In Memorium...
I Remember George W. Berrier Jr.
By
Mark L. Davis II
Eastern States Coordinator, AMBA
It seems to me that my first contact with George was when he returned my phone call in the late 1980's. I don't remember the nature of my request, but when he responded he was somewhat apologetic because of the delay. He told me that he had been in some of the California high country doing mustang herd census. I don't recall how long we talked, but I was fascinated with his every word. At that time we were members of AMBA.
In the early 1990's George invited me to join him in a census that he was doing in the high country of northwest Colorado near Craig. He told me that the country was very rough and accessible only with mustangs. He indicated that this was a follow-up that BLM wanted done to verify the results that they obtained on an earlier census. It really sounded exciting, but I lacked the equipment and resources to transport our mustang to Colorado. He offered to provide a mustang for me, but as much as would have loved to take him up on his kind offer, I told him that I had to decline, because I was on crutches as a result of a broken leg.
1996 BLM held their first adoption in Delaware. My wife and I thought that this might be an excellent time to start a chapter of AMBA. I called George regarding the requirements and he sent me the forms to become an active chapter. We filed the paperwork and George made me the Secretary for what became the Delmarva Chapter of AMBA. With the formation of this group my contact with George (via phone) became more frequent ( possibly as much as a call a month ), so what started out as a business connection blossomed into a wonderful friendship.
The next thing that I knew (1999) George asked me to serve on the advisory board for AMBA. I accepted the position and agreed to attend the Board meeting in Reno, Nevada at the 2000 National Wild Horse & Burro Show.
In June of 2000 I flew to Reno, and had my first contact with AMBA members from the west. Becky Borquez was in charge of the AMBA Bookstore, with a booth, at the show. Becky introduced me to other AMBA members that were helping her. I asked her if George was there, and she replied that he was on his way over from California.
About 11 AM George arrived and we introduced ourselves. At that point he took me under his wing and introduced me to many of the people that were responsible for the show. I didn't realize it at that time, but have since learned that George and a small group of others were instrumental in organizing the show. Later that day we sat in on a workshop conducted by BLM that marked the beginning of the BLM mentoring program.
Sunday morning the Advisory Board met in one of the restaurants of the Golden Nugget in Sparks, NV (just outside of Reno). I remember how George talked about The Journal and the expense of getting it out. He stressed the need for more photos saying that a good photo equaled a thousand words. He also stated that there was a need for more stories about people and their mustangs, and that he didn't want to spend the money to send blank sheets of paper. He encouraged us to stir the membership to action in an attempt to educate the public about these fine animals that are in need of good homes. One of the thoughts that George left with me was that you can do whatever you desire if you have the conviction to follow through. He made this remark in conjunction with my suggesting that we start a mustang show in the east.
After leaving Reno I returned to Delaware and suggested to our group that we might want to start an eastern mustang show. The group thought that it was a good idea, so in September 2000 we held our first mustang show. It was a half day show and we quickly learned that that we needed more time. I called George following the show to let him know of our progress. He seemed very pleased and was very encouraging. He said that he would try to be with us in 2001 if we held the show. Additionally, he arranged for us to use the logo on the buttons that are part of ribbons given out at the National Show. I guess that I called George an average of once a month from that point on.
2001 came and everything was in place for a one day show. BLM was conducting an adoption at the Harrington Fair Grounds covered arena, and we were going to use the outside arena. Prior to that time (June) a group of us went to Reno and volunteered our services at the show. We did this to gain experience about running a similar show. While at Reno we visited George at his place in Rio Oso. While there he told me that he planned to attend our show in September. I believe it was 10 days before our show that the world was upset by 9/11. Because of this George found himself stuck in England and unable to return home for about fourteen days.
A group of us returned to Reno almost every year to help and learn about the National Show. One of the high spots was the trip to George's place to say hello and introduce the newer members of our group. He was always very gracious and on one occasion saddled one of his horses for a member to ride.
One of the last times that I saw George was when the show was held at Winnemucca, NV. It was a Saturday evening and we sat down to talk. It was at this time that I really got to know George. We talked about his time in Korea, how he was wounded, and nearly died. If I'm not mistaken he received a battlefield commission when most of his commanding officers had been killed. This commission is conferred by a much higher authority and if I'm not mistaken becomes a congressional commission. I also learned that George had gone through some of the toughest training offered by the military i.e. the training offered by the CID (Counter Intelligence Division) or ASA (Army Security Agency). I told him that I had known a person that graduated from that training ( 1 of the 2 or 3 out of a class of about 50 ) that made it, so was well aware of the intensity of his training. If I'm not mistaken he told me that he received a Masters Degree in the Korean language, which no doubt was part of his training.
The last time than I saw George was when my wife and I stopped by his home in Grass Valley, CA. We had been at the annual meeting of the Purebred Dexter Cattle Association of North America near Chico,CA. and were driving back to Reno for our return flight. George was pleased to see us, and we enjoyed a pleasant afternoon with him. He showed us his remaining mustangs, since he had significantly reduced the number of animals that he was holding as compared to what he had at Rio Oso. We had a very pleasant visit and one that will be remembered as long as I live.
Since the visit at Grass Valley I've spent several hours talking to George on the phone. I would generally give him a call after 9 PM Pacific time to ensure that he would be home. This would make it midnight on the east coast and quite frequently he would say "I guess that I ought to let you go since it must be one or one-thirty back where you are". I replied "That's ok. I can always sleep in today".
The last time that I talked to George was August 23, 2007. When he answered the phone I didn't recognize his voice — he sounded so weak. I asked him if he was ok, and he responded that he had been diagnosed with liver cancer. The thought flashed through my head "oh God, not this to George". I asked him what they were going to do? He replied that he was scheduled for tests on Tuesday, August 28. Tuesday came and though I was tempted to call George I thought that it might be too early to get the test results, so I'd call later in the week. We were involved in the BLM, Harrisburg, PA adoption September 1-2 so I called September 1 after we were back in our motel. Nobody was there, so I left a message on the answering machine for George to call me back. About a half an hour later a young lady by the name of Kathy returned my call with the news that they didn't expect him to live through the weekend. This was a tremendous blow!!!
Evidently George died Monday, September 3, Labor Day while I was on the phone with his son-in-law Mark Sherer.
George Berrier was quite a man and a good friend. He will be greatly missed. I'll miss the midnight phone calls that were always very uplifting and helpful. I'm reminded of Mark Anthony's famous speech at the death of Julius Caesar — "the good that man does lives on and the evil dies in his bones". George W. Berrier Jr. may be dead, but there isn't a person that was touched by him, who will ever forget him.
It's interesting, but while flying to Reno in 2000 I noticed an absolutely beautiful cloud formation. It had the appearance of a herd of mustangs racing across the sky. It would be my hope that George is given the charge of caring for a herd of the fallen wild ones. If such is the case, then I would say that he was at peace.
I remember George!!!
