George Decker

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George Decker

George Henry Decker (born February 16, 1902 in Catskill , New York , † February 6, 1980 in Washington, DC ) was a general in the United States Army (USA) and from 1959 initially Vice Chairman , from October 1, 1960 to September 30, 1962 then Chairman of the General Staff of the Army (CSA) .

Career

Education and early career

After attending high school in his native Catskill, Decker initially worked for a cement manufacturer ; He then began his military career as a reservist in the New York State National Guard and graduated in 1924 with a degree in economics from Lafayette College in Easton , Pennsylvania . During his studies he completed a training program of the Reserve Officer Training Corps and received his officer license as a lieutenant in June 1924 . During the following four years he was stationed with the 26th Infantry Regiment in Plattsburgh , New York, and from 1928 to 1931 with the 35th in Hawaii , where he was promoted to first lieutenant . During this time he graduated from the US Army Infantry School in Fort Benning , Georgia , and served in various regimental assignments until the mid-1930s, first there and later in Fort Vancouver , Washington .

Decker's military career progressed relatively slowly at first, not until 1935, eleven years after joining the Army, was promoted to captain , two years later he graduated from Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth , Kentucky and served in various until 1940 Infantry divisions within the United States .

Second World War and first staff assignments

When the United States entered World War II in 1941, Decker's promotions came in quicker succession. Within a year and a half he rose to the rank of colonel and in 1942 became Deputy Chief of Staff of the 3rd US Army . In the last year of the war, Decker served as chief of staff of the newly established 6th US Army in the Southwest Pacific and was appointed brigadier general in August '44 , thirteen months later, shortly after the end of the war, then major general. During this time he took part in operations in New Guinea , the Philippines , the Solomon Islands and also in the occupation of Japan before the 6th Army was finally relocated back to the United States.

Post-war years

Decker (r.) (3rd from right) with US President Kennedy and the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Oval Office , January 1961

Decker returned with the 6th Army in 1946 briefly returned to the United States, serving in the headquarters of the Army Ground Forces , but was in the same year as Chief of Staff and Deputy Commanding General of United States Army Pacific transferred to Hawaii, where he remained until 1948th After returning to the States, he commanded the 5th Infantry Division in Fort Jackson , South Carolina until 1950 . The following years he was on the staff of the Deputy Secretary of the Army responsible for the budget of the US Army, from June 1952 on in the rank of Lieutenant General .

In 1955 Decker was transferred to Europe , initially for a year as commander of the VII US Corps in Stuttgart , then as deputy commander in chief of the United States European Command near Paris , where he was finally promoted to general in May 1956. One last foreign assignment led Decker to Korea between 1957 and '59 , where he commanded the United States Forces Korea and the 8th US Army also stationed there .

In 1959, Decker was appointed Vice Chairman of the General Staff of the US Army, but was appointed chairman of the General Staff on October 1 of the following year by then US President John F. Kennedy . He held this office until his retirement on September 30, 1962.

George Decker died on 6 February 1980 at the age of 77 years in Washington, with whom he had been married since 1926, DC with his wife Helen E. Inman Decker (1899-1996), he is on the Arlington National Cemetery , Virginia , buried .

Transport data

rank year
US-O1 insignia.svg Second lieutenant June 1924
US-O2 insignia.svg First lieutenant April 1930
US-O3 insignia.svg Captain August 1935
US-O4 insignia.svg major January 1941
US-O5 insignia.svg Lieutenant Colonel December 1941
US-O6 insignia.svg Colonel October 1942
US-O7 insignia.svg Brigadier General August 1944
US-O8 insignia.svg Major General June 1945
US-O9 insignia.svg Lieutenant General  June 1952
US-O10 insignia.svg general May 1956

Awards

Selection of decorations, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of Military Awards :

See also

Web links

Commons : George H. Decker  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

literature

  • Bell, William Gardner: Commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff, 1775-2005. Portraits & Biographical Sketches of United States Army's Senior Officers. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army, 2005. ( Available online from the US Army Center Of Military History website ; last accessed April 29, 2014).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Dorpfeld, David: The Life of General Decker. registerstar.com of March 21, 2013 (last accessed April 29, 2014).
  2. ↑ John F. Kennedy's speech at the awarding of the Distinguished Service Medal to Decker. Published as a White House press release on September 28, 1962, available online from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library (last accessed April 29, 2014).
  3. ↑ a b c d e Bell 2005, p. 138.
  4. ^ Entry in the online directory of Arlington National Cemetery (English; last accessed May 1, 2014).
personal data
SURNAME Decker, George
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Decker, George Henry (full name); Decker, George H.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American General; Vice Chief of Staff of the Army; Chief of Staff of the Army
DATE OF BIRTH February 16, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Catskill , New York , United States
DATE OF DEATH February 6, 1980
Place of death Washington, DC , United States