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Post a reply || Back to Message Board William B Hoelscher - Class of 1967
William Hoelscher, 71, Durham, Arrangements: City of Oaks F. H., Raleigh. Born on November 17, 1948 in Indianapolis, Died in Durham, NC January 28, 2020 Replies to this post
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William Bradford “Brad” Hoelscher Jr. was born on November
17, 1948 in Indianapolis, IN to Lieutenant Colonel William
B. Hoelscher Sr. and Mrs. Jane Bertuleit Hoelscher. He grew
up as an Air Force brat, with all the very frequent
relocations that a service life entails. While his family
was stationed at Stewart Air Force Base (AFB), about 15
miles from USMA, Brad graduated high school in 1967 from the
Newburgh Free Academy, where he was active in football,
wrestling, track, the Boy Scouts, and the Protestant Youth
of the Chapel. Given his family’s military background, it
was no surprise that Brad pursued attendance at USMA. He was
accepted through the Academy sports program as a qualified
competitor. Brad quickly adapted to his new military life,
and he thrived in the football and wrestling varsity
programs at the Academy. He also participated in the SCUBA
Club and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Companymates
from H-2 recall various heartfelt “Cadet Hoelscher”
memories: Brad seemed just out of cadet central casting—big,
handsome, and athletic. He was also determined, focused and
supremely competitive. His approach was to work hard and
always “choose the harder right instead of the easier
wrong.” He embraced each challenge with confidence, made the
best of it, and moved on. Brad’s trademark look was a wry
smile, or even a smirk, which made you think he knew
something you didn’t and that he was already a step ahead of
you. As a plebe, he often got in trouble with upperclassmen
for that prevailing “smile.” Brad loved sleeping in a
very cold room, with the windows wide open, even in winter.
His roommates reluctantly got used to this “temperature
challenge,” but many smartly designated a plebe to quietly
shut the windows before reveille. Brad meekly watched this
ritual from his bed, sporting his traditional wry smile. The
years at USMA flew by, and Brad soon faced the key decision
of selecting a military branch for his service obligation.
Brad chose to go Air Force like his father, who joined the
Army Air Cadets in 1943 and flew fighters in World War II,
Korea, and Vietnam before retiring in 1970. In 2018, Brad
visited the village near Prague where Lieutenant Colonel
Hoelscher Sr. was forced to bail out when antiaircraft fire
severely damaged his P-51D Mustang. Brad’s own career in the
Air Force (AF) focused on the intelligence field, which by
its nature assured that he rarely rubbed shoulders with his
classmates in the Army. He worked in signals intelligence in
Korea and the UK (1972-75), he commanded an AF detachment at
the Navy’s Cryptologic School in Florida (1975-78), and he
worked with the AF Systems Command, Satellite Test Center in
California (1978-81). He resigned from the AF in 1981 as a
captain, but remained in the AF Reserves, with service at
Griffiss AFB, NY; at McGhee Tyson AFB, TN; and at Scott AFB,
IL, where he worked in the TRANSCOM Joint Reserve
Transportation Unit. While at TRANSCOM, he provided support
for operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and for
Operation Restore Hope (Somalia). While in the Reserves, he
also attended the Air Command and Staff College (1988) and
the Air War College (1994). He retired as a lieutenant
colonel in 2001. On the civilian side, Brad worked with the
GE Space Division in Pennsylvania and New York (1981-88),
with Northern Telecom and High Output Consulting in
Tennessee (1988-96), and as an independent Information
Systems consultant in Durham, NC (1996-2013). Ever loyal to
the Academy’s mission and his classmates, Brad served as a
very successful USMA Admissions Field Force representative,
screening and coaching candidates through the process. A
notable classmate incident occurred in 2016 when a
companymate who had been out of touch for many years
suddenly asked if he could spend a week at Brad’s home
during a class event. Brad was at the beach with his family
but without hesitation agreed to drive back, make the home
available, and even spend a couple of nights with the
classmate. That was Brad, a brother in arms with fellow
graduates, for life. Brad was diagnosed with the very rare
ocular melanoma in 2015 and was successfully treated, but
the cancer unfortunately metastasized to the liver in 2019.
True to his fighting spirit, Brad volunteered for a brutal
clinical trial that provided targeted chemotherapy. He made
it through various steps before learning that the cancer had
spread and the treatment would not be successful. Brad and
his wife, Wendy, had two children: Bradford (WBH III), born
in 1984 (USMA 2008), and Stewart, born in 1986. In addition
to Wendy and her sons, Brad is survived by Bradford’s wife,
Aleece; grandchildren, Lia Caroline and William Bradford
Hoelscher IV (Ivan); Stewart’s partner, Kevin Pointer;
brother Bruce (USMA 1976), and a host of nieces and nephews.
Brad’s career provides an ideal script that others would do
well to follow. Between active duty and reserves, he spent
30 years in service, while also excelling in wide-ranging
civilian positions with a Defense focus. Everyone who met
him quickly concluded that he was a special individual, from
a special place, with a special family. There can be no
better tribute to USMA. You did well, my friend; may God now
hold you in his arms. Be Thou at Peace. “Professionally Done
by
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