James Reginald Hall Jr. (born July 15, 1936) is a retired senior officer 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 the final commander of the

Fourth United States Army Fourth United States Army was a field army of the United States Army between 1932 and 1991. History In 1922, Fourth Army was organized as a unit of the Organized Reserves in New York City. It was allotted to the Regular Army as an inactive unit ...

before its inactivation in 1991. Prior to serving as commander of the Fourth Army, Hall served as the director of enlisted personnel management at the United States Army Military Personnel Center, the Deputy Inspector General of the Army, and commander of the

197th Infantry Brigade The 197th Infantry Brigade ("Sledgehammer" / "FOLLOW ME") is an active Infantry brigade of the United States Army. The brigade was active as an Organized Reserve unit from 1921–1942, in the Regular Army from 1962–1991, and as a TRADOC trainin ...

Early life and education

Hall was born on July 15, 1936, in

Anniston, Alabama Anniston is the county seat of Calhoun County in Alabama and is one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 23,106. Acco ...

, and attended

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...

, where he received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in political science in 1957. After graduation, Hall enlisted in the

and, after completing basic training, entered

officer candidate school An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and Enlisted rank, enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a Commission (document), commission as Commissioned officer, officers in the armed forces of a country. ...

. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army on December 19, 1958. Hall also holds an advanced degree in public administration from

Shippensburg State College Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania (Ship or SU) is a public university in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Founded in 1871, it later became the first teachers college in Pennsylvania. ...

and has 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 the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military offic ...

. Hall is married to Helen A. Hall (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Kerr) and has three children.

Military career

During his career, Hall served in various roles in the United States Army, including commanding the

and the

. He also served as the Director of Enlisted Personnel Management at the United States Army Military Personnel Center, the Deputy Inspector General of the Army, the Secretary of the

United States Army Infantry School The United States Army Infantry School is a school located at Fort Benning, Georgia that is dedicated to training infantrymen for service in the United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United State ...

, the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations of

United States Army Forces Command United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) is the largest United States Army command. It provides expeditionary, regionally engaged, campaign-capable land forces to combatant commanders. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, FORSCOM con ...

, and the Division Commander of the 4th Infantry Division. Hall's overseas service was exclusively in the

Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isla ...

area. He served two tours of duty in Korea as a battalion commander, two tours in Vietnam as a company commander, and one tour on Okinawa. Hall assumed command of the

in May 1989, becoming the highest-ranking military officer in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

; he served in this capacity through the inactivation of the Fourth Army in October 1991, when Hall also retired.

Awards and decorations

During his service, Hall has received the

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 ...

, the

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 ...

, the

Defense Meritorious Service Medal The Defense Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM) is an award bestowed upon members of the United States military by the United States Department of Defense. In the order of precedence of the United States Armed Forces, it is worn between the Purple ...

(with bronze oak leaf cluster), the

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

(with silver oak leaf cluster), the

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 ...

, the

Parachutist Badge A parachutist badge (or parachutist brevet) is a military badge awarded by the armed forces of many states to soldiers who have received parachute training and completed the required number of jumps. It is difficult to assess which country was th ...

, and the Army General Staff Identification Badge.

Retirement

After his retirement, Hall served on the Atlanta Committee for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games and served as the vice president for campus operations at

. Hall also serves on Morehouse's board of trustees and as president of Morehouse's national alumni association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, James R. 1936 births Living people People from Anniston, Alabama Morehouse College alumni Military personnel from Alabama United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania alumni Joint Forces Staff College alumni United States Army War College alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals