FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2010
KLMNO OBITUARIES
DAVID C. DOLBY, 64 Decorated Vietnam veteran’s life was marked by controversy by T. Rees Shapiro
David C. Dolby, 64, who re- ceived the Medal of Honor for saving his Army platoon in Viet- nam but had a troubled post- military career that included a conviction for cashing fraudulent checks, died Aug. 6 in Spirit Lake, Idaho. He lived in Royersford, Pa. His brother, Daniel Dolby, said
Mr. Dolby had been visiting fel- low Vietnam veterans in Idaho, but he did not know the cause of death. Mr. Dolby — “Mad Dog,” as he was known to his Army comrades — was a solid 6-footer who wres- tled and played football in high school. He enlisted in the Army at 18 and became an Army Ranger and a member of the Green Be- rets. He was known to scout the jungle ahead of the other men, toting his heavy M60 machine gun like a rifle. On May 21, 1966, then-Spec.
4th Class Dolby was in the mid- dle of his first tour in Vietnam. He was part of a 1st Cavalry Divi-
Kusum Rawat VOLUNTEER
Kusum Rawat, 72, a volunteer and past board member of the Domestic Violence Center of Howard County, died July 31 at her home in Columbia. She had Parkinson’s disease. Mrs. Rawat trained as a lawyer in her native India but never practiced law. She settled in the Washington area in the early 1970s and did volunteer fund- raising work for the Domestic Violence Center, the Rotary Club, the American Parkinson Disease Association and Maryland Public Television. She also started a Miss India USA pageant in Co- lumbia.
She was a recipient of a Rotary
Foundation Paul Harris Fellow award for her contributions to the community. Kusum Khandelwal was a na- tive of Agra, India, and a gradu- ate of Agra College, where she also received a master’s degree in political science and a law de- gree. She became a U.S. citizen soon after moving to the Wash- ington area. Her hobbies included photog-
raphy and making sculpture and pottery. Survivors include her husband of 42 years, Pramud Rawat of Co- lumbia; a son, Dr. Alok Rawat of Baltimore; her mother, Angoori Devi of Mumbai; two brothers; and two sisters.
—Adam Bernstein
Raymond N. Baker PATENT LAWYER
Raymond N. Baker, 85, a pat-
ent lawyer and partner at the D.C. law firm of Shanley and Ba- ker, died July 30 at his home in Washington. He had lung cancer. During the
Raymond Baker
late 1950s, Mr. Baker was a patent ex- aminer with the Patent and Trade- mark Office. He joined the law firm in 1959 and be- came a
named partner in 1963. Raymond Nicholas Baker was born in McKees Rocks, Pa. He graduated from the Naval Acad- emy in 1946 and served in the Navy from 1946 to 1949 on the USS Missouri. He was in the Navy Reserve until 1959. He received a law degree from
George Washington University in 1958.Mr. Baker was a member of the Army and Navy Club, where he was a Golden Knight; the Marlborough Hunt Club in Up- per Marlboro; Church of the An- nunciation in the District; and the Kiwanis Club of Washington, where he was a past president. Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Anne Garrity Baker of Washington; seven children, Ni- ki Baker of St. Leonard, Peter Ba- ker and Ellen B. Smyth, both of Washington, Catherine B. Davis of Galena, Md., Garry Baker of Bethesda, Christopher Baker of Casanova and Tim Baker of Sil- ver Spring; and 12 grandchil- dren.
—Lauren Wiseman
Lois G. Baum TEACHER
sLois G. Baum, 94, an elemen-
tary school teacher who taught in Springfield, died Aug. 5 at Knollwood, a military retirement home in Washington, of kidney failure. In the 1950s, Mrs. Baum was a third-grade teacher at Crestwood Elementary School in Spring- field. In the early 1960s, she was
sion platoon on a mission near An Khe when the men walked into an ambush.
