George Franklin Barkley

George Franklin Barkley passed away on January 26, 2018, at the Schlosspark Rezidenz in Garatshausen, Germany. The son of Claude and Olive Barkley of Grand Rapids, Michigan, George attended Highland Park High School, Dallas Texas, and Santa Fe High School, Santa Fe, New Mexico, graduating from Ottawa Hills High School in 1947. He then enlisted in the U.S. Army serving as PVT/PFC, Acting Corporal and Acting SGT, Troop 13, 83rd Mechanized Recon Squadron, 3rd Armored Division in Ft. Knox, Kentucky. Recognized for his leadership skills, he attended the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated from West Point with the Class of 1952 and was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant, Infantry. He was stationed in Germany from 1953 to 1956, where he met his wife Ingeborg Hella Steger, and they married in 1955. From 1956 to 1958 he served in the 187th Parachute Regiment and the 502nd Parachute Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. From 1959 through 1963 he served as ROTC Instructor at Punahou Academy, Honolulu, Hawaii. He was promoted to Major, in 1963 he served with the U.S. Training Center, FT. Ord, California. In the spring of 1964 he was assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group in the Belgian Congo. This was followed by a tour of duty in Vietnam from 1965 through 1966 as advisor to the 4th ARVN Regiment and the 2nd ARVN Division. After attending the Command and General Staff College in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, George was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1967. He then served as Secretary General Staff at Ft. Sheridan, Illinois, and HQ Allied Forces Southeastern Europe, Izmir, Turkey. This was followed by a tour of duty as the Commanding Officer of the Army Augmentation Team (Project 404) in Laos and as Exec Officer to the Army Attache in 1973. From 1974 to 1976 he served as the Commanding Officer of Army Recreation Services Agency, Europe, in Heidelberg, Germany. His final assignment with the military was as Chief, Reserve Affairs, Europe, in Munich, Germany. After 28 years of military service George retired, remaining in southern Germany, living in Weilheim near Munich. He worked for Digital Equipment Corporation in Munich until his second retirement in the mid 1990s. His wife, Ingeborg, passed away in 2001. George enjoyed reading, studying history, gardening and coin collecting. George is survived by his three children: daughter Barbara Barkley Harris (Michael), grandchildren Alan Harris and Rowan Weber, great grand children Elizabeth and Andrew; son Robert Barkley (Yvonne Carree), and granddaughter Tela Barkley; and son Thomas Barkley. George’s ashes will be interred in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia at a time to be determined later. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of George Franklin Barkley please visit our Sympathy Store.