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2014 Distinguished Graduate Award Recipients

Categories: Distinguished Graduate Award, Events & Awards, Grad News
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The West Point Association of Graduates (WPAOG) has named the 2014 recipients of the Distinguished Graduate Award. This annual award has been bestowed upon those West Point graduates whose character, distinguished service, and stature draw wholesome comparison to the qualities for which West Point strives, in keeping with its motto: “Duty, Honor, Country.” The awards will be presented in a ceremony at West Point on May 22, 2014. The 2014 Distinguished Graduate Award Recipients are:

2014 Distinguished Graduate Award Recipient LTG (R) Robert E. Pursley '49

LTG (R) Robert E. Pursley ’49

COL (R) William B. DeGraf ’50

2014 Distinguished Graduate Award Recipient COL (R) William B. DeGraf '50

First to graduate in the Class of 1950, a class that produced 64 general officers (including 7 four-star generals), Colonel DeGraf (Retired) has been its acknowledged and unchallenged leader for decades. He has led class gift programs, organized class reunions, and served as class scribe for 33 of the past 39 years. His leadership might stem from the fact that he was already a first lieutenant before coming to West Point (battlefield commission during World War II). After graduating he fought in Korea, received a master’s in nuclear physics, taught at USMA (Department of Electrical Engineering), and commanded the 1st Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam (earning a third Combat Infantryman Badge during that conflict, a rare feat). After retirement, DeGraf’s contributions to the Army went even further: As the Assistant Vice President of Science Applications International Corporation, he led the design, development, and activation of the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, CA, which is thought to be the crown jewel of the Army training system.

2014 Distinguished Graduate Award Recipient Mr. Frederic V. Malek '59

Mr. Frederic V. Malek ’59

Mr. Paul W. Bucha ’65

2014 Distinguished Graduate Award Recipient Mr. Paul W. Bucha '65

The very definition of “citizen-soldier,” Mr. Bucha has spent 40-plus years looking out for those who serve this country, whether they wear a uniform or not. In 1978, he helped plan the rescue of U.S. citizens illegally detained in Iran just before that nation’s 1979 revolution. He has raised money for the construction of multiple ‘Fisher Houses,’ which assists Wounded Warriors and their families, and he has advocated for raising insurance policy benefits to families of a soldier KIA during the invasion of Iraq. More recently, he has worked with financial institutions that have mistakenly foreclosed mortgages of deployed soldiers absolved and restored. Perhaps the greatest testimony to Mr. Bucha’s determination to help those in uniform, he received the Medal of Honor in 1970 for his courageous actions to rescue and recover men of his company during a 1968 battle with a North Vietnamese battalion. Today, Mr. Bucha continues to support veteran issues and present lectures to service cadets on the values he learned at West Point.

2014 Distinguished Graduate Award Recipient LTG (R) Franklin L. Hagenbeck '71

LTG (R) Franklin L. Hagenbeck ’71

Distinguished Graduate Award

The Distinguished Graduate Award (DGA) is to be given to graduates of the United States Military Academy whose character, distinguished service, and stature draw wholesome comparison to the qualities for which West Point strives, in keeping with its motto: “Duty, Honor, Country.” The DGA is funded by a generous endowment from E. Doug Kenna ’45 and his wife, Jean.

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