The Philadelphia native was a 28-year Army veteran and had served in three wars~ He was the battalion sergeant major of the 2nd Battalion of the 17th Artillery in Vietnam, and bad served tours of duty in Korea, Germany, Japan and Okinawa, among other places. The 53-year-old sergeant major died on Dec. 4, 1970. Machristie had attended Philadelphia schools and worked in a machine shop and later as a bookbinder for National Publishing Co. before joining the Army in 1942. He was survived by his wife, three sons and a daughter