Samuel V. Wilson
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Samuel V. Wilson | |
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Hampden-Sydney College |
Samuel Vaughan Wilson (September 23, 1923 – June 10, 2017), also known as General Sam, was a United States Army lieutenant general who completed his active military career in the fall of 1977, having divided his service almost equally between special operations and intelligence assignments.
He served as 22nd President of
As a general officer, some of his assignments included: Assistant Division Commander (Operations), 82nd Airborne Division; (First) United States Defense Attaché to the Soviet Union, Deputy to the Central Intelligence for the Intelligence Community,[2] and Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.[3] In his post-military career, he began working at Hampden-Sydney College in 1977, first as a Professor of Political Science, then as its 22nd President, and subsequently as Wheat Professor of Leadership at the Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest. Wilson altogether was part of Hampden-Sydney for forty years.
Wilson died from lung cancer on June 10, 2017 in Rice, Virginia, age 93.[4][5]
Early life
A native of Rice, Virginia, Samuel Vaughan Wilson grew up on a tobacco, corn and wheat farm in Southside Virginia hard by the Saylers Creek battlefield, where on 6 April 1865, the Army of Northern Virginia fought its final battle before limping on westward to surrender three days later at Appomattox Courthouse. As a boy, Sam Wilson often rode his pony over the battlefield area looking for the footprint of two armies locked in combat. What still remained of his spare time after arduous farm chores was spent hunting, fishing, reading and pursuing his musical interests. His mother had been a public school teacher, and his father was a ruling elder in the local Presbyterian church. Both parents taught at Sunday school, his mother was his first Sunday School teacher and raised the Wilson siblings in the church. Both parents influenced their children to love books and enjoy reading, especially history.
Sam began his formal education in the fall of 1929, daily walking the two miles one-way to Rice High School and return to the farm. He graduated at the head of his class on 26 May 1940. Two weeks later he jogged seven miles through a rainy night from the family farm to the local National Guard armory, where he added two years to his actual age to qualify and was sworn into military service.
Education
Lieutenant General Wilson is a graduate of the
Military career
Sam Wilson joined the
As a young officer, Wilson taught
Upon returning to the US from the
During this period he applied for and was granted a commission in the Regular Army. This move exposed that he had been a fraudulent enlistment, having told a "white lie" earlier about his age, and resulted in his being appointed a second lieutenant in the Regular Army as of age 21—by which time he had already become a combat-experienced captain, Army of the United States (AUS).
In September 1947, although he was only a high school graduate from a small rural school, he entered the Army's Foreign Area Specialist Training Program (FASTP) and was enrolled in graduate school at Columbia University, specializing in the Russian language and related background and area subjects.
Following a successful stint in graduate school, he was assigned for 3+1⁄2 years to Europe as a language and area student, where he developed near-native fluency in the Russian language, as well as a working knowledge of several other languages. Noteworthy extra-curricular activities during this period included being assigned to the State Department's Diplomatic Pouch and Courier Service, which led to extensive travels throughout the Iron Curtain countries and the Soviet Union, as well as to other countries peripheral to the USSR; functioning as an official interpreter in Berlin, Potsdam and Vienna; and serving in a liaison capacity with elements of the Soviet armed forces in East Germany and in Eastern Austria.
Newly promoted to
Following completion of the
Upon graduation from the
Returning to active military duty in the summer of 1967, Wilson, now an
Between 1971 and 1973 Brigadier General Wilson was US Defense Attaché (USDATT) in the US embassy in Moscow, USSR, at the height of the Cold War. He was the first general officer to hold that particular portfolio.[citation needed] (He reportedly was the CIA Chief of Station during that same period.) A former US Marine corporal recalls in an article that Wilson knew each embassy Marine by name and was considered "our general" by the Marine contingent there.[citation needed]
General Wilson's 1971–73 tour in Moscow was marked by his achievement of marked professional rapport with senior officers of the Soviet military high command. His near-native fluency in Russian, plus that he earlier had majored in Russian and Soviet history—especially military history—and had practically memorized the major battles on the Soviet-German front during the course of World War II, provided a fortuitous entré into Soviet military circles on which he fully capitalized. His insights into Soviet strategic and doctrinal thinking gained thereby were subsequently recognized as critically useful to policy makers and planners of the US national security establishment.[by whom?]
