Robert Lee "Bob" Capel II. Obituary

Robert Lee "Bob" Capel II. attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Council Bluffs, IA. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Robert Lee "bob" Capel Ii..

Graduation Year	Class of 1965
Date of Passing	Oct 28, 1999
About	Cadet Robert Lee “Bob” Capel II was born in Council Bluffs, IA, on September 4, 1947. Bob was the son of Master Sergeant Robert L. Capel (USAF Ret) and Delores Geiwitz Capel. He had two younger stepsisters, Kristen Capel-Coyle and Kimberly Capel. Bob attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Council Bluffs and was a standout both academically and athletically. Bob was a member of the National Honor Society in high school and graduated 15 in his class. He received the Ross Schmidt Trophy. This trophy is awarded to the athlete with the highest scholastic average. Bob lettered in golf, football and basketball. He was a member of the Letterman’s Club #77, played tackle on the varsity football team, played varsity basketball, and was a district and city qualifier as part of the golf team. He was in the choir, operettas and the roadshow. Bob was a member of the ROTC Gold and helped organize the military ball. Bob was the first student from Thomas Jefferson High School in 10 years to receive an appointment to the United States Military Academy. He entered the Academy on July 1, 1965, appointed by Iowa Senator Jack Miller. Bob obtained the highly coveted appointment through a series of competitive examinations conducted by the congressman. Arriving at the Academy he discovered a much different world from his home in Iowa. He was hospitalized near the end of Beast Barracks and missed the transition into his permanent company, C-1. Not deterred, he jumped into plebe life with both feet. He started out a skinny kid and took to heart the competitive nature of the Academy and invested some time in the gym to become more competitive. Bob struggled with Portuguese but managed to maintain a good overall GPA. Bob used his previous high school thespian experience to help write and organize company skits. Company classmates may recall a funny Christmas skit in cow year (’67) in which he did a comedic portrayal as a 60s hippie, poking fun at the hippie culture of the late 60s. Despite all his ROTC training he turned out to be quite adventurous when it came to circumventing the rules and regulations of the Academy. Joining the Fine Arts Forum allowed trips to New York City to see plays, ballet, opera and other forms of the arts. This allowed plebes to leave the Academy during a time when we got no weekend passes. I believe it was during the return trip from one of those excursions he was awarded a slug and spent some considerable time in confinement and on the area. Despite what the Tactical Department might have thought, I always felt it was good training to think outside the box and that this would eventually benefit him in his military career. Bob let his self-confidence, self-restraint, and common sense allow him to calmly deal with what life threw at him. Bob found a new sport that he could have never enjoyed in Iowa, skiing. He put those athletic talents he had demonstrated in high school to good use and became an accomplished skier. He also joined the ski patrol. Young ladies most certainly played an important part in his ski trips not to mention his trips to New York City. Unfortunately Bob’s progress toward a military career came to a quick and brutal halt. Returning from Christmas Leave on January 5, 1969, Bob was a passenger along with two other cadets in a car that went out of control on a snow covered road and struck a tree in Suffern, NY. The trio had arrived at Newark Airport earlier in the day and had spent some time at the house of a relative of Frank Romano in Oakland, NJ. At 4:30 in the afternoon, they started the journey back to West Point. Mike Boswick died at the scene. Frank Romano, the third passenger, a junior in company G-3 at the time, recovered from his injuries and graduated in 1970. Bob suffered critical head injuries and was later released from the Academy. He moved back to Council Bluffs and later to a VA hospital in Omaha, NE. After much physical therapy he managed to be able to feed himself but was forever disabled. He was a resident of Opportunity Village from 1973 until 1987, when he moved into his own home which he shared with the Van Carrier family. He passed away on October 28, 1999 and was buried in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Council Bluffs. A few years before his death he was able to make a pilgrimage to the Academy. Luckily our classmate John Bolger was stationed there at the time and was able to host Bob’s visit. John says, “Bob was of course terribly disabled, in a wheelchair, and was only barely coherent when he spoke. But, when I took him into Central Area, and we turned toward the entrance of our barracks, his eyes lit up, and he raised his arms with happiness. We went through the barracks and saw some of the old rooms.” Bob was a great friend and inspiration to all who knew him. He was strong and willing to help out when ever needed. He will always be remembered as that vibrant young man with a passion for life. — James J. Calandro