Charles Martin Gettys (January 1, 1915 – November 20, 1982) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

who served as commander of the 23rd Infantry Division (

Americal Division The Americal Division was an infantry division of the United States Army during World War II and the Vietnam War. The division was activated 27 May 1942 on the island of New Caledonia. In the immediate emergency following Pearl Harbor, the U ...

) during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Early life and education

Gettys was born in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

and grew up in

Rock Hill, South Carolina Rock Hill is the largest city in York County, South Carolina and the fifth-largest city in the state. It is also the fourth-largest city of the Charlotte metropolitan area, behind Charlotte, Concord, and Gastonia (all located in North Carolina, ...

. He attended

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

graduating in 1936.

Military service

He received a commission in the

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

and was called to active duty in 1940. Following his World War II service, he attended the University of Michigan and then went to Ecuador as the infantry adviser on the U.S. military mission there. He was later assigned to the Command and General Staff College, from which he graduated, and airborne training. His foreign postings included Korea, Italy and Germany.

Post WWII

He was promoted to Brigadier General on 1 July 1965. He served at the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

from 1966 to 1967 as Deputy Director J-3 (Operations) and then from 1967 to 1968 as Deputy Special Assistant for Strategic Mobility. He was promoted to Major General on 1 August 1968. He served as Director of Individual Training ( Office of Army Deputy Chief of Staff Personnel) from 1969 to 1970.

Vietnam War

He served as Commanding General, 23rd Infantry Division (Americal Division) from 23 June 1968 to June 1969. In November 1968 Gettys' command and control

UH-1 The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helic ...

helicopter crashed after which he was pulled from the wreckage by his assistant chief of staff of operations, Major

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...

, for which he was awarded the

Soldier's Medal The Soldier's Medal is an individual decoration of the United States Army. It was introduced as Section 11 of the Air Corps Act, passed by the Congress of the United States on July 2, 1926., Appendix 5, p. 126. The Army' Soldier's Medal is equiv ...

. Gettys returned to South Vietnam in 1970 and served as Chief of Staff

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) was a joint-service command of the United States Department of Defense. MACV was created on 8 February 1962, in response to the increase in United States military assistance to South Vietnam. MACV ...

until 1971.

Post Vietnam

He served as commander U.S. Army Alaska from 1971 until his retirement in 1973. In 1973 Gettys despatched 13 soldiers of the 172nd Arctic Light Infantry Brigade on 10

Ski-Doo Ski-Doo is a brand name of snowmobile manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products (originally Bombardier Inc. before the spin-off). The Ski-Doo personal snowmobile brand is so iconic, especially in Canada, that it was listed in 17th place ...

snowmobiles to ostensibly "test the long-range travel reliability of snowmobiles for their usefulness in Arctic warfare" and led to the establishment of a trail from Skwentna which would be the route of the inaugural

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, more commonly known as The Iditarod, is an annual long-distance sled dog race run in early March. It travels from Anchorage to Nome, entirely within the US state of Alaska. Mushers and a team of between 12 a ...

Later life

He died of cancer on November 20, 1982 at the

Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in the District of Columbia, it served more than 150,000 active and ret ...

and was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gettys, Charles M. 1915 births 1982 deaths United States Army generals Recipients of the Silver Star United States Army personnel of World War II University of Michigan alumni American expatriates in Ecuador