William W. Lapsley – Major General, United States Army

From a contemporary press report

e, a retired Major General in the Army Corps of Engineers and former president of the Consolidated Edison Company, died on Thursday, October 6, 1994, at home in San Antonio, Texas. He was 84. The cause was leukemia, his family said.

A native of Selma, Alabama, he grad from the United States Military Academy in 1935.

In World War II, he commanded an engineering regiment in the invasions of Sicily, Italy and southern France.

During the Korean War he led the 7th Logistical Command.

His medals included Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster, the Legion of Merit and the Distinguished Service Medal.

He later commanded the Corps of Engineers in the Pacific Northwest and played a major role in construction of dams on the Columbia River. In the early 1960’s he was a member of a three-man team that negotiated with the Canadian Government over the use of water from that river. Another member was Charles F. Luce, administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration in that region, who soon became chairman and chief executive of Con Edison.

He retired from the Army in 1967, and Luce recruited him for Con Edison, making him vice president of corporate services. He became president of the company in 1973. He retired in 1975, when he reached the age of 65, but he remained a member of the utility’s board of directors until 1982.

Mr. Luce credited him with helping to rebuild the company. “Not only did he direct the modernization of Con Edison’s electric system,” Mr. Luce said, “he also trained the next generation of men and women who lead Con Edison today.”

His first wife, the former June Louise English, died in 1952. His second wife, the former Vivian Lynn, died in 1987. He is survived by two daughters, three sons, a brother, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

January 14, 1910 – June 6, 1994.

Arlington National Cemetery, Section 3, Grave 1704-B.

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