ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 18, 1997 TAG: 9702180124
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN SNIDER STAFF WRITER
Ret. U.S. Army Col. Hubbard Thomas Plunkett Jr., who served under Gen. Douglas MacArthur in the Korean War, died Monday of double pneumonia. He was 75.
Plunkett retired from the Army in 1972 and made his home in Buena Vista, where he served as city manager for two years because he wasn't quite ready to stop working. He had lived in Roanoke for the past year.
During his military career, Plunkett was privy to lots of classified information, so he was tight-lipped about his job, said his daughter, Lynn Nilsson.
"All he ever told me was that MacArthur should have been fired," Nilsson said. "He had no right to go against the president because he was his commander in chief."
MacArthur was dismissed because he was unwilling to obey President Truman's order to restrict the war to Korea.
Plunkett was almost promoted to general in 1972, but he suffered three heart attacks in three days and had to retire. He always felt cheated, his daughter said.
He served at posts all over the world, and made friends everywhere he went. "He had a gift for working and dealing with people of all nationalities," Nilsson said.
Plunkett is survived by his wife, Frances, and his twin daughters, Lynn Nilsson of Roanoke, and Gay Jensen of Fort Worth, Texas. At his request, no memorial service is planned.
LENGTH: Short : 38 linesby CNB