Commanding Generals
Commanders of the 3d Armored Division 1941-1992
Major General Alvan Cullom Gillem, Jr. (1888-1973)
April 1941 to January 1942
Lieutenant General Alvan Cullom Gillem Jr., was the first commander of the 3d Armored Division. General Gillem was a veteran of WWI. In 1940, he was the commander of the 66th Infantry (Light Tanks). At that time, it was the Army’s only Tank Regiment, and he became one of the leaders in the establishment and development of our Armored Force. General Gillem commanded the 2nd Armored Brigade, and then General Gillem commanded the 3d Armored Division from April 1941 to January 1942. General Gillem helped instill "by word and deed", the fiercely proud esprit de corps which lingered in the Spearhead division long after he had been promoted to higher command. General Gillem went on to command the II Armored Corps, and the Armored Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He then took the XIII Corps to Europe in WWII. The XIII Corps pierced the Siegfried line and fought its way to within 50 miles of Berlin. This was the closest American troops would come to the capital prior to VE Day. General Gillem was selected to command the Armored Task Force that was scheduled to invade Japan. But VJ day made this not necessary. In 1947, General Gillem was appointed Commanding General, Third Army with its headquarters at Fort McPherson, Georgia. He remained in this command until 1950 when he retired as a Lieutenant General with over 40 years of service.
General Gillem ended his career at the same place it began, Fort McPherson.
General Gillem died in Atlanta, Georgia, February 13, 1973. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41658852/alvan_cullom-gillem
Major General Walton Harris Walker (1899-1950)
January 1942 to August 1942
Born in Belton, Texas, December 3, 1899. Twice cited for gallantry in action. Has S.S. (Oak-Leaf Cluster). Graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1912. General Walker served in the Vera Cruz expedition in Mexico in 1914, and during World War I saw service in France at St Mihiel and in the Meuse-Argonne. He was with Army of Occupation in Germany until 1919. Graduate of the Infantry School, Command and General Staff School and the Army War College. Served as instructor at the United States Military Academy, the Infantry school and the Coast Artillery School. Appointed Second Lieutenant of Infantry in 1912. Appointed First Lieutenant July 1, 1916, and Captain, May 15, 1917. (Appointed Major, National Army, 1918 and promoted to temporary Lieutenant Colonel in 1919). reverted to rank of Captain of Regular Army in 1919. Acquired rank of Major in 1920 and promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1935. Received appointment as temporary Colonel in February 1941 and promoted to Brigadier General on July 10, 1941. Appointed Commander of the 3d Armored Division, January 17, 1942. Appointed Major General, February 18, 1942. General Walker went on to command IV Armored Corps, and XX Corps. In 1948 he was made commanding general of the 8th Army in Japan. When the communist invaded South Korea in 1950, General Walker was directed to stop the invasion. General Walker was made commander of United Nations Forces Korea until he was killed in a jeep accident on December 23, 1950.
Before his burial at Arlington National Cemetery, he was promoted to the rank of Full General. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10306023/walton_harris-walker
Major General Leroy Hugh Watson (November 3, 1893 – February 12, 1975)
August 1942 to August 1944
Major General Leroy Hugh Watson served as the third commander of the 3d Armored Division from August 1942 to August 1944.
A 1915 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY ("The class the Stars Fell On"), Watson served in the Pancho Villa Expedition.
Previous to commanding the 3d Armored Division, General Watson commanded the 66th Armored Regiment in 1941. He, next commanded the 40th Armored Regiment from 1941 to 1942. General Watson next commanded Combat Command A, 3d Armored Division from August 1942 to August 1944. Watson led 3rd Armored Division during combat in France beginning in late June 1944 as part of First United States Army. Unhappy with the division's progress in Normandy, in early August 1944, VII Corps commander J. Lawton Collins decided to relieve Watson of command. Collins’ superior, Omar Bradley, a West Point classmate of Watson's, initially disagreed with Collins, but ultimately decided to concur with Collins’ decision. Watson was replaced by MG Maurice Rose.
When Watson was relieved of command, he requested to remain in the area of combat operations in France at any rank rather than return to the United States in a training or administrative role with a general's rank.Impressed by Watson's request, Bradley informed his superior Dwight Eisenhower (another of Watson's West Point classmates) at Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), and they agreed to retain Watson in France. He was reduced in rank to colonel and assigned to Bradley's staff at Twelfth U.S. Army Group Headquarters.
One thing we need to keep in mind is that General Watson was largely responsible for the training of the 3d Armored Division to prepare it for combat. He took over command during the Mohave Desert training and commanded the division through the start of combat in France.
Civilian Career:
After retiring from the Army in 1953, Watson resided in Beverly Hills, California, and was appointed assistant to the president of Fletcher Aviation, with responsibility for providing oversight, advice and guidance for Fletcher's military aviation projects and programs. He was subsequently promoted to vice president and retired from Fletcher following a 1961 heart attack.
A Republican, Watson also served for eight years on the Beverly Hills City Council beginning in 1960. From 1962 to 1963 he served as mayor after being elected by a vote of his peers on the council.
In 1965, Dwight Eisenhower authored a Reader's Digest article on leadership, and cited Watson's relief as commander of the 3rd Armored Division and request to remain in France at a lower rank as a notable example of selfless service. In an interview about the article, Watson began to object to the way Eisenhower had characterized his pre-relief performance but then stopped himself and told the reporter that most of the details in Eisenhower's article were correct, and there was no point in arguing about the rest.
In retirement, Watson was also active with the Winsor Memorial Heart Research Foundation of Los Angeles. The foundation worked with him on the "Watson Project," a procedure Watson devised for clearing obstructed blood vessels.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/128702541/leroy_hugh-watson
Major General Maurice Rose (1899-1945)
August 1944 to March 1945
Born November 26, 1899, in Middletown Connecticut, his U.S. Army career, which spanned 1916 to 1945, Maurice Rose served in both World War I & II. In France in WW I he saw combat as a 19-year-old first lieutenant with the 89th Infantry Div. in the Argonne and at St. Miheil. He was wounded (shrapnel and concussion), spent 3 weeks in a hospital, but returned to his unit against doctor's orders. He was promoted to captain in 1920, shortly after war's end. In WWII, he served with the 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions in North Africa, including combat with the 1st in the battle for Tunisia in 1943, where he earned his first Silver Star. Back with the 2nd Armored Div., he was promoted to Brigadier General just before the invasion of Sicily, where his unit was the first to enter the island's capital, Palermo. With the 2nd Armored in Normandy in June 1944, Gen. Rose's unit beat back a major German force near Carentan. As captured documents later revealed, this action may have saved the whole Normandy beachhead. On August 7, 1944, Gen. Rose was given command of the 3rd Armored Division, receiving his second general's star several weeks later. What then followed was his daring and legendary leadership of the "Spearhead" Division, as its troops aggressively advanced and engaged German forces in northern France, Belgium, Germany, in the Battle of the Bulge, and finally in the heart of Germany itself. In the course of that action, the 3rd Armored achieved a remarkable string of "Firsts" (described in section above). On March 29, 1945, in central Germany, Rose's troops made the longest one-day advance by any Allied Division during the war. Tragically, the next day, Rose was killed in action while trying to locate a forward 3rd Armored unit that had been cut off by German tanks. He was only 45 years old. WWII in Europe was to end five weeks later.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8537258/maurice-rose
Brigadier General Doyle O. Hickey (1892-1961)
March 1945 to June 1945
Brigadier General Doyle O. Hickey was the 5th Commander of the 3d Armored Division. A native of Rector, Arkansas and a lawyer by profession, General Hickey entered the Army in 1917 as a reserve Lieutenant rising to command the 3d Armored Division in World War II. General Hickey joined the division during desert training in California in 1942. General Hickey commanded Combat Command A from Normandy, until General Rose was murdered at Paderborn, Germany. General Hickey assumed command of the division on March 31, 1945, through June 1945. Later promoted to Lieutenant General; Doyle O. Hickey served as the Chief of Staff for the Far East Command during the Korean War.
He retired in Washington D.C. on July 30, 1953, in ceremonies at Fort McNair, after more than 35 years of service.
Hickey died in Jefferson, Louisianna on 20 October 1961 at age 69. He was buried at Live Oak Cemetery in Pass Christian, Harris County, Mississippi. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/51836473/doyle_overton-hickey
Brigadier General Truman Everett Boudinot (1895-1945)
June 1945 to July 1945
Born September 2, 1895, in Hamilton, Iowa, General Boudinot began his career in WW 1. He applied for a regular army commission and became a 2 LT of Cavalry on August 9, 1917. His first assignment was at Ft. Leavenworth, KS. He received promotion to 1LT and CPT while serving in the 8th Cavalry in Texas. After the first world war, he became an instructor at the Cavalry school at Ft. Riley, KS. In 1923 he tried a short stint with the Air Corp but then returned to Cavalry troop duty. He served in the Signal Corp for a time to learn about Communications. He then served a tour in the Philippines. He then was assigned to Infantry School at Ft. Benning, GA. He then returned to Cavalry troop duty with the 1st Cavalry Brigade at Ft. Clark, TX. In 1934 he was assigned to the 463rd Armored Car Squadron at Ft. McPherson, GA. He Graduated from the Command and General Staff College in 1937. Was promoted to Major and took command of 2nd Squadron, 13th Cavalry, 7th Mechanized Brigade at Ft. Knox, KY. After a two-year stint in the Civilian Conservation Corps, he returned to the 2-13 Cav. again. In August 1940 he was promoted to Lt. Colonel and ordered to the Armor Force Replacement Center. In November 1941 he was promoted to colonel and named XO of the US Army Armor Training Center at Ft. Knox. He then assumed command of the 32d Armored Regiment, 3d Armored Division. He bestowed the motto of "Victory or Death" upon this unit, and they served well under this throughout World War 2. In 1944 he took command of Combat Command "B" as a Brigadier General. In June 1945 he assumed command of the 3d Armored Division after first commanding Combat Command "B" which fought many of the hardest and most successful actions encountered by the 3d Armored Division (Spearhead).
