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Contact Info
Home Town Whiteburg, Iowa
Last Address Blacksburg, Virginia Buried at Memorial Gardens of the New River Valley, Blacksburg, Virginia.
Date of Passing Feb 13, 2013
Wall/Plot Coordinates Unknown
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Unofficial Badges
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Military Figure, Athelete, Educator. Acuff was a Brigadier General, former commandant of cadets at Virginia Tech, racquetball champion, and last surviving member of Castner's Cutthroats. He began his Army career as an ROTC student on a football scholarship at the University of Idaho. After his first duty station at Fort Ord with the 82nd Airborne Division, the Lieutenant was deployed to the Aleutian Islands as an executive officer of the 1st Alaskan Combat Intelligence Platoon (Castner's Cutthroats). On a remote island for months without breaking radio silence, Acuff was presumed dead and a rescue mission ensued. "I was living like a king. I was diving for king crab and eating fresh seafood and fowl - wild ptarmigan, ducks and geese - for dinner. They told me not to break radio sound unless I saw a Japanese plane, so I didn't. When the Alaskan Scouts came to 'rescue' me, they started thinking that maybe they'd like to stay with me." After the war, Acuff was a bush pilot, big game guide, and teacher near Cook Inlet. He re-entered service in 1949 at the Army's request, teaching Arctic survival. During the Korea War, he fought with the 7th Infantry Divison at the Battle of Pork Chop Hill and the Battle of Old Baldy, earning a Purple Heart, a Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, a Bronze Star with four Oak Leaf Clusters and Valor Device, and his second Combat Infantryman Badge. In 1965, he was invited to evaluate the Ranger training program at Fort Benning, Georgia. At 47 years old, he became the (then) oldest soldier to graduate from United States Army Ranger School. In 1966, he received a Master's degree in International Studies from George Washington University and worked for the State Department on Latin American affairs. During the Vietnam War, Acuff served as Commander of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division and the Deputy Post Commander at the U. S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning. He began teaching military science at Virginia Tech in 1970, and was subsequently promoted to Brigadier General and became the Commandant of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets in 1974. In his later years, Acuff was an accomplished athelte. He was the winner of 25 U.S. national and world senior gold medals, including nine U.S. national singles titles. He won the men's 75+ doubles crown at the Ektelon 31st U.S. National Doubles Championships (his seventh national doubles championship), the 1998 men's 80+ world title, and three other world seniors crowns. He was named a member of the University of Idaho Sports Hall of Fame, the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, and the USRA Racquetball Hall of Fame.
Korean War/Third Korean Winter (1952-53)/5th Battle of Old Baldy
From Month/Year
March / 1953
To Month/Year
March / 1953
Description Fifth battle of Old Baldy – March 23–26, 1953, The battle pitted the United Nations forces against the Chinese forces. The forces fighting for the UN included military units from the U.S., Colombia, and South Korea. They are estimated to have numbered around 38,000. American forces were comprised by elements from the 45th Division, 7th Infantry Division, and the 2nd Infantry Division. The Colombian military units on the other hand included elements of the 4th Battalion such as Battalion B Company.
Some of the most notable leaders of the allies during the battle of Old Baldy included Major General David Ruffner from the 45th Division, Colonel Sandlin, Major General Wayne C. Smith of the 7th Division, Colonel William Kern of the 31st Regiment, and Lieutenant Colonel Alberto Ruiz Novoa. The Chinese forces, on the other hand, were estimated to have numbered around 20,000 men. They included elements of the Chinese 39th Army and the 38th Army.