Colonel Richard W. Bergson, who died on July 31, 2021, retired from the Army in June 1987 as the Director of Inland Traffic, Military Traffic Management Commend West Area in Oakland after 30 years of commissioned service.
Following retirement he served as a consultant to several trucking companies, including Scheider Specialized, Arrow Trucking, and TRISM Specialized, helping them to do business with the Federal Government.
Colonel Bergson was born on November 21, 1935 in Washington, DC to Herbert A. and Bernice Weber Bergson. He entered the Army as a Second Lieutenant in June 1957 after graduation from Georgetown University. After serving two years in the Artillery, he transferred to the Transportation Corps. He has commanded units at all levels from platoon through brigade, including the 41st Transportation Company (Light Truck) Mannheim Germany, 100th Supply and Service Battalion, Fort Devens, MA, and The Military Ocean Terminal Bay Area, Oakland, CA from 1979 to 1982. His staff assignments include duty with the 2nd Infantry Division, Republic of Korea, as the Division Transportation Officer for the 9th Infantry Division, republic of Vietnam, Headquarters, Military Traffic Management Command, and the Strategic Mobility Division of the Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (OJCS), the Pentagon.
Colonel Bergson received a Masters Degree in Transportation Economics from Michigan State University in 1964; and graduated from the Army’s Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS in 1967; and the Naval War College’s College of Naval Warfare, Newport, RI in 1974. His awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, two Legion of Merit Medals, and two Bronze Star Medals.
In retirement he remained active in the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the National Defense Transportation Association and as a volunteer with his Parish Church, St. Vincent de Paul in San Francisco.
Colonel Bergson is survived by his wife of 63 years, Maureen Carlin Bergson, a daughter Barbara Martin of San Ramon, a son Richard C. (Chuck) Bergson of Maui, HI, and four grandchildren.
Friends and family are invited to attend a Funeral Mass on Tues., 8/10/2021, 9AM at St. Vincent de Paul Church, 2320 Green St., SF.
Interment, Private, Sacramento Valley National Cemetery, Dixon, CA.
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