Richard Giles Stilwell (February 24, 1917 – December 25, 1991) 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 ...

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 ...

who served as Commander

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 ...

from 1973 to 1976, and acting Commander of the

U.S. Army Pacific The United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) designated by the United States Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Army (SECARMY); it may also serve as a Joint Task Force headquarters. It is the army comp ...

from September to December 1974. He was not closely related to General

Joseph W. Stilwell Joseph Warren "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell (March 19, 1883 – October 12, 1946) was a United States Army general who served in the China Burma India Theater during World War II. An early American popular hero of the war for leading a column walking o ...

Early life and education

Born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, in 1917, Stilwell attended

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

before graduating from 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 ...

in 1938 with a commission into the Corps of Engineers. He subsequently attended the

U.S. 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 officer ...

Career

World War II

During World War II, Stilwell participated in the

Normandy invasion Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norma ...

, and briefly served under General Patton immediately after the war during the occupation of Europe. From there he was a special military advisor to the U.S. Embassy in Rome before serving in the Central Intelligence Agency.

Cold War

Major commands for Stilwell included Commander of the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Thailand (MACTHAI) from 1965 to 1967. From there he commanded the 1st Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas, from 1967 to 1968. After his return to Vietnam, Stilwell commanded the XXIV Corps from 1968 to 1969.

Korean War

During the Korean War, Stilwell commanded the 15th Infantry Regiment, and was a senior advisor to the I Republic of Korea (ROK) Army Corps. In Vietnam, General Westmoreland appointed Stilwell as his Chief of Staff.

West Point

As a brigadier general, Stilwell was Commandant of Cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. while General Westmoreland was Superintendent during the early 1960s.

Vietnam War

Other significant assignments for Stilwell were Deputy Commanding General,

III Marine Amphibious Force III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) is a formation of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps. It is forward-deployed and able to rapidly conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and d ...

in Vietnam during 1968, and Deputy Chief of Staff for US Military Operations at the Pentagon under Army Chief of Staff General Westmoreland, 1969–1972. His major awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, 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 e ...

, 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 Distinguished Flying Cross, the

Bronze Star 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

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

, and numerous foreign decorations.

South Korea

Stilwell later served as the Commanding General of the

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 t ...

, at the Presidio from 1972 to 1973, followed by Commander-in-Chief of the

United Nations Command in Korea United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'') ...

. Stilwell oversaw

Operation Paul Bunyan The Korean axe murder incident (, ) was the killing of two US Army officers, Captain Arthur Bonifas and First Lieutenant Mark Barrett, by North Korean soldiers on August 18, 1976, in the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the Korean Demilitarized Zone ...

to remove a tree in the DMZ.

Later life and death

After retiring from the army, Stilwell served as U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy from 1981 to 1985.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stilwell, Richard G. 1917 births 1991 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Silver Star Military personnel from Buffalo, New York United States Army generals United States Military Academy alumni Commanders, United States Forces Korea