Sidney Bryan Berry (February 10, 1926 – July 1, 2013) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

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 ...

, Superintendent of

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

(1974–1977), and Commissioner of Public Safety for the state of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

(1980–1984).

Early life and education

Berry was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi on February 10, 1926.Atkinson, p. 395. He received his appointment to the academy from Mississippi, graduating 160th in his class from West Point in 1948. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry branch, and assigned to his first unit in Japan in 1949.

Military career

Berry's career spanned two wars. He first saw duty as a company commander in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. For service during the war in Korea, he was awarded two Silver Stars, a Bronze Star for Valor, a Purple Heart, and the Combat Infantryman Badge. After duty in the Korean War, he earned a graduate degree from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

(1951–1953). He then served as an instructor at West Point in the Department of Social Sciences (1953–1956). He was a military assistant to Secretary of Defense

Robert McNamara Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He remains the ...

(1961–1964), traveling to South Vietnam on multiple occasions. 1964–65, Berry was a student at the U.S. Army War College, in Carlisle Barracks, PA. He also served a year at the Council of Foreign Relations in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

(1967–1968). He would serve two and a half years in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by 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 Vietnam a ...

between 1965 and 1971. His second combat wound occurred during his first tour (1965–1966) when he was serving as senior

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) was a joint-service command of the United States Department of Defense. MACV was created on 8 February 1962, in response to the increase in United States military assistance to South Vietnam. MACV ...

adviser to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam 7th Division. His awards for his service in South Vietnam included the Distinguished Service Medal, 2 Silver Stars, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Legions of Merit, the Purple Heart, 42 Air Medals, and a second Combat Infantryman Badge. Berry became the 50th Superintendent of West Point in 1974. His time there would be trying, as he oversaw the integration of women in the summer of 1976 while at the same time dealing with a massive honor scandal involving cheating on an academic test involving the junior class. Following his tour as USMA Superintendent, Berry commanded the V Corps, US Army, Europe, from 1977 to 1980. He retired from active military service on 1 March 1980.

Decorations

Army Distinguished Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster * Silver Star ribbon

Silver Star with three oak leaf clusters * Legion of Merit ribbon

Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters * Distinguished Flying Cross ribbon

Distinguished Flying Cross * Bronze Star ribbon

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 ...

with Valor Device * Air Medal ribbon

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

with eight silver oak leaf clusters and one bronze oak leaf cluster * Purple Heart ribbon

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, ...

with oak leaf cluster * CIB2

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 e ...

with second award star

Post military

Upon retirement from the military Berry served as Mississippi's Commissioner of Public Safety, 1980–1984. He then retired to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He died at a retirement home in

Kennett Square, Pennsylvania Kennett Square is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known as the Mushroom Capital of the World because mushroom farming in the region produces over 500 million pounds of mushrooms a year, totaling half of the United ...

on July 1, 2013 of complications from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. At his death he was 87 and was survived by his wife of 64 years, Anne; two daughters, a son and 12 grandchildren.http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130715/NEWS/307150327/-1/SITEMAP

References

Sources * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Sidney B. 1926 births 2013 deaths United States Military Academy alumni Columbia University alumni United States Army generals Superintendents of the United States Military Academy Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit