Monday - 20 May 2013

This is our final post for our gallant warrior and the narrative version of his obituary which was placed in the Transylvania Times of Brevard, NC, The Griffin Daily News of Griffin, GA and The Potomac News of Woodbridge, VA today.  There is talk of publishing his blog with all of it's typos and Dougisms.  If you would like to have a copy it will be available at a later date.  Let us know on his email if you are interested.  dwheeless05@gmail.com.  Most finally thank you so, so much for your prayers, notes, emails and support of him through his courageous battle. 

 

God bless the USA. 

Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Crowder Wheeless, (US Army Ret.) 69, of Brevard, NC died on Saturday, May 18, 2013 at Duke Hospital surrounded by his family in love.  Like the soldier he was, he fought overwhelming odds in his battle against cancer.   A memorial service will be held at First United Methodist Church in Brevard on Friday, May 24 at 2:00 pm.  He will be interred at a later date at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. 

Doug had a long distinguished career of service in the US Army.  After four years of arduous military training at North Georgia College, he was designated a Distinguished Military Graduate and entered the regular Army in the Signal Corps.  After technical and paratrooper training he was posted to the 101st Airborne Unit stationed at Ft. Bragg NC, a “first responder” Army unit.   One of his deployments was to Washington, DC during the riots following Dr. King’s assassination.  From Ft. Bragg, he was assigned to the First Infantry Division in Vietnam.  As an Infantry Battalion Signal Corps Officer he served on the front lines insuring that critical communication lines were available to the units.  He was awarded the Bronze Star and Army Commendation medals for his outstanding performance.  Following Vietnam, Doug was selected for extensive communications training at Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey where he also earned his MBA. After that he was Professor of Military Science and Commandant of Cadets at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.

The Army put his extensive technical training to good use by assigning him to Pusan, South Korea where he served as the senior Army signal corps officer responsible for all communications for this critical military installation.  His performance was rewarded by being selected for the highly competitive Command and General Staff College and Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.  Following graduation, he was assigned to the Army General Staff at The Pentagon where he held sensitive positions on the Operations Directorate involving development and procurement of Army communications systems.  From the Army Staff, Doug was assigned to the prestigious Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he served in a position for planning and execution of communications support to operational military forces.  He was also twice awarded the Defense Meritorious Medal for his service in The Pentagon.

A fellow soldier who served with him for most of his career noted that he had never encountered another leader like Doug. He was unflappable and humble, yet he made things happen.  Units he commanded were highly disciplined and well trained.  His troops loved him.  In the Pentagon assignments, he was the “go-to” guy for Army and Joint Staff Generals.

After retirement from the U.S. Army in 1986, Doug was a Division Chief for Advanced Systems Development (ASD), an information technology support contractor primarily supporting the Department of Defense in The Pentagon.  He was employed by ASD for 24 years during which he was pivotal for ensuring the operational readiness of numerous networks, databases, and communications systems within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD).  This included oversight of the Executive Support Center for managing communication cables for OSD and providing direct communications support for the Defense Secretary while on travel.

In 2010 he retired to the beautiful Western NC Mountains in Brevard.  He enjoyed frequent family gatherings, his new Brevard friends, hiking and golf.  Upon diagnosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia he created a blog called “Conquering AML” to chronicle his experiences. (dougwheeless.blogspot.com)

Doug is survived by his wife of 43 years Jane Manley Wheeless a native of Griffin, GA and his three children, Amy Wheeless Peters of Huntersville, Camilla Frances Christopher of Cleveland, GA and Isaac William Wheeless, II of Asheville; son-in-laws Kevin Peters and Scott Christopher; four grandchildren, Julia and Sara Peters and Laurel and Clayton Christopher.  He is survived by his brother L.  David Wheeless and sister-in-law Jeanie Wheeless of Roswell, GA;  brother and sisters-in-law Taylor and Anne Manley and Gail Hammock of Griffin, GA., many nieces and nephews and grand-nieces and nephews, and dear, life-long friends, like family Joyse Witheridge of Brevard and Alison Witheridge of Encinitas, CA. 

Doug is preceded in death by his infant son Douglas Crowder Wheeless, Jr. and his parents Isaac William Wheeless and Henri Frances Crowder. 

Arrangements are being made by Moody-Connolly of Brevard.  Visitation is Thursday night between 6:00 and 7:30 pm. Memorial donations may be made to Wounded Warrior Project or the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.