Calvin Augustine Hoffman Waller (December 17, 1937 – May 9, 1996) 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 ...

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 ...

Early life and education

Waller was born to an

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

family in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

, on December 17, 1937. He graduated from

Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas, United States. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two lan ...

in 1959 with a bachelor's degree and later from Shippensburg College of Pennsylvania with a master's degree in public administration in 1978.

Military career

Waller spent 32 years in the

and served in 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 ...

. Waller held a variety of staff and command positions which included:

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) The 24th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army that was inactivated in October 1996. Formed during World War II from the disbanding Hawaiian Division, the division saw action throughout the Pacific theater, first ...

Fort Stewart, Georgia Fort Stewart is a United States Army post in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It lies primarily in Liberty County, Georgia, Liberty and Bryan County, Georgia, Bryan counties, but also extends into smaller portions of Evans County ...

;

Commanding General The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

8th Infantry Division (Mechanized) The 8th Infantry Division, ("Pathfinder") was an infantry division of the United States Army during the 20th century. The division served in World War I, World War II, and Operation Desert Storm. Initially activated in January 1918, the unit d ...

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

, U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army. Waller was the deputy commander-in-chief for military operations with United States Central Command (Forward), during the

Persian Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. Waller's last duty assignment was as Commanding General, I Corps at

Fort Lewis, Washington Fort Lewis is a United States Army base located south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington. Fort Lewis was merged with McChord Air Force Base on February 1, 2010, to form Joint Base Lewis–McChord. Fort Lewis, named after Meriwether Lewis of the ...

, before he retired from the military at the rank of

, on November 30, 1991.

Opposition to military service by homosexuals

Waller vehemently opposed, like most other military members, homosexuals serving openly in the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

. During the 1993 U.S. Senate hearings on allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the United States military, Waller vigorously opposed it. He declared that "to compare isservice in American's armed forces with the integration of avowed homosexuals is personally offensive."

Later life and death

After retiring from the military, Waller moved to

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, and served as the president and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of an environmental technology company, RKK Limited. He then became the senior vice president for the Department of Energy Programs for the ICF Kaiser Environmental and Energy Group. In July 1995, Waller became the Kaiser-Hill vice president for site operations and integration at Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site. Waller died in

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 May 9, 1996, at the age of 58, due to complications from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. He 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. ...

, in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

. Upon learning of his death, President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

said, "His rise from humble beginnings to one of the highest-ranking African American officers in the U.S. military through stalwart determination and a record of excellence served as an inspiration to minority and non-minority officers." Clinton also cited Waller's reputation as a "skillful and disciplined professional and a caring, enthusiastic commander."

Awards and decorations

Waller's civic awards include the Martin Luther King Jr. "Buffalo Soldier" Award from the

Congress of Racial Equality The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the civil rights movement. Founded in 1942, its stated mission is "to bring about ...

, the Roy Wilkins Renown Service Award from the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

and the "Star of Texas" award from the state of Texas.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Waller, Calvin 1937 births 1996 deaths African-American United States Army personnel United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Military leaders of the Gulf War Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) United States Army generals Prairie View A&M University alumni Military personnel from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania alumni Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal African Americans in the Vietnam War