Burdette E. “Pete” Bostwick Jr. ’63

Burdette E. “Pete” Bostwick Jr. ’63 died unexpectedly but peacefully in Corrales, New Mexico, on July 13 of heart failure. Pete was born on December 5, 1940, in Orange, New Jersey, and attended Governor Dummer Academy, where he was active in lacrosse, soccer, wrestling, and the glee club. At Dartmouth his studies were interrupted when he enlisted in the Army in 1961, serving in Vietnam with the 1st Airborne Cavalry Division. He graduated from the Army intelligence school in Maryland and the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, where he learned Korean. He was promoted and became aide-de-camp to Gen. Richard Knowles. After his service, Pete returned to Dartmouth and completed his A.B. in international relations in 1968. He received an M.A. in geography of Southeast Asia at the University of Hawaii in 1973. He was an East-West Center grantee and did field research in Laos and Cambodia as part of the UN Mekong Project and became fluent in the Thai language. Upon returning from Southeast Asia, Pete taught geography at the University of Hawaii at Hilo and worked on his Ph.D. He then began a distinguished 25-year career in military intelligence at the headquarters of the U.S. commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, including extended assignments to Southeast Asia. He was a seasoned area specialist and retired as a senior intelligence officer in 2005. In retirement Pete was active in the Association of Former Intelligence Officers and the Ironwood Veterans group and was a skier, trekker, runner, and outdoorsman. He is survived by his wife, Marie.