William Horbaly

Fifty-year AAG member William Horbaly, 91, of Charlottesville, North Carolina, has died.

Horbaly was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on January 24, 1920, the son of immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia. He earned a PhD in geography from the University of Chicago, and a portion of his graduate study was completed at Charles University in Prague.

During the Second World War, Horbaly served as a United States Army tank commander in the 749th Tank Battalion, which received a Presidential Unit Citation for meritorious service in France. Horbaly saw action in France and Germany and was awarded the Bronze Star.

After returning from the war, Horbaly spent his professional career in federal government service with the United States Department of Agriculture. During his time as an Agriculture Attaché‚ he was assigned to the State Department and was stationed in Moscow for five years and Beirut for four. Upon his retirement from federal service Horbaly was the Assistant Administrator to the Secretary of Agriculture and was in charge of United States Agriculture Attaches stationed overseas.

William Horbaly (Necrology). 2012. AAG Newsletter 47(3): 36.