R.P. Hunnicutt passes...

[Doug Kibbey]

As reported elsewhere, sad news to relate....he leaves a tremendous legacy in his wake.

 

 

"Hunnicutt, Richard Pearce 84 June 15, 1926 April 29, 2011 Our Dad, Richard Pearce Hunnicutt was born amidst the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains in Asheville, N.C., to James Ballard Hunnicutt and Ida Belle Black. During the Great Depression the family lost their home and had to move in with relatives. Despite the hardships, Dad excelled in school, especially chemistry. When World War II came, he altered his birth certificate and enlisted in the U.S. Army in September 1943. In October 1944 he joined the 7th Infantry Division and participated in the invasion of Leyte where he witnessed the filming of one of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's famed "returns" to the Philippines. April 1945 found him at Okinawa's Kadena Field where he met Ernie Pyle, who singled him out for a photograph because of his boyish appearance. On April 30, 1945, Private First Class Hunnicutt, acting leader of an infantry machine gun squad, dug his guns in along a rocky escarpment known as Hacksaw Ridge. That night the squad helped repulse multiple Japanese attacks. Enemy fire killed three squad members and Dad had an eardrum shattered and took mortar fragments to his arms, but the American defenders held. The next morning, May 1, 1945, the Tenth Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Simon Buckner, unexpectedly arrived at the ridge and questioned the 18 year-old soldier on what had transpired. Lt. Gen. Buckner ordered Dad promoted to sergeant and personally pinned the Silver Star on his chest. Dad almost never spoke of his war experiences. He always insisted he was just "war time help" and had no desire to become a "professional veteran." Following the end of the war, Dad did occupation duty in Frankfurt, Germany, and then attended Stanford University under the GI Bill. He went on to earn a master's degree in engineering from Stanford and then took a job at General Motors working under the legendary Charles "Boss" Kettering. While in Detroit, Dad met and married Susan Haight, who would be his wife for 57 years. Dad's career eventually led him to partner in an engineering firm, ANAMET Laboratories, in Berkeley, Calif. His work involved analytical testing and consulting, though he was occasionally hired as an expert witness in court cases involving metal fatigue. In one notable civil case his testimony led to the largest monetary award in the world at that time. In addition to being one of the most highly respected metallurgists in the state of California, Dad researched and wrote a 10-volume history of the development and employment of American armored fighting vehicles. The series is the definitive work on this subject and he is widely regarded as one of the nation's leading experts in this field. He is also one of the founders of the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., and has been a close friend and frequent contributor to the Patton Museum at Fort Knox, Ky. Dad had two groups of acquaintances: His professional engineering colleagues, and his "tank buddies" who included much of the senior leadership of the U.S. Army. Few knew the other existed. To his four children he was a loving father who would do anything to help us out. Though he was not a spiritual man, he was an extraordinary role model in moral and ethical behavior. During the recession of the early 80s he and his two partners secretly took no pay for over a year so none of their 40 employees at the lab were laid off. We never knew of the stress and enormous pressures he often dealt with. A profanity or complaint never left his lips in our presence. He was always modest, sincere and generous in his actions, both public and private. Simply put, he was a man of enormous dignity, who never forgot his mountain roots. Selfless in all things, he was blessed with a wonderful sense of humor and gratitude for all that life had given him. We are profoundly grateful to have had such a man in our lives. Richard Hunnicutt is survived by his wife, Susan; sister, Barbara Cleveland; children, Barbara Marshall, Beverly Olson (Jay), Geoff Hunnicutt (Sandy) and Anne Millar (Alan); 10 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, May 7, 2011, at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, 2201 S.W. Vermont St., Portland, OR 97219. Arrangements by Autumn Funerals, Cremation & Burial."

[Colin Williams]

I met him briefly at the 2001 I&I at Jacques Littlefield's collection. He seemed to be a true gentleman.

 

RIP

[bigfngun]

Condolences to his family.

 

Can anyone take his place as unofficial US Armor historian?

[Przezdzieblo]

Sad news. Superb Author. R.I.P.

[Jeff]

I met him briefly at the 2001 I&I at Jacques Littlefield's collection. He seemed to be a true gentleman.

 

RIP

Indeed, an unassuming gentleman. It was an honor to meet him and shake his hand. You'd never know what a hero the man was.

 

RIP sir.

[Corinthian]

! ! !

