OSU alum to be inducted into the "Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame"
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
General Bunyard was born April 3, 1931, in Altus and graduated in 1949 from Altus
High School where he was an All State baseball player on a state championship baseball
team.
Bunyard attended Oklahoma Baptist University for one year and then attended and graduated
with a BS degree from Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University). He played on the
A& M Baseball team that went to the NCAA playoffs his senior year. Bunyard signed
a professional baseball contract with the White Sox and played one season before entering
the Army. He later received a Master's degree in international relations from George
Washington University and attended the National War College during his Army career.
Bunyard was in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program while at OSU.
He was a Distinguished Military Graduate and commissioned a second lieutenant in 1954.
Bunyard served two combat tours in Vietnam. His first tour was with the First Infantry
Division Artillery where he served as the Division Artillery Aviation Officer. The
second tour he served as the Commander of the 2/20th Aerial Field Artillery Battalion
in the First Cavalry Division, which was the Army's first Aerial Rocket Artillery
Battalion in Vietnam flying Cobra gunship helicopters.
Bunyard also served in Korea, Germany, Fort Carson, Colo., Yuma Proving Ground, Yuma,
Ariz., Fort Sill, Okla., Fort Monmouth, N.J., Redstone Arsenal, Ala. and several tours
in the Washington D.C. metropolitan region.
During his career Bunyard was Project Manager for the PATRIOT air defense missile
system after which he assumed command of the U.S. Army Missile Command and Redstone
Arsenal, Alabama. His responsibilities included being installation commander of the
arsenal and in charge of all Army missile research, development, procurement, fielding
and sustainment worldwide.
Bunyard’s assignments also included commander of Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, and
project manager for the army’s tactical fire direction system while stationed at Ft.
Monmouth, N.J.
Bunyard’s Pentagon tours included: weapon systems analyst in the Office of the Assistant
Vice Chief of Staff of the Army; deputy director for defense test and evaluation in
the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering;
and the army’s assistant deputy chief of staff of in research, development and acquisition.
His final assignment, before retirement, was deputy commanding general for research,
development and acquisition at the U.S. Army Materiel Command in Alexandria, VA.
Bunyard’s awards include two Distinguished Service Medals, two awards of the Distinguished
Flying Cross, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, three Bronze Star Medals,
three Meritorious service Medals and 19 Air Medals with a V. He was awarded the Master
Army Aviator Badge, the Army General Staff Badge and the Office, Secretary of Defense
Badge.
General Bunyard and his wife Celia live in Alexandria, Va.