Six soldiers were immediately killed by machine-gun fire. Several others were wounded, including the platoon’s officer, 2nd Lt. Robert H. Crum Jr. With- in an hour of the ambush’s first shots, the lieutenant, drenched in blood from bullet wounds, sat against a tree and relinquished command of his men to Spec. Dolby. In Brig. Gen. S.L.A. Marshall’s 1967 book about Vietnam, “Bat- tles in the Monsoon,” an entire chapter is dedicated to Spec. Dol- by’s rescue efforts. Marshall said Spec. Dolby was “one of the rarest of warriors — a man with keen imagination who at the same time, when under fire, seems to be wholly without fear.” While fully exposed to enemy
fire, Spec. Dolby launched his own assault on the enemy ma- chine gun bunkers until he’d ex- pended all of his ammunition. “I prayed in the beginning and then I didn’t have time to pray,”
Spec. Dolby later said of the ac- tion on the ridge that day, noting that “bullets were going by — un- der my arms, between my legs, past my head.” After reloading, he single- handedly killed three enemy ma- chine gunners, according to his Medal of Honor citation. Spot- ting a wounded comrade, Spec. Dolby picked the man up and carried him over his shoulder to safety for medical treatment. He then crawled through gunfire to within 50 meters of the enemy positions, which were concealed within the ridge by camouflage mats covered with jungle fronds. He lobbed several smoke gre- nades at the face of the bunkers to mark them for air strikes. After a four-hour battle, Spec. Dolby organized the withdrawal of his troops while artillery fire and air strikes obliterated the Vietcong redoubt. The platoon lost eight men, and 14 were wounded, including Sgt. Alonzo Peoples. “The bravest man I ever knew, maybe the bravest that ever
lived,” Peoples later called Spec. Dolby. “He saved all of us.” An Army report counted 55 dead enemies on the ridge and estimated that 100 others were killed or wounded. On Sept. 28, 1967, Mr. Dolby — who had been promoted to sergeant — received the Medal of Honor from Presi- dent Lyndon B. Johnson in a White House ceremony. In a highly unusual turn of
events, Mr. Dolby served four more tours in Vietnam after re- ceiving the country’s highest award for valor. He said of his continuous service, “If I’m going to be in the Army, I’d rather be in Vietnam where the actions is. I feel I can be of more help to my fellow men there.” His other military decorations included the Silver Star, three awards of the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart. Mr. Dolby’s life after receiving
the Medal of Honor was marked by controversy. In 1969, he was arrested for possession of mari- juana and for participating in a brawl in Vietnam. He was fined
ture wife, who at the time was a nun.
Nicholas John Carroll was born in Philadelphia and attend- ed the Novitiate of St. Isaac Jogues in Wernersville, Pa. He re- ceived a master’s degree in phi- losophy at what is now the School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College in 1949. He was ordained a priest in 1954 after re- ceiving a theology degree from Woodstock College in Maryland. During the 1940s and ’50s, Mr. Carroll taught classical languag- es at Jesuit high schools in Phila- delphia and the Washington re- gion. He moved to Bowie in the
1970s and had lived in Crofton since 1993. His wife of 23 years, Elizabeth
Leonard Carroll, died in 1992. Survivors include his compan-
ion, Janet Houlihan Kain of Crof- ton; two sons from his marriage, Nicholas J. Carroll Jr. of Lu- therville and Timothy Carroll of Elkridge; a brother; three sisters; and two granddaughters. —Lauren Wiseman
Sarah H. Davidson REAL ESTATE AGENT
Sarah H. Davidson, 86, a church member and former real estate agent, died July 31 at Col- lingswood, a nursing home in Rockville. She had dementia. Mrs. Davidson worked for Ed- ward Bennett and Associates, a developer in Rockville and Poto- mac, from 1966 to 1969. Sarah Elizabeth House was born in Holly Springs, Ark., and moved to the Washington region in 1946. She lived in Rockville and Potomac before moving to Frederick in 1981.
She was a member of the Poto-
mac United Methodist Church, where she sang in the choir and chaired the annual bazaar. Her husband of 53 years, Mer-
FAMILY PHOTO
Kusum Rawat trained as a lawyer in her native India but never practiced law. She did volunteer work for several local groups.
a librarian at Lynbrook Elemen- tary School, also in Springfield. While living abroad in the
mid-1950s, she taught first grade in Verdun, France. Lois Gertrude Turner was born in Broadview, Mont., and re- ceived a bachelor’s degree in edu- cation from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1936. She first moved to the Wash-
ington region in the early 1940s and had been a District resident since 1995.
She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revo- lution. Her husband of 61 years, re- tired Army Col. John W. Baum, died in 2000. Survivors include two chil- dren, William Baum of Great Falls and Katherine Haviland of Fenton, Mich.; five grandchil- dren; and five great-grandchil- dren.
