Walter Francis Ulmer Jr. (born April 2, 1929) is a retired

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 ...

in the United States Army.

Military career

Born in Bangor,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, Walter Ulmer graduated from West Point in the Class of 1952. Commissioned a second lieutenant of Armor, he commanded companies in the 56th Amphibious Tank and Tractor Battalion 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 ...

, the 6th Tank Battalion, 24th Infantry Division in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment of the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

. In 1958, he was assigned to the Department of Military Topography and Graphics at West Point, and, following that tour, he attended the Command and General Staff College. After graduation he deployed to

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 ...

, serving with the U.S. Military Assistance Command and as senior advisor to a Vietnamese Infantry regiment. Upon his return to the United States, he held high-level staff positions and commanded the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry, 82nd Airborne Division from 1967 to 1968. General Ulmer, as a Lt. Colonel, then attended the Army War College and was subsequently selected for duty on its faculty. There, at the direction of General

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 ...

, in response to the My Lai Massacre by U.S. Army forces (and subsequent cover up by the Army chain of command), he was selected as a member of a three officer team that compiled a comprehensive and seminal study of leadership within the Army during the Vietnam War demonstrating a severe erosion of adherence to the Army's officer code of "Duty, Honor, Country". The report, entitled
Study on Military Professionalism
, had a profound influence on Army policies, beginning with Westmoreland's decision to end the policy that officers serving in

would be rotated into a different post after only six months. In 1972, then-Colonel Ulmer returned to Vietnam, where he was Chief, Combat Assistance Team 70, during 62 days of intense combat in the Battle and Siege of An Loc. For its extraordinary heroism against a North Vietnamese force greatly outnumbering the Army Republic of Vietnam defenders, Combat Assistance Team 70 was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. The citation documents the team's pivotal role in turning back the North Vietnamese Army's massive surprise offensive of 1972. In 1973, General Ulmer completed a master's degree in Regional Planning from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

. Subsequently, he was commander of the 194th Armor Brigade and, then, Deputy Commander, U.S. Army Armor Center,

Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository, which is used to house a large portion of the United States' official gold res ...

. In 1975, Brigadier General Ulmer returned to West Point as the 56th Commandant of Cadets. In 1975, Ulmer served as Commandant of Cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he presided over the first admission of female cadets, and one of West Point's biggest embarrassments, the Class of 1977 cheating scandal involving several hundred of the junior classmen (Ulmer recommended expulsion of all cadets found guilty of cheating on an electrical engineering exam, but was overruled). General Ulmer commanded the 3rd Armored Division in Germany and, later, during his service as Commanding General, III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas. Following promotion to

, he commanded III Corps from 1982 to 1985 In 1985, General Ulmer retired after thirty-three years of distinguished military service. His awards and decorations include the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal with "V" Device, and decorations awarded by the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Vietnam, and the Federal Republic of Germany.

Awards and decorations

Lieutenant General Ulmer's awards and decorations include: * Distinguished Service Medal ribbon

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

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 ...

with one oak leaf cluster * 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 one oak leaf cluster * 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

Valor Device Valor, valour, or valorous may mean: * Courage, a similar meaning * Virtue ethics, roughly "courage in defense of a noble cause" Entertainment * Valor (band), a Christian gospel music group * Valor Kand, a member of the band Christian Death * ' ...

) *

Army Presidential Unit Citation * Vietnam Service Medal ribbon

Vietnam Service Medal * Army Overseas Service Ribbon

Overseas Service Ribbon An Overseas Service Ribbon is a service military award of the United States military which recognizes those service members who have performed military tours outside the borders of the United States of America. There are different versions of the ...

Joint Service Commendation Medal Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulmer, Walter F. 1929 births Living people People from Bangor, Maine United States Military Academy alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Silver Star Pennsylvania State University alumni United States Army generals Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)