Lieutenant
Colonel Cornelius J.“Connie” O’Shea, USA (Ret.), died on 8 March 2007 at
Alexandria Hospital, VA, after a long battle with multiple health issues. He
was 73 years old. Connie was born on 4 April 1933 in Bay Ridge, NY, and
attended Siena College in Albany prior to entering the U.S. Naval Academy.
After graduation
with the Class of 1956, Connie received his commission in the Marine Corps and
attended Basic School at Quantico, VA. Following Basic School, he was deployed
to Okinawa for 18 months. Upon returning to the States, he was stationed at
Fort Sill, OK. After serving with the Marine Corps for ten years, Connie did an
inter-service transfer to the U.S. Army as a captain. He attended the Russian
Language School at Anacostia, MD, and was assigned to Fort Meade, MD. Following
that tour, he was assigned to the U.S. Mission in Berlin, Germany. From
Germany, he attended the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth,
KS. Four tours in Vietnam followed Leavenworth with duty tours at Ft. Meade
between his deployments to Vietnam. From 1973 through May 1983, Connie served
in significant positions, including Chief, Plans and Operations and Special
Assistant to the Commander, USA Intelligence Command, Fort Holabird; Special
Assistant to the Commander, 109th Military Intelligence Group, Fort Meade;
Operations Officer, USA Intelligence Agency, Fort Meade; Chief, Long Range
Plans Office, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence,
Department of the Army, and with the Central Intelligence Agency. Connie
received a master of arts in government with a concentration in national
security studies from Georgetown University in 1979.
Connie retired
from the Army in 1985 and joined PRC Inc. in Virginia. After PRC, he was
employed by several companies in support of government contracts until full
retirement from the Electronic Warfare Association in 2004. He is survived by
his former wife, Nancy Loyd O’Shea; three daughters, Cinde Deaner, Teri Corrao
and Kristine Gill; son, Neil; and Neil’s children, Caitlin and Patrick. He was
buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on 11 April
2007. The O’Shea Family
