Col. Nathaniel Ramsey Hoskot (Ret.)

Born in Dayton, Ohio, on Sept. 10, 1911, Col. Hoskot was raised in Boise, Idaho and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1933. He entered the U.S. Army in 1940 and as a Lt. Col., parachuted into Normandy shortly after midnight on D-Day, 1944, acting as a liaison between the 101st and the 82nd Airborne Divisions. He was captured later that day and was a POW in Oflag-64 Poland until he was repatriated in January, 1945. He received a Silver Star for his performance relating to an incident in which his POW convoy was strafed by Allied planes on June 7, 1944, in Le Mesnil-Vigot, Normandy, France. After the war, he was stationed in New Delhi, India, which saw its independence from Britain during his tour there. He served as the Assistant Military Attache in New Delhi and then as the first Military Attache in the newly-formed country of Pakistan, helping to set up the first American Embassy in Karachi before returning to the United States in 1948. In 1950, he served in the Korean War as the G-3 of the 3rd Infantry Division. Subsequent duty stations included, Heidelberg, Germany, where he was the Commander of Headquarters, Area Command; Berlin, Germany, where he was the Chief of Staff of the Berlin Command; and the Pentagon, where he was Army liaison to the White House during the Kennedy Administration. Col. Hoskot received two Bronze Stars with Combat 'V', a Purple Heart, Legion of Merit, Combat Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Glider Badge, various campaign ribbons from World War II and Korea and a 1947 award from the Nepalese government, the Star of Prasiddha Pravala Gorkha Dakshina Bahu. After his retirement from the U.S. Army in 1963, Col. Hoskot worked for Hughes Aircraft, Helicopter Division for a number of years, including service in Vietnam from 1967-1969. He later worked for Breda Nardi Costruzzioni Aeronautiche in Milan, Italy. He and his wife returned to Northern Virginia in 1982. An avid traveler into his late 80¹s, he had visited most areas of the world. He volunteered weekly with Traveler¹s Aid at Ronald Regan National Airport for 17 years and with the Information Desk at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum for 13 years, retiring from those volunteer positions in 2001. Survivors include his wife of 69 years, Ellenor Knupp Hoskot of Alexandria; two sons, Nathaniel R. Hoskot Jr. (Lair) of Fallbrook, Calif. and David Breck Hoskot (Janis) of Pacific Palisades, Calif.; daughter, Anne H. Kreutzer (Tom) of Woodbridge; brother, Andrew McGowin Hoskot (Betty) of Blue River, Ore.; seven grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and two nieces and a nephew. Col. Hoskot will be buried with full military honors on May 28, in Arlington National Cemetery, with services starting at 1 p.m. at the Post Chapel, Ft. Myer. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: National D-Day Memorial Foundation, P.O. Box 77, Bedford, VA 24523. (800) 351-3329 Funeral arrangements by Everly-Wheatley, Alexandria. Sign the guestbook at http://www.manassasjm.com.