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 ...

Jimmy Douglas Ross (23 May 1936 – 2 May 2012) 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 ...

four-star general and member of the board of two corporations.

Education

Ross was born in Hosston, Louisiana. Upon completion of a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from

Henderson State University Henderson State University (HSU) is a public university in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1890 as Arkadelphia Methodist College, Henderson has an undergraduate enrollment of around 2,500 students. The campus is located on . H ...

Arkadelphia, Arkansas Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,380. The city is the county seat of Clark County. It is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Hender ...

in 1958, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the

Transportation Corps The Transportation Corps is a combat service support branch of the U.S. Army. It is responsible for the movement of personnel and material by truck, rail, air, and sea. It is one of three U.S. Army logistics branches, the others being the Qu ...

. He also holds a master's degree in business administration from

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

. His military education includes the Basic Officer Course at the

United States Army Infantry School The United States Army Infantry School is a school located at Fort Benning, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia that is dedicated to training Infantry Branch (United States), infantrymen for service in the United States Army. Organization The school ...

, the Transportation Advanced Officer Course, the United States Army

Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

, and the

Industrial College of the Armed Forces The Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy (Eisenhower School), formerly known as the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF), is a part of the National Defense University (Washington, D.C.), National Defens ...

Army service

Ross's initial company grade assignments were with the Infantry and Transportation Corps units at

Schofield Barracks Schofield Barracks is a United States Army installation and census-designated place (CDP) located in Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, Hawaii. Schofield Barracks lies adjacent to the town of Wahiawā, separated ...

, Hawaii; Thailand;

Fort Eustis Fort Eustis is a United States Army installation in Newport News, Virginia. In 2010, it was combined with nearby Langley Air Force Base to form Joint Base Langley–Eustis. The post is the home to the United States Army Training and Doctrin ...

, Virginia;

Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Div ...

, Kentucky; and

Fort Bragg, North Carolina Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...

. In 1964, Ross served in Vietnam as an Infantry Battalion Advisor in the PBT Special Zone,

III Corps III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * I ...

. From 1967 to 1969, Ross was assigned as a JTF-11 Staff Officer,

United States Strike Command In 1961 the United States Strike Command (STRICOM) was established at MacDill Air Force Base as a unified combatant command capable of responding to global crises. The name of the command was originally derived from the acronym for Swift Tactic ...

MacDill Air Force Base MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...

, Florida. In 1969, Ross returned to Vietnam. During his second combat tour, he served as the S4 and later the S2/3 in the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

Support Command; and then commanded the 10th Transportation Battalion at

Cam Ranh Bay Cam Ranh Bay () is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in Khánh Hòa Province. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kilometers (180 miles) nor ...

. Upon his return to the United States, Ross was assigned to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics at HQDA, in the Financial Resources and the Materiel Acquisition Directorates. He served as the Assistant Director of the Army Staff in the Office of the Chief of Staff, Army, from 1973 to 1974. His next assignment was as the Deputy Comptroller of

Oakland Army Base The Oakland Army Base, also known as the Oakland Army Terminal, is a decommissioned United States Army base in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. The base was located at the Port of Oakland on Maritime Street just south of the eastern entra ...

, California, and later as the Commander of the

Military Ocean Terminal Military Ocean Terminals are operated by the U.S. Army Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) for distribution of surface cargo from storage and repair depots to military forward based units. Current facilities * Military Ocean Terminal ...

, Bay Area. In 1978, Ross transferred to Germany, where he commanded the 4th Transportation Brigade and 2nd Support Command,

VII Corps 7th Corps, Seventh Corps, or VII Corps may refer to: * VII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * VII ...

. He returned to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, HQDA, as the Director for Transportation, Energy and Troop Support from 1982 to 1984. Ross served as the Chief of Staff,

United States Army Materiel Command The U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC) is the primary provider of materiel to the United States Army. The command's mission includes the management of installations, as well as maintenance and parts distribution. AMC operates depots; arsenals; am ...

, from 1984 to 1986 and the Commanding General of the United States Army Depot System Command, from 1986 to 1987. In June 1987, he was assigned as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, U.S. Army, where he served for four and a half years. Ross returned to AMC as commanding general from 1 February 1992 to 11 February 1994. Ross's awards and decorations include the

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. ...

(with

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 ...

), the

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 ...

(with Oak Leaf Cluster), 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 ...

, the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

, two

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

s, the

Joint Service Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

and the

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...

(with Oak Leaf Cluster). He has also been awarded the

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 ...

, the

Master Parachutist Badge The Parachutist Badge, also commonly referred to as "Jump Wings", is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces. Some services, such as the Marine Corps, officially refer to it as an insignia instead of a badge. The United States Space Fo ...

, the Ranger Tab, and the

Army Staff Identification Badge The Army Staff Identification Badge is an identification badge awarded by the Chief of Staff of the Army to officers, warrant officers, and enlisted soldiers assigned to authorized positions at Headquarters, Department of the Army.

. General Ross retired from the Army in 1994.

Post-army activities

From 2001, Ross was a member of the board of directors of Stanley, Inc., a consulting firm. He also served as an executive with the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

and as a consultant to Cypress International. He was a member of the board of directors of VSE Corporation.

Personal

Ross married Patricia L. Cox (1 August 1935 – 17 June 2020) on 18 December 1955 in Arkadelphia, Arkansas while they were both still students in the Education program at Henderson State University. The couple had four children, six grandchildren and, as of 2020, four great-grandchildren. Ross died of cancer in 2012. He was interred 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. ...

on 22 June 2012. His wife was buried next to him on 1 December 2020. A son who died in infancy is also interred with the couple.

References

External links

Obituary {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Jimmy 1936 births 2012 deaths People from Caddo Parish, Louisiana Henderson State University alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Air Medal Central Michigan University alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) People from New Smyrna Beach, Florida Burials at Arlington National Cemetery