<::taps::> Ferdinand Louis (Fred) Eysel, US Army bugler & ? D&BC organizer

Ferdinand (Fred) Louis Eysel, August 28, 1917 - September 5, 2004

COLUMBUS, GA - Ferdinand (Fred) Louis Eysel, born August 28, 1917, in Brooklyn, N.Y.,
son of the late Ferdinand L. and Bessie Pedersen Eysel, died peacefully in his home
on Sunday. Funeral services with military honors will be held 10:00 a.m. Thursday at
Striffler-Hamby Macon Road Chapel with Pastor Lawrence Barksdale of St. Matthew
Lutheran Church officiating. Burial will follow in Parkhill Cemetery. The family
will receive friends from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Striffler-Hamby Funeral Home.

As a teen, he worked for the Western Union, and joined the National Guard at age 17.
At age 18, he joined the U.S. Army, 16th Infantry Division at Fort Jay, N.Y. During
this time he saved 19 lives one summer as a life guard at New York's Rockaway Beach,
and organized a Drum and Bugle Corps with 106 youths.

Fred served in Hawaii in 1941 as a company bugler. his bugle calls were recorded and
sounded the alarm at Scoffield Barracks when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
Trained as a sniper and as a Scout and Raider, Fred was with the 2/12 Infantry
Battalion, 4th Division in the Europe during WWII; wounded twice during the Normandy
Invasion at Utah Beach, and once during the Battle of the Bulge.

He later married his nurse, 1st Lt. Louise Beyer, who cared for him in England after
both injuries. After the war, he was a demonstrator and instructor with the Infantry
Small Arms Committee and a tester with the Infantry Test Board at Fort Benning, Ga.
At the Test Board, he helped develop the M-14 Rifle. As a Distinguished marksman, he
was expert with most infantry weapons including the BAR and bayonet. He fired at
national matches with the Army Marksmanship Unit, and taught shooting. He used to
demonstrate firing the M-1 Garand, firing 40 rounds in a minute. At the end of the
demonstration he would shoot the weapon off his groin and then his chin, one-handed.

At Camp Perry, in 1958, he was 5th in the National Individual, was a member of the
first place Infantry Trophy Team and the Nevada Trophy Team. He coached the first
Olympic Biathlon team in Alaska, teaching the skiers how to shoot; and was a charter
member of Fort Benning's Rifle and Pistol Club. Fred was awarded the 2000th
Distinguished marksmanship Badge, now known as the Distinguished Rifleman's Badge.

In addition to numerous shooting medals throughout his career, additional medals
include the Good Conduct Medal, two Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star with V for Valor
and Oak Leaf Cluster, American Defense with baguettes, Combat Infantry Badge, WWII
Victory medal, and theater ribbons.

Since retiring from the military in 1959 as a Sgt. First Class (E6), Fred worked
civil service at the Ft. Benning weapons pool, was a barber and a sign painter in
Columbus Georgia. He was an artist, a calligrapher, photographer, rock hound, and
lapidary.

In addition to being an accomplished army bugler, he played harmonica and piano by
ear.

He was an active member of St. Matthew Lutheran Church since 1957, never met a
stranger, and was always ready to help a person in need.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 58 years, Louise; his son, Bruce Barton Eysel,
Sr.; daughters, Audrey Austin and Barbara Eysel; three grandchildren; three step
grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; one step great-grandchild; and several
nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Matthew Lutheran Church or Vista Care Hospice
are requested.

Published in the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer on 9/7/2004.



.

Quantcast