Major General Girard Seitter III MD USArmyRet

Physician-Soldier, our beloved husband, father, brother, grandfather, uncle and friend, Major General Girard Seitter, III, MD, US Army Ret died peacefully and surrounded by his family on Memorial Day, May 29, 2006.

Jerry, as he commonly went by, was born in Philadelphia, PA on January 2, 1935. He graduated from Frankford High School and was active as a youth at St. James Lutheran Church and raised to a 3rd degree Mason at Frankford Lodge Number 292, all in Philadelphia. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Infantry through the ROTC at Gettysburg College where he graduated in 1957 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology and was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity, as was his brother. He received his Medical Doctorate degree from Hahnemann Medical College and served his internship at Philadelphia General Hospital.

He entered active duty in 1963 and began his distinguished career of military service as battalion surgeon and medical platoon leader in the 5th Infantry Division. He then completed residency training in both general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery at Brooke Army Medical Center.

Dr. Seitter served as chief of general surgery at Walson Army Hospital, Ft. Dix, NJ, then returned to BAMC to serve as assistant chief of cardiothoracic surgery. Next assignments included division surgeon, 8th Infantry Division and corps surgeon, VII Corps in Germany, followed by assignment to the United States Military Academy at West Point where he served as commander of the Army Community Hospital with dual responsibility as surgeon, United States Military Academy.

He was then assigned to Korea where he commanded 8th Medical Command, US Army Community Hospital-Seoul, and the 121 Evacuation Hospital, with additional duty as surgeon, 8th US Army and United States Forces, Korea.

In 1983, Dr. Seitter was promoted to the grade of brigadier general and assigned as director, Healthcare Operations, Office of the Surgeon General. In 1985 he returned to San Antonio to command Brooke Army Medical Center, and later as vice commander, Joint Military Medical Command.

In his next assignment, Dr. Seitter was promoted to the rank of major general and commanded, Tripler Army Medical Center, simultaneously serving as surgeon, US Army Pacific Command, Honolulu, Hawaii. While in this assignment he also served as vice chairman of the state chapter of The Hawaii Red Cross.

In 1992 he was assigned to the Office of the Surgeon General, where he was project officer for Operation AMEDD Vanguard Task Force Aesculapius, which resulted in the comprehensive worldwide restructure and new design of the Army Medical Department.

MG Seitter retired from the Army in 1993 after serving over 30 years. He was then employed by Foundation Health Federal Services, where he served as vice president of Texas-Louisiana Operations providing medical care for military retirees in areas of base realignment and closure. He was then selected as vice president and senior executive for the Department of Defense Region 6 TRICARE contract, which served the medical needs of military families and retirees in four states. He retired from Foundation Health as vice president for business development in 1997 and later provided consulting services to Coram Healthcare as Federal Services Advisor to the company.

In addition to his medical education and surgical training, Dr. Seitter is a graduate of the Army Medical Department basic and advanced courses, the Army Command and General Staff College and the US Army War College. He is also a graduate of the Program for Senior Managers in Government at Harvard University.

Dr. Seitter is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American College of Chest Physicians, and a member of the American College of Physician Executives and the American Society of Thoracic Surgeons. He was certified by the American Board of Medical Examiners, the American Board of Surgery, and the American Board of Cardiothoracic Surgeons. His military awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Legion of Merit with two Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Parachute Badge and the Expert Field Medical Badge. In 1985 he was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award by Gettysburg College.

In his most recent civic activities, MG Seitter served on the board of directors of Eisenhower National Bank, was chairman of the Retiree Council of Fort Sam Houston for an unprecedented ten years, and a member of the Army Medical Department Museum Foundation.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Girard Seitter, Jr. and Margaret Elizabeth Seitter. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Margaret Peggy Seitter; son, COL Girard Seitter, IV, USAR, and wife Leigh Anne; daughter, LTC Christine Halder, US Army Ret and husband, MAJ Matthew Halder, US Army Ret; daughter, Kathleen Radvany and husband, LTC Martin Radvany, M.D; and daughter, Margie Morrison and husband, Melvin; brother, George H. Seitter; eleven grandchildren; six nieces and a grand-nephew; and many dear and wonderful friends.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Army Medical Department AMEDD Museum, Fort Sam Houston, Texas or a charity of choice.