Wilson returned to the US, and between 1973 and 1976 held positions in the Defense Intelligence Agency as Deputy Director for Estimates and Deputy Director for Attaché Affairs, followed by an assignment in the rank of lieutenant general as Deputy to the Director of Central Intelligence for the Intelligence Community (D/DCI/IC.)
In May 1976, Wilson, now a lieutenant general, was appointed as the new
The revelation of true intelligence secrets makes exciting reading in the morning paper. It is soon forgotten by most readers, but not by our adversaries. Enormously complex and expensive technical intelligence collection systems can be countered. Need I remind this particular audience that dedicated and courageous men and women who risk their lives to help America can be exposed and destroyed? I don't think the American people want this to happen especially when our adversaries dedicated to the proposition that we eventually must be defeated-are hard at work. But Americans must understand or they will inadvertently cause this to happen. [O]ur primary function is to provide the leadership of this nation with the deepest possible understanding of the military, political, social, and economic climate of countries that affect vital American interests. Our mission is to see that our leaders know about what may happen in the world beyond our borders and about the forces and factors at work there. The American taxpayer should know we do this job well, despite our problems.[7]
Wilson is also credited with the statement "Ninety percent of intelligence comes from open sources. The other ten percent, the clandestine work, is just the more dramatic. The real intelligence hero is Sherlock Holmes, not James Bond."[8]
Due to the precarious health condition of his wife, Wilson retired on 31 August 1977.
Civilian career
After leaving the Army and DIA directorship in August 1977, Wilson began teaching at Hampden-Sydney College in Hampden-Sydney, Virginia and continued to consult with and provide advice to intelligence leaders, legislators and U.S. presidents, including former CIA Director William Colby, then-Senator Al Gore and President George H. W. Bush.
In 1992, Wilson became President of Hampden-Sydney College and served an 8-year term during which he shepherded the college through major challenges such as the college's contentious internal debate over whether to remain all-male (it did) and a major capital campaign drive. He remained involved on campus as a fellow of the eponymous Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest.[9]
In 1993, Wilson was inducted into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame "for heroism, extraordinary achievement, and continued service to his country and the special operations community."[10][11]
General Wilson is also a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame. He was a featured interviewee in Ken Burns' documentary series The Vietnam War (2017), which aired posthumously.
Post-military activities
Activities following retirement from the Army and DIA Directorship in August 1977 include the following:
- 1977–81 Participated in consultant capacity in organization and development of US Army SFODDELTA ("Delta Force")
- 1978–90 Senior Consultant BETAC Corporation
- 1980 Vice Chairman of special commission to review aborted (Iranian Hostage Rescue Mission)
- 1980–86 Chairman, Korean War|Virginia Korea-Viet Nam War History Commission
- 1982–92 Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Hampden-Sydney College, Virginia
- 1983–87 Vice Chairman, Longwood College Board of Visitors
- 1985–87 Part-time consultant to Senate and House Armed Service Committees on US Special Operations. Here he won special recognition for his role as facilitator of what became the Nunn–Cohen Amendment to the 1987 Defense Authorization Act, establishing the US Special Operations Command and the Office of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (ASD/SOLIC).