From Normandy to the Elbe River, General Boudinot led this big versatile command to final victory. It was no accident Combat command "B" took the first German town to fall to an invader since the Napoleonic days. These same dusty, triumphant tanker, infantrymen and engineers along with their brothers in arms of Combat Command "A" and "Reserve", later led the American First Army into flaming Paderborn to encircle the Ruhr area of industrial Germany.
On November 4, 1975, he was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, Alexandria, Virginia.
https://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/teboudinot.htm
Brigadier General Frank A. Allen Jr. (1896-1979)
July 1945
Frank Albert Allen, Jr. was born on 19 June 1896 in Cleveland, OH. He attended Kenyon College from 1914-17 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry Reserve in August 1917.
During World War I, he was an officer in the 77th Field Artillery in France, participating in the Aisne-Marne, St. Michael and Meuse-Argonne Offensives.
Allen was a Professor of Military Science and Tactics at Norwich University from 1921-23 and was Aide-de-Camp to Major General Dennis E. Nolan from April 1926 - July 1933.
He graduated from Command and General Staff School in 1936 and from the Army War College in 1940.
World War II Service
Allen was a battalion and regimental commander in 5th Armored Division from October 1941 - August 1942. He was Commander of Combat Command "A" in 9th Armored Division from August 1942 - June 1943. He was promoted to Brigadier General in September 1942.
He served as Commander of Combat Command "B" in North Africa June 1943-July 1944 and was Chief of Public Relations at General Dwight Eisenhower's headquarters from September 1944 - July 1945. Allen was Commanding General of 3rd Armored Division July - November 1945.
Retired in November 1956 with the rank of Major General.
Medals and Awards
Distinguished Service Medal
Legion of Merit
Silver Star Medal (3 Awards)
Distinguished Flying Cross
Bronze Star Medal (2 Awards)
Purple Heart (2 Awards)
Death and Burial
Major General Frank Albert Allen, Jr. died on 20 November 1979. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA. https://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/faallenjr.htm
Major General Robert W. Grow (1895-1985)
July 1945 to November 1945
Robert Walker Grow was born on 14 February 1895 in Sibley, IA, the son of John Thomas and Nellie Walker Grow. His mother died when he was 2 years old. John Grow went to Canada to work, and young Robert went to live with his paternal grandparents in Dawson, MN, where he graduated from high school.
Military Career
Grow enlisted in the Minnesota National Guard (MNG) on 24 February 1914, while he was attending the University of Minnesota and served until, he received a commission in the MNG on 17 November 1915. Grow graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1916 and on 5 December 1916 was commissioned as a First Lieutenant of Cavalry in the U.S. Army.
He served as a Captain in the National Army during World War I (non-combat service) from 5 August 1917 to 12 October 1917. On 12 October he was commissioned as a Captain in the Regular Army.
As a Captain, Grow was a student in the Troop Officer's Course of the Cavalry School at Fort Riley, KS, from 1923-24 and, a student in the Advanced Equitation Course of the School in 1924-25. Major Grow attended the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS, during 1928-29 and was a student at the Army War College at Washington Barracks, DC, in 1935-36.
From 13 July 1940 to 3 August 1941, Lieutenant Colonel Grow was the Deputy Chief of Staff of the 2nd Armored Division ('Hell-on-Wheels') when General George S. Patton was its Division Commander. In October 1941, he was promoted to Colonel and assigned as Commanding Officer of the 34th Armored Regiment. He was promoted to the flag rank of Brigadier General in March 1942 and assigned to Combat Command B, 8th Armored Division at Fort Knox, KY, and at Camp Polk, LA. During the latter part of 1942 and in early 1943, he was Commanding Officer, Combat Command A, 10th Armored Division.
In 1943, Major General Grow became Commanding General of the 6th Armored Division ('Super Sixth') in the European Theater of Operations.
Most of the data available for Robert Walker Grow centers on only two events in his career: 1. His command of the U.S. Army's 6th Armored Division during the critical years of 1943-45 in World War II; and 2. His 1952 court-martial. For that reason, this bio focuses on those actions.
World War II
The U.S. Army's 6th Armored Division (Super Sixth') was activated on 15 February 1942 at Fort Knox, KY, and was formed with a cadre from the 2nd Armored Division. In July 1944, 6th Armored landed at Normandy as a follow-on unit and went on the offensive in the Cotentin Peninsula in support of the Normandy Campaign. At the end of that campaign, 6th Armored assembled at Le Mesnil, Normandy, on 24 July.
Two weeks later, the Super Sixth pulled up at the gates of Brest, creating complete chaos enroute and bottling up 40,000 Germans for eventual capture. How the Division, operating in vitally important territory defended by 80,000 Nazis (about six times the Division's strength), made the 250-mile drive in 10 days is a masterpiece of armored operations.
Each member of the Division felt the Super Sixth was destined for greatness. This potent feeling was amplified further on the eve of the 6th's jump-off through Lessay when Maj. Gen. Grow said: "I don't care if we do get so far out in front we are completely surrounded. We've enough firepower and mobility to punch out of anything the Krauts have to offer." The 6th's tactics allowed its racing armored columns to average 25 miles a day; on 3 August it covered 48 miles. The Division captured 4556 prisoners and killed an estimated 4000 enemy soldiers. Over 1000 enemy guns and combat vehicles were knocked out or abandoned during the period. The top prisoner of war captured was Lt. Gen. Karl Spang, Commander of the 266th German Infantry Division.
On 1 August, the 6th Armored Division, among other units, was placed under the command of Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr., Third Army commander. This brought Generals Patton and Grow together for the first time since they were members of the 2nd Armored Division at Ft. Benning, GA.
"These maps are too small. Give me a map large enough so that I won't run off it today." Grow's statement was prompted by the speed of the 6th's advance, which had put maps on the critical supplies list. His armor raced across sections of maps almost before navigators could fix them to boards. "You're doing pretty good, Bob!" Patton told Grow on 4 August. Patton then presented him with a Bronze Star; the first battlefield decoration received by the Super Sixth.
Prisoners were delivered to 6th Armored cages in large numbers: On 10 August, 919 were bagged; next day, 828; another 439 on 12 August. Without a shot fired, another 350 prisoners were taken from coastal artillery strongholds.
The Saar River was reached in 26 days because the 6th had captured 80 towns and villages spreading over 400 square miles. The push was bitterly contested, but now the enemy had his back to the wall; the fight would be waged in the Fatherland. When the last square foot of France in the Division's zone was cleared on 5 December, the count showed 1,216 Nazis prisoners, 202 guns and 143 vehicles captured or destroyed; 73 of which were tanks or self-propelled assault guns.
Bastogne - 30 days of freezing hell! This was the end of the 6th Armored Division's first six months of combat. Withdrawn from the Saar River area 24 December 1944 and put in Corps reserve, the men under Maj. Gen. Grow were rushed to the Third Army front on the south of the Ardennes salient, relieving the 10th Armored Division north of Mersch, Luxembourg.
Five days later, Super Sixth was shifted to positions northeast of the now-famous city. The pocket in which the 101st Airborne and armored units had made such a gallant stand had become a bulge. Facing that bulge was one of the greatest enemy concentrations since the Ardennes Forest offensive began. Still trying desperately to capture Bastogne, the Germans threw everything in the book at the 6th - tanks, infantry, artillery, rockets, and bombs. For 23 snowbound, freezing days, 6th Armored, and the Nazis fought a seesaw battle. Yanks took towns - lost them to numerically superior forces - then recaptured them later. Slowly, the Germans relinquished their grip on the east shoulder of the bulge. Waging strong rear-guard action, they completed their 20-mile withdrawal across the Our River into Germany and the Siegfried Line by 26 January 1945.
For the enemy, Bastogne marked the stumbling block in its Ardennes offensive. For 6th Armored, Bastogne - where it faced the most formidable force of SS and Wehrmacht troops since going operational - it stood as the supreme test. Primed for the thrust, Hitler's troops were the elite of his army, possessing the best equipment, vehicles and supplies. The 6th was greatly outnumbered by the six enemy divisions which applied constant pressure against its entire front.
The snow, ice and sub-freezing weather of Bastogne provided the setting for one of the most severe campaigns ever fought by American troops. Tank turrets froze and had to be chipped free to regain traversing action. Iced breech blocks had to be manually operated. M-1 rifles refused to function until the bolts were beaten back and forth with grenades. When tank escape hatches and doors stuck fast, they got "blow torch" treatment. Ice formed in gas tanks and clogged lines. Men's feet froze and they became so cold they "burned."
Germans held the upper hand for five days, directing tank-infantry teams against the entire front. The tide shifted on 9 January when the 6th began to surge forward reinforced by the 320th Regiment, 35th Infantry Division. It was a grueling ordeal. Nine long, bitter-cold days were needed to push back the enemy four miles, taking the ground astride the Longvilly-Bourcy highway and its now-familiar towns. Germans pulled back from the western-most tip of the salient, and the 6th ploughed forward. Five towns fell quickly to tank-infantry teams making five-mile dashes through heavy snow. Strong rear-guard action was encountered, but five more towns were retaken in two days. The enemy's Ardennes salient was wiped out completely during the next three days. The high ground astride the Skyline Drive was captured.
To adequately describe 6th Armored operations would mean telling the story of every man who took part in its powerful thrusts. It is the story of every team, from division to squads, fulfilling missions due to their ability, fortitude and will. The roll call of the brave is long; otherwise, the 6th could never have achieved its remarkable record. When the Division passed its third anniversary on 15 February 1945 (in its sixth month of combat), 141 men had received Silver Stars; 737 got Bronze Stars; and 15 received direct battlefield commissions. The long road had been filled with obstacles. But in every case, pitfalls like the engagements of Brittany, battles around Nancy, mud of the Saar, and the cold and snow of Bastogne were overcome. During all this intense action, one common thread ran through the variety of missions: complete success. Success that helped open a liberation path from Brest to Bastogne on a road aimed for Berlin!