 

So sad to hear his passing. It was a surprise to me that he served in WW2 (I did not realize he was THAT old; I thought he was in his mid-40s or early-50s when I first learned about him years ago), and a participant of the Leyte landings at that!

 

Rest in peace, sir. Thank you for your books.

[demosthenes]

His books on U.S armor are still unsurpassed; that's one legacy to be proud of among others.*

 

Has he told any of you guys why he got involved with the armor subject?

 

 

*I also didn't know of his wartime service.

[bojan]

Sad day.

RiP

[Fritz]

[Kenneth P. Katz]

RIP to a gentleman and scholar.

[Marek Tucan]

May he rest in peace.

 

Did not read any of his work, but saw his name in "references" section of any better publication touching the US armor.

[X-Files]

On April 30, 1945, Private First Class Hunnicutt, acting leader of an infantry machine gun squad, dug his guns in along a rocky escarpment known as Hacksaw Ridge. That night the squad helped repulse multiple Japanese attacks.

*

During the recession of the early 80s he and his two partners secretly took no pay for over a year so none of their 40 employees at the lab were laid off.

 

I detect a theme in his life.

 

Thanks much for posting this.

[RETAC21]

RIP,

 

What an example to follow...

 

 

[Harold Jones]

I met him briefly at the 2001 I&I at Jacques Littlefield's collection. He seemed to be a true gentleman.

 

RIP

I remember him telling us that every copy of his books cost him money since they were privately published. It was an honor to meet him.

 

RIP

[C.GILLONO]

Very sad news!

RIP

[Al]

I remember him telling us that every copy of his books cost him money since they were privately published. It was an honor to meet him.

 

RIP

 

 

That's kind of ironic since I just recently acquired a copy of "Firepower" for what I thought was an excellent price of $115. Wasn't aware of his past accomplishments.

 

RIP

[Doug Kibbey]

That's kind of ironic since I just recently acquired a copy of "Firepower" for what I thought was an excellent price of $115. Wasn't aware of his past accomplishments.

 

RIP

 

You got a bargain. Price a copy of "Stuart". It's a pity he didn't get to realize any of the profits that his books generate today, though it's not my impression that he needed it. Probably just another form of his rendering service, which seems to have been a constant in his life.

 

This is the section of the Davis Library stacks that housed Hunnicutt's research materials. It's incredible what is in there that was not included in his books, but were assembled to document parallel development in our and other militaries.

 

[Al]

You got a bargain. Price a copy of "Stuart"....

 

Bought it off of Amazon. Ex-University of Delaware library copy. Only had been checked out maybe 5 times in as many years so it was in excellent shape, although without the dust cover. I would like to get "Stuart" but the last time I checked a used copy was $500 - $600. Out of my price range.

[Jeff]

Bought it off of Amazon. Ex-University of Delaware library copy. Only had been checked out maybe 5 times in as many years so it was in excellent shape, although without the dust cover. I would like to get "Stuart" but the last time I checked a used copy was $500 - $600. Out of my price range.

Damn, I just turned around and looked at my bookshelf with a whole new appreciation.

[Jeff]

I remember him telling us that every copy of his books cost him money since they were privately published. It was an honor to meet him.

 

RIP

I know, I almost choked when he said that but it didn't bother him a bit.

[Jim Warford]

He's the one in the middle...RIP.

 

Shot at 2011-05-05

Edited May 6, 2011 by Jim Warford

[Corinthian]

Odd. I expected him to look a bit like our own King Sargent.

 

My only Hunnicut book is Sheridan. I got it for a steal, IIRC it was just P2,500 or less...? I can't recall now where I got it here. It is one of my prized possessions.

[Doug Kibbey]

Odd. I expected him to look a bit like our own King Sargent.

 

My only Hunnicut book is Sheridan. I got it for a steal, IIRC it was just P2,500 or less...? I can't recall now where I got it here. It is one of my prized possessions.

 

..and you get a great bonus on the M41 development in that one. Parallel and sequential development was often a feature of his tomes, which just made those that much better.

[ickysdad]

Well I got "Firepower" last August for $100.00, back in 2004 I got "Sherman" for $150.00 , andgot "Pershing" in 2007 for $105.00 . Also have his books on Half tracks & Armored Cars. They're worth every penny. The old saying 'You get what you pay for" is quite applicable.

[Scott Cunningham]

Sorry to hear the news. I have all of his tank books except "Stuart". I remember when it was sellin in the Edward R. Hamilton flyers for $65.