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Contact Info
Last Address Raeford
Date of Passing Jan 28, 2007
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Wall/Plot Coordinates Section 60, Site 383
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Ellis W. Williamson, Major General, U.S. Army (Ret) June 4, 1918-Jan. 28, 2007
Major General Ellis W. Williamson died Jan. 28, 2007, at the age of 88.
His 40-year Army career included service in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
He is survived by Margaret, his wife of 64 years; a son, Dan E. Williamson Sr. of Pineville, Missouri; a daughter, Nan V. Williamson of Clyde, North Carolina; two grandchildren, Dan E. Williamson Jr. of Stephenville, Texas, and Christina L. Franklin of Ft. Worth, Texas; and four great-grandchildren, Holly, Wesley, Christopher and Danielle Franklin of Ft. Worth, Texas.
Born in Raeford, North Carolina, he grew up and went to high school in Raleigh, North Carolina. He served in the North Carolina National Guard during high school and college. He graduated from Atlantic Christian (now Barton) College, Wilson, North Carolina, in 1940 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant.
Highlights of General Williamson's military career include participation in the D Day landings with the 120th Infantry Regiment, and service in the European theater where he commanded at the platoon, company, battalion and regimental levels, earning temporary promotions through the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In 1950 he was on the planning staff for and participated in the Inchon Landings in Korea, and subsequently served on the X Corps staff. Following instructional and staff assignments in the United States, he assumed command of the 13th Infantry Regiment at Fort Carson, Colorado, and took the Regiment to Germany. In 1959 he became an army paratrooper.
Promoted to Brigadier General in 1963, he organized the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) on Okinawa and took the Brigade into Vietnam in May of 1965, becoming the first United States Army ground combat unit to enter the conflict. In 1966 he became Assistant Commandant at The Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia. Subsequently he was promoted to Major General and assumed command of the U. S. Army Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana. In 1968 he returned to Vietnam, commanding the 25th 'Tropic Lightning' Infantry Division.
His military education included basic and advanced courses at the Infantry School (1942-43), the Command and General Staff College (1950), the Armed Forces Staff College (1953), and the National War College (1960). He was granted a Masters degree from the Graduate School of Business at Harvard University in 1962 and a Masters degree in International Affairs from George Washington University in 1963.
Major General Williamson numerous decorations include the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal (2 OLC), the Silver Star (5 OLC), the Legion of Merit (OLC), the Bronze Star Medal (3 OLC), the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal (28 OLC), the Purple Heart (4 OLC), the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Master Parachutist Badge and Army Aviator Wings.
He was designated Chief of the U. S. Military Mission in Iran and Personal Advisor to the Shah of Iran in 1971 and subsequently retired in 1973. Following retirement, he continued his life of service to the community, participating in a variety of military and civilian non-profit community activities.
Other Comments:
Ellis W. "Butch" Williamson, 88, a retired Army major general who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, died January 28, 2007, of pneumonia at Goodwin House in Arlington County. He was a longtime Arlington resident.
General Williamsonparticipated in the D-Day landings in Normandy in World War II and the Inchon landings in the Korean War. He held high-level posts supervising troop training and, from 1971 to 1973, was chief of the United States military mission to Iran.
In 1963, General Williamson reactivated the 173rd Airborne Brigade, which had begun as an infantry brigade in World War I and was absorbed into other units in World War II. For two years, his 3,500 troops trained intensively in Okinawa.
They began arriving in Vietnam on May 5, 1965. Their first mission was to secure, patrol and neutralize any threat to Bien Hoa Air Base. That day, General Williamson said in an interview with The New York Times, "I am sure my men will want, as I do, to get out for action."
Then 47, General Williamson developed tactics for a war with no defined front. Fighting with South Vietnamese troops, he had his men penetrate the countryside surrounding the base and then worked methodically to expand the perimeter with day and night patrols.
The members of the 173rd were among the first soldiers to use M-16s, the lightweight rifle that became the standard for American forces. Hardly a night went by when they were not attacked.
They were also the first to go into what the military called Zone D, a flat, eerie jungle filled with dragonflies and Vietcong sniper bullets, to destroy enemy base camps. This successful operation in June 1965 was American troops' first big attack against the Vietcong.
In August 1965, General Williamson commanded the 173rd and other American units when they and South Vietnamese troops broke the Communist siege of a Special Forces camp at Duc Co. By September, he told The Times, "The enemy is running from us like a scared rat."
The next year, General Williamson led United States troops into the Mekong Delta for the first time. In March 1966, he briefed President Lyndon B. Johnson at Johnson's ranch in Texas. He told the president that morale was high and that the enemy was groggy; he also advised sending more troops.