"I know of no other new division that has accomplished the things we have done in so short a period," Maj. Gen. Robert W. Grow said in praise of his men and officers.
Post World War II Service
Following deactivation of the 6th Armored Division on 18 September 1945, Grow served as Commanding General, 3rd Armored Division, in North-West Europe. During 1945-46, he was Commanding General, 26th Infantry Division and, in 1947-48, he was the Chief of Military Mission with the Persian (Iranian) Army. In 1950, he was Commanding General of Fort Devens, MA, and then a student at the Strategic Intelligence School in Washington, DC. In 1950-51, he was the Senior Military Attaché to Russia, in Moscow.
The Court-Martial
In 1950, Major General Grow was appointed as senior U.S. Military Attaché in Moscow, USSR. In 1952, he made a mistake that resulted in his court-martial. While he was attending a conference in Frankfurt, West Germany, East German agents photographed his personal diary. He was staying at a U.S. Army guest house operated by German personnel and its security was later found to be very slipshod. Grow was accused of using poor judgment by having a diary containing classified information without securing it properly.
Grow's mistake became public when a British defector, Richard Squires, put copies of parts of the diary in a book called On the War Path. His claim was that this information was evidence that Grow was trying to get the U.S. to initiate war against the Soviet Union. In an attempt to prove that this was Grow's intent, Squires stressed comments such as, "It seems to me the time is ripe for a blow this year," and the U.S. should "hit below the belt."
The U.S. Army leadership at the Pentagon was very embarrassed by the incident and all the publicity surrounding it. The Army's Chief of Information said the diary was authentic and that the photos used were obtained as the result of "an inside job." Interestingly though, the Army never questioned whether the story told by Squires was true. And because Grow had been ordered by the Army's Chief of Staff not to speak of the matter publicly, there wasn't any official denial whatsoever of Squires' allegations. [Some of the published "excerpts" were total falsehoods; Squires had distorted others to offer a false perception of Grow's actual views. After the trial, the public learned that many of the views that Squires attributed to Grow were complete fabrications.]
The Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Administration, Lieutenant General Maxwell D. Taylor, and Major General Alexander Bolling, Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, decided to probe into the matter after discussing the issue with the State Department. In due course, the Army told Grow that he could choose voluntary retirement, or a court-martial. Grow believed that he was an effective collector of intelligence and that his diary didn't contain any information that wasn't already known to Soviet State Security. He thought this was simply an attempt by the Russians to have him sent home from Moscow. He also argued that the fact that the diary excerpts were allowed to be published attested to their lack of intelligence value. For that reason, he chose a court-martial.
Although both the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) objected, Grow was charged under Army Regulation 380-5, which deals with the security of Army information. The Army officially stated that it was charging Grow with "improperly recording classified information in private records and failing to safeguard that information." The Army then classified the matter as 'Secret' so the press could be excluded from the trial and the release of information to the public restricted. The trial of General Grow was to be the first high-profile court-martial under the recently enacted Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) that became effective on 31 May 1951.
Grow chose Colonel Robert E. Joseph, a Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps attorney, to defend him. Joseph experienced great difficulties as he attempted to put together Grow's defense. Consider these examples: His request to declassify the "Secret" charge sheet, with all its material intact, was denied. When he requested a temporary duty assignment in Europe so he could interview potential witnesses, permission was denied. Joseph wasn't allowed to view all the pertinent documents, and his numerous requests for copies were denied. He moved to suppress and return the diary, pointing out that Generals Dwight Eisenhower, Mark Clark, and Omar Bradley had all kept-and published-personal journals. When he questioned Generals Bolling and Taylor about their influence over the proceedings, they were totally uncooperative.
After the pretrial investigation was over, the Army filed an additional charge against Grow. The Army alleged that he violated Article 134 of the UCMJ when he recorded the reported plans of the Soviet Far Eastern Revolutionary Committee for a large offensive in Korea in April 1951, by the Chinese Army. Colonel Frederick Matthews, the pretrial investigating officer, recommended a general court-martial that, like the pretrial hearing, was closed to the public.
Argument about the Army's classification of the diary as "Secret" took over the proceedings. Witnesses for the prosecution said its contents were secret; defense witnesses testified that the contents were common knowledge in Moscow's diplomatic circles. When Grow took the stand, he testified that he hadn't recorded anything that wasn't already widely known. "I treated the diary in about the same manner as you would treat a personal letter," he said. "I did not treat it in the sense of a military document, but rather in the sense of a personal classified document."
However, this statement, combined with an earlier remark that the diary had been photographed "in Germany when my security was lax," counted against him. After deliberating for under an hour, the court convicted him of two counts of dereliction of duty and two counts of security infractions. The punishment handed down by the court was a reprimand and a six-month suspension from command. Grow appealed and, in 1957, the case came before President Dwight D. Eisenhower who approved the findings; but commuted the sentence. Grow's trial was a classic case of how the influence of high command can impact the military justice system.
Following the court-martial, in August 1952 MG Grow was assigned to the Center of Military History at Fort McNair in Washington, DC, where he remained until his retirement.
Major General Robert W. Grow, an excellent combat commander, retired in 1953.
Medals and Awards
Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal
Army Commendation Medal
Mexican Border Service Medal
World War I Victory Medal
Occupation of Germany World War I
American Defense Medal
American Theater Campaign Medal
European, African, Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Silver and 3 Bronze Stars
World War II Victory Medal
Army of Occupation Medal
National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Service Star
Distinguished Service Cross Citation
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Major General Robert W. Grow (ASN: 0-4621), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Commanding General of the 6th Armored Division, in action against enemy forces in France, from 10 November 1944 to 22 November 1944. General Grow, while commanding the 6th Armored Division in the Nied and Saar River operations, repeatedly demonstrated a superior degree of personal courage and leadership which inspired his troops to press successfully and relentlessly against the enemy. In the vicinity of Han-sur-Nied, Gros-Tenquin and St. Jean-Rohrdach, with utter disregard for his own safety, he personally directed difficult operations which resulted in the reduction of those strong points. Many times, when his troops encountered exceptionally strong enemy resistance, General Grow personally led forward elements under heavy fire to the successful completion of their missions. General Grow's conspicuous heroism, fearless leadership, and loyal, courageous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 6th Armored Division, and the United States Army.
General Orders: Headquarters, Third U.S. Army, General Orders No. 60 (March 18, 1945) Action Date: November 10 - 22, 1944
In Retirement
After retirement from the Army, Grow became a Director of the Falls Church, VA, Chamber of Commerce.
Family
Robert and Mary Lou Marshall Grow were married on 5 November 1917 in Hamilton, TN, and had three sons: Robert Marshall Grow (1927); infant death (1929); and Walter Thomas Grow (1932-1953). Colonel Robert Marshall Grow (U.S. Army, Retired) is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, Class of 1950, and served in Korea and Vietnam. Walter Thomas 'Tommy' Grow, Cadet, U.S. Military Academy Class of 1954, died from smoke inhalation in a tragic fire on 12 August 1953, while visiting his parents at their home in Falls Church, VA.
The month before his death, General Grow and members of his family attended what his son, Robert, described as a 'great' 6th Division reunion in Florida.
Death and Burial
Major General Robert Walker Grow died on 3 November 1985. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52527878/robert_walker-grow
Major General Ray Tyson Maddocks (1896-1973)
July 1947 to April 1948
Ray Tyson Maddocks was born September 21, 1896, north of Silver City, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Maddocks. He was a Silver City High School graduate in 1912 and Knox College at Galesburg, Illinois. During W.W. I he served overseas as second lieutenant in the Air Force. Ray continued to make the army his career. During W.W. II he served with the operation of the war department general staff as senior Army member of Joint Strategic committee, as senior member of U.S. planner with the Southeast Asia Command in India and Ceylon, and chief of staff and deputy commander, U.S. forces in China theater. He was Commander of the 3d Armored Division (Spearhead) from July 1947 to April 1948.
He was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal and the Army Distinguished Service Medal Second Award for his service in WWII.
