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 ...

Edward Allen Partain (23 June 1929 – 24 March 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 ...

officer who served 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 ...

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 ...

Military career

He 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) in 1951. In 1964 he assisted Colonel Clyde Russell in establishing

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) was a highly classified, multi-service United States special operations unit which conducted covert unconventional warfare operations before and during the Vietnam ...

. In June 1967 he served as commander of the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, part of the

173rd Airborne Brigade The 173rd Airborne Brigade ("Sky Soldiers") is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) of the United States Army based in Vicenza, Italy. It is the United States European Command's conventional airborne strategic respo ...

during the Vietnam War and participated in the Battle of the Slopes. He served as commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division from July 1980 to December 1982. He served as commanding general,

Fifth United States Army Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth Avenue * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a cont ...

from January 1983 until his retirement from the Army in January 1985.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Partain, Edward A. United States Army generals 1929 births 1996 deaths United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Military Academy alumni