Brigadier General Joseph B. Starker (29 January 1929 – 19 July 1975) 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 ...

aviator who served in the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam. He commanded the 11th Combat Aviation Battalion, 17th Aviation Group, and Combat Developments Experimentation Command. He was struck and killed by a drunk driverArmy Aviation Association of America
Brigadier General Joseph B. Starker
Retrieved 6 May 2017. while serving as the Assistant Division Commander, 1st Cavalry Division.

Army aviator

As a member of the

Howze Board The Howze Board was the informal name given to the Tactical Mobility Requirements Board created at the direct request of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to review and test new concepts integrating helicopters as close air support into the Uni ...

, Starker helped develop the concept of the Air Cavalry Combat Brigade. Later, he was key in the design, organization and testing of the Air Cavalry Combat Brigade. General

William E. DePuy William Eugene DePuy (1 October 1919 – 9 September 1992) was a United States Army general and the first commander of the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. He is widely regarded as one of the principal architects of the restruct ...

, then commander of the 1st Infantry Division, wanted to assign aviation elements to support ground infantry units fighting in Vietnam. Starker's 11th Aviation Battalion was assigned as the test vehicle of this new fighting concept; initially with one assault helicopter company assigned to each U.S. brigade.

Awards

During Brigadier General Starker's distinguished career, he earned the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

, Distinguished Flying Cross,

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 ...

with

Valor device Valor, valour, or valorous may mean: * Courage, a similar meaning * Virtue ethics, roughly "courage in defense of a noble cause" Entertainment * Valor Kand, a member of the band Christian Death * ''Valor'' (TV series), an American drama series ...

and the

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 ...

with Valor device.''Armored Sentinel'' (7 July 1972)
Starker Named New MASSTER Chief of Staff
Temple, Texas. Retrieved 6 May 2017

References

University of Houston alumni 1929 births 1975 deaths United States Army generals United States Army aviators United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army personnel of the Korean War Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Road incident deaths in Texas Pedestrian road incident deaths Burials at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery {{US-army-bio-stub