Army Heritage Center Foundation to use endowment to expand immersive military training

The Army Heritage Center Foundation (AHCF) in Carlisle is embarking on an expansion of its immersive military training, thanks to a generous endowment from Nancy and Bob Gessner, daughter and son-in-law of the late Col. Donald Esper.

The Colonel Donald Esper Endowment will fund a greater number of Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) Staff Rides, a mandatory Army commissioning requirement that immerses ROTC cadets in the experience of important turning points in military history. By visiting the actual scene of these historical events, participants learn about the terrain, tactics, and leadership decisions that shaped the outcomes. Cadets who participate in the AHCF program will experience the lessons of Gettysburg, a press release said.

The Colonel Donald Esper Endowment / AHCF ROTC Staff Ride Program is the legacy of a local military hero who died in 2023 after 34 years of service.

Esper enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17 and served in combat in the Pacific during World War II. He received his Army commission as an Armor Second Lieutenant in April 1951. He served with the 11th Armored Cavalry at Ft. Carson, Colorado, the 66th Tank Battalion in post-War West Germany, the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, the 7th Infantry Division in South Korea, the 25th Infantry Division in South Vietnam, and as Battalion Commander of the 1st of the 33rd Armored Battalion in Gelnhausen, West Germany. While in command, the Battalion won the U.S. Army Europe Tank Gunnery Championship.

He also attended service schools at Fort Knox, Fort Leavenworth, and the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks. His final tour of duty was as Garrison Commander at Carlisle Barracks.

ROTC was an important part of Colonel Esper’s legacy. After World War II, he earned a degree in Business Administration at Xavier University, where he was an ROTC cadet. Later in his career, Colonel Esper earned a master’s degree while teaching ROTC at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York.

He and his wife Zetta Ann raised three children and were stationed all over the world until settling in Carlisle in 1975.  Esper retired in 1980 after 34 years of military service, then worked for 10 additional years for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.  

The Esper Endowment is one of the gifts that helps to power the work of the AHCF, the nonprofit that supports the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC) and their ever-growing education and community engagement efforts.

Julie Germany, foundation president, applauded the Gessners’ generosity.

“Colonel Esper’s legacy lives on in the cadets who will walk through our doors and shape the future of our nation,” said Germany. “Our foundation is looking forward to offering a greater number of staff rides and helping to fund the future of USAHEC and honor those who have served and sacrificed.”   

The Army Heritage Center Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit that is honored to advance the mission of USAHEC, one of the nation’s premier sites dedicated to preserving and honoring the experiences and memories of those who served in the U.S. Army. USAHEC memorializes the lives and lived experiences of our soldiers in photographs, artifacts, books and more.