Conwell B. Leinbach
"Connie"

Company B-2

17 Jan 1940 - 12 Nov 2011

Place of Death: Nashville, TN

It is with great regret and sorrow that we must notify you of the death of our Classmate, Connie Leinbach, on 12 November in Nashville, TN after a courageous battle with a brain tumor. Connie, a native of Pennsylvania, spent Plebe Year in Company I-2 and was among a group of Yearlings who were transferred to B-2 at the end of summer training at Camp Buckner.

Connie is survived by his wife, Sharon; sons Marc, Chris, and Dane; and daughters Grace and Kira. 

Connie's funeral service will be at 1:00 PM at the Old Post Chapel, Fort Myer, VA on Friday, March 2, 2012 followed by inurnment with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.  Please allow extra time to obtain entrance to Fort Myer.  A picture identification document (driver's license or passport) for civilians is required.  For active duty and retired military personnel, a valid ID card may be used.  Inform the gate guard you are attending Connie Leinbach's  funeral.

Condolences may be sent to Sharon at 1613 Eastland Avenue, Nashville, TN  37206.

Well done, Connie.  Be thou at peace.

Remembrances:

Class Memorial Pages\I-2 Connie Leinbach.pdf

To family and friends of Connie Leinbach: sending thoughts & prayers to each of you on loss of an important person in your life.As Connie was one of five cadets from Berks Co, PA to join the class of '61, I have known him since fall of '57. He was also assigned to Ft Hood,TX,as was my husband, Terry and I. Our first sons were born in WWll wooden barracks. We kept in contact thru the years & finally were able to meet again in Nashville, TN several yrs. ago. I was already a widow. Sharon, thank you for your friendship and I am grieving for you.

Betsy Alexander

Obituaries:

COL Conwell LEINBACH M.D.

LEINBACH, MD, COL U.S. Army (Retired) Conwell

Died of a brain tumor on November 12, 2011. He is survived by his family: Sharon his wife of 38 years; his sons, Marc Leinbach of Chicago Il, CPT Christopher Leinbach of Ft. Campbell, KY, and Dane Leinbach of Jonesboro AR; his daughters, Kira Bauer of Sarasota FL, and Dr. Grace Coggio of River falls, WI; seven grandchildren, Tessa, Dana, and Ellen Coggio, Nathan and Brian Bauer, Kylie and Joaquin Leinbach and two nieces, Kristen Kennedy and Lorry Izor of Los Angeles CA. After graduating from West Point in 1961, COL Leinbach served the U.S. Army in a variety of staff and command assignments during both peace and war. He initially served as a Military Intelligence Officer then, after a break in service to attend Temple Medical School, as an Army physician. His military honors include 2 Legions of Merit, 2 Bronze Stars, 4 Meritorious Service Medals, the Air Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Order of Military Medical Merit. COL Leinbach will be inurned with full military honors in the Arlington National Cemetery at 12:30 p.m. on March 2, 2012.

PHILLIPS-ROBINSON FUNERAL HOME,615-262-3312

Published in The Tennessean on November 20, 2011

Taps Memorial Article:

Conwell B. Leinbach 1961

Cullum No. 23759 • Nov 12, 2011 • Died in Nashville, TN

Cremated. Inurned in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA

Conwell Barry “Connie” Leinbach was born on Jan 17, 1940 in Reading PA, the son of Thomas K. (TK) Leinbach and Grace Barry Leinbach. Within days of his birth, Grace died from complications of a caesarian section. Despite starting life as a motherless child during World War II, Connie was a self-starter and became one of the highest achievers in Governor Mifflin High School. In addition to his academic accomplishments, Connie sang bass in the boys’ chorus and Glee Club; played on the basketball and football teams; had major roles in school plays and held membership in the National Thespian Society; achieved Eagle Scout; and was inducted into the National Honor Society. Connie later con­fessed that he had felt the need to be highly motivated because he was like Julius Caesar —“not of woman born.”

