Note: "Class year" refers to the alumni's class year, which usually is the same year they graduated. However, due to the war in Europe, the Class of 1943 graduated early, in January '43, becoming the only class to do so.
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. The performance must be such as to merit recognition for service that is clearly exceptional. The exceptional performance of normal duty will not alone justify an award of this decoration.
Carl Andrew Spaatz, nicknamed "Tooey", was an American World War II general. As commander of Strategic Air Forces in Europe in 1944, he successfully pressed for the bombing of the enemy's oil production facilities as a priority over other targets. He became Chief of Staff of the newly formed United States Air Force in 1947.
Maxwell Davenport Taylor was a senior United States Army officer and diplomat of the mid-20th century. He served with distinction in World War II, most notably as commander of the 101st Airborne Division, nicknamed "The Screaming Eagles."
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces and the principal military advisor to the president, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council, and the secretary of defense. While the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff outranks all other commissioned officers, the chairman is prohibited by law from having operational command authority over the armed forces; however, the chairman assists the president and the secretary of defense in exercising their command functions.
Hoyt Sanford Vandenberg was a United States Air Force general. He served as the second Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and the second Director of Central Intelligence.
Lauris Norstad was an American general officer in the United States Army and United States Air Force.
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), officially known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951, was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on 113 acres (46 ha) in Washington, D.C., it served more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the United States Armed Forces. The center was named after Walter Reed, a U.S. Army physician and Major who led the team that confirmed that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes rather than direct physical contact.
William James Crowe Jr. was a United States Navy admiral and diplomat who served as the 11th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, and as the ambassador to the United Kingdom and Chair of the Intelligence Oversight Board under President Bill Clinton.
Lieutenant General Frank Maxwell Andrews was a senior officer of the United States Army and one of the founders of the United States Army Air Forces, which was later to become the United States Air Force. In leadership positions within the Army Air Corps, he succeeded in advancing progress toward a separate and independent Air Force where predecessors and allies such as Billy Mitchell had failed. Andrews was the first head of a centralized American air force and the first air officer to serve on the Army's general staff. In early 1943, he took the place of General Dwight D. Eisenhower as commander of all U.S. troops in the European Theater of Operations.
Lieutenant General Hubert Reilly Harmon, after a distinguished combat career in World War II, was instrumental in developing plans for the establishment of the United States Air Force Academy. He was the first superintendent of the academy and was one of the persons most influential in establishing it as a successful educational institution.
The military career of Dwight D. Eisenhower began in June 1911, when Eisenhower took the oath as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated from West Point and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army in June 1915, as part of "the class the stars fell on". He rose through the ranks over the next thirty years and became one of the most important Allied generals of World War II, being promoted to General of the Army in 1944. Eisenhower retired from the military after winning the 1952 presidential election, though his rank as General of the Army was restored by an act of Congress in March 1961.
"The class the stars fell on" is an expression used to describe the class of 1915 at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. In the United States Army, the insignia reserved for generals is one or more stars. Of the 164 graduates that year, 59 (36%) attained the rank of general, more than any other class in the history of the academy, hence the expression.
Lieutenant General Floyd Lavinius Parks was a United States Army officer who served with distinction during World War II. During the war, he was chief of staff of the US Army Ground Forces and the First Allied Airborne Army. As such, he participated in Operation Market Garden that directed air drops into the Netherlands behind the German lines which were preventing Allied forces from crossing the Rhine river. He commanded the US First Airborne Army in 1945 on his promotion to major general. After the war, Parks commanded the US Sector in Berlin before going to Washington, D.C., to become the chief of the Public Information Division for the Army. Later, he commanded American forces in the United States Army Pacific in 1949. After service in Hawaii, he became chief of the Information Department, whereafter he was known as the "father of modern Army public affairs." He received a promotion to lieutenant general in 1953 and thereafter served as commanding general of the Second Army until his retirement in 1956.
James McCormack Jr. was a United States Army officer who served in World War II, and was later the first Director of Military Applications of the United States Atomic Energy Commission.
John Ember "Jack" Sterling Jr. is a retired United States Army lieutenant general. He served as Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff for United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) from 2010 to 2012, and was acting commander in 2011. He retired in June 2012.
Oliver Garfield Haywood, Jr., was a United States Army officer during World War II who served with the Manhattan Project. He transferred to the United States Air Force in 1947. After retiring from active duty in 1953, he became president and chief executive officer, and later chairman, of Huyck Corporation.
Major General William Frazer Tompkins was a United States Army officer who was a graduate of the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York in the famous class of 1915, also known as the class the stars fell on, and as such was a classmate of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Omar Bradley, among many others who ultimately became general officers. During World War II he served on the War Department General Staff, where his responsibility was in planning for post-war demobilization.
References
General
^a:Special Collections: Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U. S. Military Academy. West Point, NY: United States Military Academy Library. 1950.
↑ Tuchman, Barbara (1971). Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911–45. New York: Macmillan Co. pp.9–15, 145, 231–32, 304–07. ISBN0-02-620290-5.
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