Richard Price Geer headed to U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame

Jul. 1—NORWALK — A local soldier killed in action in the Korean Conflict will soon be recognized for valorous service as an Army Ranger.

Corporal Richard Price Geer, Norwalk High School Class of 1949, will be inducted to the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame at Fort Benning on July 13. Geer is one of several Rangers included in the Hall of Fame's 2022 class. He joins his older brother, Robert James Geer, who was the 123rd inductee to the Hall of Fame in 2001.

Caroline White, recorder for the board overseeing nominations, presented the news that Richard Geer's nomination had been approved.

"On behalf of the Ranger Hall of Fame Board, I am pleased to announce that Corporal Geer has been selected for posthumous induction for the Ranger Hall of Fame Class of 2022," she said.

The Ranger Hall of Fame was established in 1992 to "honor and preserve the contributions of America's most extraordinary Rangers, with particular care taken to ensure that only the most extraordinary Rangers are inducted," according to the U.S. Army Ranger Association. "It is a difficult mission, given the high caliber of all nominees. The precepts are impartiality, fairness and scrutiny. Inductees are selected from the Ranger community and represent all units and eras of Ranger history."

Richard Geer was nominated by his niece, Kathy Geer Root, of Norwalk. Her father, Robert "Bob" Geer, was a 1947 NHS graduate who was severely wounded in the same battle with Richard. He returned to Norwalk after his Army service, married and raised a family with his wife, Arlene. Despite being blinded in one eye, he worked as a union bricklayer and stonemason for more than 40 years. He died in 2008 at age 79.

Seven family members are planning to attend the induction ceremony in Georgia.

Richard, known by his family as "Spunk," was an NHS football player and class leader who followed Robert into the Army after graduation. From a family of eight children of parents Frank and Roselyn Showalter Geer, Richard — just 16 months younger than Robert — was determined to follow in the Army footsteps of his older brother.

Following basic training and jump school, the brothers were recruited to the first class of Rangers training after the Army reconstituted the elite fighting unit after World War II. They graduated Nov. 15, 1950, were sent to Korea with 1st Ranger Infantry Company (Airborne) and arrived at the front lines in mid-December 1950.

With two months of patrols, reconnaissance-in-force and other engagements, and with two Distinguished Unit Citations, the Airborne 1st Rangers literally found themselves in the fight of their lives through the night of Feb. 13-14, 1951, facing relentless "wave attacks" by Chinese troops at the Battle of Chipyong-Ni in a hilltop battle.

Both of the Geer brothers were wounded but fought on while 18 more Rangers were wounded and nine were killed.

As the family member who nominated Richard Geer to the hall of fame, Kathy Root explained that having her father — who is buried at Arlington National Cemetery — become a member of the Ranger Hall of Fame piqued her interest about what happened on that fateful night in Korea 71 years ago.

"Our dad never really talked about that — only some small bits and pieces, from time to time — and certainly not to his daughter — although my brother, Brett, eventually heard more," she said.

"Most of the story of Bob's exploits came out when a fellow Ranger who served with him nominated him to the hall of fame in 2001. But we knew almost nothing about 'Spunk' (Richard) and what he did, even after that."

The 2020 pandemic shutdown of daily life offered a chance to try to learn more.

"After I cleaned out closets, organized a lot of stuff, sorted through thousands of photos, I decided I'd undertake 'Spunk' as a project — see if perhaps he, too, deserved to be in the Ranger Hall of Fame," she said.

A nomination requires verified sources, such as eyewitnesses, published accounts and reports — rather than conversations simply passed along. Key to the process were Rangers in Korea, a book by Col. Robert W. Black (Ret.), 8th Ranger Co. (Korea), and a monograph compiled by Army Airborne veteran Michael McDevitt of Huron, Root said.

"I also learned from some other sources, notably Hal Barker of the Korean War Project, that the Battle of Chipyong-Ni is considered to be Korea's 'Battle of Gettysburg' and is taught in Army classes on war tactics," she added.

"The Korean Conflict has been called 'America's forgotten war,' and in some ways, that's true. Clearly, Chipyong-Ni isn't as well-known by the general public as Chosin Reservoir or Porkchop Hill, but was equally important."

The 1st Airborne Rangers' night raid at Changmal on Feb. 6, 1951, was reported by Associated Press as equal in history to the Rogers' Rangers raid on the St. Francis Indians in the French and Indian War. The Rangers' efforts to destroy the Chinese stronghold included a nine-mile march through deep snow into enemy territory, a violent, successful surprise attack, and a rapid and hazardous withdrawal. The troops were awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for that offensive.

Three days later, the 1st Rangers arrived at Chipyong-Ni by truck. On combat patrol on Feb. 11, 1951, they engaged the enemy on a ridge in a firefight, seizing two prisoners.

Then, massed Chinese troops advanced on the U.N. forces' position at Chipyong-Ni.

"Basically, all hell broke loose on the night of Feb. 13th into the morning of the 14th," Root said of the attack, with wave after wave of hundreds of Chinese soldiers throwing themselves into the breach of the assault.

"Stick grenades, hand grenades, non-stop rifle fire, hand-to-hand combat with bayonets ... words, I think, don't do it justice.

"Some who were close friends with Bob, and my family, of course, know that our dad suffered from PTSD all of his life from what happened at Chipyong-Ni," she added. "Nightmares and flashbacks and anger and, most of all, 'survivor's guilt' that he had lived and his brother did not, tormented him frequently."

Because Bob Geer didn't talk about what happened to his younger brother, learning the details of Chipyong-Ni was surprising — especially Richard's cunning and bravery before he was killed.

"It's really just kind of unimaginable, what the two of them, and the rest of their company, did that night," Root said. "Bob was 21 and Richard had turned 20 on Dec. 27th, in the field during one of the coldest winters on record in Korea. Mail from home was sporadic, rice was the meal of the day, every day. They were never warm. After Korea, Bob hated being cold the rest of his life, and he refused to eat rice."

Richard is buried next to his parents at Woodlawn Cemetery, with a Veterans Administration headstone marking his grave.

His funeral wasn't held until September 1951, because the Army withheld the news of his death for months, out of concern for Bob's mental health as he recovered from his wounds at Valley Forge VA Medical Center in Pennsylvania. After many inquiries from the family over several months, the Army eventually shipped Richard's body home for a funeral and military burial.

"Our dad felt disrespected by the Army for that decision, and that weighed on him," Root said. "He himself only ever wanted people to know that he was a Ranger. Being called a hero didn't interest Bob. He didn't care for that or need it.

"The two brothers' experience in Korea is inextricably entwined — one can't be separated from the other," she added.

"If one of them is in the Ranger Hall of Fame, then the other should be, too. Their stories really are equal, just in different ways. I have to believe that our dad would appreciate that his beloved brother has been properly recognized."