George S. Speidel, Jr.

Imageedit 7 7848698668 — Brig. Gen. George S. Speidel, Jr.

George Sebastian Speidel, Jr. (12 April 1907 in Swissvale, Pennsylvania - 21 March 1994 in Raleigh, North Carolina) was a United States Army Brigadier General.

Early life[]

George was born in Swissvale, Pennsylvania on April 12, 1907, to George Sr. and Caroline Speidel.

Military Service[]

Official 1931 West Point Graduation Photo

He served in the Army as an Enlisted man from April 29, 1926, to July 1, 1927. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy in July 1927. In June 1931, he graduated from the Academy and was commissioned in the Field Artillery (ASN: 0–18406). He completed the Field Artillery School Course in 1935.

Assignments[]

Pre World War II[]

76th Field Artillery Regiment, Presidio of Monterey, California
Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
member of the Department of Natural Philosophy (mathematics and mechanics), United States Military Academy
Instructor and Assistant Head of Gunnery at the United States Army Field Artillery School

World War II[]

Office of the Chief of Transportation, London, England
Deputy G-4 of the Third United States Army

Post World War II[]

participated in Operation Crossbow, the testing of atomic weaponry in the Bikini Islands (Bikini Atoll)
Instructor at the Armed Forces Staff College
Jump School student at Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Chief of Staff of the 82nd Airborne Division
Commanding Officer of the United States Army Field Artillery School

Korean War[]

Executive Officer of the 2nd Infantry Division Artillery
Commanding Officer of the 40th Infantry Division Artillery
Chief of Staff of the Korean Military Advisory Group
Department of Manpower and Personnel, The Pentagon

Post Korean War[]

Commanding General of the 11th Airborne Division Artillery
Aide-de-camp to the 24th Infantry Division
Commanding General of the VII Corps Artillery
Commanding General of the XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery

He retired as a Brigadier General on July 31, 1961.

Dates of Rank[]

June 11, 1931: Second Lieutenant
August 1, 1935: First Lieutenant
September 9, 1940: Captain
October 4, 1940: Major
February 1, 1942: Lieutenant Colonel
January 1, 1944: Colonel
June 28, 1957: Brigadier General

Education[]

Bachelor of Science, United States Military Academy (1931)
United States Army Command and General Staff College (1943)
Armed Forces Staff College (1947)
United States Army War College (1953)
Master's Degree in Mathematics, Duke University

Personal life[]

In June 1931, George married Olive (Tommie) Rinehart in the Cadet Chapel at West Point. Together they had two children (George III and Richard). His wife died in 1994.

Later Life and Death[]

After his retirement he moved to Durham, North Carolina. He accepted a position as assistant professor of mathematics at North Carolina State, where he was a much sought after instructor in beginning calculus. As the years at State passed George reduced his teaching load to take up grandparenting and extensive traveling. In 1990, George retired and continued his residence in Raleigh, where he died of cancer on March 21, 1994. He was buried in the USMA Post Cemetery at West Pont, New York.

Awards and Decorations[]

Parachutist Badge
Legion of Merit with 2 oak leaf clusters
Bronze Star Medal with oak leaf cluster
American Campaign Medal
American Defense Service Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with five bronze service stars
World War II Victory Medal
French Croix de Guerre with palm
Battle of the Bulge Commemorative Medal
Korean Service Medal
United Nations Service Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Presidential Unit Citation
Army of Occupation Medal
Korean Order of Military Merit Eulji Class

Sources[]

Gallery[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at George S. Speidel, Jr. and the edit history here.