—Lauren Wiseman
David Bryant NSA LINGUIST
David Bryant, 89, a retired
cryptanalyst and Russian lin- guist for the National Security Agency, died Aug. 3 of cancer at Washington Hospital Center. Mr. Bryant worked at the NSA from 1947 until 1968. He was among an early group of 14 Afri- can Americans who joined the NSA after World War II. At first, he transferred Russian messages to computer tape. After attend- ing Russian language classes through the NSA in the early 1950s, he translated Soviet mes- sages, which were sometimes in-
cluded in ordinary transmissions such as weather reports. In 1968, he joined the Equal Employment Opportunity Com- mission, where he worked in community relations as a special assistant to the commissioner. He retired in 1995. David Bryant was born in Val- dosta, Ga. He received a bach- elor’s degree in anthropology from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in 1942 and served in the Navy during World War II. After the war, he became a statistical clerk at the Census Bureau before joining the NSA. His wife of 39 years, Inez But-
ler Bryant, died in 1984. Survivors include two daugh-
ters, Jacqueline Hill of Chicago and Anita Bryant of Atlanta; and two grandchildren. —Timothy R. Smith
Nicholas J. Carroll CIVIL RIGHTS SPECIALIST
Nicholas J. Carroll, 87, a for-
mer Jesuit priest who worked as a civil rights specialist for the Education Department from the mid-1970s until retiring in 1993, died July 30 at his home in Crof- ton. He had a heart attack. As a civil rights specialist, Mr. Carroll analyzed schools’ compli- ance with issues such as diversity and accessibility for the disabled. Before working for the Educa- tion Department, Mr. Carroll taught English at Georgetown Preparatory School in Bethesda during the 1960s. He left the Jesuit community and priest- hood in 1969 when he met his fu-
edith P. “Dave” Davidson Sr., died in 1998. Survivors include five chil- dren, Elizabeth D. Seabrook of Annapolis, Meredith P. “Davy” Davidson Jr., of Greeley, Colo., Hugh H. Davidson of Bethesda, Arthur M. Davidson and H. Dud- ley Davidson, both of Rockville; two sisters; eight grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. —Lauren Wiseman
Jerry W. Dingess DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
AUDITOR
Jerry W. Dingess, 64, a retired civilian auditor for the Defense Department’s Office of the In- spector General, died July 28 at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville. He had pancreatic cancer. Mr. Dingess, a Gaithersburg resident for 37 years, spent 26 years working as a civilian audi- tor for the federal government. He began his career in the De- partment of the Army before moving to the Defense Depart- ment’s Office of the Inspector General. He retired from a man- agement position in 1999. Jerry Wayne Dingess was born
in Van, W.Va. He served in the Army in South Korea from 1970 to 1972 and was discharged with the rank of sergeant. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Corcord University in Athens, W.Va., in 1973. Mr. Dingess volunteered dur- ing his retirement with the Beth- esda-Chevy Chase chapter of the Izaak Walton League, a national conservation organization. He was active in the Potomac chap- ter of the North American Versa- tile Hunting Dog Association. Survivors include his wife of 38 years, Sue Hunter Dingess of
$342 and reduced a grade in rank. He left the Army in 1971 as a staff sergeant. He later worked in a tire factory and a steel mill and was a painting contractor with his brother. In 1974, Mr. Dolby was arrested by FBI agents for cashing at least 58 fraudulent checks under as- sumed names and worth be- tween $8 and $500 during a trip to Hawaii. He pleaded guilty to cashing $1,200 in bad checks and was placed on three years’ proba- tion. Upon receiving his sentence,
Mr. Dolby told the court: “I’m sorry to say I made such a poor and incredible decision at the time.” David Charles Dolby was born
May 14, 1946, in Norristown, Pa. His father was a personnel man- ager at a BFGoodrich tire plant and had been a prisoner of war during World War II. His wife, Xuan Dolby, whom he
met in Vietnam, died in 1987. Be- sides his brother of Coventryville, Pa., he is survived by his mother, Mary Dolby of Laureldale, Pa.
Gaithersburg; a son, Andrew Dingess of Gaithersburg; two sis- ters; and eight brothers. —Megan Buerger
Stephen DiStefano BANK VICE PRESIDENT
Stephen DiStefano, 89, who was a senior vice president at Bank of Virginia, died July 16 of pneumonia at his home in the Heritage Harbour community in Annapolis. Mr. DiStefano came to the
Washington area in 1969 to work for Computer Sciences Corp. in Silver Spring. He joined Bank of Virginia in 1972 and worked at a bank branch in Alexandria. After becoming a senior vice president, he transferred to the bank’s main office in Richmond and was responsible for bank op- erations, mortgage service, col- lections and recoveries and other banking services. He retired in 1985.
