George Henry Decker (February 16, 1902 – February 6, 1980) was a
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
in the
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 ...
, who served as
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and a ...
from 1960 to 1962.
Early life
Decker was born in
Catskill, New York
Catskill is a town in the southeastern section of Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 11,298 at the 2020 census, the largest town in the county. The western part of the town is in the Catskill Park. The town contains a v ...
, and attended
Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, receiving an economics degree in 1924. Afterwards he was a trustee of the college from 1964 to 1972.
He married the former Helen E. Inman in 1926.
Military career
Decker was commissioned a second lieutenant of infantry in June 1924, and began his army service with the
26th Infantry Regiment
The 26th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Army. Its nickname is "Blue Spaders", taken from the spade-like device on the regiment's distinctive unit insignia. The 26th Infantry Regiment is part of the U.S. Army Re ...
, then stationed at
Plattsburg Barracks in upstate New York. In 1928, he was sent to Hawaii, where he served with the
35th Infantry Regiment until 1931. He was promoted to first lieutenant in April 1930. After attending advanced infantry training at the
Infantry School
A School of Infantry provides training in weapons and infantry tactics to infantrymen of a nation's military forces.
Schools of infantry include:
Australia
*Australian Army – School of Infantry, Lone Pine Barracks at Singleton, NSW.
France
...
at
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...
in 1932, he remained at Fort Benning with the
29th Infantry Regiment until 1935, followed by service at
Vancouver Barracks, near
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, with the
7th Infantry Regiment from 1935 to 1936 (during which time he was promoted to captain, in August 1935).
In 1936, Decker was sent to the Command and General Staff School at
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...
, from which he graduated in 1937. Subsequently, he served with the
10th Infantry Regiment at
Fort Thomas, Kentucky, and
Fort McClellan, Alabama, and the
9th Infantry Regiment 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 ...
, North Carolina. In 1940 he took command of Headquarters Company,
I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to:
France
* 1st Army Corps (France)
* I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...
, at
Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and was assistant supply and logistics officer, 1940–1941. In 1941 came a flurry of promotions: to temporary major (January), permanent major (June), and temporary lieutenant colonel (December). He was sent to Washington, D.C., to serve on the War Department General Staff, where he was assigned to the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Supply. He was promoted to temporary colonel in October 1942 and became deputy chief of staff of the Third Army,
Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He was then sent overseas to the Southwest Pacific, where he became deputy chief of staff and then chief of staff of the
Sixth Army, a position he held through the end of World War II. He had been promoted to temporary brigadier general in August 1944 and major general in June 1945, and participated in Sixth Army operations in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and the Philippines.
Decker returned to Washington in 1946 to Headquarters, Army Ground Forces and Headquarters, Army Service Forces, but soon went back to the Pacific as deputy commanding general and chief of staff of United States Forces, Middle Pacific, Hawaii, from 1946 to 1948.
Decker became commanding general of the
5th Infantry Division in 1948, and in 1950 was assigned to the Office of the Comptroller of the Army as Chief of the Budget Division. Promoted to temporary lieutenant general in 1952, he became
Comptroller of the United States Army
The comptroller of the Army has general staff responsibility for independent review and analysis of Army programs, and analysis of major Army commands; finance and accounting, fiscal, audit, budgetary, progress and statistical reporting, reports ...
from 1952 to 1955. He was promoted to permanent brigadier general in April 1953 and permanent major general in July 1954. In 1955, he went to Germany as commanding general 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
* VII R ...
at Stuttgart, and was promoted to temporary general in May 1956.
From 1956 to 1957, Decker was deputy commander-in-chief of the
United States European Command
The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russi ...
at its headquarters in Rocquencourt, outside Paris, France. From 1957 to 1959 he was commander-in-chief,
United Nations Command
United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the South Korea, Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first international unified command in history, an ...
, and commanding general,
United States Forces Korea
United States Forces Korea (USFK) is a Unified Combatant Command#Subordinate Unified Command, sub-unified command of United States Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). USFK is the joint headquarters for U.S. combat-re ...
and
Eighth United States Army.
Decker was appointed
Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army in 1959 and on October 1, 1960, became
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and a ...
, serving in that capacity until September 30, 1962. Highlights of Decker's tenure were supervising augmentations to meet the crisis in Berlin (prompted by the construction of the
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...
in 1961), increasing special warfare forces, initiating new divisional and forward depot concepts, and expanding the army to sixteen divisions. Decker retired at the end of his tenure.
Later life
Following his retirement, Decker was president of the
Manufacturing Chemists' Association in Washington for the next seven years. He died of
leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...
at
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 ...
on February 6, 1980.
Awards and decorations
*
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 ...
with one oak leaf cluster
*
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 e ...
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
American Defense Service Medal
The American Defense Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces, established by , by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on June 28, 1941.
The medal was intended to recognize those military service members who had served ...
*
American Campaign Medal
The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...
*
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four
campaign stars
A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...
*
Army of Occupation Medal with "ASIA" clasp
*
National Defense Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
*
Distinguished Service Star
The Distinguished Service Star is the third highest military award of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It is awarded for eminently meritorious and valuable service rendered while holding a position of great responsibility.
Description of the ...
(Philippines)
*
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
*
Philippine Liberation Medal with three stars
*
Philippine Independence Medal
The Philippine Independence Medal is a military award and decoration of the Republic of the Philippines which was created by order of the Philippine Army Headquarters on 3 July 1946 as the Philippine Independence Ribbon. The medal was added in 196 ...
[6000th Opron "The
Starlifters" Tachikawa, A.B., Japan. HQ 5th A F. Fuchu, Japan.]
Dates of rank
References
External links
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Decker, George
1902 births
1980 deaths
United States Army Infantry Branch personnel
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)
Recipients of the Silver Star
Recipients of the Legion of Merit
United States Army Chiefs of Staff
Lafayette College alumni
Lafayette College trustees
United States Army Vice Chiefs of Staff
Commanders, United States Forces Korea
United States Army generals of World War II
United States Army generals
United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni
20th-century American academics