Channing M. Greene Sr. 1961

Cullum No. 23683-1961 | September 4, 2021 | Died in Dover, DE
Interment: West Point Cemetery, West Point, NY

My life began rather auspiciously for someone headed for a military career. I,Channing Miller Greene Sr., was born in Burlington, VT on December 14, 1939 during a blizzard. Within a year, my father, a school principal, was called to Army duty at Camp Edwards, MA, a processing center for troops going to and returning from the European theater. In a way, it was a front-row seat to war-time life.

After the Japanese surrender in August 1945, my formative years took place in Maine and Pennsylvania. Upon graduating from Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, PA, I reported to West Point on July 2, 1957. Assigned to Company K-1, my activities primarily consisted of the typical daily grind. My most active extracurricular effort was teaching in the Sunday School program, which, to my later surprise, eventually changed my life direction. Keep reading!

Graduating in 1961, I branched Infantry, completed the basic course, Ranger School, and jump school and arrived in Korea in early 1962. That year I was tasked to set up a counterinsurgency school for the 1st Cavalry Division when very few people, including the military, had heard of the term or knew of a place called Vietnam. Along with my classmate Joe Stringham, we figured how to go about it and, in the process, ended up volunteering for Special Forces. After completing the officer course in 1963, I had two tours in Vietnam, including three months of commanding the Army’s only elephant detachment, hiring local tribal handlers and their animals to carry water and ammunition on operations. On my second tour in 1965, my Special Forces Team, A-311, rebuilt the Dong Xoai Special Forces Camp following the Medal of Honor actions of then-Second Lieutenant Charlie Williams.

A third tour in Vietnam followed two years later, leading Rifle Company Alpha in the 6th Battalion, 31st Infantry in the 9th Infantry Division and taking part in the Battle of South Saigon (also known as the Battle of Y Bridge) in May 1968. My next assignment, at Fort Monmouth, NJ, was where God decided that my bachelorhood would end. Speaking at a Word of Life youth rally, I was introduced to a beautiful young woman, and we were married within a year. Peggy’s introduction to the Army was tested quickly by orders for a tour in Bolivia, as the airborne Infantry advisor to the Bolivian Army from 1970 to 1972. Fortunately, my office was located in Cochabamba, “The City of the Eternal Springtime.” One highlight of that assignment was the birth of our first child, Channing Jr.

Upon returning to the States, our second son, Jeffrey, was born at Fort Benning, GA while I was assigned to the Ranger Department. The remaining years of my career took us through the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, VA in 1975 and the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Devens, MA from 1976 to 1979, with my final assignment as advisor to the 12th Special Forces Group (USAR) at Arlington Heights, IL from 1979 to 1981.

Following my retirement in 1981 as a lieutenant colonel, I chose to pursue a strong desire that arose early in my First Class year, when another cadet challenged me to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior. I made that decision and have never looked back. During my military service, I had opportunities to study the Bible, teach classes and lead Bible studies. These experiences led to my attending Dallas Theological Seminary for a four-year Master of Theology degree.

After graduating in 1985, I accepted a pastorate in Santa Fe, NM. While there, both boys finished high school and moved on to college: Channing to West Point and Jeffrey to Boston University (Army ROTC).

Channing pursued an Army career with his wife, Krista Bjornsen, and six children: Channing Alan, Micah, Anika and Kristian (triplets), Jorie and Linnea. His family currently resides at West Point, where he teaches military history.

Jeffrey completed his service commitment and worked for Cypress Semi-Conductor. He later became operator of a Chick-fil-A in Longmont, CO and then in Chesterfield, MO. His two oldest children, Austin and Kayla, attended Washington University in St. Louis, MO on Army ROTC scholarships. Austin is now a lieutenant in the Army Chemical Corps. Their two younger siblings, Katrina and Devin, are currently in college.

In 1994 we moved to Schroon Lake, NY to be on staff at Word of Life. After two years, I was offered a pastorate at the First Baptist Church in Wallingford, VT, which was founded by an ancestor of mine in 1780. We then moved to Delaware in 2003, where we resided in retirement for the past 14 years, keeping active at Faith Community Church. Our years together have never been dull, and we have enjoyed being Grammy and Grampy to our 10 grandchildren.

Above all, I can truly say that we have not retired from serving Jesus Christ. 

— Self-written

From my observations as his son, he indeed lived that way until he passed away in Dover, DE in September 2021. He is inurned at the West Point Cemetery.

“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upwards call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14)

— Son, Channing Miller Greene Jr. ’94