- 1985–91 Member Governor's Biracial Advisory Board on Higher Education in Virginia
- 1992–2000 22nd President of Hampden-Sydney College
(Note: During an 8-year term he shepherded Hampden-Sydney through major challenges such as the college's contentious internal debate over whether to remain all-male /it did/ and a major capital campaign drive.) - 2000 President Emeritus of Hampden-Sydney College and Wheat Professor of Leadership
- 2007 Named first "Wilson Fellow" in Samuel V. Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest, Hampden-Sydney College
(Note: Although working in a part-time retirement status, General Wilson continued as a pro bono consultant in the Special Operations and Intelligence arenas at various levels in the US Government. - 2014 Lt. Gen. Sam Wilson, U.S. Army, Retired, was inducted as a Distinguished Member of the Special Forces Regiment during a private ceremony at the Wilson Center for Leadership on the campus of Hampden-Sydney College hosted by LTG Charles Cleveland, the commanding general of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command located at Fort Bragg, N.C.
A recent letter to him from General David H. Petraeus, Commanding General, USCENTCOM, reflects the fact that Wilson's earlier work on doctrine for small wars, insurgency, counterinsurgency and nation-building is still considered to be useful.[citation needed]
Military awards, decorations and badges
Lieutenant General Wilson's personal awards and decorations include the
Unit awards include the
Badges include the
General Wilson is also the recipient of the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal (2x), the USSOCOM Medal, the CIA Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the William Oliver Baker Award,[12] the Arthur D. "Bull" Simon Award (Special Operations), the Annual Rylander Award from the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), SOLIC Division, for outstanding contributions in Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict (SO/LIC), and the Military Intelligence Corps Association Knowlton Award.
He received the following awards from other nations: The
He was awarded the George Washington Honor Medal by the
Selected other recognition and awards
- 1966 Appointed to personal rank of Ministerby President of the United States
- 1977 US Army Infantry Hall of Fame
- 1987 US Military Intelligence Hall of Fame
- 1987 Professor Emeritus, US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center & School
- 1988 Defense Intelligence Agency US Attaché Hall of Fame
- 1989 Appointed Honorary Colonel, 75th US Army Ranger Regiment
- 1992 Named State of Virginia Cultural Laureate for Public Service by Virginia Cultural Laureate Foundation
- 1993 U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame "for heroism, extraordinary achievement, and continued service to his country and the special operations community."
- 1994 First recipient of General Doolittle Educator of the Year Award for Distinguished Service to Special Operations Education
- 1994 Professor Emeritus for Collection Operations, National Defense Intelligence College (formerly the Joint Military Intelligence College), Defense Intelligence Agency
- 2000 President Emeritus, Hampden-Sydney College
Filmography
- Merrill's Marauders (1962)
- The Vietnam War (2017)
References
- OCLC 1123182247.
- ^ United States; Congress; House; Select Committee on Intelligence (1975). U.S. intelligence agencies and activities: hearings before the Select Committee on Intelligence, U.S. House of Representatives, Ninety-fourth Congress, first session ... Washington: U.S. Govt. Print. Off. p. 779.
- ISBN 9780070374331.
- ^ "Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Sam Wilson, former Hampden-Sydney president, dies at age 93". 11 June 2017.
- ^ Miles, Jordan (June 10, 2017). "Wilson, former H-SC president and military intelligence expert, dies". The Farmville Herald. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
- YouTube
- ^ "AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE AND THE TRICENTENNIAL". Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on March 27, 2010.
- ISBN 978-1-60456-447-1. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ^ "Contact the Leadership Center". Hampden-Sydney College.
- ^ "Ranger Hall of Fame Inductees". maruader.org.
- ISBN 978-0-7867-1500-8.
- ^ "The William Oliver Baker Award Past Recipients". Intelligence and National Security Alliance. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- Source material not otherwise credited or linked in this article was compiled in part from www.pamplin.net, Joe Galloway's January 7, 2004 article "General Sam, We Hardly Know Ye" available at www.military.com, the 1962 Counterinsurgency Symposium hosted by the Rand Corporation, available at www.rand.org, and www.IMDb.com.
- https://web.archive.org/web/20100301124128/http://www.dia.mil/history/histories/Directors/bio_swilson.html