General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Charles Day Palmer, Jr. (20 February 1902 – 7 June 1999) was a senior

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 as Deputy Commander in Chief,

United States European Command The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven Unified Combatant Command, unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territori ...

from 1959 to 1962. His brother, Williston B. Palmer, was also a four-star general, and his grandfather,

William E. Birkhimer William Edward Birkhimer (March 1, 1848 – June 10, 1914) was a United States Army brigadier general and lawyer received the Medal of Honor while a captain during the Philippine–American War. His career was long and varied, as he started as an ...

, was a general and

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient.

Early life

Palmer was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois on 20 February 1902. After graduating from Washington High School in Washington, D.C., he entered 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 ...

, graduating in 1924.

Military career

As the United States entered

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 ...

in December 1941, Palmer, then a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, was in the

British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were the territories in the West Indies under British Empire, British rule, including Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Antigua and Barb ...

working to establish military bases and on

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

projects. Palmer went to Europe in 1944 as

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 ...

of the 2nd Armored Division, then commanded by Major General Edward H. Brooks, and continued in that role during the

Normandy invasion Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

, the breakout from

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy.Siegfried Line The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall (= western bulwark)'', was a German defensive line built during the late 1930s. Started in 1936, opposite the French Maginot Line, it stretched more than from Kleve on the border with the ...

During

Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil), known as Débarquement de Provence in French ("Provence Landing"), was the code name for the landing operation of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15Augu ...

, the Allied invasion of

southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

in August 1944, he was chief of staff of the

VI Corps 6 Corps, 6th Corps, Sixth Corps, or VI Corps may refer to: France * VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry formation of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VI Corps (Grande Armée), a formation of the Imperial French army dur ...

, and during this time he received a battlefield promotion to brigadier general. Palmer was with the 1st Cavalry Division in Japan on occupation duty when the Korean War erupted. He was the commander of the division artillery and later the division commander, participating in six campaigns. Palmer's later posts included Commander,

Sixth United States Army Sixth Army is a Theater Army (United States), theater army of the United States Army. The Army service component command of United States Southern Command, its area of responsibility includes 31 countries and 15 areas of special sovereignty in ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and Deputy Commander of United States forces in Europe. After serving as Deputy Commander in Chief, United States European Command, he retired in 1962.

Awards and decorations

Post military career

After retiring from the army, Palmer settled in Washington and worked as a military consultant with the

Research Analysis Corporation Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to c ...

. He was also a director of both St. Albans School and the Retired Officers Association, and a member of the

Army and Navy Club The Army and Navy Club, commonly known as The Rag, is a private members' club in London that was founded in 1837 for officers of the British Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines.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. ...

, next to his brother and wife Eugenia K. Burial Detail: Palmer, Charles Day
– ANC Explorer

References

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Charles D. 1902 births 1999 deaths United States Army Field Artillery Branch personnel United States Army generals United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Military Academy alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Military personnel from Chicago United States Army generals of World War II