Elliot Carr Cutler Jr. (June 15, 1920 – November 27, 2006) 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 with the rank of brigadier general. His last military service was as a head of the Electrical Engineering Department at

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 ...

from 1961 until 1977.

Biography

Cutler was born on June 15, 1920, in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, the son of doctor

Elliott Cutler Elliot Carr Cutler (July 30, 1888 – August 16, 1947) was an American surgeon, military physician, and medical educator. He was Moseley Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, surgeon-in-chief at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital from 1932 ...

, who would later serve as brigadier general in the Army Medical Corps during

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 ...

. Cutler Jr. attended the

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

and graduated from that institution in 1942. Subsequently, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 76th Infantry Division and participated in the combats of

European Theatre The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union and Franc ...

. For his service during the war, Cutler received a

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 ...

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

for wound and

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces (United States Army), Special Forces soldiers in the rank of Colonel (United States), colonel and below, wh ...

. After the war, 76th Infantry Division was disbanded at the end of the August 1945 and Cutler was transferred to the 19th Infantry Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division. He served with the regiment during

Occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

as a company commander until 1950. When 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 ...

broke out, Cutler was deployed with the 24th Infantry Division during this conflict. For his participation in this war, Cutler was awarded with

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 ...

Oak Leaf Cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a spec ...

to his

and star to his

. After the war, Cutler earned his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

and subsequently served as a professor at the

, where he taught electrical engineering. In 1961, Cutler was appointed a head of the Electrical Engineering Department. In this capacity, Cutler championed the use of computers in the academy's curriculum, resulting in the establishment of the Academic Computer Committee, which would bring the school into the technological age. Cutler served in this capacity until 1977, when he retired from the army. At the retirement ceremony, he was awarded with

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. ...

for his military achievement and promoted to the rank of brigadier general. Cutler died at the age of 86 at Country Center for Health & Rehabilitation in

Newburyport, Massachusetts Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes p ...

. He was married to Genevieve Cutler (néé Spalding), with whom he had son Elliott C. Cutler, III and daughter Genevieve Cutler.

Decorations

Here is Cutler's ribbon bar:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutler, Elliott C. Jr 1920 births 2007 deaths United States Army generals United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War Cutler family Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Military personnel from Cleveland Georgia Tech alumni United States Military Academy alumni United States Military Academy faculty