Brigadier General Elliott R. Thorpe
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US Army, born 1897 (d. 1989)
Born in
Pawcatuck, Connecticut, General Elliott R. Thorpe's military career encompassed
two world wars, the reconstruction of Japan, and a tour of duty in post-war
Thailand. He stood guard in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles when the World War I treaty was signed on June 28, 1919. In 1945 he was on the
USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrendered to General Douglas
MacArthur. He may have been one of the last living survivors of both
ceremonies. While these were momentous and singular events, General Thorpe's
unheeded warning about the Pearl Harbor attack of December 7, 1941 was arguably
his most memorable moment.
Brigadier General Thorpe retired in 1949 after
serving 32 years in the US Army.
General Thorpe
is the author of East Wind, Rain, published in 1969. The title is
taken from the “Winds message” that was to be broadcast on all Japanese weather
stations, and signal the launching of the interrelated Japanese surprise attacks
in December 1941. To be broadcast in the clear as a weather forecast, “East
Wind, Rain” was the go signal for the attacks. Elliott Thorpe attended Rhode
Island State College (now URI) for one year as a mechanical engineering student
before entering the United States Army in 1916. The War Memorial Student Union
at URI was built in 1950 largely through fund raising efforts spearheaded by
General Thorpe. General Thorpe’s
uniform was kindly donated by his grandson, William S. Thorpe of Boston, a
Westerly native educated in Westerly and a performer, scholar, and publisher of
music. |
Major General Andrew S. Low, Jr.
US Air Force
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The flight
suit of Major General Andy Low, US Air Force, was presented to the Armory by his
wife, Mrs. Helen Low and daughter, Laurinda Willis.
General Low was born in
Westerly in 1917, attending public
school here. He attended Rhode Island College of Education, but later attended
and graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point. He completed pilot and
combat crew training and flew sixteen combat missions including some with the
famed actor Jimmy Stewart. He was shot down in 1944
by anti-aircraft fire over Germany & spent the remainder of the war in a
hospital and prison camp.
His military decorations include the Distinguished
Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Joint Service
Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, & the Purple Heart. |
General Leon J. LaPorte
σσσσ
US Army
(served in Korea as
COMMANDER -- UNITED NATIONS COMMAND,
AND
ROK / US COMBINED FORCES COMMAND, AND
COMMANDER, UNITED STATES FORCES KOREA
General Leon J. LaPorte
assumed command of the United Nations Command, Republic of Korea/United States
Combined Forces Command, and
United States Forces Korea on May 1, 2002. Prior to that, he served as Deputy
Commander, United States Army Forces Command.
General LaPorte hails from
Providence, Rhode Island. A graduate from the
University
of Rhode Island
in 1968, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Armor. He served as a
Platoon Leader and Motor Officer in Alpha Company, 3d Battalion, 64th Armor.
From 1969 to 1970, he also served as the S3 Air, 1st Brigade, 3d Infantry
Division. In 1971, he served as a Platoon Commander and Company Executive
Officer in the 238th Aerial Weapons Company in the Republic of Vietnam. He
served as a G3 Operations Officer in the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized)
until 1973, when he assumed command of Bravo Company, 6th Battalion, 32d Armor,
Fort Carson, Colorado.
Following completion of the Armor
Officer Advanced Course in 1975, General LaPorte received his Master’s Degree in
Administration from the University of California. From 1977 to 1980, he served
as an instructor and Assistant Professor at the United States Military Academy.
Following the Command and General Staff College, he was assigned as the
Executive Officer, 2d Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 24th Infantry Division
(Mechanized), Fort Stewart, Georgia. In 1983 he served as the S3, 2d Brigade,
24th Infantry Division (Mechanized). From 1984 to 1986, General LaPorte served
as the Armor Colonel’s Assignment Officer, Military Personnel Center,
Alexandria, Virginia. From 1986 to 1988, he commanded the 3d Battalion, 64th
Armor, 3d Infantry Division in Schweinfurt, Germany. Following the Army War
College, he served as the G3, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas, from June
1989 to September 1990. On 17 September 1990, General LaPorte was assigned as
the Chief of Staff of the 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. In October
1990, he deployed with the division to Southwest Asia and was Chief of Staff
during Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM.
General LaPorte commanded the 3d (Greywolf)
Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, from October 1991 to May 1993. From May 1993 to
April 1994, he served as Chief of Staff, III Corps and Fort Hood. From April
1994 to July 1995, he served as the Commander, National Training
Center, Fort Irwin, California. In 1995 General LaPorte returned to Fort Hood
where he commanded the 1st Cavalry Division until July 1997. He then served as
Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, Headquarters,
Department of the Army, Washington, DC. General LaPorte returned to Fort Hood
again in August 1998 where he commanded III Corps and Fort Hood, Texas, until
August 2001. General LaPorte assumed duties as Deputy Commanding General/Chief
of Staff, US Army Forces Command, in September 2001. |
Lt General John Bruce Blount
US Army σσσ
 Lt. General John Bruce Blount, an
acclaimed military hero, is a member of the 50th anniversary class of URI 2000.
General Blount is the first University of Rhode Island alumnus to rise to the
rank of three-star general. He also holds the Korean Chung Mu and the US Army's
Distinguished Service Medals.
He served at every level of command in the United
States army from platoon leader in Korea to the Commanding General of
the Army's training center at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He served in both the Korean War, where he was awarded a Purple
Heart and a Bronze Star for bravery, and the Vietnam War, where he was awarded
the Silver Star. His final assignment was as Chief of Staff of Allied Forces
South, a NATO assignment involving the orchestration of operations among our
international allies. During the U.S. Army-McCarthy hearings of the mid-1950s,
Blount won international acclaim for his stirring responses to difficult questions about the
army.
In addition to his military accomplishments, he has been involved in
numerous community service activities including the American Heart Association,
Army Emergency Relief, and the Association of the United States Army. As a URI
student in the late 1940s, he was a favorite of the legendary Basketball Coach
Frank Keaney and a standout Rhody player who scored more than 1,000 points
during his playing days on campus and still holds the Rhode Island high school record of
66 points in one game.
In the URI ROTC program, Blount rose to the highest cadet
rank and was commissioned as an infantry officer in 1950. Blount was awarded an
honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Rhode Island on 21 May
2000. General Blount and his wife currently
live in South Carolina. General Blount contributed four small
medals from the Moore Basketball Tournaments, once held in Westerly. |
