Lieutenant
Colonel Jerry D. Dickerson, United States Army, 41, of
Durant,
Mississippi,
was working in the Pentagon when the terrorists attacked on 11 September 2001
and was officially confirmed dead as a result of hostile action on 24 September 2001.
Lieutenant
Colonel Dickerson graduated high school in 1978 and joined the Mississippi Army
National Guard, serving four years. He
attended Mississippi State University earning his bachelors
degree in Business Economics and received his commission through the ROTC
program, graduating as a Distinguished Military Graduate. Commissioned in 1983 as a Regular Army Second
Lieutenant in the Field Artillery, he attended his Officer Basic Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Lieutenant Colonel Dickerson’s subsequent
assignments provided him a broad base of Troop and Staff positions: Assigned to the Berlin Brigade, he served as
a Battalion Fire Support Officer, a Brigade Fire Support Officer and Fire
Direction Officer. Returning to Fort
Sill
he attended the Field Artillery Advanced Course and was subsequently assigned
to the 3-18th Field Artillery Battalion where he served as a liaison
officer and battery commander. Following
his command, he was assigned to Headquarters III Corps Artillery as Secretary
of the General Staff. Assignments
during his career also included: 2-17th
Field Artillery Battalion Camp Hovey, Korea, as the Operations Officer (S3),
and Headquarters Department of the Army Office of
the Assistant Vice
Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff for Programs, Washington
DC,
where he served as the assistant executive officer
Lieutenant Colonel Dickerson’s awards and
decorations include: the Legion of Merit
and Purple Heart (both posthumously); the Meritorious Service Medal with three
oak leaf clusters; the Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster; the Army
Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster; the National Defense Service Medal;
and the Parachutist and Air Assault Badges.
Lieutenant Colonel Dickerson earned a Masters in
Operations Analysis & Engineering from Texas A&M
in 1992. He then was assigned to Fort
Lee, Virginia
at the United States
Army
Logistics
Management
College. There he assumed the duties as an Assistant
Professor of Operations Research at the Army’s primary Operations Research
Course, the Operations Research Systems Analysis for Military Applications
(ORSA MAC I). He was responsible for
instruction in graduate level problem solving methodologies, statistics, math
programming, decision theory and cost analysis.
LTC Dickerson also had the administrative responsibility of course
director to the Management Science phase of the Logistical Executive
Development Course (LEDC). In addition
to his instructional duties, LTC Dickerson conducted analyses and served as a
consultant for the Army and the Department of Defense on technical and tactical
issues. During his 18 months as an
instructor he constantly received praise from students for his professionalism,
leadership and concern for the students’ success. Despite conducting over 1170 class hours to
over 450 students in the Continental United States and abroad, LTC Dickerson
found the time to develop a course for the Department of Defense on Parametric
Cost Estimating. Although several Department of Defense Schools competed for this
course offering, LTC Dickerson’s was the clear winner. His class materials were reproduced by the
proponent institution and distributed as a user’s manual. Despite his extraordinary teaching load, it
was noted that LTC Dickerson still made the time to support the community by
serving on Fort Lee
post councils, helping the local elementary school with computer training, and
coaching youth soccer.
Lieutenant Colonel Dickerson’s source of comfort and great
pride was always his family. His wife Page
and their two children, Beth 15 and Will 11, survive
him.
Memorial
services were held at the Pentagon on 25 September
2001,
and at the Immanuel Bible Church, Springfield, Virginia on 13 October 2001. Internment
was at the Jonesboro Memorial Park Cemetery in Jonesboro, Arkansas on 6 October 2001.
LTC Dickerson’s dedication as a husband, father,
and soldier will be greatly missed by us all.
