Robert William Porter Jr. (29 April 1908 – 22 April 2000) was a

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 ...

four-star general who served as Commander in Chief,

United States Southern Command The United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), located in Doral, Florida, Doral in Greater Miami, Greater Miami, Florida, is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for providi ...

from 1965 to 1969.

Military career

Porter was born in

Alma, Nebraska Alma is a city in Harlan County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,133 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Harlan County. History Alma was founded in the spring of 1871 by a group of Union Pacific railroad laborers origina ...

, on 29 April 1908. After graduating from high school, he entered the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

, graduating in 1930. He began his career in the cavalry. During World War II, he served with the 1st Infantry Division in North Africa and Sicily, and with II Corps in Italy. Returning to the War Department in 1945, he served as a strategic planner, and later became executive officer to the Under Secretary of the Army. After graduating from the

National War College In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National ...

in 1950, Porter held a variety of positions to include commander, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment; Deputy G-3, Allied Land Forces Central Europe; Chief of Staff, X Corps; member of the National Security Council Planning Board; Commander, 3rd Armored Division; United States Representative to the Permanent Deputies Group, Central Treaty Organization. From April 1964 to 1965 he commanded the

First United States Army First Army is the largest OC/T organization in the U.S. Army, comprising two divisions, ten brigades, and more than 7,500 Soldiers. Its mission is to partner with the U.S. Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve to enable leaders and deli ...

Fort Jay Fort Jay is a coastal bastion fort and the name of a former United States Army post on Governors Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. Fort Jay is the oldest existing defensive structure on the island, and was named for John Jay, a m ...

Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk ...

, New York. His final assignment was Commander-in-Chief,

. Porter's awards and decorations included the

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. ...

with

oak leaf cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a spec ...

, the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

with oak leaf cluster, and the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

Later life

After retiring from the army, Porter became a tree farmer in Virginia, winning the title Virginia Tree Farmer of the Year in 1995. He died on 22 April 2000, at the

Martha Jefferson Hospital Martha Jefferson Hospital is a nonprofit community hospital owned by Sentara Healthcare and located in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1903 by eight local physicians. The 176-bed hospital has an employed staff of 1,600 and has 365 a ...

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

, after a heart attack.

References

* United States Army generals United States Military Academy alumni United States Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit People from Alma, Nebraska 1908 births 2000 deaths Farmers from Virginia Military personnel from Charlottesville, Virginia 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-army-World-War-II-bio-stub