Peter James Boylan Jr. (May 18, 1936 – November 12, 2023) was a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

Early life and education

Boylan was born in

Portage, Wisconsin Portage is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 10,581 at the 2020 census making it the largest city in Columbia County. The city is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. Po ...

, on May 18, 1936. He was a 1954 graduate of

Portage High School Portage High School is a public high school in Portage, Indiana that serves grades 9 through 12. The school has been in the area since the 1960s but can be dated back to the 1940s. The school serves the Portage, Indiana area as well as the South ...

and was inducted into their Hall of Fame. Boylan then studied at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

for a few semesters. He went on to earn a B.S. degree in military science from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

. Boylan graduated from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

with an M.S. degree in 1969 and an M.S.E. degree in 1970, having studied aerospace engineering and systems engineering. He also studied at the

Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

and the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...

. Boylan later received an honorary Doctor of Letters from

Flagler College Flagler College is a private liberal arts college in St. Augustine, Florida. It was founded in 1968 and offers 33 undergraduate majors and one master's program. It also has a campus in Tallahassee. History Founded in 1968, the campus comprises ...

Military career

Boylan enlisted in the U.S. Army on October 10, 1956, before being appointed to the U.S. Military Academy the following year, graduating in 1961. He then went on to serve two tours of duty in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. In 1983, Boylan took part in the Invasion of Grenada with the 82nd Airborne Division. He later served in the Office of the Joint Chief of Staff at

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a meton ...

, Deputy Inspector General of the Army and commander of the

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry 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 the US military to re ...

. Boylan would also return to the United States Military Academy as Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering from 1969 to 1972 and Commandant of Cadets from 1984 to 1987. He was on the board of trustees for the United States Military Academy. He retired from the army in 1992 and was appointed president of

Georgia Military College Georgia Military College (GMC) is a public military junior college in Milledgeville, Georgia. It is divided into the junior college, a military junior college program, high school, middle school, and elementary school. It was originally known as M ...

later that year. Awards Boylan received during his time in the army include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal with two

oak leaf clusters 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 speci ...

and two

Valor device Valor, valour, or valorous may mean: * Courage, a similar meaning * Virtue ethics, roughly "courage in defense of a noble cause" Entertainment * Valor (band), a Christian gospel music group * Valor Kand, a member of the band Christian Death * ...

s, the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

, the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

, the

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of e ...

, the Ranger tab and the

Master Parachutist Badge The Parachutist Badge, also commonly referred to as "Jump Wings" is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces. The United States Space Force and United States Coast Guard are the only branches that do not award the Parachutist Badge, bu ...

Personal life

Boylan married Kathleen E. "Kathy" Costa on July 1, 1961. They had two sons and three daughters. Both sons, one daughter and a grandson graduated from West Point. Their son Colonel Gregory L. Boylan has made a military career teaching at West Point, following in footsteps of his uncle Brigadier General John J. Costa (May 7, 1925 – August 6, 2013) who retired on May 31, 1989, as the last veteran of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. Boylan was a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

at his local

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

, the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church. Boylan resided in Milledgeville, Georgia with his wife. He died there on November 12, 2023, at the age of 87.Community mourns passing of Maj. Gen. Peter Boylan
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boylan, Peter 1936 births 2023 deaths People from Portage, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni United States Army soldiers United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from Wisconsin United States Army Rangers United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Silver Star University of Michigan alumni University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni United States Military Academy faculty United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Naval War College alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Flagler College alumni