LIEUTENANT GENERAL VERNON A. WALTERS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-00418R000100380001-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 29, 2012
• Sequence Number: 1
• Content Type: BIO

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BIOGRAPHY
LIEUI~NANT GENERAL VERNON A. jVALTERS
Vernon A. ti~ialters was born in New York City on 3 January 1917.
He lived abroad with his parents and attended St. Louis Gonzaga School
in Paris, France, and Stonyhurst College in England.
His military career, most of which was spent in Intelligence,
began on 2 May 1941 when he entered the Army as an enlisted man_ His ~
first assignment was with the 187th Field Artillery at Fort Ethan Allen.,...
Vermont. In early 1942 he attended the Officers Candidate School at ~
Fort Benning, Georgia, and graduated as a 2nd Lieutenant of Infantry
on 29 May 1942. He was assigned to the 85th Division as Platoon
Leader of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon of Headquarters
? Company, 338th Infantry. Subsequently, he was given additional duty
of Regimental S-2.
Late in 1942, he was assigned to the Military Intelligence Training
Center at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, and went overseas with the 9th.
Infantry Division, taking part in the assault larnling at Safi -in D4orocco
on 8 November 1942. For his part in this action, he was awarded the '
Legion of Merit and promoted to 1st Lieutenant. After serving in~Algeria:
and Tunisia, he returned to the United States as Chief of Section at the
Intelligence School at Camp Ritchie. titihile serving there, he. attended.
the Special Course for Brazilian Officers at the Command and General.
Staff School at Fort Leavenworth in 1943. Subsequently, he returned. to ,
Italy, serving as Aide to General Mark jY. Clark, Commanding General of
the Fifth Army. Upon the arrival of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force
in Italy, Captain tiValters was assigned as Combat Liaison Officer with the
1st Brazilian Infantry Division, remaining with them until the end of the i
war. He was then assigned as Assistant Army Attache in Brazil.. Re-
served there from 1945 to 1948. _
During the visits of President Trwnan, General b4arshall and General..
Eisenhower, he served as Aide to interpret for them. In June 1948 he
was assigned to Ambassador Averell Harriman as Assistant Military
Attache-at-Large with duty station in Paris, and in 1949 he was appointed ;"
Army Attache-at-Large. Returning to the United States with Ambassador.
Harriman in June 195Q, he became military Assistant to the Special
Assistant to the President. In January 1951 he accompanied General
Eisenhower on his visit to twelve NATO countries, and in February 1951
he was assigned to SHAPE Headquarters in Paris.
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He served there as Assistant Executive for National Military
Representatives and, subsequently, as Assistant to the Deputy Chief
of Staff for Logistics and Acfi-inistration. He also served as Assistant
to the President at the Geneva Conference in 1953. Returning to the
United States in January 1955, he was assigned to the U.S. Element of
the NATO Standing Group as Public Information Officer and Special Projects
Officer. During this period, he had additional duties as Staff Assistant
to the President of the United States, accompanying President Eisenhower
on all of his foreign trips and Vice President Nixon on his trip to South
America in 1958.
In early 1960 he attended a Guided Missile Course at Fort Bliss,
Texas, and a Nuclear Course at Sandia, New Mexico. In May 1960 he was
ordered to Rome as Army Attache, serving there until October 1962 when
he was transferred to Rio de Janeiro as Army Attache. In 1967 he served.
briefly in Vietnam where he was awarded the Air Aledal. Subsequently,
he served as Defense Attache to France until early 1972. He accompanied
President Nixon on his trip to France, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Spain.
in 1969, and also accompanied Mrs. Nixon during her visit to the
earthquake-striken areas of Peru in June 1970. In late 1971 he accom-
panied President Nixon to the Azores.
D4ajor General tiValters was nominated by the President to b e Deputy
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and to the grade of
Lieutenant General on 2 March 1972 and confirmed by the Senate on
10 April 1972. He was sworn in to office on 2 Aiay 1972. He left. the
Agency and retired from the United States Army in 3uly 1976.
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PERSONAL DATA
Born: 3 January 1917, New York City
Father: Frederick J. Walters (deceased)
Mother: Laura P. Walters {deceased)
Brothers: Frederick J. Walters -Atlanta
Vincent C. Walters -New York
Sister: Mrs. Laureen Jones -Baltimore
Marital Status: Single
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Official Address: c/o The Adjutant General, Department of the
Army, Washington, D. C. 20025
CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF PROMOTIONS
2d Lt
29 May 1942
1st Lt
30 Dec
1942
Capt ~
20 Apr
1943
Major
30 Sep
1944
Lt Col
3.Nov
1950
Col
25 Apr
1960
Brig Gen
1 Feb
1965
Ma j Gen
1 Feb
196 8
Lt Gen
10 Apr
1972
CITATIONS AND DECORATIONS
National Security Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (2 Oak Leaf Clusters)
Legion of Merit (1 Oak Leaf Cluster)
Bronze Star
Air Medal
Army Commendation
Distinguished Intelli ence Medal
Career Intelligence ~edal
SERVICE MEDALS
American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
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SERVICE MEDALS (Cont'd)
European Theatre Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Army Occupation Medal (Germany)
National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Service . Medal
FOREIGN DECORATIONS
France: Commander of the Legion of Honor
Croix de Guerre with Palms
Brazil: Combat Cross
? Order of Military Merit
War Medal
Campaign Cross.
Southern Cross
Italy: Bronze Medal of Valor .
Commander of the Crown of Italy '
Commander of Order of Merit of Italian Republic
Peru: Grand Cross of Order of Merit
Portugal: Military Merit
Spain; Military Merit
Vietnam: National Order (Grand Officer)
BADGES - ,
i
DOD i
. White House
RELIGION
Roman Catholic
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PERSONAL BACKGROUND MATERLAL
General Walters is interested in languages, history, and subways.
He speaks French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch
and Russian. He enjoys swimming, skiing and chess.
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