Neil Mckay Chapin

Neil McKay Chapin (Colonel, U.S. Army, Ret.) of Williamsburg died Thursday, Apr. 14, 2016, of congestive heart failure at the age of 95. He was born in Smithfield, N.C. on Feb. 21, 1921. His first wife, Betty Burgess Chapin of Petersburg, Va., and his brother, John of Oden, Ind., predeceased him. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Gilbert Chapin of Williamsburg; and by his son, David Jay Chapin of Rockville, Va. Colonel Chapin served 31 years on active duty in the U.S. Army and saw action in three wars. During WWII, he served as Reconnaissance Officer and Forward Field Artillery Observer with the 7th Armored Division in the European Theater of Operations, part of General George Patton’s 3rd Army. In the Korean conflict, he commanded one of the first medium-tank companies to see action, landing in Pusan in late June, 1950. In Vietnam, he served on the staff of Gen. William Westmoreland in the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. He was later Commanding Officer of the 1st Armor Brigade at Fort Knox, Ky. Col. Chapin’s awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second highest award for valor; Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster; Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster; Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster; U.S. Navy Commendation Medal; Belgium Fourragere; French Medal of Verdun, and various campaign medals. He attended the Armor Officer Advanced Course at Fort Knox, Ky; the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan.; Armed Forces Staff College at Norfolk, Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pa.; and was the Army representative on the staff and faculty of the Naval War College at Newport, R.I. Additionally, he held a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska and a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from George Washington University. Between wartime and school assignments he held various command and staff positions, including duty at the Pentagon on the Army General Staff; the Southern European Task Force, Vicenza, Italy; and the occupation of Japan during Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s era. Col. Chapin was a member of the Richmond Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. He was past President of the Seventh Armored Division Association and was the editor of two volumes of the wartime history of the Seventh Armored Division, “The Lucky Seventh,” published in 1982 and 1986. In 1996, he was inducted into the Order of Saint George, the Patron Saint of Armor and Cavalry, in recognition for long and distinguished service to the Armor Branch of the U.S. Army. Upon his retirement from military service in 1973, Col. Chapin joined the Virginia Dept. of Emergency Services, first as Chief, Peacetime Preparedness Branch, and later as Director of the Plans Division. In these positions he was largely responsible for the development of the Commonwealth of Virginia Operation Survival Plan for War-Caused and Peacetime Disasters, and the Radiological Emergency Response Plans for the nuclear power stations in Virginia.
A memorial service will be held at the Petersburg Chapel of J.T. Morriss & Son Funeral Home, 103 S. Adams St. on Saturday, April 23, 2016 at 11 a.m. Interment will be at a later date. In lieu of flowers, it is requested that memorial contributions be made to the American Heart Association, 4217 Park Place Ct., Glen Allen, VA 23060. Condolences may be registered at www.jtmorriss.com .