Elliot Carr Cutler Jr. (June 15, 1920 – November 27, 2006) 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 ...

officer with the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. His last military service was as a head of the Electrical Engineering Department at

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

from 1961 until 1977.

Biography

Cutler was born on June 15, 1920, in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, the son of doctor

Elliott Cutler Elliot Carr Cutler (July 30, 1888 – August 16, 1947) was an American surgeon, military physician, and medical educator. He was Moseley Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, surgeon-in-chief at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital from 1932 to ...

, who would later serve as brigadier general in the Army Medical Corps during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Cutler Jr. attended the

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

and graduated from that institution in 1942. Subsequently, he was commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the 76th Infantry Division and participated in the combats of European Theatre. For his service during the war, Cutler received a

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

for wound and

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of ei ...

. After the war, 76th Infantry Division was disbanded at the end of the August 1945 and Cutler was transferred to the 19th Infantry Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division. He served with the regiment during

Occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the victorious Allies of World War II from the 1945 surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of the war until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect in 1952. The occupation, led by the United States wi ...

as a company commander until 1950. When the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

broke out, Cutler was deployed with the 24th Infantry Division during this conflict. For his participation in this war, Cutler was awarded with

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

, Oak Leaf Cluster to his

and star to his

. After the war, Cutler earned his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

at Georgia Tech and subsequently served as a professor at the

, where he taught electrical engineering. In 1961, Cutler was appointed a head of the Electrical Engineering Department. In this capacity, Cutler championed the use of computers in the Academy's curriculum, resulting in the establishment of the Academic Computer Committee, which would bring the school into the technological age. Cutler served in this capacity until 1977, when he retired from the army. At the retirement ceremony, he was awarded with

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. Th ...

for his military achievement and promoted to the rank of

. Cutler died at the age of 86 at Country Center for Health & Rehabilitation in

Newburyport, Massachusetts Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mo ...

. He was married to Genevieve Cutler (néé Spalding), with whom he had son Elliott C. Cutler, III and daughter Genevieve Cutler.

Decorations

Here is Cutler's ribbon bar:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutler, Elliott C. Jr 1920 births 2007 deaths United States Army generals United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War Cutler family Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Military personnel from Cleveland Georgia Tech alumni United States Military Academy alumni United States Military Academy faculty