He retired from active service in 1951 with the rank of Major General, with many Distinguished Service medals. General and Mrs. Maddocks had two children, Preston and Mimi. MG Maddocks passed away June 8, 1973, in California. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3603484/ray_tyson-maddocks
Major General Roderick R. Allen (1894-1970)
April 1948 to June 1950
Roderick Random Allen, a career Army officer who served in three wars, the son of Jefferson Buffington and Emma (Albers) Allen, was born on January 29, 1894, in Marshall, Texas, and spent his youth in Palestine, Texas. He graduated from Texas A&M in 1915 with a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture. In 1946 A&M granted him an honorary LL.D. degree. On April 25, 1917, he married Maydelle Campbell, the couple reared Nancy Campbell Allen and Gail Random Allen. Allen was commissioned a Second Lieutenant, Sixteenth Cavalry, Regular Army, on November 29, 1916, and subsequently a First Lieutenant. He was stationed at Mercedes, Texas, on the Mexican border. He was transferred to the Third Cavalry in June 1917, was promoted to Captain on October 17, and served with the regiment in France in the American Expeditionary Force. His troop and squadron were on remount duty at six locations. From November 1917 to January 1918 Allen was an aerial observer, First Observation Squadron, Aviation Section, Signal Corps, in World War I. During the spring of 1919 he attended the University of Toulouse in France. In July 1919 he returned with the Third Cavalry to Fort Ethan Allen, Vermont. In 1919-21 and 1923 he rode 300-mile endurance tests in the United States Mounted Service. In 1920 Allen was an instructor, Texas National Guard, Dallas. In February 1921 he transferred to the Sixteenth Cavalry, Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, and in October he moved to the Fourth United States Cavalry. He was a member of the Cavalry Engineer Rifle Team from 1921 to 1923. Beginning in the 1920s Allen graduated from several advanced military schools. He attended the Cavalry School and was assigned (1923) to command Company A, Seventh Cavalry, Fort Bliss, and served as regimental adjutant. He graduated from the Command and General Staff School (1928), was promoted to Major on June 20, and was ordered to the Personnel Section (of which he became chief in 1930), Office of Chief of Cavalry, in Washington, D.C. In 1929 he was Captain of the Cavalry Rifle and Pistol Team. He was an instructor at the Command and General Staff School (1932-34). He graduated from the Chemical Warfare School (1934), the Army War College (1935), and the Naval War College (1936). Allen was a staff officer, Plans and Training Division, War Department, from 1936 to 1940. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on August 1, 1938. During World War II he commanded various armored units. In July 1940 he was operations officer, First Armored Regiment, Fort Knox, Kentucky. In April he was transferred to the Third Armored Division, Camp Beauregard, Louisiana. He was promoted to Colonel, Army of the United States, on October 14, 1941, and took command of the Thirty-second Armored Regiment. Allen became chief of staff, Sixth Armored Division, in January 1942 and was promoted to Brigadier General, Army of the United States, on May 23. He commanded Combat Command A, Fourth Armored, and participated in maneuvers in Tennessee (1942) and California (1942-43). From October 1943 to September 1944, he commanded the Twentieth Armored Division at Camp Campbell, Kentucky. He was promoted to Major General, Army of the United States, on February 23, 1944. He commanded the Twelfth Armored Division in Europe from September 1944 to August 1945. The division was attached to the United States Seventh Army (in France), detached to the First French Army, then to the Third Army to spearhead the Twentieth Corps drive from Trier to the Rhine. His division accompanied the Twenty-first Corps into Austria. From August 1945 to February 1946, he commanded the First Armored in Germany, then was director of operations, plans, and training at European Theater headquarters. He was promoted to Colonel, regular army, on November 1, 1945, and to Brigadier General on January 24, 1948. In the United States he served from October 1947 to April 1948 as director of intelligence, Army Ground Forces, Fort Monroe, Virginia. He was promoted to Major General on May 27, 1949. He commanded the 3d Armored Division at Fort Knox, from 1948 to 1950.
He retired from the U.S. Army 31 May,1954 and resided in Washington, D.C. until his death. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.
https://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/rrallen.htm
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9100526/roderick_random-allen
Brigadier General Raymond E. S. Williamson (1894-1957)
June 1950 to February 1951
Born 1 September 1894 in New York, he was commissioned from the U.S. Military Academy in 1917 as a cavalry officer. He served in 1918 with the Allied Expeditionary Force in WWI. In WWII, he served as the G1 of the 23d (Americal) Division in the Pacific Theater and as the Deputy Commanding General of the 91st Division in the European Theater. After commanding the 3d Armored Division, he served as the Army Attaché in London until 1954 when he retired. His awards included the Silver Star Medal, the Legion of Merit, and three Bronze Star Medals. He died 27 September 1957 at Pebble Beach, California. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. https://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/reswilliamson.htm
Major General Ira Platt Swift (1898-1987)
February 1951 to July 1951
Born 8 February 1898 in Mississippi, he was commissioned a cavalry/infantry officer from the U.S. Military Academy in 1918. In WWII he served as the commander of CCA and G3 of the 9th Armored Division (1943-44) and the Deputy Commanding General of the 82d Airborne Division (1944-45). He was the Deputy CG of the 2d Division (1947-48); Commander of U.S. Forces, Austria (1948-51); CG, 25th Division (1951-52); CG, III Corps (1952-53); and CG, V Corps (1953-54). He retired in 1954 as a Major General.
His awards included the Silver Star Medal, two Legions of Merit, and two Bronze Star Medals.
He died at Winter Park, Florida on 29 July 1987 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49489056/ira_platt-swift
Brigadier General Arthur R. Walk (1895-1953)
July 1951 to October 1951
Born April 11, 1895, in Chambersburg, PA. He was a graduate of Lafayette College, Pennsylvania, in 1917 and entered the Army with a reserve commission in August of that year. He was commissioned in the Regular Army in October 1917 and has since received promotions through the ranks of Brigadier General given on October 3, 1950. Served with the 3d Division in World War 1, he earned six battle stars and achieved the temporary rank of Captain. At the outbreak of WW 2, he was serving as an instructor at the Command and General Staff School and in September 1942 he became commanding officer of the 370th Regimental Combat Team of the 92d Division. Chief of Staff of the 37th Inf. Division, March 1943 until August 1945. CO of the 148th Inf. at Luzon Spring of 1945. Assistant CO of the 6th Inf. Division August 1945.Chief of Staff of the 5th Armored Division at Camp Chaffee, AR in July 1948 and in October 1949 named Commanding Officer of the Division. December of 1950 was named commanding general of Task Force 3.2 of Operation Greenhouse in the Marshall Islands. On July 7, 1951, he was assigned as Commanding General of the 3d Armored Division.
General Walk died 19 April 1953. He received a military service with honors and buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. https://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/arwalk.htm
Brigadier General John Tupper Cole (1895-1975)
November 1952 to December 1952
John Tuper Cole was born 23 July 1895 at West Pont, New York as the son of Calvary Colonel James A. Cole and Marry Tupper, daughter of Major Tullius Tupper, also a Cavalryman and West Point graduate. John T. followed his in his father's footsteps and received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY in the summer of 1913. During his time at the academy, he captained the basketball team and was also active on the football team.
He was a member of the class at West Point which produced more than 55 future general officers, including two Army Chiefs-of-Staff Joseph L. Collins and Matthew B. Ridgeway. Cole graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree, on 20 April 1917, shortly following the United States' entry into World War I and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Calvary Branch. He completed his basic training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, while attached to the 3rd Cavalry Regiment and embarked to France. His regiment was tasked with the operation of three major horse remount depots. The three squadrons were charged with the purchase of horses, mules and forage, the care, conditioning, and training of remounts before issue, and the distribution and issue of remounts to the American Expeditionary Force. and Captain and participated in the
He was later consecutively promoted to First Lieutenant and Captain and participated in support operations of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in late 1918. Following the Armistice, Cole was transferred to the Tank Corps of the American Expeditionary Forces and appointed an instructor at the tank school at Bourg. During his service with the Tank Corps in World War I, he et and befriended George S. Patton.
Upon his return to the United States after WWI, he served with the 3rd Calvary until the summer of 1922, when he entered the Troop Officer's Course at Army Cavalry School at Fort Riley, Kansas and graduated in 1923. Cole then rejoined the 3rd Cavalry for a brief period but was subsequently transferred to the United State Military Academy at West Point, NY as Tactical officer and Instructor in equitation.
Cole spent four years in this capacity and returned to the Army Cavalry School at Fort Riley, Kansas in May 1929 for Troop Officer's advance course, which he completed in June 1929. He then entered the Calvary School Advanced Equitation Course, which he completed in May 1930.
He then joined the Army Horse Show Team and the U.S. Olympic Equestrian Team and was reserve rider during the 1932 summer Olympics. He remained with the Equestrian teams until 1934 and joined the 7th Cavalry Regiment as Commander of the 2nd Squadron. He was garrisoned with that unit at Fort Bliss, Texas until June 1937, when he entered the Army Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and graduated in 1938.
Upon graduating, he was assigned to the 2nd Calvary Regiment at Fort Riley, Kansas and served a Regimental Executive Officer until April 1941, when he succeeded another brilliant equestrian, Harry Chamberlin in command of the Regiment. Cole was promoted to Colonel at that time.
Following the United States entry into WWII, Cole was transferred to the Armored Force in July 1942 and assigned to the 5th Armored Division in October. He later assumed command of the 81st Armored Regiment and remained in command of that unit until September 1943, when was ordered to Pine Camp, New York to rejoin the 5th Armored Division.
He was subsequently appointed Commanding Officer, Combat Command "B" a combined brigade size unit of tanks, armored infantry, armored field artillery battalions and engineer units. He embarked with the division for France in June 1944 and landed on Utah Beach on 24 July 1944. He led his unit during the least phase of the Normandy Invasion and Combat Command "B" participated in combats near Argentan and Dreux.
Coles troops were the first Allied units to cross the German border, when a small patrol form Troop B, 85th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron crossed the Our River boundary at Stalzemburg on 11 September 1944. (REF: Paths of Armor by Richards S. Gardner, Battery Press - Nashville, TN).
Cole then led the CCB during the fighting in the pillbox area beyond Wallendorf in order to draw large German forces from the Aachen area. The CCB then captured the city of Rheindahlen in February 1945 and stopped at the Elbe River on 13 April 1945. During that period, CCB participated in total destruction of Panzer Division Clausewitz.
For his leadership of Combat Command B throughout the war, Coles was decorated with the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, five (5) Bronze Star awards, and Purple Heart for wounds sustained in Combat. The Allies awarded him with several decorations including the Legion of Honor, French Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 with Palm, Belgian Croix de Guerre of Luxembourg War Cross.
After WWII Cole returned to the United States and was promoted to Brigadier General in the 1950's and appointed U.S. member to the Security Council of the United Nations. He served as chief of Advisory Group during the Korean War and helped train the Thailand Armed Forces for combat deployment. For this he was awarded with the Order of the White Elephant by the Government of Thailand.
He later returned as Assistant Division Commander, 3rd Armored Division (Spearhead) and was Acting Division Commander from November 1952 to December 1952 and retired in mid -1953.
He retired to Huntington Bay, New York after 36 years of Army service.
