CPT Ronald C. Plunkett

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Ron earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from The Citadel in 1964. He then earned a Master of Arts degree in English, Summa Cum Lade, from The Citadel/The University of Charleston in 1996. As a student, Ron was a member of the Phi Alpha Theta (History), Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science), and Sigma Tau Delta (English) Honor Societies, and may be the only person elected to these three honor societies as a Citadel student. Ron is also a life member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

Upon graduation, Ron began his military career as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He served in both Korea and Vietnam, among other assignments, from 1964 to 1968, attaining the rank of Captain in 1967. He was also in the U.S. Army Reserve until 1972. Throughout his military career, Ron earned more than a dozen service, combat, and campaign medals/clusters.

Ron started his professional career as a management trainee with Sea-Land Service, Inc. in 1968. Sea-Land Service, Inc. was purchased in 1999 by Maersk Line, the world’s largest containerized steamship line, and Ron continued working in various capacities before retiring in 2009 as a Senior Account Executive. He was honored with the Salesman of the Year award, CSX Corporation’s Master’s Award (one of eight recipients in the U.S.), and, in 1974, he served as the General Chairman for the South Carolina International Trade Conference.

Ron maintains membership in more than two dozen societies, orders, and foundations, holding leadership roles in nearly all of them including The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem and the Advisory Board of The Citadel’s School for Humanities and Social Sciences. He is also the volunteer Chief of Staff to Major General James E. Livingston, just to name a few.

He is married to Dr. Linda Muckenfuss Plunkett and has two children and two grandchildren.

Ron was initiated into Kappa Alpha Order by the Theta Commission as part of its establishment in 2009 and has been instrumental in its success since then with service as Recording Secretary. In addition, he is a member of the Charleston Alumni Chapter and has been inducted into the Frampton (South Carolina) Province Court of Honor. Ron is member of the Order’s Military Division, The Loyal Order, the KAOEF’s 1865 Trust, and has been a member of the KAOEF’s Crimson & Gold Society since 2014.