John K. Waters

John Knight Waters

John Knight Waters (* 20th December 1906 in Baltimore , Maryland ; † 9. January 1989 in Washington, DC ) was a general of the US Army , the last 1964-1966 Supreme Commander of US ground forces in the Pacific ( US Army Pacific ) was .

Life

Military training and World War II

General George Smith Patton , father-in-law of General John K. Waters

Waters, son of Arnold Elzey Waters and his wife Helen Knight Waters, was an orphan after the death of his mother in 1915 and an orphan after the death of his father in 1917 at the age of eleven. After attending The Boys' Latin School in Baltimore in 1925, he began studying at Johns Hopkins University . In 1927 he broke off his studies and instead began an officer training at the US Military Academy in West Point , which he completed in June 1931 as a lieutenant in the cavalry. He then served in various cavalry units for ten years between 1931 and 1941. On June 22, 1934 he married Beatrice Ayer Patton, daughter of the future General George Smith Patton and his wife Beatrice Ayer Patton .

After the USA entered World War II on December 8, 1941, he took part in Operation Torch in November 1942 , the British-American invasion of French North Africa . During the battle of Sidi Bouzid in February 1943 he became a lieutenant colonel and commander of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Armored Division ( 1st Armored Division ) in German captivity and then was in POW camps in Silesia , of Czechoslovakia , and most recently in Oflag XIII-B in Hammelburg . There he was in March 1945 by the commanded by his father Lieutenant General George S. Patton US Third Army ( Third US Army ) during the run by Captain Abraham Baum command company Hammelburg , the so-called Task Force Baum , free. During the liberation, however, he suffered a severe leg injury and was in a hospital for a year after initial treatment by a Serbian doctor who was also imprisoned there . After his liberation he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and twice the Silver Star for his service at the Battle of Sidi Bouzid and during his captivity .

Promotion to general

In June 1946, Waters returned to active service and became commandant of the Cadet Corps at the US Military Academy at West Point. After further assignments, he became Brigadier General in 1952 and took part in the Korean War as Chief of Staff of the I. Corps ( I Corps ) from July 25, 1952 to July 10, 1953 . For his services he was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal for the first time on September 22, 1953 . After that he became a major general commanding general of the 4th Armored Division ( 4th Armored Division ) . Between 1955 and 1957 he was also chief of the US military support staff in Yugoslavia and, after his return, deputy chief of the staff for material development of the CONARC (US Continental Army Command) stationed in Fort Monroe . On August 29, 1961 he replaced Lieutenant General Frederic J. Brown as Commanding General of the V Corps ( V Corps ) and remained in this position until May 14, 1962, whereupon Lieutenant General John H. Michaelis succeeded him on May 15, 1962 . After his return, he was Commanding General of the Fifth US Army ( Fifth US Army ) in Chicago .

In February 1963 he was promoted to general and took over the post of commander of the Army Training Command CONARC (US Continental Army Command) . He was last in 1964 succeeded General James Francis Collins as commander in chief of US ground forces in the Pacific ( US Army Pacific ) with headquarters in Fort Shafter in Hawaii . In August 1966 he retired from active military service and was replaced by General Dwight E. Beach . On October 4, 1966, he was awarded a Bronze Oak Leaf Branch in place of a second Army Distinguished Service Medal. He was also honored with the 1985 Prisoner of War Medal .

After his death he was buried in the Immanuel Episcopal Church Cemetery in Sparks .

Awards

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

•   Distinguished Service Cross
•   Army Distinguished Service Medal (2 ×)
•   Silver Star (2 ×)
•   Prisoner of War Medal

Web links

Commons : John K. Waters  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Entry in the Hall of Valor

• John K. Waters in the database of Find a Grave (English)