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 ...

Paul DeWitt Adams (October 6, 1906 – October 31, 1987) 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.

Early life

Adams was born in Heflin, Alabama. After graduating from

Marion Military Institute Marion Military Institute, the Military College of Alabama, (MMI, sometimes Marion Institute, Marion Military, or simply Marion) is a Public college, public military junior college in Marion, Alabama. Founded in 1842, it is the official state mil ...

in 1924,Marion Military Institute flag officer alumni
he entered the

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 ...

and graduated in 1928, receiving his commission in the infantry.

Military career

Adams served with as executive officer of the

1st Special Service Force The 1st Special Service Force was an elite American–Canadian commando unit in World War II, under the command of the United States Fifth Army. The unit was organized in 1942 and trained at Fort William Henry Harrison near Helena, Montana i ...

from 1942 to 1944, including during their assault on

Kiska Kiska ( ale, Qisxa, russian: Кыска) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required ...

in 1943. Following that assignment, he became commanding officer of the 143d Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division, serving in the Mediterranean Theater (

Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil) was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15August 1944. Despite initially designed to be executed in conjunction with Operation Overlord, th ...

) and European Theater from January 1944 to January 1945. He succeeded

Frederic B. Butler Brigadier General Frederic Bates Butler (October 5, 1896 – June 20, 1987) was the US Army officer who led the American Task Force in the encirclement action of Operation Dragoon at the Battle of Montelimar, France in August 1944. Personal l ...

as assistant division commander, 45th Infantry Division from January 1945 to January 1946. This was followed by staff assignments to Headquarters, Army Ground Forces in 1946 and

Command and General Staff College 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 ...

from 1947 to 1950. He was a student and then faculty member at the Army War College from 1950 to 1951, before being deployed to fight in 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 ...

. He consecutively served as commanding general, 25th Infantry Division, Chief of Staff of

X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to: France * 10th Army Corps (France) * X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * X ...

, and Chief of Staff Eighth United States Army during the Korean War. After the war, he was commanding general,

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

, from June to December 1953. He later served as commanding general, U.S. Army Forces in the Middle East in 1958. From 1959 to 1960, he commanded

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 Army ...

. Adams concurrently served as commanding general,

Third United States Army Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

, and commanding general,

Fort McPherson Fort McPherson was a U.S. Army military base located in Atlanta, Georgia, bordering the northern edge of the city of East Point, Georgia. It was the headquarters for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Southeast Region; the U.S. Ar ...

, Georgia, from 1960 to 1961. After receiving his fourth star in 1961, he became Commander-in-Chief,

United States Strike Command In 1961 the United States Strike Command (STRICOM) was established at MacDill Air Force Base as a unified combatant command capable of responding to global crises. The name of the command was originally derived from the acronym for Swift Tactical ...

, from 1961 to 1966. Adams retired in 1966. He was president of Paul D. Adams & Associates from 1966 to 1971. He died on October 31, 1987 in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

Honors and awards

Army Distinguished Service Medal

Citation

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Major General Paul DeWitt Adams (ASN: 0-7306), United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility as Commanding General, 25th Infantry Division, Chief of Staff of X Corps, and Chief of Staff Eighth United States Army, from 9 February 1952 to 4 April 1953.

=Citation

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Major General Paul DeWitt Adams (ASN: 0-7306), United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility from 26 July 1958 to 25 October 1958.

=Citation

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Second Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Third Award of the Army Distinguished Service Medal to General Paul DeWitt Adams (ASN: 0-7306), United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility as Commander in Chief, United States Strike Command, during the period from October 1961 to October 1966.

Silver Star

Citation

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Major General Paul DeWitt Adams (ASN: 0-7306), United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility as Commanding General, 25th Infantry Division, Chief of Staff of X Corps, and Chief of Staff Eighth United States Army, from 9 February 1952 to 4 April 1953.

Notes

* R. Manning Ancell, ''Biographical Dictionary of World War II Generals and Flag Officers'', p. 2 (1996)

References

External links

Generals of World War II
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Paul D. 1906 births 1987 deaths United States Army Infantry Branch personnel United States Military Academy alumni United States Army personnel of the Korean War Marion Military Institute alumni People from Heflin, Alabama Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals National War College alumni