Max Beilke was already regarded as the “old wise man” when I met him as a cub Pentagon reporter for the Army Times in the 1990s. So I was amazed to learn that he was still going strong at age 69 on Sept. 11, as deputy chief of the Retirement Services Division for the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel.
Max was a staunch, smart advocate for veterans, and he was the primary source for information and insight whenever their medical and financial benefits were being questioned on Capitol Hill. I used to call him anytime there was a slow news day, and he always had something good to share. On background, of course.
Max was a staunch, smart advocate for veterans, and he was the primary source for information and insight whenever their medical and financial benefits were being questioned on Capitol Hill. I used to call him anytime there was a slow news day, and he always had something good to share. On background, of course.
I had known him for weeks before I found out a very public but seemingly forgotten story about Max: he was the last American combat soldier to leave Vietnam. The Last Guy Out.
Max rarely talked about it. He didn’t see it as something to brag about. He was just a soldier with a mission. He served in Korea. He served in Vietnam. He served veterans as a civilian. And he was a casualty on the first day of his third war: the Global War on Terror.
He died in a meeting alongside Army Lt. Gen. Timothy Maude and retired Army Lt. Col. Gary Smith when a hijacked plane slammed into the Outer Ring of the Pentagon, just steps away from where I used to work as a reporter.
Here’s to you, Max. Not just the Last Guy Out. But the First Guy to Step Up. Always.
For more on Max, please see:
The Post's Memorial Page
A Video Tribute
Arlington Cemetery Post
For more on Max, please see:
The Post's Memorial Page
A Video Tribute
Arlington Cemetery Post
