Fillmore Kennady "Ken" Mearns (September 20, 1915 – November 18, 1997) 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, ...

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

who served as commander of the 25th Infantry Division during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by 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 Vietna ...

and later as commander of

VII Corps 7th Corps, Seventh Corps, or VII Corps may refer to: * VII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * VI ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

Early life

Born into a military family in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

and raised in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Em ...

, Mearns started at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

in July 1934 graduating with a B.S. degree and 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 1 ...

's commission in June 1938.

Military career

World War II

Following the United States entry into World War II, Mearns graduated from the

Command and General Staff School The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

in 1942 and transferred to III Corps where he served as assistant Operations officer (G-3). He then served in the same capacity with

VI Corps 6 Corps, 6th Corps, Sixth Corps, or VI Corps may refer to: France * VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry formation of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VI Corps (Grande Armée), a formation of the Imperial French army dur ...

. In November 1943, he was appointed commander of the 3rd Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment and led this unit in the

invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...

and the invasion of Italy. Mearns was awarded the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an en ...

for his actions on 16/17 January 1944 when his unit was trying to cross the Rapido River during the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino, was a series of four assaults made by the Allies against German forces in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The ultimate objective w ...

Postwar

Mearns attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

studying Russian language and Soviet studies. He then served as G-3 of United States forces in Austria and as United States representative on the four-party Military Committee in Vienna. In 1950 he graduated from the Artillery and Guided Missile School and then took command of the 75th Artillery Battalion, 17th Artillery Group and then the 77th Artillery Group. In 1952 he attended the

Armed Forces Staff College The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinat ...

and was then appointed director, Special Forces Department of the Unconventional Warfare School at

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

. In 1954 he graduated from the Strategic Intelligence School. In 1954 he was appointed United States Army Attaché to the Soviet Union and served in Moscow until 1957. On returning to the United States he attended the Army War College, graduating in 1958. He then served as G-3,

Sixth United States Army Sixth Army is a theater army of the United States Army. The Army service component command of United States Southern Command, its area of responsibility includes 31 countries and 15 areas of special sovereignty in Central and South America and ...

. In 1960 he was assigned to command the divisional artillery of the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from thori ...

and then as Division chief of staff from 1961–62. In November 1962, he was appointed artillery commander,

XVIII Airborne Corps The XVIII Airborne Corps is a corps of the United States Army that has been in existence since 1942 and saw extensive service during World War II. The corps is designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world and is referred to as "Americ ...

. In June 1963 he was appointed artillery commander, 3rd Armored Division. In June 1964 he was appointed artillery commander,

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...

Vietnam War

On 6 August 1967 Major General Mearns assumed command of the 25th Infantry Division at

Củ Chi Base Camp Củ Chi Base Camp (also known as Củ Chi Army Airfield) is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base in the Củ Chi District northwest of Saigon in southern Vietnam. History 1965-70 Củ Chi Base Camp was establishe ...

. During his time in command of the 25th Infantry Division, Mearns led his command in the United States response to the

Tet Offensive The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the forces o ...

and the May Offensive. On 3 August 1968 he handed over command of the 25th Infantry Division to Major General Ellis W. Williamson and became Deputy Commander,

II Field Force, Vietnam II Field Force, Vietnam was a United States Army Corps-level command during the Vietnam War. Activated on 15 March 1966, it became the largest corps command in Vietnam and one of the largest in Army history. II Field Force was assigned the lineag ...

and Commanding General, Capital Military Assistance Command. He served as commander of

in West Germany from February 1971 to March 1973.

Personal life

Mearns married Elizabeth Mary "Betty" Boles and they had three children, two daughters and one son. After his retirement, Mearns and his wife settled in

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. Betty Mearns died in December 1974. He remarried with Virginia "Jidge" (McConnell) Torcom after the death of her first husband and lived with her at Fripp Island.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mearns, Fillmore K. 1915 births 1997 deaths People from Berkeley, California United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from California United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit Columbia University alumni Joint Forces Staff College alumni United States military attachés United States Army War College alumni United States Army generals United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Military personnel from South Carolina People from Beaufort County, South Carolina