Colonel Richard E. White (Gamma/Maine 1988), one of the Air Defense Artillery’s most highly decorated officers, died unexpectedly Jan. 24, 2013.
He was born Aug. 14, 1967, in Lisbon Falls, ME, the son of Charlie and Betty White, who survive.
He was a graduate of Lisbon High School and the University of Maine where he was a member of Theta Chi Fraternity. After graduation, he attended basic training and advanced infantry training at Fort Benning, GA, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army upon graduation. He began his distinguished military career with the Second Battalion, 44th Air Defense Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Ft. Campbell, KY, where he deployed to Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm as a Vulcan/Stringer platoon leader.
Colonel White had many assignments throughout his career, serving in Korea, Washington, Hawaii, Oklahoma, and Washington, D.C., where he was a special assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as the Aide-de-Camp to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also served as an operations officer in the Information Strategy Division of the Information Operations Directorate of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, as well as three assignments in Iraq. He was a four-time recipient of the Bronze Star, and a graduate of the Air War College where he was an instructor in the Department of Leadership and Warfighting at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, AL, at the time of his death.
In addition to his parents, Col. White is survived by his wife, Valerie, of Montgomery; two children, Keira and Braiden; and a brother, Charlie, of Colebrook, N.H.
Memorial services for Colonel White were held Jan. 30, 2013, at Chapel 2 on Maxwell Air Force Base. He will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.