Major General Ben Sternberg (28 February 19142 January 2004) 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 ...

officer who served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

Early life

Sternberg was born in

Starke, Florida Starke is a city in and the county seat of Bradford County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,796 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The origin of the city's name is disputed. Starke may have been named in honor of local la ...

on 28 February 1914. He enlisted in the

Florida National Guard The Florida National Guard is the National Guard force of the state of Florida. It comprises the Florida Army National Guard and the Florida Air National Guard. The United States Constitution charges the National Guard with dual federal and st ...

on 2 July 1930 and attended the

Marion Military Institute Marion Military Institute, the Military College of Alabama, (MMI, sometimes Marion Institute, Marion Military, or simply Marion) is a Public college, public military junior college in Marion, Alabama. Founded in 1842, it is the official state mi ...

Military career

Sternberg enlisted in the Regular Army on 2 July 1933 and was subsequently appointed to 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 ...

. He graduated from West Point with a B.S. degree on 14 June 1938 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant of infantry. In March 1943 as a lieutenant colonel he commanded the 2nd Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division in combat at the

Battle of El Guettar The Battle of El Guettar took place during the Tunisia Campaign of World War II, fought between elements of the Army Group Africa under General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim, along with Italian First Army under General Giovanni Messe, and U.S. II C ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. For his actions he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. During the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allies of World War II, Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis p ...

he led the 2/18th Infantry when it captured Ponte Olivo Airfield. After the war, Sternberg graduated from 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 ...

in 1948 and the Army War College in 1953. From 1948 to 1951, he taught tactics at West Point. From 1953 to 1954, Sternberg was deployed to Korea, commanding the

5th Regimental Combat Team The 5th Infantry Regiment (nicknamed the "Bobcats") is an infantry regiment of the United States Army that traces its origins to 1808. Origins: War of 1812 The 5th Infantry Regiment was created by an Act of Congress of 3 March 1815,

and serving at the 8th Army headquarters. From January 1964 to March 1996 he served as a J-1 Manpower and Personnel Directorate,

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam The U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) was a joint-service command of the United States Department of Defense, composed of forces from the United States Army, United States Navy, and United States Air Force, as well as their respecti ...

. He was promoted to Major general on 1 February 1965. From March 1966 to July 1967 he commanded the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, major ...

on 9 June 1966 reported him saying that the U.S. would need 500,000 more troops to seal off the borders of South Vietnam from infiltration, that Premier

Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Nguyễn Cao Kỳ (; 8 September 1930 – 23 July 2011) was a South Vietnamese military officer and politician who served as the chief of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force in the 1960s, before leading the nation as the prime minister of Sout ...

would probably have to step aside given the repercussions of the

Buddhist Uprising The Buddhist Uprising of 1966 (), or more widely known in Vietnam as the Crisis in Central Vietnam (), was a period of civil and military unrest in South Vietnam, largely focused in the I Corps area in the north of the country in central Vietna ...

and that a U.S. defeat in Vietnam was a possibility. On 23 July 1966 he escorted President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

on an inspection of the division. In 1971 he commanded the 25th Infantry Division. His final assignment was as commanding general U.S. Army, Hawaii.

Later life

He retired from the U.S. Army in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. He died on 2 January 2004 at

Tripler Army Medical Center Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC) is a major United States Department of Defense medical facility administered by the United States Army in the state of Hawaii. It is the tertiary care hospital in the Pacific Rim, serving local active and retire ...

, Hawaii and was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Decorations

His decorations include the Distinguished Service Cross, the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation, state or country. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in act ...

, 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 ...

, 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 ...

and three awards of 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sternberg, Ben 1914 births 2004 deaths People from Starke, Florida Florida National Guard personnel Marion Military Institute alumni United States Army soldiers United States Military Academy alumni United States Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Military Academy faculty United States Army War College alumni United States Army generals United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Military personnel from Honolulu Burials at Arlington National Cemetery