Walter T. Kerwin junior
Walter Thomas Kerwin, Jr. (born June 14, 1917 in West Chester , Pennsylvania , † July 11, 2008 in Alexandria , Virginia ) was an American officer in the US Army , who last served as a general between 1974 and 1978 as vice-chief of the General Staff of the Army ( Vice Chief of Staff of the Army ) was.
Life
Officer training, World War II and the post-war period
Walter Thomas Kerwin, Jr. completed an officer training at the US Military Academy in West Point after attending school and became a lieutenant in the field artillery after graduating in 1939 . He took after the entry of the United States into the Second World War as a member of the 3rd Infantry Division ( 3rd Infantry Division ) on World War II in combat in North Africa , Sicily and Italy , where he during the Italian campaign in 1944 the massive artillery commitment to the successful landing in Anzio and the subsequent Battle of Anzio, the so-called Operation Shingle (January 22 to May 25, 1944) co-organized. During the subsequent deployment in France he was wounded at Mutzig's in December 1944 .
After a stay in the US hospital, Kerwin returned to Europe after his recovery in 1945 and was later an officer in the operations department of the General Staff in the US War Department . In 1953 he was transferred to the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) responsible for nuclear research as planning and operations officer and was chief coordinator for the transport of nuclear weapons . He also graduated from the US Army Warc College (USAWC) in Carlisle in 1957 . After visiting the National War College (NWC) in Fort Lesley J. McNair he was, among other things, commander of the 56th Artillery Brigade of the XVIII. Airborne Corps ( XVIII Airborne Corps ) .
Vietnam War, promotion to General and Vice Chief of Staff of the Army
After his promotion to Brigadier General Walter T. Kerwin was in August 1961, commander of the artillery units in Hanau stationed 3rd Armored Division ( 3rd Armored Division ) and as such was responsible for nuclear weapons targets in Europe. In March 1965 he replaced Major General Berton E. Spivy, Jr. as commander of the 3rd Armored Division and remained in this position until his replacement by Major General Welborn G. Dolvin in October 1966. He was also deputy director of the department for research and development in the war Office ( US Department of the Army ) and as a major general during the Vietnam war between May 1967 and July 1968 chief of staff of the High Command of the US troops in South Vietnam MACV ( Military Assistance Command, Vietnam ) as well as the successor to major General Frederick C. Weyand between August 1968 and the replacement by Major General Julian Ewell in April 1969 commander of the II Field Force, Vietnam .
In 1969 he was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army for Personnel . As the successor to General Ralph E. Haines, Jr. , he was appointed Commanding General of the Continental Army Command in January 1973 and was charged with drafting an army reform plan. His One Army or Total Army concept essentially envisaged the Army National Guard ( ARNG ) and the USAR ( US Army Reserve ) as equal partners of the active US Army in defense policy in the event of war. On 1 July 1973 General Kerwin was the first Commanding General of from the Continental Army Command incurred US Army Forces Command FORSCOM ( US Army Forces Command ) and remained in that post until 1974, after which General Bernard W. Rogers became his successor.
Most recently, General Walter T. Kerwin October 29, 1974 once again succeeded General Frederick C. Weyand, namely this time as Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Army ( Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army ) . As such, he implemented the army reform he had designed after the end of the Vietnam War and retired from active military service in 1978, whereupon General Frederick J. Kroesen became the new Vice Chief of Staff of the Army.
retirement
After retiring from active military service, Walter T. Kerwin was an advisor to the US Department of Defense and the aviation and defense companies Martin Marietta and Lockheed Martin . In 1982 he became chairman of the Army and Air Force Mutual Aid Association , of which he had been a member since 1969, and held this position until 1997. He was also involved in the association of the US Army (Association of the United States Army) , the Association of field artillery (field artillery Association) and the Emergency relief Association of the US Army (Army Emergency relief Association) . In 2003 the Alumni Association of the US Military Academy presented him with the Distinguished Graduate Award for outstanding service by graduates.
After his death, General Walter Thomas Kerwin, Jr., who was married to Barbara Walker Kerwin, who died in 1980, was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Awards
Selection of decorations, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of Military Awards :
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Defense Distinguished Service Medal
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Army Distinguished Service Medal (x3) -
Legion of Merit (2 ×) -
Bronze star
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Purple heart
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Air Medal (10 ×) -
National Defense Service Medal (2 ×) -
Vietnam Service Medal (4 ×)
Web links
- Walter T. Kerwin junior in the Find a Grave database (English)
Individual evidence
Collins | Shark slip | Hull | Bolte | Palmer | Lemnitzer | Decker | Eddleman | Hamlett | Abrams | Haines | Palmer | Haig | Weyand | Kerwin | Kroesen | Vessey | Wickham | Thurman | Brown | RisCassi | Sullivan | Reimer | Peay | Tilelli | Griffith | Crouch | Shinseki | Keane | Casey | Cody | Chiarelli | Austin | Campbell | Allyn | McConville | Martin
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kerwin, Walter T. Junior |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Kerwin, Walter Thomas Jr. (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American general in the US Army |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 14, 1917 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | West Chester , Pennsylvania |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 11, 2008 |
| Place of death | Alexandria , Virginia |