Douglas Cagney Fitzgerald was born in Hackensack, NJ on April 2, 1946. Doug, or “Fitz” as he was called, grew up in nearby Oradell, where he attended Riverdell High School. While at Riverdell, Doug excelled academically, starred in soccer and baseball, and developed a lifelong passion for skiing.
As a boy, Doug had frequently visited West Point, encounters inspiring a determination to join the Long Gray Line. Offered an appointment to the Naval Academy during his senior year in high school, Doug wisely passed. Instead, he spent a year attending Hamilton College in upstate New York. During that year, Congressman William B. Widnall of New Jersey’s 7th District offered Doug the appointment he really wanted. He accepted with alacrity.
Doug joined the Class of 1969 on July 1, 1965 and graduated on June 4, 1969. In the interim, he took the academic program in stride, stayed on good terms with the Tactical Department, and demonstrated a knack for finagling ways to get off post to ski. He also forged cherished friendships destined to last a lifetime.
Above all, Doug showed himself to be a superb soccer player—this during the golden age of Army soccer, when the team was routinely in the hunt for the men’s national championship. Doug was a selfless teammate and intense competitor with what others described as a “cannon” of a left leg.
Upon graduation, Doug was commissioned in the Armor branch. After schooling at Fort Knox, KY he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment in Erlangen, West Germany. Still a lieutenant, he was given command of a tank company.
In the summer of 1971, just promoted to captain, Doug deployed to the Republic of Vietnam and was immediately assigned to take command of B Troop, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, operating near Danang. In some very tough combat actions, Doug’s outfit sustained heavy casualties. For his Vietnam service he was awarded the Bronze Star and the Air Medal.
In 1972, Doug rotated back to the United States and was assigned to Fort Hood, TX. Again, he was tagged for command, this time a company in the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment. So, in a bit more than three years, Doug commanded three different companies on three different continents.
In 1976, after a stint teaching ROTC at Penn State, Doug left active duty, although retaining a reserve commission. After earning an MBA at Penn State, he took a position with Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, OH. Soon enough he moved into business education. For a time, Doug taught—and coached soccer—at Bryant University in Rhode Island. He then joined the faculty of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI, eventually becoming dean of the College of Business in 2001.
No American who served in Vietnam came away from the experience unaffected. The war touched Doug more deeply than most. For the remainder of his life, for example, he carried with him the names of the 14 soldiers killed under his command in B Troop. Doug himself became one of the war’s many deferred casualties. Although his wounds were invisible, they were real. As the war caught up with him, he encountered difficult times.
Things began to turn around in 1993 when Doug answered a personals ad in Boston Magazine placed by a lovely and spirited young woman named Julie Whelan. Doug and Julie fell in love and married in 1995. With Julie as his partner, Doug slowly put his life back together. West Point—both his classmates and his soccer teammates—played a crucial role in this process.
Visits and outings with classmates, along with the annual alumni soccer game held at West Point, were milestones in helping Doug along the path to once more becoming his old self. He found great joy in doing things with and for his classmates and their wives. In 2012, he and Julie organized an unforgettable class trip to Ireland. In 2014, Doug presided over the team that planned a terrific 45th reunion. The following year, he orchestrated a gathering in New York City for classmates who had participated in the March Back for his class’s 50-Year Affiliation, the Class of 2019. For several years, Doug also volunteered his time at the New England Center and Home for Veterans in Boston.
For classmates in and around New England, the Army-Navy party that the Fitzgeralds hosted annually at their home in Milton, MA became a major highlight on the social calendar. These were, of course, the years when Army was getting regularly drubbed by the Mids. Yet when the moment of redemption finally arrived in December 2016, Doug had the champagne chilled and ready to uncork. It was a memorable occasion.
Cruelly, the very next month Doug was diagnosed with the illness that would claim his life. For the next year-and-a-half, demonstrating stoic courage, he and Julie fought the good fight.
As the end approached, classmates converged on Milton to visit. Others sent reminiscences or messages of encouragement, a mark of their respect and abiding affection. On August 6, 2018, with Julie and their beloved dog Katie there to see him off, Doug succumbed. In addition to Julie, he is survived by his sons, Scott and Robert; Scott’s wife, Tara; and three cherished grandchildren.
The ultimate test of character is how well a person copes with life’s unwelcome and unforeseen challenges. Most of us find ways to endure. A few do more than endure: Exhibiting resilience and fortitude, they triumph over adversity. That was Doug Fitzgerald.
— Casey Brower and Skip Bacevich