09
JUL 1943 – Operation HUSKY, the invasion to liberate Sicily, began. Eight divisions were
involved – more than 80,000 men.
10
JUL 1950 – The first engagement between U.S.
and North Korean tanks occurred near Chonui, Korea.
11
JUL 1972 – American
forces broke the 95-day siege at An Loc in Vietnam.
How
many SigEp Patriots were present at these important moments in U.S. military
history? The SigEp Patriots Project (SPP) thinks it is important to know, and
we continue to work to learn the answer to this and many other questions.
This
Week in SigEp Patriot History:
10 JUL 1942
On this date, NC
Epsilon Brother Robert L. Orr
entered the U.S. Army, and went on to serve in the Army Corps of Engineers
during World War II.
13
JUL 1942
MA
Alpha Brother David H. Johnson
joined the U.S. Coast Guard on this date, serving as a Soundman Second Class during
World War II.
13 JUL 1946
World
War II Veteran and AL Beta Brother First Lieutenant James Calabra, Jr., U.S. Army was discharged from the service on this date after
nearly three years in the Army, and 17 months in the China-Burma-India Theater with
the 3286th Engineers.08 JUL 1986
On this date, World War II Veteran, future SigEp Citation Recipient and VA Zeta Brother General Robert Jefferson Wood, U.S. Army (Retired) – one of five known SigEp Patriots to reach this rank in the U.S. military – died of a stroke at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Washington, DC. Brother Wood was a United States Army four-star general who helped organize the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military organization in the early 1950s and served as director of the military assistance program from 1962 to 1965.
Born in 1905 in Petersburg, Virginia, he attended Randolph-Macon College for a year until entering the United States Military Academy in 1926. On 12 JUN 1930, Brother Wood graduated and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps.
During
World War II, he served in the Mediterranean Theater, advancing through the
grades from Captain to Colonel. Following the war, Brother Wood served as a
military aide to Secretary of Defense and NH Alpha Brother James Vincent Forrestal.
 |
| VA Zeta Brother Robert Jefferson Wood General, U.S. Army (Retired) |
With
his promotion to Lieutenant General in 1960, he was assigned as Commanding General
of the Army Air Defense Command (ARADCOM) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and
two years later appointed director of the military assistance program in the
office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs,
with the rank of full general. The Director of Military Assistance supervised
the operational details of arms transfer to NATO allies and other friendly
countries. As chief of staff of the foreign military aid program, he was
considered to be on the same level as the chiefs of staff of the Army, Navy,
and Air Force and of comparable military rank, but without a seat on the Joint
Chiefs of Staff.
Robert
retired on 01 SEP 1965, but was recalled to active duty in 1968 to serve as
Director of the Overseas Base Requirements Study Group, a special
interdepartmental study group planning future overseas military base locations.
With his work completed, he returned to retired status on 31 MAR 1969. He
subsequently served on a presidential task force on international development.
His
awards and decorations include the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of
Merit (with oak leaf cluster) and Purple Heart.
