Centenary College Leader, West Point Cadet, and WWII Veteran Leaves Enduring Legacy
The Kappa Alpha Order Educational Foundation (KAOEF) is honored to announce the receipt of a significant estate gift from the late Col. William E. Steger (Alpha Iota–Centenary 1938). His planned gift of more than $350,000 will provide lasting support for members of the Alpha Iota Chapter through scholarships and leadership development. His planned gift through the 1865 Trust ensures future generations of KA brothers are equipped to lead with honor.
Brother Steger’s lifelong commitment to leadership began at Centenary College in Shreveport, where he earned his B.A. and served as president of the student council and Number I (president) of the Alpha Iota Chapter of Kappa Alpha Order. Contemporary issues of The Kappa Alpha Journal frequently record Steger as a central figure in chapter life. Steger was selected as a “Centenary Gentleman” in a campus-wide popularity and leadership contest, an honor reflecting the high regard in which he was held not only by his brothers but by the broader college community. He was also elected as president of the Centernary College Student Body and of the Louisiana State Convention.
His family’s connection to Centenary and KA also ran deep—his father, Dr. S. A. Steger, who served as head of the English department, had become acquainted with many members of the Order and was specially initiated by the chapter in 1942.
Driven by a strong interest in aviation, Steger completed training through the Civilian Pilot Training Corps, a federal program created in 1940 to strengthen America’s preparedness for war. During college, he applied to his Louisiana Senator for an appointment to West Point. He had been particularly interested in the academy as his boyhood heroes, J.E.B. Stuart, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson were graduates.
He secured a West Point appointment in 1941. Having graduated from college, he lead his mathematics class and earned singular recognition as the only cadet in his class to receive an award for outstanding military efficiency and leadership .In June 1942, six months after Pearl Harbor, the barracks were empty except for the class of 1944. His classmates will never forget marching that month, almost 500 strong, in khakis under arms, wearing steel helmets (World War I variety) down New York’s Fifth Avenue in a patriotic celebration, crowds on all sides, with Bill in command. He graduated from West Point with his wings on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and began wartime assignments flying and instructing in B-24 aircraft at Smyrna, Tennessee.
During World War II, The Kappa Alpha Journal records that he was among those answering “duty’s call,” beginning a military career that would span decades. As the war ended, he completed B-29 training and served across the Pacific with assignments at Guam, the Philippines, and Okinawa over the next two years. His long military career then alternated between major operational commands and specialized logistics leadership: he served two tours in the Pentagon, commanded a B-47 squadron, and later served as Vice-Commander at Warren Air Force Base, an early Atlas missile launch site. Ultimately, he was appointed Director of Aerospace Fuels, carrying worldwide responsibility for supply, distribution, and financial management for fuels and chemicals used by the U.S. Air Force, including support to NASA with critical launch materials.
Steger also served a year in Vietnam as senior commander at Bien Hoa Air Base, while flying approximately 80 sorties in various aircraft. He completed his military career at the Defense Fuels Supply Agency in Virginia, where he helped design and implement an integrated system for logistics and financial control of fuels used by the Department of Defense.
After retiring from military service, Col. Steger continued serving the nation in civilian leadership. He joined the staff of the Secretary of the Treasury as a fuels expert and contributed to the development of a national energy policy during the energy crisis of the 1970s. He retired from the Treasury Department in 1982, and he and his wife, Mazzie, moved to California.
He has written that “the retirement years in Southern California were pleasant, interesting, and peaceful. At this point, I know of no better comment than to quote an earlier West Point grad who suggested, ‘Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.’”
Col. Steger’s life reflects an extraordinary span of leadership—student, brother, soldier, strategist, and public servant—marked by duty, expertise, and an enduring commitment to the future. In his later years, he lived with the effects of Agent Orange exposure from Vietnam service. His legacy gift to the Kappa Alpha Order Educational Foundation is a powerful expression of loyalty to the brotherhood and a lasting investment in young men who will follow him.
“Col. Steger’s life reminds us that the impact of Kappa Alpha Order extends far beyond the undergraduate years,” said Ben Satcher, Former Knight Commander and Executive Vice President of the KAOEF.” Through this gift, his legacy will continue to shape young men long after his own time of service.”
The KAOEF is profoundly grateful to Col. Steger and his family for this remarkable expression of commitment. His generosity ensures that the values he embodied will continue to guide future KA leaders.
Read Col. Steger’s obituary HERE.
To learn more about planned giving opportunities through the 1865 Trust, visit 1865Trust.com.
