Betty Dettre Sets Up Four Charitable Gift Annuities to Support Her Siblings and Honor Her Late Husband

Betty and Rex Dettre in Shreveport,
Louisiana, in June 1988, on the day
that MG Dettre was awarded the
Prisoner of War Medal.

Betty Boyd Dettre is the widow of West Point graduate and highly decorated war hero Major General Rexford (Rex) Herbert Dettre Jr. ’43JAN, who flew fighter planes in three different wars, survived a Nazi concentration camp, taught mathematics at the Academy, and worked for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Rex and Betty were always loyal supporters of the West Point Association of Graduates, and she has continued that generosity since his passing—including setting up four charitable gift annuities (CGAs) that provide lifetime income for her and her four siblings. Eventually, the remainder from the gift annuities will support the Long Gray Line Endowment.

“Rex set up a different kind of investment (pooled income funds) for me and his two daughters,” Betty explains. “When I decided to give more after his passing, I contacted West Point and they suggested the charitable gift annuities. I have been very happy with them and the support they provide.”

West Point Association of Graduates (WPAOG) accepts charitable gift annuities of $10,000 or more and is happy to explain the program with no obligation.

They met in Vietnam

Betty grew up in Columbia, Mississippi, and attended LaSalle University, earning a degree in business management in 1965. She went to work for the State Department as a secretary and in the late 1960s was assigned to Vietnam, where she met Rex; he was with the Military Assistance Command—and flying 89 more combat missions after having already done so during World War II and the Korean War.

They both were eventually assigned to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, DC; Rex retired as a Major General in 1973 after 30 years in the military and became a successful investor. They married in 1977 and together began supporting West Point in earnest.

“Rex said that West Point, both as student and teacher, were the best times of his life,” Betty says. “That is why I have stayed so attached and continued to provide my support.”

In addition to the gift annuities, Betty is proud to have set up a program with the WPAOG named for her husband that provides funeral and memorial services assistance to alumni and their families.

“When Rex died (in 2004), I had some trouble renting the cars we needed for the funeral procession, and the minister didn’t have all of the right paperwork at the funeral, and a couple of other things,” Betty says. “So I decided to start this memorial program, and it has been very successful in helping families that come to West Point for the funeral and burial of their officer.”

Rex and Betty had been living in her hometown of Columbia at the time of his death, having moved there in 1998 so she could be closer to her relatives. She still lives in the house that they built, and until a recent stroke spent much of her time painting landscapes and animal portraits that she sold all over the world—with most of them housed in private and corporate collections throughout the U.S. and Europe. She also funded the Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC; it holds a special collection of research material on women artists.

Major General Dettre’s storied military career

Betty is a soft-spoken, somewhat reserved person—as was her husband—and neither was big on talking about Rex’s military exploits. But his career was quite extraordinary, as described in this adaptation of a memorial written by a classmate and published in TAPS:

Rex joined the California National Guard at the age of 15, enlisted in the Coast Artillery at 17, and earned an appointment to West Point at 18. As a cadet, he was active in fencing, soccer, and wrestling and stood in the top fifth of his class.

He elected to take pilot training as a cadet and earned his wings in November 1942. Rex went to England in March 1944 to fight Hitler and was quickly chosen as a flight leader. On April 8, 1944, Rex was part of a low-level sweep that successfully attacked German trains and convoys and mauled an air base key to the defense of Berlin. The entire group earned the Distinguished Unit Citation for that day’s work.

The next day, Rex was in his P-38, escorting B-24 bombers back from a mission to bomb an aircraft plant in northern Germany, when his plane malfunctioned and he had to bail out. He lived for a time with the underground, was picked up by a German patrol but escaped, was captured again but escaped from a rolling freight car, and was captured a third time and thrown into a concentration camp. He was liberated at war’s end and then honed his flying skills for the next four years.

When North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, Rex flew 110 combat missions in close support of ground combat before he was shot down by enemy fire. He was rescued by a helicopter and then attended the Air Command & Staff School and in 1952 began a three-year term at USMA as an associate professor of mathematics.

The newly formed Air Force recognized Rex’s talent and leadership, placing him in increasingly responsible positions in Spain, Oregon, Texas, Iowa, and Colorado. After flying combat missions in Vietnam, he was called to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1970 as deputy director for plans and policy.

For his service to the nation, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, two Legions of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal, three Air Medals, Joint Service Commendation Medal, and two Air Force Commendation Medals. He was authorized the Prisoner of War Medal, and the nations of Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand recognized him with decorations of their own.

The article describes Betty as “his right hand and comforting partner.” She smiles at the description.

“He was West Point through and through,” she says softly. “As his wife, I guess I have become that too.”