Richard Frederick Bell – Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army

Richard Frederick Bell, 69, of Beaufort, died Thursday, November 23, 2006.

A Mass of Christian burial will be Monday in Alexandria, Virginia, with burial in Arlington National Cemetery at 2:45 p.m. December 20, 2006.

Colonel Bell graduated from Beaufort High School and received his undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina and his master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma.

He was a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army. In 1966 he served his first combat tour with the First Airborne Brigade. For service in Vietnam, he received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He retired from the Army in 1987.

He was a third- and fourth-degree Knights of Columbus member and a lifetime member of the Association of the U.S. Army.

Survivors include his wife of 43 years, Sally Ann McNeil; a son, Richard F. Bell II; a daughter, Christina N. Gorham; two sisters, Mary Elizabeth McDaniel and Margaret Victoria Jenkins, both of Beaufort; a brother, Paul Bell of Aiken; a nephew, Robert E. Bell of Beaufort; and four grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a daughter, Cynthia Mary Bell, and his mother, Mary Bailey Bell Jenkins.

Memorials may be made to St. Peter’s Chapel Restoration Fund, 70 Lady’s Island Drive, Beaufort, South Carolina 29907.

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