Williston B. Palmer

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General Williston B. Palmer

Williston Birkhimer Palmer (* 11. November 1899 in Chicago , Illinois ; † 10. November 1973 in Washington, DC ) was an American general of the US Army , among others, from 1955 to 1957 Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Army ( Vice Chief of Staff of the Army ) and from 1957 to 1959 Deputy Commander in Chief of the US Forces in Europe USEUCOM ( US European Command ) . After a year of retirement, he was the first head of the Department of Military Assistance in the US Department of Defense between 1960 and 1962 . His younger brother Charles D. Palmer was also a general and replaced him in 1959 as deputy head of the US armed forces in Europe, so that the two were the first brothers in the history of the US Army to hold the highest rank of general at the same time.

Life

Military training and World War II

Palmer was the elder of two sons of Colonel Charles Day Palmer and his wife Edith Birkhimer Palmer, and a grandson of Brigadier General William E. Birkhimer , who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1902 for service in the Philippine-American War , the highest military distinction in the world US government . After attending school in June 1917, he himself began military training at the US Military Academy at West Point , which he completed in June 1919. At the same time he was promoted to lieutenant (Second Lieutenant) and in July 1919 transferred to the field artillery in France . He returned in September 1919 and trained as an artillery officer at Camp Zachary Taylor . Over the next twenty years he found numerous uses as an officer in the US Army and as a graduate of various military schools.

Palmer was from February 14 to December 25, 1941 head of training at the Field Artillery Replacement Training Center (Field Artillery Replacement Training Center) in Fort Bragg and received during this time the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel. After the attack on Pearl Harbor and the associated entry of the USA into the Second World War on December 8, 1941, he acted as assistant artillery officer of the armored forces between January 1 and February 16, 1942, and was certified on February 1, 1942. Awarded the rank of colonel. After he was from February 17 to June 9, 1942 commander of the artillery of the 6th Armored Division ( 6th Armored Division ) , the so-called "Super Sixth". He was then from June 11 to July 25, 1942 again assistant artillery officer of the tank troops and then from July 26, 1942 to August 9, 1943 artillery officer of the tank troops. During this time he was awarded the brevet rank of brigadier general on August 7, 1942 and promoted to lieutenant colonel on December 11, 1942 .

After Palmer was from August 11 to October 10, 1943 special liaison officer to the 21st Army Group ( 21st Army Group ) of the British Army , he was between October 11, 1943 and May 8, 1944 artillery officer of the 1st Army Group stationed in the United Kingdom (1st Army Group) and received the Legion of Merit for his achievements . He was last from May 9, 1944 to November 12, 1945 commander of the artillery of the VII US Corps ( VII Corps ) operating in north-western Europe . For his services in this respect he was awarded the Silver Star in 1944 and the Army Distinguished Service Medal for the first time in 1945 .

Postwar and Korean War

General Williston B. Palmer

After the end of World War II, Palmer was commander of the school troops of the USAFAS field artillery school (US Army Field Artillery School) in Fort Sill between November 1945 and January 3, 1946, and then from January 31, 1946 to October 16, 1947, commander of the newly founded Army information school ( Army information school ) in the Carlisle Barracks . He then acted between December 11, 1947 and April 30, 1948 as deputy head of the logistics department of the US Forces in Europe USEUCOM ( US European Command ) and was promoted to colonel on March 11, 1948 during this time . He was then from May 1, 1948 to July 28, 1949 Assistant Chief of Staff (G-4) as well as head of the logistics department of the US European Command and on March 11, 1949 was made Brigadier General (Brigadier -General) , this promotion being dated back to July 18, 1948. Subsequently, between July 29 and September 28, 1949, he was Vice-Chief of Staff of the US European Command. On 10 June 1952 he was appointed Lieutenant General (Lieutenant General) promoted.

Palmer was then from November 1, 1949 to October 15, 1950 commander of the 82nd Airborne Division ( 82nd Airborne Division ) , the so-called "All American or America's Guard of Honor", and received during this time on February 3, 1950 the certification Rank of major general, which was dated back to May 5, 1948. He was subsequently, until 24 November 1951 commander of the so-called "Hell on Wheels", the 2nd Armored Division ( 2nd Armored Division ) , and between 5 December 1951 and the July 10, 1952 Commanding General of the Korean War X. US used -Corps ( X Corps ) . For his military service there he received the Army Distinguished Service Medal for the second time on November 28, 1952.

General and Vice Chief of Staff of the Army

Williston B. Palmer's younger brother Charles D. Palmer was also a general and replaced him in 1959 as deputy head of the US armed forces in Europe, so that the two were the first brothers in the history of the US Army, who also had the highest rank of a general held

After his return Palmer acted between December 21, 1952 and September 7, 1954, first as Assistant Chief of Staff for Logistics (G-4) and then from September 8, 1954 to April 30, 1955 as Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics in the US Army . On May 1, 1955 he replaced General Charles L. Bolte as Vice Chief of the Army ( Vice Chief of Staff of the Army ) and was as such until his replacement by General Lyman L. Lemnitzer on May 30, 1957 deputy of General Maxwell D. Taylor , the Chief of Staff of the Army . He was then between June 1, 1957 and October 1, 1959 Deputy Commander in Chief of the US Forces in Europe USEUCOM ( US European Command ) . On November 4, 1959, he was honored a third time with the Army Distinguished Service Medal for his services.

In December 1959, Palmer retired after 40 years of service, but was called back to active military service in January 1960 and was then the first director of the department for military assistance (Director of Military Assistance) in the US from January 1960 to August 1962. Ministry of Defense (US Department of Defense) . On September 25, 1962, he was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal for the fourth time.

After his death in the Walter Reed Military Hospital , Palmer, who was unmarried and childless, was buried in Arlington National Cemetery . His younger brother Charles D. Palmer was also a general and replaced him in 1959 as deputy head of the US armed forces in Europe, so that the two were the first brothers in the history of the US Army to hold the highest rank of general at the same time.

Awards

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

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Palmer, Williston B.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Palmer, Williston Birkhimer (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American officer, general in the US Army
DATE OF BIRTH November 11, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago , Illinois
DATE OF DEATH November 10, 1973
Place of death Washington, DC