Ronald Houston Griffith (March 16, 1936 – July 18, 2018) was an American general in 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 ...

who served as

Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army The vice chief of staff of the Army (VCSA) is the principal deputy to the chief of staff of the Army, and is the second-highest-ranking officer on active duty in the Department of the Army. The vice chief of staff generally handles the day-to-d ...

(VCSA) from 1995 to 1997. He was born in

Lafayette, Georgia LaFayette ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Walker County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,888. It was founded as Chattooga. LaFayette is part of the Chattanooga, TN-GA Metropolitan Statistical A ...

Military career

Griffith was from North Georgia, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army in 1960 after having graduated from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

with a Bachelor of Science degree. He was a Vietnam War veteran, having served as an infantry unit advisor to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam from 1964 to 1965 and later as Executive Officer of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division from 1969 to 1970. Griffith's commands included 1st Battalion, 32nd Armor in Germany, 1st Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division in Korea, and 1st Armored Division which he commanded in Germany and during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. His staff positions at the Department of the Army level include executive officer to the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army for Operations and Plans; chief of the War Plans Division; deputy director of operations, the Inspector General of the Army, and Vice Chief of Staff of the Army. He also served as the chief of staff, and later as the assistant division commander of the 1st Cavalry Division at

Fort Hood Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarter ...

, Texas. Griffith retired from the Army on November 1, 1997. His awards and decorations included the

Defense Distinguished Service Medal The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to the ...

, the Army Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Legion of Merit with 2 oak leaf clusters, the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

with

"V" device A "V" device is a metal capital letter "V" with serifs which, when worn on certain decorations awarded by the United States Armed Forces, distinguishes an award for heroism or valor in combat instead of for meritorious service or achievement. ...

and 6 oak leaf clusters, 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

Combat Infantry 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 ei ...

, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge, and the

Army Staff Identification Badge The United States Army Staff Identification Badge is a badge of the United States Army worn by personnel who serve at the Office of the Secretary of the Army and the Army Staff at Headquarters, Department of the Army ( HQDA) and its agencies. N ...

. Griffith also received a number of foreign decorations which included, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star, the German Army Cross of Honor (Gold Class) and the Order of May for Military Merit (Grand Cross) from Argentina. He holds a master's degree in public administration from

Shippensburg University Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania (Ship or SU) is a public university in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Founded in 1871, it later became the first teachers college in Pennsylvania ...

. His military education included the Armor Officer Advanced Course, the

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 Army War College. He also studied French and German at the Defense Language Institute.

Post military

After retiring from the military, Griffith became Executive Vice President of

Military Professional Resources Inc. L-3 MPRI, was a global provider of private military contractor services with customers that included U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, law enforcement agencies, ...

(MPRI) and later he was selected to serve as Executive Vice President of the

L-3 Communications L3 Technologies, formerly L-3 Communications Holdings, was an American company that supplied command and control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ( C3ISR) systems and products, avionics, ocean products, training d ...

Government Services Group. He retired from these positions in 2010. For eight years he served on the Board of Visitors of the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

, completing tenure in this position in 2011. General Griffith served as a member of the Board of Regents of the

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) is a health science university of the U.S. federal government. The primary mission of the school is to prepare graduates for service to the U.S. at home and abroad in the medical corps as ...

and is on the Board of the Aurora Foundation. Griffith's wife, Hurdis M. Griffith, is Dean Emeritus of the College of Nursing,

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

. Together they had two adult daughters and five grandchildren. He died in his sleep on July 18, 2018.

References

Allied Defense Group bioVirginia Military Institute bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffith, Ronald H. 1936 births 2018 deaths United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War People from LaFayette, Georgia Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army generals United States Army Vice Chiefs of Staff United States Army War College alumni University of Georgia alumni