Gordon Charles Caswell – Commander, United States Navy

From a contemporary press report:

Gordon Charles Caswell, 59, a retired Navy Commander and veteran of the Vietnam War who later was an engineer for defense contractors, died of heart ailments March 28, 1999 at a hotel in Richmond, Virginia.

He had gone to Richmond to take part in a weekend organized by Volksmarch, a walking group.

Commander Caswell, a resident of Springfield, was born in Escanaba, Michigan. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1960 and was commissioned in the Navy. He later received a master’s degree in electrical engineering at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

During his career, Commander Caswell served on destroyers, and at one time he was executive officer of the USS Keppler. He was stationed at Da Nang during the Vietnam War.

He also served in Washington with the Air Force satellite communications program, the Navy space project in the Naval Electronic Systems Command and the Defense Intelligence Agency. He retired in 1980.

Commander Caswell later worked for TRW and other defense contractors on communications and satellite projects. He retired a second time in 1994.

His military decorations included the Legion of Merit.

As a recreational walker, Commander Caswell was a member of the Pentagon Pacesetters as well as the Volksmarch organization. He had completed walks in 46 states and had traveled to the British Isles with a group of walkers.

Commander Caswell was a member of Mensa and the American Legion, and he was active in bowling leagues.

Survivors include his wife of 39 years, Sally Caswell of Springfield; a daughter, Janet L. Caswell of Old Greenwich, Conn.; his mother, Leone Davis of Crystal River, Fla.; and a sister, Gayle Walling of Chicago.

CASWELL, GORDON C.

On Sunday, March 28, in Richmond, Va., husband of Sarah A. Caswell; father of Janet L. Caswell; brothr of Gayle Wallin; also survived by his mother, Leone J. Davis. Funeral services will be held on Monday, April 12 at 1:00 p.m., at Fort Myer Chapel. Interment Arlington National Cemetery.

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