Unsolved Father’s Day military mystery

The military has many secrets that must be kept under wraps. Over the years individuals in uniform as well as civilians who work in sensitive industries have been arrested and jailed for exposing military secrets to other nations. And make no mistake, those kinds of secrets must be kept under wraps for the security of the nation.

But then there are secrets that perhaps are not so sensitive and should in fact come to light. Boulder City resident Chere’ Pedersen is proudly aware of her late father’s record of service in the Army. But there is also a secret.

John R. Meese retired as a colonel, and had a most distinguished career. So distinguished, that many of his peers had suggested to the powers that be that he be promoted to general.

His full military biography would take many column inches, but I’ll just review a few highlights. He initially joined the Army and had the lowly rank of private, but he realized that he loved military life and decided to become an officer. He was honorably discharged, and immediately enlisted again to go to Officers’ Candidate School, from which he graduated. He served at many different duty stations, including Vietnam. His decorations include the Vietnam Service Medal, the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Legion of Merit, Master Parachutist and several others.

As time went on, he gained rank and was given many new responsibilities. Official reports of his work always praised his actions. But therein lies the mystery.

In July of 1979 Lt. Gen. Eugene P. Forrester, commander of the Sixth U.S. Army, and Brig. Gen. Michael Bakarich, chief of staff of the Sixth U.S. Army, signed off on one of Meese’s performance reviews. The review said in part, “Colonel Meese is the type of officer who should be promoted to brigadier general … He is absolutely first-class in every way … would do an outstanding job in the Special Forces.” In another review, the same officers wrote “Promote NOW.” In a third review, Generals Norman J. Salisbury and Edward M. Flanagan Jr. signed off by writing, “ … an officer who has literally unlimited potential and one who should be promoted to brigadier general at the earliest opportunity.” Finally, in another report, Salisbury and Col. Edward J. Collins wrote, “He has the brains, guts and determination to be a brilliant general officer and should be promoted at the earliest opportunity.”

But sometimes the military works in strange ways. While praising Meese’s attendance at the U.S. Army War College and reporting that he was a “conscientious and straightforward officer whose work throughout the year was of high quality,” there was an ominous note at the end. Gen. Robert G. Yerks and Maj. Gen. DeWitt C. Smith wrote, “A statement specifically regarding estimated ‘general officer’ potential has been intentionally omitted from this and all AY75 reports.” The report goes on to say the specific evaluation system being used “does not provide an adequate basis for rendering a finite evaluation on general officer potential.” And just like that, the promotion never happened.

Like many retired veterans, Meese did not discuss details of his military life with his children. So Pedersen did not learn of his glowing reviews, including comments of a possible promotion, until his death. This Father’s Day, Pedersen, who volunteers for many veteran causes, will reflect on the wonderful memories of times she had with her dad, proudly introducing him as “My dad, COLONEL Meese, United States Army!” But she’ll also wonder about things that might have been.