General Cole died on 24 April 1975, aged 79, in Denville, New Jersey and was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. His wife, Janet MacKay Cole is buried beside him. They had a son and a daughter. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/124303264/john-tupper-cole
Major General Richard Warburton Stevens (1902-1977)
December 1952 to January 1954
Born in Pierre, South Dakota on November 15, 1902. He graduated from the US Military Academy in June 1924 and was commissioned a 2 Lt. of Infantry. From 1924 to 1941 he served in various company grades in the 7th, 19th, 25th, 31st, 23rd, and 53rd Infantry Regiments. During World War II he served in grades from Major through Colonel, participating in the Normandy, Northern Europe, Central Europe, Ardennes and the Rhineland campaigns. Following WW II he served as Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, III Corps, Chief of Staff of the 2d Armored Division, Commanding Officer of the 21st Inf. regiment and 24th Inf. Division in Japan and Korea. He participated in the UN Defensive, UN Offensive, CCF Intervention and UN Counter Offensive campaigns in Korea. He served as Special Service Officer, Far Eastern Command, and Commanding General, HQ and Service Command, General HQ, Far Eastern Command. He was promoted Brigadier General October 3, 1951, and Major General on Dec. 18, 1952. He assumed command of the 3d Armored Division on Dec. 19, 1952.
He died 3 January 1977 in Pacific Grove, Monterey California at the age of 74 and was buried in San Fransico.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/99100237/richard_warburton-stephens
Lieutenant General Gordon Byrom Rogers (1901-1967)
October 1953 to April 1955
He was born 22 August 1901 in Manchester, Tennessee.
He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy Military at West Point, New York in 1924, and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Calvary. After graduation, Rogers was assigned to the 1st Calvary Regiment.
In 1929 he completed the Cavalry Officer Course and in 1930 he graduated from the Advanced Equitation Course, both at Fort Riley, Kansas.
For several years, Rogers played on the Army polo team. In 1930, he was a member of the U.S. Olympic Equestrian Team.
During the 1930s, Rogers served with the 10th and 2nd Cavalry Regiments.
In 1939, he graduated from the Army Command and Staff College. He was then assigned the 6th Cavalry at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, where he commanded a calvary troop and then a cavalry squadron.
In February 1942, he joined the 3rd Cavalry Regiment at Fort Benning (Now Ft. Monroe), Georgia,
and soon advanced to regimental commander. He was the final commander of the regiment as a horse cavalry formation, and in the summer of 1942 it fielded tanks and was reorganized as the 3rd Armored Regiment.
In July 1942, Rogers was named deputy chief of staff for intelligence, G-2 at I Corps, during training and mobilization in South Carolina, remaining with the corps during its move to Australia and subsequent combat in the Pacific Ocean Theatre.
Rogers was next assigned as G-2 for Army Ground Forces, serving in this post until September 1945.
After the war, Rogers was assigned to the War Department as chief of the Training Branch in the Office of the Director of Intelligence.
Beginning in September 1946, Rogers took part in the post-war occupation of Japan as commander of the 12th Calvary Regiment and the 5th Calvary Regiment.
In July1949, Rogers was appointed director of intelligence for the Command and General Staff College.
Rogers graduated from the Army War College in 1951, afterwards remaining at the college as a member of the faculty and acting deputy commandant.
In June 1952, Rogers went to Korea as assistant division commander of the 40th Infantry Division.
Shortly after serving as deputy commander, in May 1953 he was named commander of the United States Military Advisory Group to the Republic of Korea, where he served until October 1953.
Following that assignment, he was appointed commanding General of the 3r Armored Division (Spearhead) based at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. Under his command, the division was reorganized from a training unit to a deployable one and plans were made to relocate it to West Germany.
Following his tenure as 3rd Armored Division Commander, Rogers served in Munich, West Germany, as commander of the Southern Area Command and deputy commander of the Seventh Army. In 1958, he became commander of the VII Corps.
From 1959 until his 1961 retirement, General Rogers was deputy commander of the Continental Army Command at Fort Monroe, Virginia.
Retirement
After retirement General Rogers served as Director of the NATO Mutual Weapons Development Team. He and his wife relocated to Seerna Park, Maryland near Washington, D.C.
AWARDS
Distinguished Service Cross (2); Distinguished Service Medal; Silver Star (2); Legion of Merit (3); Purple Heart; Bronze Star Medal (2); and Combat Infantryman's Badge.
Family and Death
He died at Walter Reed Hospital on 3 July 1967 and was buried with his wife at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.
https://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/gbrogers.htm
Rogers and his wife Mary Louise Watson had several children including Gordon Byrom Rogers, Jr. (born 21 October 1934) who like his father, graduated from the West Point Military Acadamy in 1957 and was a career Army officer who served in the Viet Nam War and attained the rank of Brigadier General Gordon, Jr. served in the 3rd Armored Division (Spearhead) as battalion commander of the 2nd Battalion 33rd Armored Regiment in the 1st Brigade at Ayers Kaserne, Kirchgoens, Germany 1976-1978.
Major General John Murphy Willems (1901-1976)
April 1955 to July 1956
Born 24 December 1901 in Kansas, he was commissioned a field artillery officer from the U.S. Military Academy in 1925. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic Riding Team in 1936. In WWII he served as the Chief-of-Staff of II Corps in the Mediterranean Theater. He was the Military Attaché to Italy (1946-49); the Division Artillery Commander for 2AD (1950-52); assigned to the Army Office of the Assistant Chief-of-Staff (1952-55); CG of 3AD (1955-56); assigned to HQ's USAREUR (1956-59); and served as Army Assistant Chief-of-Staff (G-1) (1959-61).
He retired as a Major General in 1961. His awards included the Distinguished Service Medal, two Legions of Merit, and the Bronze Star Medal.
He died in San Diego, California on 14 September 1976 and is buried in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, California.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3439384/john-murphy-willems
General Robert William Porter, Jr. (1908-2000)
July 1956 to January 1958
Born 29 April 1908 in Nebraska, he was commissioned a cavalry officer from the U.S. Military Academy in 1930. In WWII, he served as the G2 of the 1st Division and in the G3 Section of II Corps. He attended the Naval War College (1950); commanded the 2d Armored Cavalry in Germany (1950-51); assigned HQ's Allied Land Forces Central Europe (1951-52); Chief-of-Staff X Corps in the Korean War; served on the Army Staff (1960-62); Commanding General, 1st Army (1964-65); and Commander Southern Command and the Canal Zone (1965).
He retired in 1969 as a Four Star General and became a tree farmer in Virginia. He was Virginia Tree Farmer of the Year in 1995.
His awards include two Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, and the Bronze Star Medal.
He died at age 91 on 22 April 2000 in Charlottesville, Virginia after a heart attack, just days before his 92nd birthday. He is buried in Porter Family Cemetery at Hood, Madison County, Virginia. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/106698382/robert_william-porter
Major General Thomas Fraley Van Natta, III (1906-1988)
January 1958 to July 1959
Born on 10 November 1906 in the Philippines, he was commissioned a cavalry officer from the U.S. Military Academy class of 1928. During WWII, he served in Paraguay (1941-43), and on the staff and as Combat Liaison Officer at HQ's, China-Burma-India (1944-45). He served in the 2d Armored Division (1950-51); 1st Armored Division (1951); as G2 of 8th Army in the Korean War (1952-53); as G2 of the Office of the Chief of Army Field Forces in DC (1953); Commander 3AD (1958-59); Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence at USAREUR (1959-61); at HQ's Continental Army Command (1961-62); and as Director of the Inter-American Defense College (1962-63).
He retired in 1963 as a Major General.
His awards included two Distinguished Service Medals, two Legions of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, and two Air Medals.
He died 13 September 1988 at Santa Barbara, California and was buried with military honors at United States Military Academy Post Cemetery at West Point, New York. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/125956821/thomas_fraley-van_natta He was survived by his wife Mary Jane McComb and their son Thomas Van Natta (1931-2014), also a graduate of the United States Military Academy-West Point.
Lieutenant General Frederic J. Brown II (1905-1971)
July 1959 to October 1960
Born on 9 July 1905 in South Dakota, he was commissioned a field artillery officer from the U.S. Military Academy in 1927. In WWII, he served as the 3d Armored Division DIVARTY Commander. He attended the Naval War College (1947); served at HQ's EUCOM (1950); was the Assist. Chief-of-Staff for Operations at HQ's USAREUR (1952); Assist. Chief-of-Staff at HQ's EUCOM (1952-54); Commander 3AD (1959-60); Commander V Corps (1960); Commander, Headquarters Allied Land Forces Southern Europe (1962-63); Commander Sixth Army (1963-65);
He retired in 1965 as a Lieutenant General.
His LTG Frederic J. Brown, III ((July 18, 1934 – May 15, 2024) https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/frederic-brown-obituary?id=55189369 ) followed in his father's footsteps and was a career Army officer who attained the rank of Lieutenant General. He also served in the 3d Armored Division (Spearhead) as platoon leader, battalion staff officer and company commander in the 1st Battalion 33rd Armor in West Germany from March 1957 to December 1959, including assignments as a platoon leader, battalion staff officer, and company commander.
General Creighton Williams Abrams Jr. (1914–1974)
October 1960 to May 1962
Born 15 September 1914 in Springfield, Massachusetts, he was commissioned a cavalry officer from the U.S. Military Academy- West Point in 1936. He served with the 7th Cavalry at Ft. Bliss (1936-40), and with the 1st Armored Division at Ft. Knox (1940-41). In WWII, he served as a battalion commander and Combat Command commander with the 4th Armored Division. He commanded the 63d Tank Battalion and the 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment in Germany (1949-52); served as for I, X, and IX Corps in the Korean War; as Deputy CG of 3AD (1959-61); as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, USAREUR Staff (1960); CG, 3AD (1960-62); on the Army Staff (1963); commander, V Corps (1963-64); Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (1964-67); Deputy Commander and Commander of U.S. Forces in Vietnam (1968-72); and Chief-of-Staff of the Army (1972-74).
