After the funeral service for U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Richard Albert Sauer at Arlington National Cemetery on May 8, 2025, his daughter, Cindy Ingram, stood and addressed her family and friends. “My father loved four things: three of which are God, family, and country,” she said. “I won’t say what the fourth thing is till last.”
Ingram spoke about her father’s service as the chief administrative aide to Gen. William Westmoreland, the commander of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, and later the Army chief of staff, and her memories of watching Fourth of July fireworks from Westmorland’s house at Fort Myer. “Having my father’s funeral at Arlington is fitting,” she added about growing up at Fort Myer, adjacent the cemetery.
Ingram also spoke about her father’s faith and how he became a hospice chaplain after retiring from the Army in 1981, a position he held into his 80s. “My father had a most honorable and decorated military career, and he was a comfort-giver,” she said. “He was a memorable man who will be greatly missed, especially by his family.”
After the service, Ingram spoke about her father’s service with Westmoreland in Vietnam and the Pentagon. “He actually served with Westmoreland before Vietnam, and wherever he went, he asked for my father,” she said. “They were very good friends.” She also mentioned that her father helped found the U.S. Army Warrant Officer Association in Florida and headed it until he passed away at age 88. “He was very dedicated to the Association,” she said.
During the service, Ingram concluded her remarks by revealing her father’s fourth love: Applesauce. “It was such a simple pleasure,” she said, “but one that always got a ‘Yay! Applesauce!’” She spoke about feeding him his favorite snack in his last days and how much he enjoyed it. Then she directly addressed her father: “I am imagining that in heaven, you’re getting all the applesauce that you need,” she said, “and I rather suspect that mom is eating her favorite vanilla ice cream, sitting there right next to you.”