David Custis Meade (21 August 1940 – 9 October 2019) was a major general in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

who served as commanding officer of the

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division (military), division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in ...

from August 1993 to July 1995. As division commander, he also served as commander of Multinational Forces Haiti from October 1994 to January 1995.

Early life and education

Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

, Meade graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase Senior High School in 1958. He then attended

Dickinson College Dickinson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School, Dickinson was chartered on September 9, 1783, ...

, where he was a member of

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, , it consist ...

, played

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

and earned an A.B. degree in 1962. Meade participated in the

Army ROTC The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (AROTC) is the United States Army component of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is the largest Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program which is a group of college and university-based officer tr ...

program at Dickinson College and was commissioned a second lieutenant of artillery upon graduation. He later received a master's degree in education from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

Military career

During his career, Meade was deployed to Vietnam, Somalia, Haiti, Grenada and Panama. As a lieutenant colonel, Meade served as commander of the 1st Battalion, 79th Field Artillery Regiment. As a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, he was given command of the 7th Infantry Division Artillery. As a major general, Meade supervised the deployment of 10th Mountain Division troops to Haiti in 1994 during

Operation Uphold Democracy Operation Uphold Democracy was a multinational military intervention designed to remove the military regime led and installed by Raoul Cédras after the 1991 Haitian coup d'état overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The op ...

. In May 1995, Meade was conferred an honorary Doctor of Liberal Arts degree by his alma mater Dickinson College. He retired from active duty later in 1995.

Awards and decorations

Meade's military awards included:

Personal

Meade was married to Frances Meade. They had a daughter and two sons. After his first marriage ended in divorce, he remarried with Marina (Kalergis) Meade. After his death in

Dover, New Hampshire Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,741 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populous city in the New Hampshire Seacoast Region (New Hampshire), Seacoast region and ...

, Meade was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

on 28 July 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meade, David C. 1940 births 2019 deaths Military personnel from Washington, D.C. Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School alumni Dickinson College alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Air Medal Curry School of Education alumni Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Brazil)