Phillip Buford Davidson Jr. (November 26, 1915 – February 7, 1996) was an American

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 in

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 ...

, 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 ...

, and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, 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 Vie ...

Biography

Davidson was born on November 26, 1915, in Hachita, New Mexico. Davidson attended West Point, graduating in 1939. During

, he served as assistant intelligence officer in the 96th Infantry Division. Later, he served as a squadron commander in

George Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

's Third Army. Following the war, he was assigned as an instructor to the Army's School of Intelligence in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Starting in 1948 and continuing throughout the

, Davidson was chief, Plans and Estimates Branch, in General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

's intelligence office. It was during this time that occurred one of the US Army's greatest intelligence failures in history - not predicting Chinese intervention in the Korean War. In 1969, while assigned as commanding General of the Army training center at Fort Ord,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, Davidson was the

respondent {{unreferenced, date=February 2012 A respondent is a person who is called upon to issue a response to a communication made by another. The term is used in legal contexts, in survey methodology, and in psychological conditioning. Legal usage In ...

in the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

decision '' Parisi v. Davidson''. In that case, the court granted

habeas ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a Legal recourse, recourse in law through which a person can report an Arbitrary arrest and detention, unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodi ...

relief to a soldier seeking an

honorable discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and th ...

as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

. During the Vietnam War, 1967 until 1969, Davidson was the chief of US intelligence in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, under the command of

William Westmoreland William Childs Westmoreland (March 26, 1914 – July 18, 2005) was a United States Army general, most notably commander of United States forces during the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968. He served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from ...

and later Creighton Abrams. From May 3, 1971, to September 30, 1972, Davidson, then a major general, was the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Headquarters, Department of the Army. He was later promoted to lieutenant general. In 1988, he published ''Vietnam at War: The History 1946–1975'', which is widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive accounts of the Indochina wars. He followed it up in 1990 with ''Secrets of the Vietnam War'', where he described his experiences in Vietnam. Davidson died on February 7, 1996, in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. He is buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

. Davidson is a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.

Military decorations

Lieutenant general Davidson received many decorations during his military service:Hall of Valor: Phillip Buford Davidson , Jr.
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References

External links

ANC Explorer

Phillip B. Davidson, Jr. and Army Intelligence Doctrine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Phillip B. Jr. 1915 births 1996 deaths People from Grant County, New Mexico United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from New Mexico United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army generals Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit Intelligence analysts Burials at Arlington National Cemetery