Alfred Frank Tittel, aged 95, passed away early Saturday morning, December 15, 2018, in his room in the Reminiscences ward at The Fairfax at Belvoir Woods. He suffered a major stroke in June 2017, which led to his residence in various skilled nursing wards there. Alfred was born on October 12, 1923 in Elizabeth, NJ, the son of Peter and Rose Tittel. He attended LaSalle Military Academy in Troy, NY, from whence he graduated in 1941. After working as a tool and die maker as a civilian, Alfred joined the US Army in 1943. He served in WWII in the Pacific Theater, with service in New Guinea and various other South Pacific islands as a diesel mechanic. He was working for the Signal Corps as an electrician in 1945 in Manila, when he sustained burns in an electrical accident that saw him transferred to Brooks Army Hospital in San Antonio for treatment.
He met Cecilia Katherine Kociolek during the Christmas holidays in 1945, while both were on convalescent leave in Elizabeth, NJ. They were married in August, 1948. After leaving the service in 1947, Alfred attended law school until he returned to military service in 1950 when the Korean war broke out. He entered the Army for his second hitch as a Sergeant, but received a battlefield promotion to 3rd Lieutenant when the majority of his officers were killed in fierce fighting near the Chosin Reservoir in November and December of 1950. He served in a combat role until being transferred to Ft. Dix, NJ, in mid-1952 to attend Officer Candidate School there. Son Edward was born in Ft. Dix in August, 1952.
Alfred’s next tour of duty took him to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, in 1955 and 1956, where he took intense German language training. While attending the DLI, he was promoted to Captain. His next assignment was as an interrogator near the East/West German border in Kassell, Germany, in 1956 and 1957. From there, he transferred to US Army Europe (USAREUR) headquarters in Heidelberg, where he served as an analyst and then as a section head in a G-2 operation. This tour lasted until mid-1960, during which time daughter Katherine was born at the 130th Station Hospital. Next, he transferred to Ft. Benning, GA, to attend the General Staff School there until 1962. After a brief tour at Camp Kilmer, NJ, in 1962-1963, Alfred returned to Heidelberg for a 5 year tour as head of the G-2 section where he had worked before. During this tour, he was promoted to Major, and then in 1968, to Lieutenant Colonel.
In early 1968, Alfred was transferred to the Pentagon, where he worked briefly for the COINTELPRO project. Later that year, he announced his intention to retire from the Army, and was transferred to Ft. Belvoir to work through the mandatory “cooling off” period for intelligence professionals. In that capacity he worked as the XO for a “halfway house” battalion that rotated former stockade inhabitants through before returning them to normal, active duty. During his military service, Alfred was awarded the Silver Star and two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts, among numerous other meritorious service, unit, and combat citations.
Upon leaving the US Army as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1970, Alfred opened Travel Services International, a travel agency that specialized in European ski and other tours. He would run that business full-time until 1995, and then part-time until it closed in 2002. Alfred was an avid skier and sailor all his life. He hung up his skis in 2005, because he developed chronic altitude sickness at heights over 7000 feet. He kept single-handing his Calvert 27 until he was 88 (2011), at which point a shoulder injury sidelined him from sailing. He remained in good health until 2017, when several chronic conditions early in that year foreshadowed his stroke.
Alfred was preceded in death by his wife, Cecilia Katherine (Kociolek) Tittel, who passed away on September 11, 2009. His demise occurred the same date (December 15) that Cecilia was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, where he will occupy a shared plot with her (funeral arrangements are still TBD). He is survived by his daughter, Katherine, her husband Michael Carey and their children Helen and Collin, as well his son, Edward, his wife Dina, and their son, Gregory. He is also survived by his brother, Richard (born 1925) and his wife Norma, and their children Normajean and Carol Lynn, and their families. Those who wish to leave a token of remembrance for Alfred are invited to contribute to the Wounded Warrior Project, a charity that works to assist and empower wounded US Military Veterans returned to civilian life. Please join his immediate family in remembering this man who served his country in combat bravely and well. He was an outstanding patriot, father, and friend. Farewell, old soldier!
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