Jack Lloyd Casey, the son of John William and Ruth Jane Casey, was born in Huntington, IN in 1938. He moved with his family to Mooresville, IN at an early age. He graduated from Mooresville High School and entered West Point in 1956. He had no previous military, college or prep school background and suffered through a tough plebe year in a very harsh company. Still, he never lost his sense of humor and remained upbeat, even in the most difficult situations. No one brought more laughs and cheer to his company classmates than Jack. He was involved in many facets of cadet life, including the Dialectic Society, Debate Council and Forum, German Club, Art Club (for which he served as president), Pistol Club, Sailing Club and Ski Club and serving as a Sunday School teacher.
After graduation, Jack attended Airborne and Ranger schools at Fort Benning, GA and the Field Artillery Basic Course at Fort Sill, OK. He married Donna Williams during this time. He reported to Fort Bragg, NC for his first duty assignment with the 82nd Airborne Division Artillery in 1961, along with 12 other West Point classmates. After his assignment with the 82nd, he was assigned to the 5-30th Sergeant Missile Battalion, along with five other classmates, at Fort Sill. His son Jeff was born while he was helping prepare the missile battalion for deployment. He deployed with the battalion, along with his family, to Vicenza, Italy in 1963. In 1964 he assumed command of the 28th Missile Warhead Detachment on the Adriatic Coast, near Venice, and then was assigned to the 559th Field Artillery Group S-3 staff in 1965 and the SETAF G-3 staff in 1966. His second son, Gregg, was born while Jack was in Italy. Later in 1966, he returned to Fort Sill to teach nuclear weapons classes in the Field Artillery Advanced Course. His third son, Sean, was born while Jack was teaching in 1967. Then Jack attended the advanced course at Fort Sill, graduating in 1968.
Jack left Fort Sill on deployment to Vietnam in 1968. He joined the First Air Cavalry Division, first as executive officer of the 1-21st Field Artillery Battalion and then as the division fire support coordinator. From Vietnam, he was reassigned to Fort Sill, where he served from 1969 to 1971 on the Field Artillery Board as chief of the TACFIRE Division Artillery Test Section. Then, in 1972, he was redeployed to Vietnam—this time as a MACV district advisor south of Pleiku. While in this position, he was selected for the Four Party Joint Military Commission Team to set up the peace talks.
After the second tour in Vietnam, Jack was selected to attend the Command and Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS. From there he returned to Fort Sill in 1974 on assignment for the fourth time. Initially, he was assigned as a battalion S-3 and then, in 1975, he was assigned to the Field Artillery Training Center, eventually serving as the Training Center’s executive officer. Then, while still at Fort Sill in 1976, he was assigned as chief of the TACFIRE Software Support Center. In 1978, Jack was assigned to OPM TACFIRE at Fort Monmouth, NJ. Jack retired from Fort Monmouth in 1981, and he and Donna were divorced in 1982.
After retirement from the Army, Jack remained in the Fort Monmouth area and started his second career as a senior engineer for TELOS Federal Systems, providing engineering and technical support services to various systems for the Army Communications-Electronics Command.
Jack married Elaine Macina in 1989. Elaine was originally from Brooklyn but had lived in New Jersey for several years. Jack’s three sons and Elaine’s daughter Karen produced six grandchildren between them. Jack and Elaine spent 18 happy years living near Fort Monmouth in Eatontown, NJ before Jack was diagnosed with cancer. Jack suffered from cancer for approximately six years. Even when he was confined to a nursing home, Jack maintained a very upbeat attitude and welcomed classmates and other visitors with hugs. His natural good humor and boundless energy were evident in all that he accomplished. Jack died on November 23, 2013.
— Company classmates and wife