Colonel Arthur Henry Haake, USMC (Ret.), died at Brandermill Woods on November 3, 2019, at the age of 103.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Susan; and his adopted daughter, Barbara Jett. He was predeceased by Ruth Jacqueline Stein, his wife of 68 years.
Art was born on Leap Year Day, February 29, 1916, in Queens, New York City. He graduated from Bushwick High School at age 15 and started at Davidson College in the fall.
After graduating from Davidson, he enrolled and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1939 with an LLD/JD. He was admitted to the New York Bar and joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1940.
He was commissioned in 1941, with the primary military specialty of Infantry and a secondary of Legal. During WWII, he was a member of the Marine Raiders, the prototype of all future military Special Forces, until the Raiders disbanded in 1944.
He participated in four landing operations, three in first wave: Russell Islands, Bourgainville, Pelelieu and Okinawa. The Russell Island occupation was a successful nighttime sneak attack in rubber boats. He was wounded by mortar explosion September, 1944, on Pelelieu.
After recovering from his wounds, he returned to active duty to Okinawa in April 1945. He was awarded the Bronze Star with V for Valor on Okinawa for “Bravery Under Fire.” After WWII, he had an eclectic career. From 1945 to 1946, he was deployed to China to establish a presence and support the Chinese National operations.
As the last Equitation (the art or practice of horse riding or horsemanship) officer of the Marines, he instructed on animal packing and other equitation topics. He was deployed to Korea in 1952 to train South Korean marines in amphibious operations.
In 1957, he was Battalion commander, 2nd Battalion, 9th marines. At this time, the Battalion climbed Mt. Fuji. This appears to have established a tradition for Marines to make a yearly trek up the mountain. Following this, he was given legal assignments in the states.
The first tour was in Personnel Section of Marine Corps headquarters in the Discipline division. The second was one of three judges on the Naval Appellate Court (Naval, Marine and civilian). His last assignment, 1963 to 1967, was Command Officer of the Officer Candidates School at Quantico, Va.
Twenty-seven years had passed since he had first entered the school in 1940 as a candidate during the first officer’s training class at Quantico. His picture is still on the wall at the school with other COs of the school. After 27 years as a Marine, he had a second retirement from Fredericksburg, Va., after 12 years as a city planner and resident of Caroline County.
While living in Caroline County, he was member of the Planning Commission and an instructor in the 4H horse and pony division. He then moved to Brandermill in 1980 and lived there until his final move to Brandermill Woods at the age of 90. During that time he attended night classes at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).
Art will be buried in the Virginia Veterans Cemetery in Amelia, Va., at 12 noon on Friday, November 15, 2019, with full military honors.