Ernest L. Massad

Ernest Louis "Iron Mike" Massad (December 25, 1908 — February 20, 1993) was a college football star, major general of the U.S. Army, and successful oilman.

Biography
Major Ernest L. Massad was born in Brinkman, Oklahoma to Namey and Shafiga Kouri Massad in 1908. Massad graduated from Ardmore High School and enrolled in the University of Oklahoma in the Fall of 1928, where he starred in football, playing as a fullback, linebacker and kicker, and earned the nickname "Iron Mike" for his athletic ability. In 1956, he was chosen by Sports Illustrated magazine for inclusion in a set of "Men of Achievement" who excelled at football in 1931 but by 1956 were "furnishing U.S. leadership in business, medicine, law, theology, diplomacy, teaching, coaching and the military."

General Massad was a member of Reserve Officers' Training Corps from 1928 to 1932 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1933.

Massad married Mozelle Sockwell on January 30, 1939 in Shreveport, Louisiana, and had a son, Michael Louis, and a daughter, Elaine.

He served in the First Cavalry Division from 1940 to 1943. After the United States entered World War II he also served in the 82nd Airborne Division. He rose to battalion command in the Eleventh Airborne Division, which fought in the Pacific Theater of Operations. He served as Commander of the 675th Para-Glider Field Artillery Battalion and participated in the New Guinea campaign, and the battles of Leyte and Luzon. He was promoted to Colonel in 1945 and released from active duty in 1946. He returned to Ardmore, Oklahoma and resumed participation in the US Army Reserve.

Massad continued in the Reserve until 1968, where he rose to the rank of general. He had been assigned Assistant Division Commander of the 95th Infantry Division in January 1958 and the following May was promoted to Brigadier General. He was promoted to Major General on December 11, 1962.

He also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for reserve affairs in Washington D.C., appointed by the President Lyndon B. Johnson. He served as Chairman of the State of Oklahoma Fair Board and was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. He was elected Vice President of the Oklahoma Heritage Association on January 27, 1984.

In 1963, General Massad was named the American Lebanese Man of the Year by the Western Federation of American Syrian and Lebanese Clubs.

He was also an Independent Operator of the E.L. "Mike" Massad Oil Company and a successful businessman now in housing and real estate.

He died on February 20, 1993, in an Oklahoma City hospital.

Awards and decorations
Among Massad's service awards and decorations were the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart, Silver Arrowhead, and Presidential Unit Citation.


 * Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg Army Distinguished Service Medal
 * SilverStar.gif Silver Star
 * Legion of Merit ribbon.svg Legion of Merit
 * Bronze Star ribbon.svg Bronze Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster
 * Purple Heart BAR.svg Purple Heart
 * Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg Army Presidential Unit Citation