John A. Wickham Jr.

John Adams Wickham Jr. (born June 25, 1928) is a retired United States Army general who served as the United States Army Chief of Staff from 1983 to 1987.

John A. Wickham
Wickham in August 1988
Born	June 25, 1928 Dobbs Ferry, New York
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1950–1987
Rank	General
Commands held	Chief of Staff of the United States Army Eighth Army United States Forces Korea United Nations Command 101st Airborne Division 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Defense Distinguished Service Medal (4) Army Distinguished Service Medal (2) Navy Distinguished Service Medal Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star (2) Legion of Merit (4) Bronze Star Medal

Early life and education

Wickham was born on June 25, 1928, in Dobbs Ferry, New York. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1950, where he later served as a social sciences instructor, from 1956 to 1960.[1]

Military career

Upon graduation from the Military Academy in 1950, Wickham was commissioned a second lieutenant and assigned to the 18th Infantry Regiment and then the 6th Infantry Regiment in West Berlin. He served as a platoon leader and company executive officer in the 511th Airborne Infantry Regiment and served as an aide-de-camp to the commander in the 37th Infantry Division and 10th Infantry Division. He received master's degrees in economics and government from Harvard University and was a graduate of the National War College and Armed Forces Staff College.

Wickham then served as operations officer of the 1st Battle Group, 5th Cavalry Regiment, in South Korea, and was executive officer to Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General Harold Johnson. Later he commanded in combat the 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division in South Vietnam, where he was seriously wounded by a satchel charge explosive. Wickham spent over a year in the hospital recovering. He later commanded the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division in West Germany.

Wickham returned to South Vietnam as the Deputy Chief of Staff, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. He then commanded the 101st Airborne Division, was director of the Joint Staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and afterward, as a four-star general, became Commander in Chief of the United Nations Command and Commander of the United States Forces Korea and Eighth Army in South Korea.

In 1979, Wickham played a leading role in calming political tensions after the assassination of South Korean President Park Chung Hee, and wrote a book Korea on the Brink about the dangerous period. He also served as senior military assistant to Secretaries of Defense James R. Schlesinger and Donald Rumsfeld. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan appointed Wickham Chief of Staff of the United States Army.

Later work

Wickham retired from the United States Army in 1987 after 37 years of active service. He was twice awarded the Silver Star for battlefield valor, as well as the Bronze Star Medal for valor, the Purple Heart, ten Air Medals, four Legions of Merit, four Defense Distinguished Service Medals, two Army Distinguished Service Medals, a Navy Distinguished Service Medal and Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, and 21 foreign decorations, including the Republic of Korea's highest military decoration. He was named by Army Times as one of the ten leaders who most changed the United States Army. The Association of Graduates United States Military Academy presented him with the Distinguished Graduate Award in 2005, and he received the Infantry Doughboy Award in 2006.

Wickham served as Town Council President in Sun City, Arizona and as an elder at Saint Andrews Presbyterian Church in Tucson, Arizona. He served as Chairman of the Board for Honeywell Federal Systems and Nortel Federal Systems, and as director of several other corporations. He was named vice chairman for the United States-China National Committee and has served as a member of the Secretary of Defense Policy Board. He is also active in the United Way, and a member of the Alfalfa Club, and Council on Foreign Relations. For the past 20 years he continues as the Military and Foreign Affairs speaker on The Buckmaster Show, KVOI radio in Tucson, Arizona. In his autobiography My American Journey, General Colin Powell mentioned serving with Wickham and praised him as "every inch a Soldier".

Awards and decorations

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	Defense Distinguished Service Medal with three bronze oak leaf clusters[2]
	Army Distinguished Service Medal[2] with oak leaf cluster
	Navy Distinguished Service Medal[2]
	Air Force Distinguished Service Medal[2]
	Silver Star with oak leaf cluster[2]
	Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters[2]
	Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device
	Meritorious Service Medal
	Air Medal (10 awards)
	Army Commendation Medal
	Purple Heart
	Valorous Unit Award
	World War II Victory Medal
	Army of Occupation Medal
	National Defense Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
	Vietnam Service Medal with eight Service stars
	Army Service Ribbon
	Army Overseas Service Ribbon with bronze award numeral 2
	Republic of Korea Taeguk Medal
	National Order of Vietnam Knight's degree
	Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (two awards)
	Vietnam Campaign Medal

References

1. "General John Adams Wickham, Jr". The Campaign for the National Museum of the United States Army. 2015-01-21. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
2. "John Adams Wickham". Hall of Valor. Military Times. Retrieved 17 September 2018.

External links

• Portrait of John A. Wickham Jr. by Margaret Holland Sargent