Otsego County family shares ties to the White House

Jun. 21—A family born and raised in Otsego County presented a plaque to the Oneonta American Legion Post 259 that displays their ties to the White House on Friday, June 21.

The family came together to hand over the plaque displaying four family members, each of whom served in the military and in the White House.

Retired Army Master Sergeant Ronald Bunnell said Thursday, June 20 that there are seven siblings in the Musser family — Anne Marie, Margaret, Kevin, Alex, Meredith, Alison and Nicole. He said that six out of the seven siblings have ties to the military, and four have ties to the White House.

Bunnell said that the Musser family grew up in Garrattsville and attended Morris High School.

Bunnell, who now lives in Huntsville, Alabama, said that he wanted to make sure the Musser family got recognition for their service.

"All of us are extremely proud of our service, and that family has done its share," he said. "They deserve credit."

He said that he had the plaque made to deliver to the legion because he couldn't believe the connections within the family.

He said the plaque has four veterans who all served the White House at different times under different administrations, and each person pictured is connected to the Musser family and Otsego County.

One of the men pictured is Bunnell himself. He served at the White House Communications Agency from 1986 to 1993 under presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

His wife, former U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Margaret Bunnell, retired in 2015 after 24 years of service. She grew up in Morris with her six siblings.

"It's really a once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing, these connections," she said

Also pictured on the plaque is U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Alex Musser. He still lives in West Oneonta, and he was assigned to Camp David in Maryland from 2004 to 2007 serving under President H.W. Bush as presidential support.

Retired U.S. Army Master Sergeant John Kephart also is featured on the plaque. He was a communications specialist at the White House from 1985 to 1992, with presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Ronald Bunnell said that retired U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Mark McLean, pictured as well, worked on Air Force One at Andrews AFB in Maryland from 2008 to 2015 serving under presidents H.W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Under each picture, the plaque states the connections to the Musser family. It says that Ronald Bunnell is married to Margaret, Kephart is married to Alison Musser, McLean is married to Nicole Musser and Alex Musser is one of the seven siblings.

Outside of these ties to the White House, Ronald Bunnell said that Kevin Musser served in the U.S. Navy and was a petty officer third class when he got out. Kevin Musser's wife, Terri Plows, served in the U.S. Air Force and was an airman first class when she retired. Anne Marie Musser's husband, Steve Ellingham, is a retired U.S. Navy petty officer first class.

At the legion, Kephart said that the last time they were all together was 2016.

"It's always good when family gets together," he said.

Bunnell said that he and Kephart were in the Army together through school. He said Kephart went to the White House first, then Bunnell ended up there.

"We went to school together, lived a lot together, stationed together," Kephart said.

Oneonta American Legion Post 259 Commander Terry Harkenreader said that he was excited to have this plaque in the legion's museum.

"It's an honor to have this," he said. "They're local, I'm so happy they brought it to us."

The Oneonta American Legion Post 259 Museum is free and open to the public.

Jillian McCarthy, staff writer, can be reached at jmccarthy@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7259.