“In 1964, my high school football coach called me into his office and said, ‘Beard, we got an inquiry from West Point about you today.’ Little did I know West Point would teach me I could do anything, even learn Spanish.”
And so began the first steps into the Army career of our Class of 1969 classmate William G. “Butch” Beard Jr. If that last part of Butch’s statement from his entry into the 45-Year Legacy Book of the Class of 1969 made you smile, you truly did know Butch. His charming Southern accent mixed beautifully with everything but foreign languages.
I got to know Butch as a roommate. The sparkle in his eyes when he laughed and his joyous smile always suggested to me that he had a deep understanding of what mattered in life. He spoke fondly and constantly about two subjects…his hometown and his one true love, Martha Reese. Martha lived in South Carolina during our time at West Point. Butch and Martha were sweethearts since high school. Although they only saw each other two or three times a year while he was at the Academy and she was in school at Winthrop, they wrote each other each week and fed many, many quarters into pay phones. As Butch and I focused on the myriad challenges of cadet life, Butch would declare over and over how he could not wait to marry Martha and to start his Army career. Butch and Martha married in 1969, only 10 days after he graduated.
Born in Ruston, LA, Butch and his parents lived in North Augusta, SC when he won the principal appointment to West Point from his congressman, Albert Watson. While at West Point, Butch was active in many pursuits, all involving his extreme athletic ability or his love for bodies of water. He was a member of the Army Football Team in his Fourth Class and Third Class years, the Judo Club in Third, Second and First Class years, and the Fishing Club in Second Class and First Class years. Butch was elected president of the Fishing Club in his First Class year.
During his five years of active duty, Butch served like the warrior leader we all knew him to be. He spent one year in combat in Vietnam, commanding two Engineer companies and winning a Bronze Star during his tour. As a 23-year-old captain, he was the post commander at Nui Le. His company maintained a section of the famous Highway 1. Butch didn’t talk about his time in Vietnam much, but you could tell that his experiences there resonated throughout his life. “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” – GK Chesterton
Butch was proud of his Ranger Tab and his Parachutist Wings, and he got to use those coveted skills during his four years as an Airborne Engineer officer in the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, NC. He left the Army in 1974 to pursue a civilian career, which was as diverse and fascinating as one would expect from Butch. His career included being a partner in a marina business, designing and implementing industrial automation solutions, selling commercial real estate, and helping others as a marketing consultant. Butch loved to teach and mentor, and a highlight of his admirable careers was teaching at the high school and college levels, specializing in physics, strength of materials, and FORTRAN.
After the Army, Butch and Martha moved to Greenwood, SC and started the family they always wanted. Eventually moving to Fort Mill, SC, they raised their three children in a wonderful small town. It was here that Butch found his love of business and began his career as a successful entrepreneur. In 1999 Butch and Martha moved to Amelia Island, FL, where Butch retired three different times and spent his days doing his five favorite things: sailing, fishing, shag dancing, treasuring his five grandchildren and loving Martha.
Butch leaves behind his wife, Martha; his children: Leslie (Brian) Bogstad of Charleston, SC; Shelley (Greg) Cagle of Simpsonville, SC; Michael Beard of Tampa, FL; his sisters Cindy (Dave) Bullard of Seneca, SC and Jennifer (Tommy) Crain of Cross Anchor, SC; and his grandchildren: Will Bogstad, Isabelle Bogstad, Eli Bogstad, Lawton Cagle and Jax Cagle. Butch clearly inspired his family with his love of the Army and of West Point. The only Army-Navy football game that he missed watching was when he was in Vietnam, and he always teared up when the Corps marched into the stadium. Butch’s five grandchildren wore West Point jerseys to his funeral and recordings played included “The Corps” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” by the West Point Glee Club and Band. In another lasting tribute to Butch’s devotion to the military, his family asked that in lieu of flowers donations be made in Butch’s memory to the Wounded Warrior Project.
None of us were the least bit ready to lose Butch. He was ill only a week before his unexpected death at home. But those of us who were blessed to know and love him are sure that he is smiling that sparkling, twinkle-eyed smile over how his adoring family and friends chose to honor his life.
When we lose a good one of us, we lose a good part of all of us. We miss you, Butch. “Be thou at peace.”
 What ya goin’ to do now, Recondo?
 — Wife Martha Reese Beard, Daughter Shelley Beard Cagle, Classmate Vince Corica