Green Wix Unthank (June 14, 1923 – June 25, 2013) was an American attorney and

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky (in case citations, E.D. Ky.) is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises approximately the Eastern half of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The United States Cour ...

, from 1980 to 1988, when he took senior status. A veteran of World War II, he went to college and to law school after the war. He served as a judge of Harlan County Court, had a private practice for several years, and also served as an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Education and career

Unthank was born on June 14, 1923 in Tway,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, an unincorporated community in Harlan County. He was the son of Green W. Unthank and Estelle (née Howard) Unthank, who were both teachers in the Harlan County public school system. After graduating from Loyall High School in 1940, Unthank enlisted in the

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 ...

, serving 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 ...

as a

paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...

in the 509th Infantry Regiment. He was awarded 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 ...

and 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, ...

, the latter due to injuries sustained in 1943 from a German hand grenade while in enemy territory. He was honorably discharged in 1945. After the war, Unthank completed his undergraduate degree and law school. He earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Miami School of Law The University of Miami School of Law (Miami Law or UM Law) is the law school of the University of Miami, a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. Founded in 1926, it is the oldest law school in South Florida, graduating its first ...

in 1950. He served as a judge of the Harlan County Court in Kentucky from 1951 to 1958, where he used the name G. Wix Unthank professionally. After this tenure, he entered private law practice. He served as an

for the Eastern District of Kentucky from 1966 to 1969. He was appointed as Commonwealth's Attorney of the 26th Judicial District of Kentucky, serving from 1979 to 1980.

Federal judicial service

On December 19, 1979, Unthank was nominated by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

to a new seat on the

, created by . He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on June 18, 1980, and received his commission the same day. President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

involuntarily certified Unthank as disabled on November 30, 1987, pursuant to 71 Stat. 586 which entitled the President to appoint an additional judge for the court and provided that no successor to the judge certified as disabled be appointed. Karl Spillman Forester was appointed to the additional judgeship. Pursuant to the certification, Unthank assumed senior status on June 14, 1988, but continued to maintain a substantial caseload.

Death

Unthank died on June 25, 2013, in

Harlan Harlan is a given name and a surname which may refer to: Surname * Abram D. Harlan (1833–1908), American politician from Pennsylvania * Bob Harlan (born 1936 Robert E. Harlan), American football executive * Bruce Harlan (1926–1959), America ...

, Kentucky at the age of 90. He was survived by his wife, Marilyn Ward Unthank.

Honors and legacy

On August 14, 2017, the Green Wix Unthank Memorial Bridge was dedicated in his honor. It crosses the Clover Fork River in Harlan County, Kentucky.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Unthank, Green Wix 1923 births 2013 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II Assistant United States attorneys Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky Kentucky state court judges People from Harlan County, Kentucky United States Army soldiers United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter University of Kentucky alumni University of Miami School of Law alumni