Paul D. Adams

General Paul D. Adams

Paul DeWitt Adams (born October 6, 1906 in Heflin , Alabama , † October 31, 1987 in Tampa , Florida ) was an American general in the US Army , who among other things was commander of the 3rd US Army ( Third Army) from 1960 to 1961 US Army ) and was last in command of the attack command (US Strike Command) between 1961 and 1966 .

Life

Military training and World War II

Adams completed his schooling at the Marion Military Institute in 1924 and then began his officer training at the US Military Academy at West Point , which he graduated in 1928. After he became a lieutenant (Second Lieutenant) transferred to the US Army and was in the following years many use as an infantry officer. It was on June 29, 1942 Lieutenant Colonel (Lieutenant-Colonel) transported. As such, he was on September 2, 1942, Deputy Commander ( Executive Officer ) of the 1st FSSF ( First Special Service Force ) , the later so-called "Devil's Brigade", and remained in this post until December 1, 1943. During this he also for the December 9, 1942 Colonel (Colonel) transported. On August 17, 1943, he took part in a joint operation by US and Canadian commandos to recapture Kiska Island, which was occupied by Japanese marines , during the Battle of the Aleutians . In 1943 he was awarded the Legion of Merit for his military service in the liberation of Kiska .

Thereafter, Adams was between January 29, 1944, and the January 1, 1945 Commander ( Commanding Officer ) of the 36th Infantry Division (36th Infantry Division) belonging to the 145th Infantry Regiment (143rd Infantry Regiment) . With this he took part in Operation Dragoon on the Mediterranean theater of war from August 15, 1944 to September 12, 1944 , the landing of two armies of the Western Allies on the French Côte d'Azur between Toulon and Cannes and the expulsion of the German troops from southern France . In addition, he took part with his unit in other missions on the European theater of war and was honored for his military services with a bronze oak leaf branch instead of a second Legion of Merit. He was then from January 2, 1945 to January 1946, deputy commander of the 45th Infantry Division (45th Infantry Division) . With this he took part in the Ardennes Offensive until January 21, 1945 and then in the invasion of the Western Allies in Germany. On 12 April 1945 he was appointed Brigadier General (Brigadier-General) promoted.

Post-war period and promotion to general

After the end of the war, Adams was an officer in the staff department of the ground forces from January to September 1946 and then graduated from the National War College (NWC) at Fort Lesley J. McNair until 1947 . He was then used at the Command & General Staff School (CGSS) in Fort Leavenworth between 1947 and 1950 , where he was successively training, deputy director and finally head of the organization and training management of the Command and General Staff College (CGSC). He completed another course at the US Army War College (USAWC) in Carlisle and then stayed there as a lecturer. In the Korean War he was first in 1952 commander of the 25th Infantry Division ( 25th Infantry Division ) , then Chief of Staff of the X Corps ( X Corps ) and most recently until May 1953 Chief of Staff of the 8th Army ( Eighth US Army ) . During this time he was on 8 October 1951 Major General (Major-General) promoted. For his services in the Korean War, he was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal and the Silver Star .

After the end of the Korean War, Major General Adams acted between May 1 and October 1953 as commander of the 101st Airborne Division ( 101st Airborne Division ) , the so-called "Screaming Eagles". From March 25 to July 24, 1955, he was head of the Operations Department (G-3) in the Army General Staff and later from July 26 to October 25, 1958, commander of the US land forces during the military intervention during the Lebanon crisis . For his services there, he was again awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal, as a bronze oak leaf branch for his first medal. On April 1, 1959 he was promoted to Lieutenant General (Lieutenant General) and took over as the successor to Lieutenant General Francis William Farrell as Commanding General of the V Corps ( V Corps ) . He held this post until September 30, 1960, whereupon Lieutenant General Frederic J. Brown succeeded him. He then acted as the successor to Lieutenant General Thomas JH Trapnell between October 17, 1960 and October 2, 1961 in personal union as commander of the 3rd US Army ( Third US Army ) and at the same time as the commander of the Fort McPherson Army base in Georgia . His successor there was also Lieutenant General Thomas JH Trapnell in 1961.

After his promotion to General on October 3, 1961 Adam's first commander in chief was (Commander-in-Chief) of to tackle global crises newly created US attack commands STRICOM (United States Strike Command) on the Air Force Base MacDill Air Force Base . This command, which was largely responsible for the organization of possible military interventions during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, was composed of the Strategic Army Corps ( STRAC ) and the Tactical Air Command ( Tactical Air Command ) . He remained in this position until he retired after 38 years of service in 1966, whereupon General Theodore J. Conway was his successor. For his achievements as commander in chief of STRICOM he was again awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal, as the second bronze oak leaf branch to his first medal. In addition, he was awarded the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal for his services there. During his military service he was also awarded the Bronze Star Medal with three oak leaves, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Basic Parachutist Badge.

After retiring from the military, he was President of Paul D. Adams and Associated , a company he founded, between 1966 and 1971 . He was married to Mabel D. Adams and was buried in Tampa's Myrtle Hill Memorial Park Cemetery after his death .

Web links

• Paul D. Adams in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Entry in general.dk
• Entry in the Hall of Valor