His awards included two Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Star Medals, two Legions of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal for Valor: two Defense Distinguished Service Medals, and four Distinguished Service Medals.
Time Magazine Cover featuring General Abrams, 19 April 1968
General Abrams died due to complications of surgery to remove a cancerous lung while serving as Army Chief of Staff and was buried with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery Virginia.
The M1 Abrams tank, a third-generation main battle tank, brought into use in 1980 is named in honor of General Abrams.
Major General John Ramsey Pugh (1909-1994)
May 1962 to February 1964
Born 27 July 1909 in Pennsylvania, he was commissioned a cavalry officer from the U.S. Military Academy in 1932. In WWII, he was the G2 of I Corps in the Philippines. He was captured at Corregidor and was a prisoner of war from 1942 to 1945. After WWII, he commanded the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment in the 82d ABN Division (1949-50); commanded the 2d Squadron, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment (1950-51); served on the Army G3 Staff (1951-53); served with the CIA (1953-54); attended the Naval War College (1955); served as Chief-of-Staff of the Berlin Command (1957-58); was the G3 of 8th Army in Korea (1960); was Chief-of-Staff of 2d Army (1960-62); Commander, 3d Armored Division (1962-64); and Commander, VI Corps (1964-66).
He retired as a Major General in 1966.
His awards included three Silver Star Medals, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star Medal. He died at Round Hill, Virginia on 2 March 1994.
General Berton E. Spivey Jr. (1911-1997)
February 1964 to March 1965
Berton Everett Spivy, Jr. was born in Muskogee, OK, on 22 December 1911, to Berton Everett and Maude Bramlette Spivy, who were from Bonham, TX. Berton E. Spivy, Jr. began his military career at the U.S. Military Academy. Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1934, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Field Artillery. He attended the Battery Officers' Course, the Field Officers' Course, and instructed at the U.S. Army Field Artillery School, located at Fort Sill, OK. He also attended the British Land/Air Warfare School and the National War College.
Spivy held a variety of staff and command positions in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. During World War II, he served as the Chief of the Field Artillery Branch, G-1, Army Ground Forces and later deployed to Southern France where he joined the Seventh U.S. Army and served as the Plans and Operations Officer of the Seventh Army Artillery Section for the remainder of the war.
Upon returning to the U.S., he served as the Deputy G-4, First U.S. Army, at Fort Bragg, NC, and later commanded the 15th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, at Fort Lewis, WA. Other assignments included duty as the Commandant of the Special Weapons School and Commander of the Special Weapons Unit Training Group for the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, Sandia Base, NM.
Promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in 1959, Spivy became the Commander of the 7th Infantry Division Artillery in Korea. In 1960, he returned from Korea to command the 1st Field Artillery Missile Brigade at Fort Sill. In the following years, he served in a variety of joint staff positions to include Chief of the JCS Liaison Group to the Director, Joint Strategic Target Planning and as the Director, Plans and Operations (J-3), Headquarters, U.S. European Command. He later returned to commanding troops in a two-year assignment as Commander of the 3rd Armored Division until March 1965.
In April 1965, Spivy was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and served as the Director for Plans and Policy (J-5) in the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; subsequently, in April 1967, he was appointed Director of the Joint Staff. Promoted to the rank of General in July 1968, Spivy served as the U.S. Representative to the NATO Military Committee until his retirement in July 1971.
In Retirement
After retiring from the Army, Spivy worked for the next twenty years as a consultant for Martin Marietta, advising on military weapons.
Death and Burial
General Berton Everett Spivy, Jr. died of cancer on 26 November 1997 at Baylor Hospital in Dallas, TX. He is buried at Andice Cemetery in Andice, Williamson County, TX.
He was survived by his second wife, LaNeil Wright Spivy, and two sons. His first wife, Frances Woolfolk Spivy, preceded him in death in 1988.
Major General Walter T. Kerwin (1917-2008)
March 1965 to October 1966
General Walter T. Kerwin, Jr., former 3AD CG passed away July 12, 2008, at age 91. He was Spearhead's CG March 1965 to October 1966.
Quoting from AUSA's news; "Kerwin, a 1939 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point with a commission in field artillery, is heralded as the champion of the “One Army” or “Total Army” concept."
A four-star at retirement, General Kerwin was also instrumental in ending the Draft.
Major General W. G. Dolvin (1916-1991)
October 1966 to April 1968
Welborn Griffin Dolvin Sr. (February 8, 1916 – May 17, 1991) was a Lieutenant General in the United States Army. He was a veteran of WWII, Korean War and the Viet Nam War. He is the recipient of Distinguished Cross and four Silver Stars. He served as commander of the XXIV Corps from 1971 to 1972. Dolvin is one of the 50 most top decorated American veterans.
Dolvin was married to Cynthia Kent Burress, the daughter of LTG Withers A. Burress in 1949. They had three children and four grandchildren.
His commands in the U.S. Army were:
Headquarters Company, 756th Tank Battalion
191st Medium Tank Battalion
8072nd Medium Tank Battalion
89th Medium Tank Battalion
Combat Command A, 4th Armored Division
3rd Armored Division (Spearhead)
XXIV Corps
IX Corps IX
Awards
Distinguished Service Cross, Army Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star (4), Legion of Merit (3), Bronze Star, Purple Heart (3), Air Medal, Department of Distinguished Civilian Service Award
Dolvin died on May 17, 1991, due to cardia arrhythmia related to asthma. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, in Virginia.
Major General Donald H. Cowles (1917-1989)
April 1968 to August 1969
Born 10 September 1917, died 4 February 1989. Buried with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery beside his wife, Lois.
Served in the 4th Armored Division in WWII.
He received the Silver Star.
Retired as a Lieutenant General.
Major General Morgan G. Roseborough (1919-2002)
August 1969 to May 1971
He was born at Greenwood, Mississippi in 1919 and died 11 January 2002 at Osprey Village on Amelia Island, Florida where he resided since his retirement from the Army in 1975 after 36 years in the U.S. Army.
He served in WWII, the Korean Conflict (War), and the Viet Nam Conflict (War).
He was assistant Division Commander of the 9th Infantry Division during Viet Nam, the served as Division Commander of the 3rd Armored Division (Spearhead) in West Germany. He also served as 1st Army Readiness Region Commander.
He was a recipient of the Silver Star in WWII and the Army Distinguished Service Medal in Viet Nam.
In retirement he was a founding member of Habitat for Humanity in Nassau County, Florida. He was an avid tennis player, enjoyed golf and fishing.
He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.
Major General William R. Kraft Jr. (1919-2010)
May 1971 to March 1973
He was born 22 January 1919 at Kingston, New York,
Graduated from US Military Academy at West Point in 1934. His first assignment was with the 15th Calvary in WW II. While there he served as escort officer for Prime Minister Winston Churchill on his first visit to France after D-Day. He said that was a highlight of his 35-year military career according to his obituary.
He served in WWII and Viet Nam.
He received the Army Distinguished Service Medal.
He died 23 December 2010, at Falcons Landing Retirement Community in Potomac Falls, Virginia after a brief illness. Survivors are his wife of 68 years, Helen Kraft, two daughters and a son and five grandchildren. He was buried with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.
Major General Jonathan R. Burton (1919-2019)
March 1973 to June 1975
Major General Burton born in 1919 at Berwyn, Cook County, Illinois and was always a horse lover from his youth. He enrolled in the ROTC Horse Calvary Division at Michigan State University and upon graduation headed to Fort Riley, Kansas headquarters of the U.S. Calvary School. Enrolled as a Second Lieutenant in the ninth basic horsemanship class, he studied weapons administration, riding, shoeing, veterinary procedures, conditioning, marching, planning maneuvers, pathfinding, night compass course, and stable management. When WWII broke out, Burton and his unit were sent to Australia to prepare to fight under General Mcarthur's command and from there shipped to New Guinea. At the close of the war Burton headed back to Fort Riley for Advanced Horsemanship. For the 1948 Olympic games was selected for both the show-jumping and three-day eventing teams but ultimately on the show jumping team. Eight years later at the 1956 Stockholm Olympics he competed for USET on the three-day eventing team.
After retirement from the Army, Burton he continued working with the equestrian community serving as Executive Vice President of the U.S. Equestrian Team and President of the U.S. Combined Training Association. His accolades include induction to the USEA Hall of Fame and the US Dressage Association Hall of Fame.
He died 29 May 2019, aged 99 at Tucson, Pima County Arizona. He as buried with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery Virginia (Section 60 Grave 536). He was preceded in death by his wife Joan. He was survived by a son Jonathan "Jock" Rowell Burton, Jr., of Chesterfield, Virginia and a daughter Judith Lewis (Don) of Tucson, Arizona.
Major General Charles J. Simmons (1925-2014)
June 1975 to November 1977
He was born 1 September 1925 to George and Maurine Simmons and raised in Amarillo, Texas. Simons was first commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Calvary up graduation of the United States Military Academy -West Point in 1946.
His first assignment was in Austria, where he served as Aide to the United States High Commissioner, and met and married to his wife of 63 years, Joanne Swift. Upon his return to the U.S., he received his MA Degree from Columbia University and then assigned to the faculty of the U.S. Military Academy-West Point.
From 1958 to 1960 he served with the Eighth Army in Korea. He then was assigned to rejoin the U.S. Military Academy- West Point from 1961 to 1963. He then served in Viet Nam from 1966 to 1967. His next assignment brought him a promotion to Colonel and to the First Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division in Germany as Brigade Commander and later another promotion to Brigadier General and appointment as the Assistant Division Commander of the 3rd Infantry Division. His next assignment brought him the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. and then promoted to Major General and assigned to the 3d Armored Division (Spearhead) as its Division Commander from 1975 to 1977 and then received orders and appointed as Deputy Commander in Chief, U.S. Army Europe (USAEUR) and Seventh Army.
