Major Richard W Baska (RET)

Major, Richard ("Bax") W. Baska

U. S. Army 5th Special Forces Group

Apollo Beach, FL and Collegeville, PA

Richard W. Baksa died on June 27, 2017 after a long illness. Richard was born on December 15, 1944 to Gabriel and Dorothy (nee Schroder) Baksa of Scotch Plains, NJ. After graduating from Stetson University in 1966 he joined the Army and served 32 months in Vietnam where he rose to the rank of Captain. He was awarded the Army Air Medal in 1968 and a Bronze Star in 1969. Richard was a member of the 5th U.S. Special Forces Group, and played a key role in the mission to recruit the Montagnard people of South Vietnam as allies. Whip smart, brave and cunning; he was loved by the men who served under him. After his service in Vietnam, Richard was Chief of Transportation for Bell Helicopter, then Vice President for Middle East Operations for TTT Shipping, then General Manager for Seatrain Lines, then Director of Equipment and Leasing for COTCO Leasing. During his career he lived and worked in Athens, Greece, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Bandar Busheur, Iran. In 1985 Richard returned to the Army and rose to the rank of Major. He graduated from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in 1988. His last deployment before retiring from the Army was in Honduras in 1994. Richard is survived by his wife, Lynne M. Cannon, his sister Janet Oppel of Stamford CT, nephew Richard Oppel, nieces Heather Doneit, and Jacquelyn Gill-Davis, and several grandnieces and nephews. Richard was predeceased by wife Nancy Kuhn Baksa, and a nephew, William Tyler Gill. Richard loved high performance cars, auto racing, travel and blue water sailing. Services will be held on Thursday, July 6 at 11 am at Washington Memorial Chapel, Route 23 at Valley Forge National Historical Park, Valley Forge, PA 19481 with a reception following. In lieu of flowers, donations in Richard's memory can be sent to Save the Montagnard People, Inc., 3802 Highlands Lane, Asheboro, NC 27205. http://www.montagnards.org/

Arrangements made by Shaeff-Myers Funeral Home in Ambler, PA.