsburg High School in Plattsburg, Missouri and William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. He received his Master’s
degree in business administration at the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business in 1951, and Master’s degree in operations
analysis at the Navy Postgraduate School of Engineering in Monterey, California in 1960.
He first entered the Navy in April 1944 and served as a radioman in the Western Pacific during World War II. He was recalled to active duty in 1950 as a radioman at the outbreak of the Korean War. In 1951, he received a direct commission as Ensign.
In 1967, as a Commander, he served as Director of the Supply Depot at DaNang, Vietnam. This depot was the major supplier of machinery,
medicine, building materials, and general supplies to the Free World Military Assistance Forces. For his meritorious service during this tour of
duty, he was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V.
In September 1976, he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral. He then became Vice Commander of the Naval Supply Systems Command in
Washington, D.C.
In May 1978, Rear Admiral Rixey retired from the Navy and joined American Management Systems (AMS) as vice president and director for
the Defense Systems Group.
Woody Rixey is survived by his wife, Mary Joe Douglass of Lathrop, Missouri, children Ms. Susan Rixey, Dr. Sallie Rixey, Captain Joseph W. Rixey, United States Navy, and 8 grandchildren.
Services will be held at Arlington Cemetery on July 22 at 3:00 PM.
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