Stephen DiStefano was born in Casablanca, Morocco, and moved with his family to Tunis, Tunisia, at an early age. He grew up speaking Italian, French and Arabic and graduated from a col- lege in Tunis. Mr. DiStefano came to the
United States in 1953 and be- came a naturalized citizen in 1958. He worked for State Farm Insurance in Illinois and in Philadelphia before moving to Washington. He lived in Annandale for
many years and settled in An- napolis in 1992. He had season tickets to the
Washington Redskins and was a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. He enjoyed bowling and international travel. His marriage to Rachelle DiS-
tefano ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife of 38 years, Reba McLaughlin DiS- tefano of Annapolis; a son from his first marriage, Patrick DiS- tefano of Centreville; a sister; and a brother.
—Matt Schudel
Jack Dominitz WEAPON SYSTEMS ENGINEER
Jack Dominitz, 81, a longtime weapon systems engineer with Mitre Corp., a not-for-profit de- fense contractor, died July 31 at his home in Potomac. He had Alzheimer’s disease. For more than 30 years, Mr. Dominitz helped design and test missile interceptors at Mitre and the Air Force’s Semi-Automatic Ground Environment, a long- range bomber tracking and in- terception system. He retired in 1991. Yaakob Dominitz was born in Vienna. When he was 10, he and his mother came to the United States as refugees, fleeing the an- nexation of Austria by Nazi Ger- man, and settled in New York City. His father died in a labor camp in the 1940s. In 1951, he received bachelor’s degrees in meteorology and physics from the City College of New York. He received a master’s degree in engineering from Johns Hopkins University in
COURTESY OF DANIEL DOLBY
David C. Dolby enlisted in the Army at 18 and became an Army Ranger and Green Beret.
“Look, we’re all equal,” Mr. Dol- by once said of Medal of Honor recipients. “We all did things that, if we had chosen not to do, nobody would have said we should have done. We all had that one moment in our lives. Other than that, we’re just normal peo- ple.”
shapirot@washpost.com
1954. He served in the Army from 1955 to 1957. He was a member of Congrega-
tion Har Shalom in Potomac, where he was president in the late 1970s. Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Shirley Gross Dominitz of Potomac; five children, Clau- dia Faigen of Rockville, Susan Dominitz-Mathai of Cockeys- ville, Md., Nathan Dominitz of Savannah, Ga., Jason Dominitz of Bellevue, Wash., and Jeffrey Dominitz of Haddonfield, N.J.; and 11 grandchildren. —Timothy R. Smith
Charles W. ‘Chuck’ Ebert
S
B7
PERSONNEL MANAGER Charles W. “Chuck” Ebert, 86,
a personnel manager with the Montgomery County police de- partment from the mid-1970s un- til his retirement in 1987, died July 24 at Fairfax Nursing Center in Fairfax City of complications from pneumonia. Before working for Montgom-
ery County, Mr. Ebert was a per- sonnel manager with the U.S. Postal Service and the Group Health Association in Washing- ton. From 1954 to 1964 he was a personnel manager in Philadel- phia. He had been a Vienna resident since 1964. Charles Wilbur Ebert was born in Bentleyville, Pa. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics and sociology in 1948 from Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pa., and a mas- ter’s degree in industrial rela- tions in 1954 from the Wharton School of the University of Penn- sylvania. He served in the Army during
World War II. His memberships included the Oakton United Methodist Church and the American Le- gion. Survivors include his wife of 63 years, E. Ruth Head Ebert of Vienna; a son, Mark C. Ebert of Fairfax County; and four grand- daughters.
—Lauren Wiseman
Eleanore K. Fleisher BOOKKEEPER
Eleanore K. Fleisher, 85, who was the office manager and bookkeeper for her husband’s jewelry store, Fleisher’s Jewelers in Hyattsville, from 1949 to 1992, died Aug. 4 at her home in Hyattsville. She had Alzheimer’s disease.
Eleanore Rose Kravitz was born in Washington and was a 1942 graduate of the old Central High School in the District. In the mid-1940s, she was a report- er with the old Washington Eve- ning Star.
She was a member of the Or- der of the Eastern Star. Survivors include her husband of 64 years, William Fleisher of Hyattsville; three sons, Andrew Fleisher of Odenton, Ronald Fleisher of Crownsville and Fre- dric Fleisher of Hyattsville; a sis- ter; and three grandchildren. —Lauren Wiseman
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