Edwin Augustus “Ed” Deagle Jr. was born in Boston, MA in 1937, the son of Edwin and Dorothy Deagle. As an Army brat he traveled overseas with his parents and lived in Yokohama, Japan, for several years, starting in 1949. He later returned to the United States, graduated from Norfolk High School in Norfolk, VA, and attended the USMA Prep School. He received an appointment to West Point and entered the Academy in the summer of 1956.
At West Point, Ed was recognized as a brilliant person of wide interests and enormous energy. He was a natural leader and served as a company commander his last year. He also participated in numerous club activities. But most of all, his classmates remember him best for his many late-night tutoring sessions conducted for those having academic difficulties. It is hard to believe that he spent so many hours helping others and still graduated fifth in his class.
Ed married Mary Ann Grace two weeks after graduation from West Point and then completed the Armor Basic Course and Airborne and Ranger schools before deployment in 1961 with his wife to Bamberg, West Germany. Ed was assigned to the 2nd Armored Calvary Regiment. Soon after his arrival, the Berlin Wall went up and Ed’s unit began patrolling the East German border. In fact, his unit was engaged in a firefight with Russian troops. During this tour of duty, his first son, Ed III, was born.
Ed and family returned to the United States in 1964, and Ed attended the Armor Advanced Course at Fort Knox, KY. While there, Ed was recruited by the USMA Department of Social Sciences to teach, and the department insisted that he prepare for teaching at Harvard University. Consequently, Ed and family moved to Boston, and Ed earned his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in economics and government. His second son, Michael, was born while Ed completed his graduate studies.
In 1968, Ed moved his family to Monterey, CA, and he deployed to Vietnam. Initially, He was assigned to the 9th Infantry Division as its strategic planner. Subsequently, he was designated to be the executive officer of the 2nd Battalion, 60th Infantry. This unit was formed specifically to sharpen its Jitterbug high-speed airmobile assaults. Ed regarded this assignment as being “a thrilling combat experience.” For this service, he received two Silver Stars, four Bronze Stars (two for valor), two Air Medals, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Purple Heart.
After Vietnam, Ed was assigned to West Point to teach in 1969. The next three years were difficult years. Ed was deeply disturbed about the My Lai atrocities and what he considered to be false statements being made by the current Superintendent of the Military Academy, who had been the commander of the Americal Division during My Lai. This led to Ed’s resignation from the Army in 1972. Then Ed and Mary Ann divorced in 1973. Despite his resignation, Ed viewed his military career as the formative experience of his life.
After leaving the military, Ed went to work for the Urban Institute in Washington from 1972 to 1975. Then, Alice M. Rivlin, director of the newly established Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recruited him as an executive assistant. In this capacity, Ed wrote the CBO’s first annual estimate of spending and revenue estimates for the next 10 years. In 1976, Ed served on the presidential transition team for the Jimmy Carter administration.
In 1977, Ed moved to New York to become director of the International Relations Program at the Rockefeller Foundation. During this time, he met and married Joan Dunlap, a British New Yorker. He worked for the Rockefeller Foundation until 1986, helping 30 developing countries and helping to find resources to end OPEC’s monopoly power over oil prices. He often commented on how much he enjoyed this work. In 1986, Ed decided to make another career change and entered the private sector by joining Hughes Aircraft Company. This entailed a move across country to Southern California. Joan did not want to leave New York, so she and Ed parted amicably.
In 1990, Ed left Southern California and joined Hughes Microelectronics Europa Ltd (HMEL) in Glenrothes, Fife, Scotland. In 1991, Ed married Judy Johnson at a beautiful Scottish castle in Edinburgh. Then within a year he was reassigned to Hughes in Southern California. He worked for Hughes until 1993. During his time with Hughes, he served as director of international business planning and as manager of business operations.
In 1994, Ed went back to Washington and served as an assistant to the Secretary of Defense. Then, in 1995, he served as the director of Health Systems Programs for the SRA Corporation. In 1997, he and Judy formed a strategic business consulting company specializing in national security and Middle East affairs.
Ed and Judy retired and moved to Colorado in 2005. Ed youngest son, Michael, died in 2016 after a heart attack, and Judy died in 2017. After Judy’s death, Ed moved to Tampa, FL to be closer to his oldest son, Ed III. Ed died on February 16, 2021.
Ed will be remembered by those who knew him best as a very well-informed person who was not intimidated by the most complex problems or by those in positions of power or authority. His life was defined by his deep sense of integrity and the courage to address the most difficult situations he encountered.
— Family and classmates