Connie received a congressional appointment to the Academy from Representative George Rhodes—an ap­pointment that was particularly interesting because Connie’s father TK had run against Rhodes for the congressional seat. Connie reminisced that TK was certainly proud of him but would have preferred that his appointment come from someone else. At West Point, Connie enjoyed his participa­tion in Debate, Cross Country, Radio Club, Dialectic Society, Pointer, and the Skiing, Bridge, Radio, and German Clubs. His passion, however, was throwing the javelin on the Army track team, the remembrance of which was warmly shared with him by classmates. Connie’s other fond memories of the Academy were his summer training assignment with the 4th Armored Division through Europe with classmates Jerry Clemments and George Joulwan, and a 1958 summer trip to Cuba just before Castro came to power.

Upon graduation and a well-deserved honeymoon with his bride, Anne Miller, Connie attended Signal Officer Basic and Airborne schools, followed by assignments at Ft. Hood and a hardship tour as a com­pany commander in Korea. After a branch transfer to Military Intelligence and the requisite technical and language training, Connie served as an instructor with the School of the Americas in Panama; the G-2 and MI Battalion, 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam; Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence at the Pentagon; and on a sensitive assignment with the U.S. Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia. In 1971, as his Bolivian obligation was coming to an end, Connie changed course. As he used to say, “I entered into early menopause and decided to go to medical school.” As he wrote to medical schools, “my decision to embark on a new career at the age of 31 involved a great deal of soul searching.” In 1971, he was released from active duty and spent an arduous two years attaining the academic prerequisites for medical school while working as a shoe salesman by day, a private detective by night, and an instructor at the Army Reserve’s Military Intelligence Officer Advance Course in Ft. Huachuca, AZ, during the summers. In 1973, Connie entered Temple University Medical School in Philadelphia, PA. By 1980 he had gradu­ated and completed a three-year family practice residency. He was ready to begin a career in medicine. The Army, however, was still in his blood.

Connie and his second wife, Sharon, both entered active duty with the Army Medical Department. Connie’s contribu­tion to Army medicine as a Medical Corps officer included assignments as a practicing physician at the 45th Field Hospital, Camp Darby, Italy; commander and practicing physician, 913th Medical Detachment Kaiserslautern, Germany; Division Surgeon, 5th Infantry Division (Mech) Ft. Polk, LA; commander and practicing phy­sician, 209th Medical Detachment Hanau, Germany; Chief of Community Medicine, Frankfurt Army Regional Medical Center, Frankfurt, Germany; commander and practicing physician, 215th Medical Detachment Yong San, Korea; and Chief of Primary Care and Community Medicine, 121st Evacuation Hospital, Yong San, Korea. Connie finalized his career with the Army as deputy commander for Clinical Services U.S. Army Medical Department Activity, Ft. Lee, VA.

On Oct 3, 2011, Connie and Sharon returned early to their home in Nashville from Appomattox Court House National Park, where they had been serving as inter­pretive volunteers. Connie had experienced some recent falls and a sudden loss of pe­ripheral vision and needed medical evalua­tion. An MRI revealed a mass subsequently identified as a type four Glio Blastoma brain tumor. His children gathered from throughout the U.S. to support him in his valiant but brief fight. Connie died at home on Nov 12, 2011, surrounded by the family that loved him dearly. Connie is survived by his wife Sharon; his sons Marc Leinbach of Chicago, IL, CPT Christopher Leinbach of Ft. Campbell, KY, and Dane Leinbach of Jonesboro, AR; his daughters Kira Bauer of Sarasota, FL, and Dr. Grace Coggio of River Falls, WI; and seven grandchildren; Tessa, Dana, and Ellen Coggio, Nathan and Brian Bauer, Kylie and Joaquin Leinbach and two nieces, Kristen Kennedy and Lorry Izor of Los Angeles CA.

Connie’s military honors included two Legions of Merit, two Bronze Stars, four Meritorious Service Medals, the Air Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Order of Military Medical Merit. He was inurned with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery at 12:30 PM on March 2, 2012.

—His wife