Awards: Army Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit (Viet Nam), Legion of Merit Second Award
In 1978, as a Lieutenant General, he retired from the Army. He and his wife moved to Williamsburg, Virginia where he resided until his death at age 88 in 2014.
He received a military funeral with honors and buried in Arlington National Cemetery at Alexandria Virginia.
Major General Wallace H. Nutting (1928-2023)
November 1977 to September 1979
He was born 3 June 1928 at Newton, Maine to Gerry and Ethel Nutting.
He attended schools in Saco and joined the Main National Guard at the age of 14 from 1942-44. After graduating Phillps Exeter Academy he received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in the last class of Calvary Officers, and graduated in the class of 1950 with a B.A. in military engineering.
He saw combat in the Korean Conflict (War) where he received the Silver Star, Two Purple Hearts and the Soldiers Medal for saving a female civilian Korean from a mine field.
His commands include two tours in Viet Nam: the 1st Squadron, 10th Calvary, 4th Infantry Division; the 3d Armored Division (Spearhead) (1977-1979); United States Southern Command (1979-1983); United States Readiness Command (1983-1985).
In 2003 Nutting was urged to run for Mayor of Biddeford, Maine and was elected and later ran for re-election unopposed.
On 28 May 2008, Nutting received the West Point Distinguished Graduate Award from the Academy's Association of Graduates at ceremonies held at the USMA-West Point.
General Nutting died at age 95, 17 August 2023 at Saco, Maine surrounded by his family. Private services and a public internment were held 24 August 2023 at the Laurel Hill Cemetery, Saco, Maine.
Lieutenant General Walter F. Ulmer Jr. (1929-Living, age 95)
September 1979 to February 1982
Born 2 April 1929 in Bangor, Maine, Walter Ulmer graduated from West Point in the Class of 1952. Commissioned a second lieutenant of Armor, he was immediately immersed in the rigors of unit leadership, commanding companies in the 56th Amphibious Tank and Tractor Battalion in Korea, the 6th Tank Battalion, 24th Infantry Division in Japan, and the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. He holds Master Parachutist and Combat Infantryman Badges and decorations from the U.S., Korea, and Vietnam. During these assignments, the development of practical advice for junior leaders became one of his life-long professional interests.
In 1958, he was assigned to the Department of Military Topography and Graphics at West Point, and, following that tour, he attended the Command and General Staff College. After graduation he deployed to Vietnam, serving with the U.S. Military Assistance Command and as senior advisor to a Vietnamese Infantry regiment. Upon his return to the United States, he held high-level staff positions and commanded the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry, 82nd Airborne Division from 1967 to 1968.
General Ulmer then attended the Army War College and was subsequently selected for duty on its faculty. There, he directed a comprehensive and seminal study of leadership within the Army, profoundly influencing the way its techniques were inculcated throughout the Army of the 1970s.
NEWSWEEK MAGAZINE COVER 9 July 1984 featuring General Ulmer
In 1972, then-Colonel Ulmer returned to Vietnam, where he was Chief, Combat Assistance Team 70, during 62 days of intense combat in the Battle and Siege of An Loc. For its extraordinary heroism against a North Vietnamese force greatly outnumbering the Army Republic of Vietnam defenders, Combat Assistance Team 70 was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. The citation documents the team’s pivotal role in turning back the North Vietnamese Army’s massive surprise offensive of 1972. During the fighting, Ulmer and his team coolly coordinated vital operations while An Loc was pounded day and night by the war’s heaviest and most sustained artillery and tank assaults. The team’s actions helped to save Saigon for another three years, assuring the safe withdrawal of the remaining U.S. combat forces in Vietnam, and assisting in making possible the January 1973 peace agreement and release of American prisoners of war.
In 1973, General Ulmer completed a master’s degree in Regional Planning from Pennsylvania State University. Subsequently, he was commander of the 194th Armor Brigade and then, Deputy Commander, U.S. Army Armor Center, Fort Knox, Kentucky.
In 1975, Brigadier General Ulmer returned to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York as the 56th Commandant of Cadets. In 1975, where he presided over the first admission of female cadets, and one of West Point's biggest embarrassments, the Class of 1977 cheating scandal involving several hundred of the junior classmen (Ulmer recommended expulsion of all cadets found guilty of cheating on an electrical engineering exam but was overruled).
General Ulmer commanded the 3rd Armored Division in Germany and, later, during his service as Commanding General, III Corps, Fort Hood Texas. Following promotion to Lieutenant General, he commanded III Corps from 1982 to 1985 In 1985.
General Ulmer retired after thirty-three years of distinguished military service. His awards and decorations include the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal with "V" Device, and decorations awarded by the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Vietnam, and the Federal Republic of Germany.
He has lectured on leadership in the US, Europe, Australia, Japan, and the former Soviet Union. In November 2017, he received the Patriot Award from the American Heroes for North Carolina organization as a veteran who has made “significant business contributions” to our community, and “greatly impacted our community, state, or nation.” His book, A Military Leadership Notebook: Principle into Practice.
The General and his wife Marty have three married sons, eleven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. They have spent twenty of their seventy-two years of marriage in North Carolina, including two tours at Fort Bragg.
Major General Thurman E. Anderson
February 1982 to March 1984
He was born 2 June 1932 at Glennville, Georgia.
His years of Army service were 1953-1986.
Major assignments included Comptroller, United States Army Forces Command, Atlanta, 1978-1980; Commanding General, 2d Armored Division, Garlstedt, Federal Republic Germany, 1980-1982; and Commanding General, 3d Armored Division, Frankfurt, Federal Republic Germany, 1982-1984.
MG Anderson was "permitted to retire despite findings of military courts that he had improperly attempted to influence drug prosecutions on a mass scale while commander of the 3d Armored Division." SOURCE: Military Justice May Have Some 'General' Flaws: January 3, 1993, By Steve McGonigle and Ed Timms: Dallas Morning News, NY Time and Associated Press"
"A United Press Internal News Wire article was published in papers around the country 29 November 1985 entitled Army Commanders Accused of Tainting Courts-Martial by Neil Roland: Washington- "Five Army commanders have been accused before the military's highest court of illegally taking action to discourage troops from testifying as defense witnesses in 55 courts-martial.
One Commander, MG Therman Anderson already has been found by the Army Court of Military Review, a lower court, possibly to have tainted 125 other court cases. The 125 findings of this influence by Anderson represent the most involving any American military commander in recent memory said BG Donald Hansen who supervises the Army Judicial System."
He was part of the Library of Congress Veterans History Project Collection, Collection # AFC/2001/001/121071 in video format.
Lieutenant General Richard G. Graves (1933- Living, age 92)
March 1984 to June 1986
Lieutenant General (Ret.) Richard G. Graves was born in Tangier, Indiana on 30 October 1933. He was commissioned in Armor and awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree from the United States Military Academy in 1958. He also holds a Master of Arts Degree in Political Science from Indiana University. His military education includes completion of the Armor Officer Basic Course, the Infantry Officer Advanced Course, the Armed Forces Staff College, and the Army War College.
General Graves last served as Commander of III Corps at Fort Hood, Texas. Prior to serving as Commander of III Corps, he served as the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, Washington, D.C. He also has served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations with the United States Army Forces Command, Fort McPherson, Georgia. General Graves has served in Europe as Commander, 3d Armored Division (Spearhead); Commander 3d Brigade, 8th Infantry Division (Mechanized); Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, V Corps; Chief of the War Plans Division, ODCSOPS, USAREUR and as a Brigade Executive Officer in the 1st Armored Division. General Graves had two tours of duty in Vietnam, first as an advisor with the Military Assistance Command and later as an Infantry Brigade Executive Officer and Squadron Commander of the 1st Squadron, 1st U.S. Cavalry. He served at Fort Hood from 1979 to 1983 as Chief of Staff of the 2nd Armored Division and III Corps and Fort Hood, and Assistant Division Commander, 1st Cavalry Division.
General Graves' decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster), the Distinguished Flying Cross (with Oak Leaf Cluster), the Bronze Star with V device (with two Oak Leaf Clusters), the Meritorious Service Medal, several Air Medals and the Army Commendation Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster). He has also earned the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Army Parachutist Badge, and the Ranger Tab.
General Graves retired from the Active Army on 1 August 1991. On 1 January 1992, he accepted employment with General Dynamics Corporation as a Division Vice-President in Land Systems Division. After serving four years in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and two years at Corporate Headquarters in Falls Church, Virginia, General Graves took a second retirement on 31 December 1998 from General Dynamics Corporation.
General Graves is married to the former Beverly (Bev) Fewell. They have three children: William, Thomas and Myra Wright, and seven grandchildren.
Lieutenant General Thomas Norfleet Griffin Jr. (1933 -2020)
June 1986 to March 1988
Thomas Griffin, Lieutenant General (retired), was born 16 January 1933 at Schofield Barracks, HI., he had a long and distinguished military career. He served for 35 years, most recently as Chief of Staff, Allied Forces, Southern Europe. In that position, he was responsible for the coordination of an international staff of more than 1,000 personnel from nine countries.
Thomas N. Griffin, Jr., was commissioned as a second lieutenant of the infantry upon graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1956. His first assignment was to West Germany, where he served as a platoon leader and company commander. In 1960-1963, he served with the Third Infantry at Fort Myer, Virginia, as a company commander and the Regimental Adjutant. He was assigned to the Republic of Vietnam in 1965, serving as advisor to a Vietnamese Ranger unit. He then served with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as a brigade operations officer then as the Commanding Officer of a battalion in the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment.
In 1968, he was assigned to the Academy, where he served as a tactical officer, regimental executive officer, and the Regimental Commander of the 4th Regiment of the Corps of Cadets. In 1971, he returned to Vietnam, where he served with the 101st Airborne Division as a brigade executive officer and a deputy brigade commander. He then served for four years at Fort Ord, California, where he commanded a basic training battalion and then was Operations Officer for the 7th Infantry Division.