Ellis Warner Williamson was born in the summer of 1918 in Raeford, North Carolina.He served in the North Carolina National Guard during high school and college. In 1940, he graduated from Atlantic Christian College, now Barton College, and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant.
In addition to taking advanced courses at military schools and colleges, he received an M.B.A. from Harvard in 1962 and a master's in international affairs from George Washington University in 1963.
He became a paratrooper in 1959, and was promoted to Brigadier General in 1963. General Williamson returned from Vietnam in 1966 to be Assistant Commander at the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia. After being promoted to major general, he commanded the Army Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana.
As chief of the military mission to Iran, General Williamson met regularly with Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and oversaw a quiet but steady influx of American military personnel into Iran.
On September 27, 1942, General Williamson married Margaret McNeill, who survives, along with a daughter, Nan V. Williamson of Clyde, North Carolina; a son, Dan, of Pineville, Missouri; and a grandson.
He participated in the D-Day landings with the 120th Infantry Regiment and served in the European theater, where he commanded at the platoon, company, battalion and regimental levels.
In 1950, he helped plan and participated in the Inchon landing in Korea. Following instructional and staff assignments, he assumed command of the 13th Infantry Regiment at Fort Carson, Colorado, and took the regiment to Germany. In 1959, he became an Army paratrooper.
During his 40-year military career, he received a master's degree in business from Harvard University (1962) and a master's degree in international affairs from George Washington University (1963).
Promoted to Brigadier General in 1963, he organized the 173rd Airborne Brigade on Okinawa and took the brigade into Vietnam in 1965. His unit was the first U.S. Army ground combat unit to enter the war.
In 1966, he became assistant commander at the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia. Promoted to Major General, he assumed command of the U.S. Army Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and then returned to Vietnam, where he commanded the 25th Infantry Division, known as Tropic Lightning.
In 1971, he was designated chief of the U.S. military mission in Iran and personal adviser to the shah of Iran. He retired in 1973.
In retirement, he worked as a military affairs consultant and was involved in military and civilian nonprofit community activities. He served on the boards of the Army's Military District of Washington Retiree Council and the Army Distaff Foundation and was active with the Sigholtz-Capital Chapter of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Association. He was a member of the Greater Washington Metropolitan Organ Society.
General Williamson's decorations include the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Silver Star with five oak leaf clusters, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart.
Survivors include his wife of 64 years, Margaret Williamson of Arlington; two children, Nan V. Williamson of Clyde, North Carolina, and Dan E. Williamson of Pineville, Missouri; and one grandson.
(From the 25th ID news, 1968)
Major General Ellis W. Williamson, new 25th Infantry Division Commander, assumed command during ceremonies held at Cu Chi Saturday morning, August 3, 1968.
He replaces Major General F. K. Mearns, who moves to Saigon to become Deputy Commander, II Field Force and Commanding General, Capital Military Assistance Command.
General Williamson was born in Raeford, North Carolina on June 2, 1918. Through high school and college, he was a member of the 120th Infantry Regiment, North Carolina National Guard.
Upon graduation from Atlantic Christian College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1940, he entered the Federal Service with his unit.
General Williamson remained with the 120th Infantry Regiment throughout World War II serving in rank from Private to Colonel. Following commissioning as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry in March, 1941, he served as a commander at platoon, company, battalion and regimental level and as a battalion and regimental staff officer. He was regimental Commander at the time of the unit's return to state control in January, 1946.
The same year, he was integrated into the Regular Army. For three years he was an instructor of tactics at the Infantry School. He graduated from the Command and General Staff College in 1950 and was assigned to Headquarter X Corps in Korea. He participated in the amphibious landing at Inchon as Assistant Operations Officer, X Corps, later becoming Operations Officer.
General Williamson was assigned in 1952, to the Office of the Army Chief of Staff, next attended the Armed Forces Staff College, and then returned to Washington for duty in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
He assumed command of the 13th Infantry Regiment at Fort Carson, Colorado, in 1956 and took this unit to Germany on Operation Gyroscope. After 27 months as Regimental Commander, he became Chief of the Training Division, Headquarters, 7th U.S. Army. He returned home to qualify as a parachutist and attend the National War College.
Following three years in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel at Department of the Army, General Williamson assumed command of the 173d Airborne Brigade (Separate) upon its activation in Okinawa in July 1963. He organized and trained this unit for its mission as Pacific Theatre Reserve Force during the next two years.
After extensive training on the Pacific islands of Okinawa, Taiwan, Irimote, and the Philippines as well as in Korea and Thailand, General Williamson's brigade, in May, 1965, became the first U.S. Army ground combat unit to enter the conflict in Vietnam.
