Major Richard Havelock Alexander

died after a lengthy illness at Bremerton, WA on 19 December 2010 at the age of 76.Dick was the third generation of a military family and son of a USNA '15 graduate. As a youngster he lived at various duty stations, including teenage years in Bahia, Brazil, where he became fluent in Portuguese. After high school, he attended Sullivan Preparatory School prior to entering the Naval Academy at Annapolis, where he was a member of the 6th Company.Upon graduation he was commissioned in the Marine Corps.He attended Basic School at Quantico and then became an artillery officer. He served with the 11th Marines, was later assigned to Marine Barracks, Subic Bay PI. Shortly after returning to the states, he resigned his commission and entered a management program with the C&P Telephone Company, continuing his Marine Corps service as a reservist. When the war in Vietnam broke out, he returned to active duty and served in combat as a battery commander and battalion staff officer. He received the Navy Commendation Medal (Combat V) for heroic achievement in combat. He subsequently was assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps, attended the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and completed tours in Okinawa, at the First Marine Corps District, and with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, where he retired in 1978.Upon retirement, Dick spent considerable time in Germany, attended the University of Heidleberg studying the German language in which he became fluent. He became an avid volksmarch participant and continued hiking for many years. Upon return to the US and the Annapolis area, one of his walks took him through the USNA Cemetery, where he found a memorial to the Vietnam War. The name of a Marine classmate was not listed, so Dick began an effort to get the name added to the memorial. His continuous pressing on the issue resulted in the creation of a Memorials Study Group at USNA, the eventual movement of the Vietnam Memorial to its current prominent location near Alumni Hall, and the addition of several names that had not been originally placed on the memorial.For the past few years he lived near relatives in the Puget Sound area, where he volunteered as a case worker with the Navy Relief and was a member of the Military Officers Association of America.Dick is survived by his loving wife Inge, his children Robin, Rica, Rene and Bill and grandchildren Allison, Billy and Andie.A Memorial Service will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday, December 27, 2010 at the Kitsap Naval Base Bangor Chapel. Reception follows at the Inside Out Café at Bangor Plaza. Interment will be at a later date in Arlington National Cemetery. Arrangements entrusted to Cook Family Funeral Home.