Lt. Col. John F. McNulty Jr. (1917–2004), a recipient of the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces (United States Army), Special Forces soldiers in the rank of Colonel (United States), colonel and below, wh ...

and three U.S.

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...

s for meritorious service, was a

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

combat veteran, who there during fought in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Later, in 1956, Lt. Col. McNulty served in

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

as a U.S. military advisor to the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

. McNulty rose first through the U.S. Army's enlisted and, then, its officers' ranks. McNulty is better recognized, however, as a college administrator and, even more so, as a college athletic coach. After retiring from the U.S. Army in 1964, John McNulty was employed for 28 years, first, as the dean of students and, later, concurrently, as the athletic director at

Johnson & Wales University Johnson & Wales University (JWU) is a private university with its main campus in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded as a business school in 1914 by Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales, JWU enrolled 7,357 students across its cam ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

. Himself, an accomplished marathon runner, "The Colonel", as his students and particularly his student athletes knew him, also founded and personally coached the Johnson & Wales Athletic Club, which under McNulty's coaching produced several champion runners, including the Rhode Island U.S. educated Irishman

John Treacy John Treacy (born 4 June 1957) is an Irish Olympic Games, Olympian and former athlete, now a sporting administrator. He is best known for winning a silver medal in the marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Early life Treacy was ...

, a two-time world cross country champion and a silver medalist for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California U.S.A. McNulty Hall, a residence hall at Johnson & Wales University, is named for "The Colonel". Lt. Col. John F. McNulty Jr. is buried at the United States'

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

. In the year 2000, McNulty, who had near singlehandedly built the Johnson & Wales University's powerful track and cross country programs of the 1960s and 1970s, became the first inductee into its newly created Athletic Hall of Fame.
A sketch of "The Colonel" is here also available.

Internet References

External links

6/29/2004 ''Baltimore Sun'' Obituary for John F. McNulty Jr. United States Army personnel of World War II People of the First Indochina War Johnson & Wales University faculty College track and field coaches in the United States 1917 births 2004 deaths Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Army colonels {{US-military-bio-stub