Richard R. McTaggart

MENARD Col. (retired) Richard R. McTaggart, 88, of Menard, Texas, moved on to his next assignment on Saturday, July 16, 2011. He was born Feb. 25, 1923, in Menard County to Dr. Edwin Hamilton and Jane Russell McTaggart. His early education ranged from a one-room rural school house to local schools to Schreiner Institute in Kerrville. Higher education included Texas A&M, University of California at Berkeley and University of Pennsylvania. His 31 years of military service began as a teenage draftee in February 1943. He served with the 13th Armored Division during World War II. McTaggart graduated OCS and was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers in April 1949. His commissioned service included a combat battalion in Germany, the Army Map Service in Washington D.C., a combat engineer battalion in Korea which he commanded and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) at the Pentagon. Languages studied and acquired during his military career included German, Russian, Urdu, Pashtu, Farsi, Spanish and Korean. His last two assignments before retirement from the Army were defense attache positions in Afghanistan and Guatemala. The time spent in Afghanistan from 1970 to 1973, was a rich cultural experience for him and his family and many stories are told of those days. One story involves a time he spent traveling by camel with one of the nomadic tribes of Afghanistan to which he often observed that the camels that visit Fort McKavett are far friendlier. McTaggart then retired "back to the ranch" near Menard where he spent his time with volunteer work behind the scenes. He worked to support the county, military, civic and educational organizations. He also dabbled as a prolific carpenter, building onto the house and outbuildings through those years. His numerous post-retirement jobs included being the longtime county Democratic chairman as well as being the first president of the Friends of Fort McKavett. The time and effort he spent with this work garnered from many the support, love and respect worthy of a true statesman. Richard is survived by his wife, Verla,; son Timothy; and various cousins from the Russell and related families. Graveside service with full military honors will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 20, in Fort McKavett Cemetery with lunch to follow at the Fort McKavett Fire Station.