Gen Melvin Zais - Arlington VA - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Section 1, Site 150-F

Description: From Find A Grave: US Army General. After completing high school, he entered the University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, graduating in 1937 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. He then joined the US Army Reserve and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. In 1940, he was recalled to active duty and served at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he volunteered for the 501st Parachute Infantry Battalion. He graduated from the Command and General Staff College in 1943, after which he organized and trained the 3rd Battalion, 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment, and led them into combat in Italy and France during World War II. He served as the Regimental Executive Officer in Belgium and Germany in the last months of the war and became the regimental commander upon its return to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, after the war ended. Afterward, he served in numerous command positions at different Army locations, including the deputy commanding general, Field Force, and assistant division commander of the 1st Infantry Division, Vietnam from 1964 to 1966. On June 1, 1966, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General and returned to the United States where he was assigned as the Director of Individual Training, Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, Headquarters US Army, Washington DC. In 1968, he returned to Vietnam as the commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division, and in 1969 he became the commanding general of 24th Corps. While he served in this position, the US and South Vietnamese forces engaged with North Vietnamese forces in the Battle of Hamburger Hill from May 10 through May 20, 1969, a controversial battle of little strategic value with heavy American casualties that caused an outrage in both the American military and public, and became a focal point for the US opposition to the war. In 1970, he returned to the United States to assume command of the 3rd US Army at Fort McPherson, Georgia, remaining there until June 1973. On 1 August 1973, he was promoted to general and became the commanding general, Allied Land Forces, Southeast Europe, Turkey, retiring in that position shortly afterward, with 36 years of continued military service in the US Army Reserve and active duty. Among his military decorations and awards include the Distinguished Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Silver Star with one oak leaf cluster, the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, and the Purple Heart. Date of birth: 05/08/1916 Date of death: 04/28/1981 Area of notoriety: Military Marker Type: Headstone Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: None Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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