William A. Knowlton

William Allen Knowlton (born June 19, 1920 in Weston , Massachusetts , USA , † August 10, 2008 in Arlington , Virginia ) was a general in the United States Army and superintendent of the United States Military Academy . He was in the army for over 40 years and served in World War II , the Vietnam War and the NATO Military Committee , among others . He suffered from Parkinson's disease and died of a cerebral haemorrhage in 2008 after a fall.

Origin and family

Knowlton's German grandfather (on his mother's side) was Philipp Heinrich August Ries (born June 11, 1841 in Helmarshausen , Kassel district ). He emigrated to the United States in 1857 . He joined the army in 1858, in which he served with a brief interruption until 1890. He died near Boston in 1913 .

Knowlton was the son of Frank Warren Knowlton and Isabelle Grady nee. Giant . He was born with Marjorie Adams until his death . Downey (Peggy) married and had daughter Hollister (Holly) and three sons William Allen Knowlton Jr., Davis Downey Knowlton and Timothy Riese Knowlton. Holly graduated from Dickinson College . She married the future General David Petraeus two months after completing his training at the United States Military Academy . At this point, Knowlton was already superintendent at the academy.

Military career

Knowlton became 2nd in January 1943. Assigned Lieutenant in the American Armored Cavalry after graduating from West Point Academy. He was a member of the US 7th Armored Division during World War II and led a train in France . At the end of the war in southern Mecklenburg , he led a reconnaissance troop that, with Gerhard Gerigk, found their way through the German lines to the Red Army . He received the Silver Star for this successful commando company .

After the war he held various positions in the military and graduated from Command and General Staff College in 1955 . He was then assigned to the Department of Social Sciences at the Academy in West Point and worked there as a lecturer . At the same time he studied political science at Columbia University and graduated in 1957 with a master's degree . He then received command of a battalion of the 3rd Armored US Cavalry Regiment and enrolled at the United States Army War College , where he also successfully graduated. Before commanding a brigade at Fort Knox , he was a military attaché in Tunis .

On his return from Tunis he was assigned to the Ministry of Defense in the office of the Chief of Staff of the Army and later in the office of the Minister of Defense . He was twice in Vietnam, where he led the American pacification program CORDS for General William Westmoreland and served as deputy commander of the US 9th Infantry Division .

Following his time in Vietnam, he served as Director of the General Staff of the US Army and on March 23, 1970 became the 49th Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He held this office until 1974, which was the longest term in this position until then. In the final year of his tenure, the United States Supreme Court, in response to complaints by two cadets, upheld the Academy's right to apply the Code of Honor .

He was subsequently appointed Chief of Staff of the United States European Command . When he was promoted to general in 1976, he took command of the Allied ground forces in Southeastern Europe and ended his military career in 1980 as the representative of the United States on the NATO military committee and as the second highest 4-star general in the American armed forces.

Awards

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

Activities after military service

After his retirement, Knowlton was a Senior Fellow at National Defense University for 15 years and taught at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk , Virginia . He was also a consultant for the Defense Nuclear Agency and a member of the Defense Intelligence Agency Science and Technology Advisory Board .

He was also director of the Chubb Corporation and trustee of Davis & Elkins College in West Virginia .

Web links

Thomas B. Dyer: 2004 Distinguished Graduate Award. In: West Point Association of Graduates website. Retrieved August 30, 2011 .
Kevin Kelle: All He Ever Wanted to Be Was a Soldier. (PDF; 558 kB) In: ARMOR. 1993, pp. 46-49 , accessed August 30, 2011 (English).
Mobile Riverine Force Association: TAPS 2008. Those gone but not forgotten. Retrieved August 30, 2011 (English, obituary).

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Patricia Sullivan: Gen. William Knowlton . Led West Point. In: The Washington Post . Washington August 15, 2008 (English, Gen. William Knowlton; Led West Point [accessed August 30, 2011]).
^ 1989 yearbook (district of Kassel)
↑ William Allen Knowlton Jr. in the catalog of the German National Library
^ Hollister Knowlton Betrothed To David H. Petraeus, a Cadet. In: The New York Times. May 12, 1974, p. GN57 , accessed August 30, 2011 (English, paid article).

personal data
SURNAME	Knowlton, William A.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Knowlton, William Allen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American military, general in the US Army
DATE OF BIRTH	June 19, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH	Weston , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH	August 10, 2008
Place of death	Arlington , Virginia

[Sullivan-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Patricia Sullivan: Gen. William Knowlton . Led West Point. In: The Washington Post . Washington August 15, 2008 (English, Gen. William Knowlton; Led West Point [accessed August 30, 2011]).

[2] 1989 yearbook (district of Kassel)

[3] William Allen Knowlton Jr. in the catalog of the German National Library

[family-4] Hollister Knowlton Betrothed To David H. Petraeus, a Cadet. In: The New York Times. May 12, 1974, p. GN57 , accessed August 30, 2011 (English, paid article).