Under his command, the 173d Airborne Brigade (Separate) participated in actions designed to protect friendly installations and to destroy enemy forces in the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau-Ben Cat areas and into the mountain plateau areas of Pleiku and Kontum.
In addition to the 173d Airborne Brigade (Separate), General Williamson's command in Vietnam included all Australian and New Zealand combat elements, plus some Vietnamese units.
He served in five campaigns in Europe during World War II and seven during the Korean conflict.
General Williamson assumed command of the U.S. Army Training Center, Fort Polk, Louisiana, November 1, 1966, and comes to the 25th Infantry Division from that post.
Major General Williamson has received the:
Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star with five Clusters
Legion of Merit with Cluster
Bronze Star Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters
Air Medal with nine Clusters
Army Commendation Medal
Purple Heart with two Oak Leaf Clusters
American D e f e n s e Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
European, African, Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Army Occupation Medal (Germany)
National Defense Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Korean Service Medal
United Nations Service Medal
Vietnamese Service Medal
Distinguished Unit Emblem
Department of Defense Identification Badge
Army General Staff Identification Badge
Combat Infantryman's Badge
Master Parachutist's Badge
British Distinguished Service Order
French Croix de Guerre with Silver Star
National Medal of Vietnam
Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, with Palm
Vietnamese Army Distinguished Service Medal, First Class
Belgian Fourragere
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation Badge
This is to Certify that
The President of the United States of America
Takes Pride in Presenting
THE
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS
to
Ellis W. Williamson
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Ellis W. Williamson, Brigadier General, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam while commanding the 173d Airborne Brigade (Separate). Brigadier General Williamson distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism on 9 November 1965, while directing military operations after a Viet Cong element of regimental size launched a vicious attack on personnel of the First Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry on the day before. When the friendly forces sustained heavy casualties after engaging wave upon wave of fanatical hostile troops, General Williamson directed the pilot of his aircraft to attempt a descent into a 250-foot funnel through a jungle canopy to evacuate the wounded and the dead. Although no other helicopter was able to negotiate the pass, a successful landing was made. Once upon the ground, General Williamson exposed himself to the hostile gun fire, made his way among the front line troops, and gave assistance and encouragement to both the wounded and the defenders. Lending his own aircraft to aid in the evacuation of the wounded from the battlefield, he elected to remain in the combat zone and personally directed the further tactical deployment of the remaining units. His dynamic leadership, indomitable courage, and determination paved the way for the landing of evacuation helicopters, resulted in the removal of a great number of wounded and dead, and inspired the remaining troops with the spirit needed to achieve victory. General Williamson's extraordinary heroism on the battlefield and his profound concern for the individual soldier are in the highest traditions of the United States Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the armed forces of his country.
Department of the Army, General Orders No. 27 (June 27, 1966)
------------------------------------------
Distinquished Service Medal
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Brigadier General Ellis W. Williamson (ASN: 0-34484), United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility as Commanding General of the 173d Airborne Brigade (Separate), in the Republic of Vietnam, during the period from May 1965 to February 1966.
General Orders: Department of the Army, General Orders No. 27 (June 27, 1966) ------------------------------------------
Distinquished Service Medal (Bronze OLC)
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Major General Ellis W. Williamson (ASN: 0-34484), United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility, during the period from November 1966 through July 1968.
General Orders: Department of the Army, General Orders No. 57 (October 17, 1968)
Korean War/UN Defensive (1950)
From Month/Year
June / 1950
To Month/Year
September / 1950
Description
June to September 1950. Communist efforts to divide the South Koreans against themselves having failed, the North Koreans decided to attempt their subjugation by military force. At 0400, Sunday, 25 June 1950 (Korean Time), North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel into the Republic and launched their main effort toward the South Korean capital city of Seoul, down the P'och'on-Uijongbu and Yonch'on-Uijongbu corridors. Strong attacks were also directed through Kaesong toward Munsan on the right, and toward Ch'unch'on on the left. On the west coast the Ongjin Peninsula was quickly captured. On the east coast a land column and a small seaborne detachment met near Kangnung.
By 28 June Seoul had fallen, the North Koreans had closed up along the Han River to a point about 20 miles east of Seoul, and had advanced as far as Samchok on the meat coast. By 4 July enemy forces were along the line Suwon-Wonju-Samchok. In withdrawing, the Republic of Korea ("ROK") forces had suffered such serious losses that their attempts to regroup and retain order were almost futile.
