CMR suffered a great loss on February 25, when retired Army Lt. Gen. Richard Trefry, 98, passed away peacefully at home in the company of his beloved wife “Jacque.” 

When I organized CMR in 1993, following my time on the 1992 Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces, Gen. Trefry was an early supporter who opened many doors.  His early support for CMR and guidance for me personally made it possible for CMR to begin and sustain our work for the past thirty years. 

Lt. Gen. Dick Trefry also was one of the Army’s most respected officers.  During his long life General Trefry taught countless military personnel and civilians about the importance of integrity, honesty, and loyal service to America, whether serving in uniform or not. 

As reported by the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA), where he was a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Land Warfare, Trefry began his career as an enlisted soldier, toward the end of WWII, before attending the U.S. Military Academy.  Commissioned in 1950 as a field artillery officer, he served in Germany, Vietnam, and Laos. 

He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Class of ’50, and was named a Distinguished Graduate in 2006.  His illustrious career also included time as Army Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel and six years as the Army Inspector General. 

After retiring in 1983, Trefry co-founded Military Personnel Resources, Inc., a private military training firm.  He served as military assistant to President George H.W. Bush and head of the White House Military Office during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

Following that assignment, Trefry was Program Manager at the Army Force Management School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.  Sections of Gen. Trefry’s monumental “Mother of All Charts,” which illustrated the complex organization of the Army, were displayed in part at annual AUSA conventions that he rarely missed.  And his vast library of books, all of which he had read, was legendary and a source of personal pride. 

The general also was a lot of fun to be around.  He had a huge circle of friends, and many of them came from miles around for many milestone birthday celebrations at his spacious home in Clifton, Virginia.  He was always cheerful, even when undergoing radiation treatments for cancer.  Later, he carried on with even more activities as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Military University and the American Public University System.

In March 2009, he was the first recipient of the Lt. Gen. Richard G. Trefry Army Lifetime Service Award.  At the Pentagon presentation ceremony, attended by scores of peers and admirers, Secretary of the Army Pete Geren unveiled a portrait of General Trefry and hailed him as “the conscience of the Army.”  For his personal ethos of integrity and lifetime of extraordinary service to the Army, and to America, the honor was well deserved.

General Trefry was a distinguished military leader, a mentor, and a dear friend I will miss very much.

–        Elaine Donnelly