Daniel Wacker
Sadly, I only learned of Pat's death when my Christmas card was returned marked "deceased." He had been a friend since our time in the Air Force.
We first met in September, 1975 when Pat arrived as a fellow Judge Advocate in the legal office at Kunsan Air Base, Korea. Pat had entered the Air Force after ROTC and a deferment to attend law school. Upon admission to the bar, he was assigned to HIckam AFB in Honolulu to the base legal office. Shortly thereafter, he was sent on a short temporary assignment to U Tapao Air Base, Thailand. He enjoyed it so much that he immediately volunteered for an assignment in Asia; the Air Force then sent him to Kunsan where we met. Pat prosecuted several cases at Kunsan that I defended. He was a capable trial lawyer. Pat completed his one year assignment at Kansan and moved to Randolph AFB, TX to become a circuit prosecutor. In the meantime, I was transferred to RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, England. Shortly after my arrival at Lakenheath, Pat showed up in my office--he had been assigned to prosecute a felony at Lakenheath and had traveled from Texas. It was a holiday weekend in the UK, so he and I and another friend decided to take a road trip for three days to Wales. We had great fun hiking around Mount Snowden.
Pat completed his Air Force commitment, left the service, and settled back in Honolulu. He and I stayed in touch over the years. I visited him twice in Hawaii and he visited us in the states a couple of times. We always enjoyed hearing about his many trips to Asia, particularly his trips as a "citizen diplomat" to North Korea. My wife and I will greatly miss him.
Dan Wacker, Lt Col, USAFR (ret.)
Potomac, MD
[email protected]