On 25 June 1950 the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling "for immediate cessation of hostilities" and "upon the authorities of North Korea to withdraw forthwith their armed forces to the thirty-eighth parallel." When the North Koreans failed to accede to these demands, the Security Council passed a second resolution recommending "that the Members of the United Nations furnish such assistance to the Republic of Korea as may be necessary to repel the armed attack and restore the international peace and security in the area."
President Truman announced on 27 June 1950 the t he had ordered American air and naval forces to give cover and support to the South Korean troops (UN Defensive-27 June to 15 September 1950). On the 28th he authorized the Commander in Chief Far East to use certain supporting ground units in Korea, and authorized the U.S. Air Force to conduct missions on specific targets in North Korea. On the 30th the President further authorized the C. in C. Far East to use all forces available to him to repel the invasion, and ordered a naval blockade of the entire coast of Korea.
A Security Council resolution of 7 July 1950 recommended the establishment of a unified command in Korea and requested the United States to designate a commander of these forces. On 8 July President Truman announced the appointment of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur as Commander in Chief, United Nations Command (CINCUNC). On 14 July President Rhee placed all ROK security forces under the United Nations commander, an act which consolidated the anti-Communist forces under the United Nations Commend for the purpose of repelling the Communist aggression.
The U.S. forces at MacArthur's disposal included the four divisions in Japan-the 1st Cavalry Division and the 7th, 24th, and 25th Infantry Divisions-and the 29th Regimental Combat Team in Okinawa. The divisions were lacking a third of their infantry and artillery units and almost all their armor units. Existing units were far under strength. Weapons and equipment were war-worn relics of World War II, and ammunition reserves amounted to only a 45-day supply. None of the divisions had reached full combat efficiency, since intensive training had been largely neglected because of occupation duties.
Initial U.S. strategy, dictated by the speed of the North Korean drive and the state of American unpreparedness, was one of trading space for time. On 2 July 1950 Task Force Smith, composed of two rifle companies and a few supporting units of the 24th Division, was flown from Japan to Pusan and moved by train and truck to defensive positions near Osan, 30 miles south of Seoul. Its mission was to fight a delaying action to gain time for the movement of more troops from Japan. On 5 July this small force was attacked by a North Korean division supported by 30 tanks and compelled to withdraw, after a stubborn defense, with heavy losses of men and equipment.
By this time the remaining elements of the 24th Division had reached Korea and were in defensive positions along the Kum River, north of Taejon and 60 miles south of Osan. ROK elements held positions to the east, some 50 miles above Taegu. By 15 July the 25th Division had arrived in Korea and was positioned east of the 24th Division. The 1st Cavalry Division arrived and closed in the P'chang-dong area on 18-19 July. Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker, Commander of the U.S. Eighth Army, had been placed in command of all U.S. ground troops in Korea on 13 July, and, at the request of President Rhee, of the South Korean Army as well. As the ground troops of other U.N. members reached Korea, they also were placed under Walker's command.
North Korean forces crossed the Kum River and captured Taejon, an important communications center, on 20 July. U.S. and ROK troops continued to withdraw steadily to the southeast under constant North Korean pressure. During the withdrawal our Army's 3.5-inch rocket launcher was used (for the first time on a battlefield) with highly successful results against North Korean tanks. It was in this period that the 24th Division commander, Maj. Gen. William F. Dean, was reported missing when North Korean tanks broke through the forward unite of his division. It was learned later that he had been captured about 35 miles south of Taejon on 25 August.
The final days of July 1950 witnessed a series of hard-fought battles all along the 200-mile front of the United Nations perimeter. The northern front, a line running inland from Yongdok through Andong, Yech'on, Hamch'ong, and Hwanggan to Kumch'on, was defended at critical points by ROK troops and the U.S. 25th Division. The 1st Cavalry Division was battling on the west flank to keep the Yongdong-Kumch'on-Taegu rail line open. To block the southwestern approaches to Pusan, which the enemy was threatening, the 29th RCT advanced to Chinju, but was ambushed by a North Korean division and suffered heavy losses. Enemy pressure continued from Yosu and Chinju in the southwest to Kwan-ni on the Taejon-Taegu railroad, thence northeast through Yech'on to Yongdok on the Sea of Japan.
By the beginning of August the U.S. and ROK forces had withdrawn behind the Naktong River, a position which the U.N. Command was determined to hold. The area held in southeastern Korea resembled a rectangle, the southwestern side of which was guarded by the 24th and 25th Divisions to prevent a breakthrough to Masan. The 1st Cavalry Division was deployed on the western front to guard the Taegu railroad approaches. The northern front was defended by ROK divisions from a point south of Hamch'ang to a point just south of Yongdok on the east coast.