Griffin then went to Washington, D.C., to serve as an assignment officer in the U.S. Army Military Personnel Center. After that, he was stationed in the Republic of Korea, commanding the 3rd brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division. He then became Chief of the Readiness Division in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations in the Pentagon.
In 1981, Griffin was assigned as Chief of Colonels Division in the Military Personnel Center. In 1982, upon promotion to brigadier general, he became the Deputy Director for Plans and Policy in the U.S. Pacific Command at Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii. Later, he was made the Assistant Division Commander (Maneuver), 3rd Armored Division, in Giessen, West Germany. During that assignment, he was also Community Commander of the Giessen Military Community. A year later, he was assigned to command the Army's Berlin Brigade and the Berlin Military Community. In 1986, Griffin returned to the 3rd Armored Division as its Commander. Concurrently, he was Commander of the Frankfurt Military Community. After promotion to lieutenant general, he was assigned as the Chief of Staff, Allied Forces Southern Europe, in Naples. He retired in 1991.
General Griffin holds an MS degree in International Affairs from George Washington University. He is a graduate of the College of Naval Command and Staff and the Naval War College. He spent a year as a Senior Fellow in the Executive Seminar in National and International Affairs with the Department of State and completed the Executive Program of the Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia.
General Griffin's awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Army Distinguished Service Medal (two awards), the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Air Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), the Joint Services Commendation Medal, and two Army Commendation Medals. He also received the Gallantry Cross with Gold Star and the Staff Service Medal from the Republic of Vietnam.
Griffin participated with the West Point Military Academy Oral History Project where a video of him discussing his times as a youth at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese made their attack 7 December 1941 and discuss his military career and experiences. (https://www.westpointcoh.org)
He died suddenly 6 April 2020, age 87, after celebrating his 63rd anniversary with his wife Jane in their home at Fairfax, Viginia. He received a funeral with military honors and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia (Section 48 Grave 782).
General George Alfred Joulwan (1939 – living, age 86)
March 1988 to July 1989
George Alfred Joulwan (born November 16, 1939, Pottsville, Pennsylvania) was a U.S. general, and is now a businessman. Joulwan studied at the United States Military Academy and Loyola University.
He served from June 1966 to November 1967 and from June 1971 to January 1972 in Vietnam.
As the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, he conducted over 20 operations in the Balkans, Africa, and the Middle East. When the United States sent forces into Bosnia in the 1990s, General Joulwan played the leading role in troop deployment, earning praise by President Clinton upon Joulwan's retirement.
As SACEUR, General Joulwan created a strategic policy for the United States military engagement in Africa, which was the first time in U.S. history that such a policy had been crafted.
His efforts have built a foundation for a Europe that is safe, secure, and democratic well into the 21st century. . . . General Joulwan's leadership and wise counsel will truly be missed in the senior decision-making ranks of our national security structure.
President William J Clinton's statement
on the retirement of General Joulwan
23 December 1996
West Point
George Joulwan earned his college degree at the US Military Academy at West Point, New York. At West Point, he played football and basketball, earning two varsity letters as a football lineman. Later in his career, General Joulwan earned a master's degree from Loyola University (Chicago) in political science.
Vietnam
General Joulwan served from June 1966 to November 1967 and from June 1971 to January 1972 in Viet Nam. He attended the Army War College and served on the Staff and Faculty until 1979. He commanded the 2nd Brigade,3d Infantry Division (Mechanized), from June 1979 to September 1981, when he became Chief of Staff, 3rd Infantry Division.
White House

Joulwan served as special assistant to General Alexander Haig while still a Major within the U.S. Army, when Haig was serving as White House Chief of Staff from 4 May 1973 to 21 September 1974.
National leadership
He served in various functions at the Pentagon from 1982 until June 1986, when he became the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, United States Army Europe and U.S. Seventh Army, Germany.
In March 1988 he was given command of the 3d Armored Division (Spearhead) and in 1989 he became Commanding General, U.S. V Corps.
From November 1990 until October 1993he was Commander in Chief of United States Southern Command.
He served as the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) from 1993 to 1997, when he was succeeded by General Wesley Clark. He retired from command after serving in NATO.
LTG Paul E. Funk (1940 - Living, age 85)
July 1989 to April 7, 1991
Paul E. Funk, Lieutenant General was born March 10, 1940, is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant general who served as Commanding General, III Corps from 1993 to 1995. He, is also the father of the of U.S. Army 4-star General Paul E. Funk, Jr. He, was previously Commanding General, U.S. Armor Center and Fort Knox, Kentucky from 1992 to 1993 and Commanding General, 3d Armored Division (Spearhead) during the Gulf War from 1990 to 1991; when the Division distinguished itself as part of the VII Corps, during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. LT General Funk is the only Division Commander to lead the Division in combat since World War II.
Currently, he is Program Director of the Education and Technology Applications Division at The University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Advanced Technology, and is a member of the Army Science Board.
General Funk was born in Roundup, Montana. He holds a Doctor of Education and a Masters in Psychological Counseling from Montana State University. He earned Distinguished Military Graduate honors from Montana State University, where he was commissioned a second lieutenant.
His military education includes Armor Officer Basic and Armor Officer Advanced Course, Helicopter Flight School, the Armed Forces Staff College, and the Army War College.
General Funk has held a number of command positions, from platoon through division, leading to his assignment as the Commanding General, III Corps and Fort Hood, Texas. He served as the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Armor Center and Fort Knox, Kentucky, from June 1992 to October 1993. He was the Commanding General of the National Training Center and Fort Irwin, Fort Irwin, California; Assistant Division Commander, 9th Infantry Division (Motorized) Fort Lewis, Washington; Commander of the 194th Separate Armored Brigade; and 5th Battalion, 33rd Armor, Fort Knox, Kentucky. Other assignments at Fort Hood include Deputy G3 for Training; III Corps; Chief of Staff, 1st Cavalry Division; and several Platoon Leader assignments with the 2nd battalion, 13th Armor, 1st Armored Division. Other key assignments include Vice Director, J3, the Joint Staff, Washington, D.C., and Assistant Commandant, U.S. Army Armor School, Fort Knox, Kentucky. General Funk served a combat tour in Vietnam as Executive Officer and then Commander of Troop A, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division. He commanded four companies/troops and led 3 platoons. General Funk has also served in the Republic of Korea.
His awards and decorations include: the Distinguished Service Medal (with two Oak Leaf Clusters); Defense Superior Service Medal; Legion of Merit (with two Oak Leaf Clusters); Distinguished Flying Cross; Bronze Star Medal (with two Oak Leaf Clusters); Meritorious Service Medal (with three Oak Leaf Clusters); Air Medal with “V” device (and twenty-five Oak Leaf Clusters); Army Commendation Medal with “V” device (and three Oak Leaf Clusters); Vietnam Service Medal (with three Oak Leaf Clusters); Kuwait Liberation Medal; Saudi Service Medal (with three bronze stars); the Army Aviator Badge, and; the Joint Chief of Staff Identification Badge.
From the "Saudi Spearhead"
Issue 6 - April 15, 1991, By SPC Don Parker, 148th Public Affairs Detachment
"On April 7,1991, the Spearhead Division bid an emotional farewell to Maj. Gen. Paul E. Funk, the man who had guided the division to victory over the Iraqi Republican Guard and welcomed as its new commander another veteran of the conflict, Maj. Gen. Jerry R. Rutherford.
To close the circle, 3rd AD Assistant Division Commander for Maneuver, Brig. Gen. Paul "Gene" Blackwell, has assumed command of 2nd AD (Forward). Funk, whom 7 Corps Commander Frederick M. Franks hailed at the change of command ceremony as "a master of mounted armored warfare," will place his battle-honed expertise directly at the service of Pentagon planners as an Army Deputy Chief of Staff.
Funk's last official act as Spearhead commander was accepting the Distinguished Service Medal, the nation's second-highest battle decoration. Franks pinned the medal to the left pocket of Funk's DCU jacket in recognition of Funk's role in leading 3rd AD to decisive victory over three opposing Iraqi armored divisions in only four days."
He was selected as one of the top 100 graduates in the first 100 years from Montana University. In 1998, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Engineering from Montana State.
LTG Jerry R. Rutherford (Living)
April 7, 1991, to February 1992
Jerry Rutherford is a native of Joplin, Missouri. He, graduated from Pittsburg State University with a BA in Journalism. While at Pittsburg State, Rutherford also joined Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
After graduation, Rutherford was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army.
Rutherford was promoted to brigadier general in 1988, while serving as assistant division commander of the 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Riley Kansas. From 1989 to 1991 he served as commander of the 2d Armored Division (Forward) of the United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany. In 1991 he served as assistant division commander (support) of 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized) in Saudi Arabia during operation Desert Storm.
Rutherford was promoted to major general in September 1991, and at that time he served as commanding general of the 3d Armored Division (Spearhead) while serving in Desert Storm on 7April 1991, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany. In 1992 he took on the role of deputy commander of V Corps, and in July 1992 he was promoted to lieutenant general and commander of V Corps. Rutherford retired in May 1995. While commander of V Corps, LTG Rutherford was considered by his subordinates to be thorough, fair and considerate] LTG Rutherford was known for his compassion and his propensity to procure a better life for the common soldier. LTG Rutherford worked tirelessly to ensure that his soldiers and their families were prepared for any eventuality. LTG Rutherford always considered his troops to be the best on the planet, and he would never let them forget his expectations. He always called his troops his "Tigers".
Post Military Career
After retiring from the U.S. Army, Rutherford served as Vice President of Right Management, a talent and career management solutions provider, from 1996 to 1998. He currently Chief Operating Officer at Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP law firm in Kansas City, Missouri.
Rutherford serves on the Board of Governors for the Liberty Memorial Association and on the executive committee for expansion of the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial.