Alva Revista Fitch (September 10, 1907 – November 25, 1989) was a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

in the

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 ...

and was deputy director of

Defense Intelligence Agency The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency and combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) specializing in military intelligence. A component of the Department of Defense and the United States In ...

from 1964 to 1966. He commanded an artillery battalion during the

Battle of Bataan The Battle of Bataan (; 7 January – 9 April 1942) was fought by the United States and the Philippine Commonwealth against Imperial Japan during World War II. The battle represented the most intense phase of the Japanese invasion of the Phi ...

and was a prisoner of war from 1942 to 1945. From October 16, 1961, to January 5, 1964, Fitch served as the assistant chief of staff for intelligence, Headquarters, Department of the Army.

Early life

Born in

Amherst, Nebraska Amherst is a village in Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Kearney, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 248 at the 2010 census. History Amherst was laid out and platted on its present site in 189 ...

, on September 10, 1907, son of Gertrude De La Barre and John Albert Fitch. Fitch was the first

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

in Nebraska, and one of the very earliest west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. He graduated from Kearney High School and received an appointment to West Point, having been nominated by Nebraska senator Robert B. Howell.

Junior officer

Fitch graduated from 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 ...

West Point 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 ...

in June 1930 and became a second lieutenant in the

Field Artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support army, armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the ear ...

. He was promoted to first lieutenant in September 1935 and served as aide-de-camp to Gen. Lesley J. McNair from 1937 to 1939.

World War II

Fitch was sent to

Fort Stotsenburg Fort Stotsenburg, during the World War II era, was the location of the Philippine Department's 26th Cavalry Regiment (PS), 86th Field Artillery Battalion, and 88th Field Artillery Regiment; along with the Philippine Division's 23rd and 2 ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in February 1940 and He commanded Battery A of the 23rd Field Artillery Regiment, which was armed with horse and mule drawn QF 2.95-inch Mountain Guns. He was promoted to captain in June 1940. After the invasion of the Philippines began on 8 December 1941, the 23rd Field Artillery was attached to the 26th Cavalry Regiment on December 13 and retreated with other units of I Corps to

Bataan Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of Bataan, is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entire Bataan Peninsula ...

. Fitch was promoted to major in January 1942 and was put in command of the 71st Field Artillery when Colonel Halstead C. Fowler was wounded. Fitch received the Distinguished Service Cross for leading a battalion of artillery cut off by Japanese encirclement to remaining I Corp units south of Mauban. He was captured in May 1942 a few days after surrender and taken prisoner. A survivor of the

Bataan Death March The Bataan Death March was the Death march, forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of around 72,000 to 78,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war (POWs) from the municipalities of Bagac and Mariveles on the Bataan Peninsula to Camp ...

, he was held at

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

Camp O'Donnell Camp O'Donnell is a current military base and former United States military reservation in the Philippines located on Luzon island in the municipality of Capas in Tarlac. It housed the Philippine Army's newly created 71st Division and after t ...

. In December 1944 he was transferred with other Bataan survivors aboard the

Ōryoku Maru was a Japanese passenger cargo ship which was commissioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II as a Troopship, troop transport and prisoner of war (POW) transport ship. Japanese POW transport ships are often referred to as hell sh ...

to the

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

prison camps. He was released in September 1945. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

for heroism and courage in combat and while a captive of the Japanese.

Post-war

From February to July 1946, he attended 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 ...

at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and remained as an instructor until August 1947. In the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, Fitch was an artillery commander and then commanded the 3rd Armored Division. He later served as Chief of Staff of Army Intelligence before being named to the Defense Intelligence Agency post in 1964.

Military intelligence

He served on the Army Aircraft Requirements Review Board, also known as the Rogers Board, which was established on January 15, 1960, by the Army Chief of Staff to review the Army Aircraft Development Plan and the related industry proposals. The Rogers Board's members included Major Generals Hamilton H. Howze, Thomas F. Van Natta, Robert J. Wood, Richard D. Meyer, Ernest F. Easterbrook, and chairman Lieutenant General Gordon B. Rogers; and its results prefigured the more influential

Howze Board The Howze Board was the informal name given to the Tactical Mobility Requirements Board created at the direct request of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to review and test new concepts integrating helicopters as close air support into the Uni ...

on airmobility.

Retirement and death

Fitch retired from active duty in 1966 and was military editor of the

Kiplinger Kiplinger ( ) is an American publisher of business forecasts and personal finance advice that is a subsidiary of Future plc. Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc., was a closely held company managed for more than nine decades by three generations o ...

Newsletter from 1966 to 1975. He died at

Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), officially known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951, was the United States Army, U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in Washington, D.C., it served more ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on November 25, 1989, and was buried in Section 30 of Arlington National Cemetery. General Fitch is a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.

Notable subordinates

General Fitch was

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

's commanding officer during the singer's stint in the army from 1958 to 1960. Future

U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...

was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

with the 3rd Armored Division under General Fitch.

Gallery

File:ARFitch Arlington Front.jpg , Grave site of Alva R. Fitch at Arlington National Cemetery File:Alva Fitch 3rd Armored.jpg , Brigadier General Alva R. Fitch, Division Artillery Commander of the 3rd Armored Division. File: AR Fitch 1961.JPG , Fitch being sworn in as Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence by Maj. Gen. Joe C. Lambert at

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

in 1961

References

Bibliography

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External links

Fitch's headstone at Arlington National Cemetery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitch, Alva R. 1907 births 1989 deaths People from Buffalo County, Nebraska Military personnel from Nebraska United States Military Academy alumni United States Army personnel of World War II Bataan Death March prisoners United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army generals Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit American prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Japan People of the Defense Intelligence Agency American torture victims