James H. Polk

James Hilliard Polk (born December 13, 1911 in Batangas Province , Philippines , † February 18, 1992 in El Paso , Texas ) was an American officer and general in the US Army . He last served from 1967 to 1971 as Commander in Chief of the 7th US Army in Heidelberg, also known as the United States Army Europe (USAREUR). He was also the commanding general of NATO's Central Army Group . His title was CINCUSAREUR / COMCENTAG (Commander in Chief United States Europe, Commander Central Army Group).

Life

James Polk was born in 1911 in the Philippines to Colonel Harding Polk and his wife Esther, née Fleming. Between 1929 and 1933 he graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point . He was then assigned to the cavalry, which at that time was actually still operating with horses and had not yet been converted into a tank unit of later days. This made Polk one of the last later generals to serve in the classical cavalry in their youth. Polk stayed with this force until the outbreak of World War II . In 1939, he even won a horse show for police and military personnel at the National Horse Show in Madison Square Garden .

After the outbreak of World War II, Polk became a tactical officer at the West Point Military Academy. After training at Fort Leavenworth , he was assigned to the 106th Cavalry Regiment (tanks) stationed at Fort Hood in 1943 . Since 1944 he was deployed in the European theater of war. In September of this year he took over command of the 3rd Cavalry Group , which was involved in combat operations near Metz . He kept this command until the end of the war. He then belonged to the occupation forces in Germany for a short time before he was transferred to Fort Riley , where he became the head of the tactics school ( Chief of Tactics at the Ground General School ). He then graduated from the Joint Forces Staff College . Between 1948 and 1951 he was stationed in Tokyo , where he was a member of the American High Command for the Far East. There he belonged to the G-2 department, which was responsible for intelligence services. At the beginning of the Korean War he was head of the G-2 division of the X Army Corps and then the 8th US Army. In August 1951 he returned to the USA, where he graduated from the National War College . He then taught at the United States Army War College . Eventually he became chief of staff of the 3rd Panzer Division , which was then stationed at Fort Knox and was soon transferred to Germany. In 1956, Polk was promoted to brigadier general and deputy division commander. This was followed by periods of service at the then NATO headquarters in Fontainebleau and in the Pentagon. After his promotion to major general , he took command of the 4th Panzer Division . Between January 2, 1963 and August 31, 1964, he was the successor to Albert Watson in command of the American sector in Berlin . During this time, President John F. Kennedy 's visit to Berlin in June 1963 took place.

After being promoted to lieutenant general , Polk became the commander of the V Corps , which was stationed in Frankfurt . He held this post between 1964 and 1966. After a short period of service as Assistant Chief of Staff for Force Development in the USA, James Polk became a four-star general on June 1, 1967, as the successor to Andrew P. O'Meara, the new Commander in Chief of the American Army Forces in Europe (USAREUR). His headquarters were in the Keyes Building of the Campbell Barracks in Heidelberg. At the same time he also took command of the Central Army Group . He held this post until March 20, 1971. A little later, on April 1, 1971, he retired, which he spent in El Paso. He held several honorary and veteran offices. Between 1975 and 1984 he was president of the Army Emergency Relief organization and from 1978 to 1992 he was chairman of the US Cavalry Association . James Polk died on February 18, 1992 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Awards

General Polk was awarded the following medals and decorations during his service:

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Polk, James H.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Polk, James Hilliard (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American officer
DATE OF BIRTH	December 13, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH	Batangas Province , Philippines
DATE OF DEATH	February 18, 1992
Place of death	El Paso , Texas