Born in Charleston, South Carolina on October 2, 1908, Earl Buggle Halsall was a well-respected educator. Earning a degree in English and Latin from College of Charleston in 1929, he spent the next thirteen years working as a high school English teacher. During school breaks, he furthered his own education with certificate programs in chemistry, international law, education, and politics. He completed a Master’s degree in political science from Duke University in 1939.

 

Halsall enlisted in the U.S. Army in May 1942. One of his first assignments involved enlisting college students throughout the southeast in the Enlisted Reserve Program. In 1943 he arrived in Europe, serving as a Civil Affairs Officer in North Africa, Italy, England, and France. For his work with the European Civil Affairs Division (ECAD) in France, Halsall received the Bronze Star. Halsall then began working with the MFAA Branch of the Office of Military Government, U.S. Zone (OMGUS) in Germany. Although little is known about Halsall’s activities as a Monuments Officer, he delivered objects belonging to the Kunsthalle Mannheim to the museum’s director, Dr. Walter Passarge, in September 1945. The Foundation is very interested in learning more about Halsall’s involvement with the MFAA. If you have any information, please contact abottinelli@monumentsmenfoundation.org.

 

Halsall continued to serve in the U.S. Army Reserves after the war, eventually retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Inspired by his wartime experience, he oversaw programs helping World War II veterans readjust to civilian life at regional offices of the U.S. Veterans Administration (USVA) in South Carolina. During the 1950s Halsall trained personnel at E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (the DuPont Company) in Aiken, South Carolina in connection with the Savannah River Atomic Energy Project. A lifelong student, Halsall resumed his academic studies in 1958, becoming a graduate assistant at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. The following year, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Political Science at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina. Affectionately nicknamed “The Earl of Halsall” by his students, he gave lectures on economics and international politics for nearly two decades until his retirement as Associate Professor Emeritus of Political Science in 1976.

 

Earl Halsall died in Greenville, South Carolina on December 9, 1998.

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Photo courtesy of Presbyterian College.