GEN George Decker, official portrait by Woodi Ishmael

General George Henry Decker (February 16, 1902–February 6, 1980) was Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1960 to 1962. General Decker was born in Catskill, New York and attended Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, receiving an economics degree in 1924. He served in the U.S. Army from 1924 to 1962. He married the former Helen E. Inman in 1926. He died on February 6, 1980 in Washington, D.C. February 16 is the 47th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... February 6 is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... The Flag of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army The Chief of Staff of the United States Army (CSA) is the professional head of the United States Army who is responsible for insuring readiness of the Army. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... Catskill can refer to either: The Catskill Mountains in New York State The Village of Catskill, New York The Town of Catskill, New York This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Lafayette College, located in Easton, Pennsylvania, United States in Pennsylvanias Lehigh Valley, is an independent, undergraduate, coeducational, residential institution. ... February 6 is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Flag Seal Nickname: DC, The District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location Location of Washington, D.C., with regard to the surrounding states of Maryland and Virginia. ...

Military career

According to his official U.S. Army biography, he was commissioned a second lieutenant of infantry in June 1924, and began his Army service with the 26th Infantry Regiment, then stationed at Plattsburg Barracks in upstate New York. In 1928, he was sent to Hawaii, where he served with the 35th Infantry Regiment until 1931. He was promoted to first lieutenant in April 1930. After attending advanced infantry training at the Infantry School at Fort Benning in 1932, he remained at Fort Benning with the 29th Infantry Regiment until 1935, followed by service at Vancouver Barracks, near Portland, Oregon with the 7th Infantry Regiment from 1935 to 1936 (during which time he was promoted to captain, in August 1935). Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudsons Bay Company in the Oregon Country. ...

In 1936, he was sent to the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, from which he graduated in 1937. Subsequently, he served with the 10th Infantry Regiment at Fort Thomas, Kentucky and Fort McClellan, Alabama, and the 9th Infantry Regiment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In 1940 he took command of Headquarters Company, I Corps, at Fort Jackson, South Carolina and was assistant supply and logistics officer, 1940–1941. In 1941 came a flurry of promotions: to temporary major (January), permanent major (June), and temporary lieutenant colonel (December). He was sent to Washington, D.C. to serve on the War Department General Staff, where he was assigned to the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Supply. He was promoted to temporary colonel in October 1942 and became deputy chief of staff of the Third Army, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He was then sent overseas to the Southwest Pacific, where he became deputy chief of staff and then chief of staff of the Sixth Army, a position he held through the end of World War II. He had been promoted to temporary brigadier general in August 1944 and major general in June 1945, and participated in Sixth Army operations in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and the Philippines. In 1827, Colonel Henry Leavenworth established a post on the bluffs overlooking the western bank of the Missouri River to protect the fur trade, safeguard commerce on the Santa Fe Trail and maintain the peace among the inhabitants. ... Fort Thomas is a city located in Campbell County, Kentucky, along the Ohio River. ... Fort McClellan was a United States Army installation located adjacent to the city of Anniston, Alabama. ... Fort Bragg is a census-designated place and United States Army base, or post, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, near Fayetteville. ... Fort Jackson is a United States Army Basic Combat Training (BCT) base located in South Carolina. ... Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. ...

General Decker returned to Washington in 1946 to Headquarters, Army Ground Forces and Headquarters, Army Service Forces, but soon went back to the Pacific as deputy commanding general and chief of staff of United States Forces, Middle Pacific, Hawaii from 1946 to 1948.

General Decker became commanding general of the 5th Infantry Division in 1948, and in 1950 was assigned to the Office of the Comptroller of the Army as Chief of the Budget Division. Promoted to temporary lieutenant general in 1952, he became comptroller of the Army from 1952 to 1955. He was promoted to permanent brigadier general in April 1953 and permanent major general in July 1954. In 1955, he went to Germany as commanding general of VII Corps at Stuttgart, and was promoted to temporary general in May 1956.

From 1956 to 1957, General Decker was deputy commander-in-chief of the United States European Command at its headquarters in Rocquencourt, outside Paris, France. From 1957 to 1959 he was commander-in-chief, United Nations Command, and commanding general, United States Forces, Korea and Eighth U.S. Army.

General Decker was appointed Vice Chief of Staff of the Army in 1959, and on October 1, 1960 became Chief of Staff of the Army, serving in that capacity until September 30, 1962. According to his Army biography, highlights of his tenure were supervising augmentations to meet the crisis in Berlin (surrounding the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961), increasing special warfare forces, initiating new divisional and forward depot concepts, and expanding the Army to sixteen divisions. General Decker retired at the end of his tenure. October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... The Flag of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army The Chief of Staff of the United States Army (CSA) is the professional head of the United States Army who is responsible for insuring readiness of the Army. ... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 92 days remaining. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, 1961-11-20 In the last phase of the wall´s development, the death strip between fence and concrete wall gave guards a clear shot at hundreds of would-be escapees from the East. ...

Decorations

General Decker's awards and decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal (with one Oak Leaf Cluster), the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star. The Distinguished Service Medal is a military award of the United States Army which is presented to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the United States military, has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious service to the Government in a duty of great responsibility. ... Bronze and Silver oak leaf clusters An Oak leaf cluster is a common device which is placed on military awards and decorations to denote those who have received more than one bestowal of a particular decoration. ... The Silver Star is a United States military decoration and is the third highest medal for valor. ... The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces which is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. ... The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration and is the fourth highest award for bravery, heroism or meritorious service. ...

References

• United States Army: George Henry Decker