Robert W. Porter

General Robert W. Porter, Jr.

Robert William Porter, Jr. (born April 29, 1908 in Alma , Harlan County , Nebraska , † April 22, 2000 in Charlottesville , Albemarle County , Virginia ) was a general in the US Army , who was commander in chief of the US Southern Command between 1965 and 1969 - Armed Forces ( US Southern Command ) was.

Life

After graduating from high school in 1926, Porter began officer training at the US Military Academy at West Point , which he graduated as a cavalry lieutenant in June 1930 . Subsequently he found employment in various army units until 1941 and also completed other army schools. After the entry of the United States into World War II on December 8, 1941, he took over as Colonel and G-2 staff officer of the 1st Infantry Division ( 1st Infantry Division ) , known as the "Big Red One" in November 1942 at the Operation Torch part of the British-American invasion of French North Africa . For this he was awarded the Legion of Merit . After further missions in Tunisia and Libya , he took part in Operation Husky , the Allied invasion of Sicily , in July 1943 , and later as a G-2 staff officer of the II Corps ( II Corps ) in the Allied invasion of Italy . For his accomplishments during this time, he received a bronze oak leaf branch in place of a second Legion of Merit.

After the end of the Second World War, Porter returned to the USA in 1945 and was initially a consultant for strategic planning in the US War Department and then an administrative officer at the Under Secretary of the Army . After 1950, the National War College (NWC) in Fort Lesley J. McNair had visited, followed uses as commander of the in Nuremberg stationed 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment ( 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment ) and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations (Deputy G-3 ) at the headquarters of the Allied Land Forces of NATO in Central Europe LANDCENT ( Allied Land Forces Central Europe ) . He then served between September 9, 1952 and August 6, 1953 as Chief of Staff of the X Corps ( X Corps ) deployed in North Korea and was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal for the first time on September 23, 1953 for his services in this role excellent. Subsequently, he was a member of the planning committee of the National Security Council ( NSC ) , before becoming the successor of Major General John Murphy Willems between April 1956 and his replacement by Major General Thomas Fraley Van Natta III in January 1958 as commander of the Frankfurt am Main stationed 3rd Panzer Division ( 3rd Armored Division ) , the so-called "Spearhead".

After his return to the United States, Porter became Assistant Deputy Chief of the Army Staff for Personnel in January 1958 and then US representative of the Standing Deputy Group of the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO). In April 1964 he was appointed Lieutenant General transported and to succeed Lt. Gen. Garrison H. Davidson Commanding General of the so-called "First In Deed" the Fort Jay on Governors Iceland stationed First US Army ( First US Army ) . He held this post until March 1965 and was then replaced by Lieutenant General Thomas W. Dunn . He was last in March 1965. General transported and released General Andrew P. O'Meara as commander in chief of the in Fort Amador in Panama Canal Zone stationed Southern Command of the US armed forces ( US Southern Command ) from. He remained in this post until his retirement from active military service in February 1969, when General George R. Mather succeeded him. For his achievements during this time he received a bronze oak leaf branch on April 7, 1969 instead of a second Army Distinguished Service Medal.

After his retirement, Porter lived as a forest and forest owner in Virginia and was named Virginia Tree Farmer of the Year in 1995 . After his death, he was buried in the Porter Family Cemetery in Madison County .

Awards

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

•   Army Distinguished Service Medal (2 ×)
•   Legion of Merit (2 ×)

Web links

• Entry in the Hall of Valor
• Entry into the Miltary Hall of Honor

• Robert W. Porter in the database of Find a Grave (English)