Early in August General Walker declared the strategy of trading space for time to be at an end, and ordered a final stand along this 140-mile perimeter around the port of Pusan, which had become a well-stocked Eighth Army supply base and the hub of a rail and road net leading to the battle front. By now the enemy's lengthened supply lines were under constant air attack, enemy naval opposition had been wiped out, and the blockade of the Korean coast had been clamped tight.
During the next month and a half, fourteen North Korean divisions dissipated their strength in piecemeal attacks against the Pusan perimeter. Walker, by rapidly shuttling his forces to meet the greatest threats, inflicted heavy casualties on the North Koreans and prevented serious penetrations. The enemy, determined to annihilate the Eighth Army and take Taegu and Pusan, massed for a two-pronged attack across the Naktong, one prong from the west and the other from the southwest. The principal actions were fought along the river from Waegwan south through Song-dong and Ch'irhyon-ni to the junction of the Naktong and Nam Rivers, and southwest toward Haman and Chinju.
While U.S. troops were fighting along the banks of the Naktong, other battles took place in the southwest. A veteran North Korean division, which had been concentrated for an assault upon Susan and Pusan, was hit by Task Force Kean. Named for the 25th Division Commander, the Task Force was composed of the 5th RCT, the 35th RCT of the 25th Division, the 1st Marine Brigade, and a ROK battalion. It opened a strong counteroffensive on 7 August 1950 to secure the left funk of the perimeter and prevent the enemy from driving on Pusan. Overcoming initial heavy resistance, it defeated the North Koreans and by 11 August commanded the high ground to the east of Chinju.
On the eastern flank of the perimeter the town of Yongdok was lost by ROK units, some of which then had to be evacuated by sea. On 12 August the port of P'chang-dong was attacked by enemy forces led by tanks which mounted screaming sirens. This force poured through a break in the R0K lines and linked up with North Korean advance agents in the port. These agents, disguised as innocent-looking refugees, carried mortars, machineguns, and other weapons in oxcarts, on A-frames and on their persons. While a force of North Koreans took P'chang-dong, the adjoining airstrip, of great importance to the U.N. forces as a base for tactical aircraft. On 13 August the danger was so pressing that all aircraft were evacuated. Within the next five days, however, ROK troops and a small U.S. task force recaptured P'chang-dong and returned it to U.N. control.
During this time a much larger force of North Koreans breached the U.N. positions at some paints in the Naktong River sector, but failed in their attempt to capture the rail junctions at Taegu. To hold a line near the river, Walker rearranged the defensive positions of the 24th and 25th Infantry Divisions, the 1st Cavalry Division, and the 1st Marine Brigade, deploying them in a manner which assigned combat zones of 15-30 miles to each division.
The enemy, continuing his efforts to crack the perimeter, massed several divisions above Waegwan to assault Taegu from the north. Despite a bombing raid in which U.N. air forces dropped 850 tons of bombs on the suspected enemy concentration area, the North Koreans launched a powerful attack which carried through the ROK positions and threatened Taegu. Stalwart defense and swift countermeasures in this area on 19 August saved Taegu from almost certain capture, parried the enemy 's three-pronged thrust at the city, and stopped the momentum of the North Korean offensive.
Shortly before midnight on 31 August enemy forces again attacked the Naktong River Line, this time in tremendous force. Disregarding very heavy casualties from U.N. air force bombing and strafing, they mounted a strong offensive against the entire Pusan beachhead from Haman in the south to P'chang-dong in the northern sector. The port of P'chang-dong was captured on 6 September, but again the Communists failed to capture the airfield. Waegwan and the "walled city" of Kasan were lost as the U.N. defenders fell back for a last ditch stand at Taegu. Between 4 and 11 September the enemy made important gains along the Naktong in some of the heaviest fighting of the war; but U.N. forces blunted the drive on Taegu and began to show slow progress of their own against very strong enemy resistance.
On the southern front the North Korean offensive, which opened with a massive artillery barrage near Haman, struck the 25th Division with tanks and waves of infantry, imperiling its forward positions. However, although the enemy had made impressive gains along the U.N. perimeter and General Walker still had to shuttle his units from one critical area to another, a strong beachhead remained in the hands of the U.N. Command.
By mid-August the offensive capability of the Eighth Army had been augmented by the arrival of the U.S. 2d Division, the 1st Marine Brigade, four battalions of medium tanks from the United States, and the 5th RCT from Hawaii. Before the month was out, five ROK divisions were restored to some semblance of order, and Great Britain committed the 27th Brigade from Hong Kong. With the arrival of these reinforcements an attempt could now be made to end the U.N. withdrawal and to begin a U.N. offensive in southeastern Korea.
