WARREN K. BENNETT

Major General Warren K. Bennett attended Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army of the United States in February 1942. His first assignment as an officer was with the 77th Infantry Division as it was being formed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in early 1942.  After having participated in maneuvers in Louisiana, Arizona, and Virginia, General Bennett accompanied the 77th Division to Guam, Hawaii, Leyete, Okinawa, Cebu, and occupation duty in the Island of Hokkaido, Japan. While serving in the Pacific with the 307th Infantry Regiment, General Bennett was a Regimental S-4, Regimental S-3, and a battalion commander. He was awarded the Purple Heart for action in Guam, Leyte, and Okinawa. | In July 1946 General Bennett was commissioned a Regular Army Officer. From August 1946 to January 1948, General Bennett was assigned to the office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, at Second Army Headquarters, Fort Meade, Maryland. | In January 1948 he volunteered for duty in Greece, and served as an operational advisor with the IX Greek (Mountain) Division during the Greek Civil War. Upon his return to the United States in July 1949, General Bennett attended the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He then joined the faculty as an instructor. In August 1953 he attended the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia. | After attending the Advanced Refresher Course at the Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1954, General Bennett was assigned to Headquarters, Army Forces Far East in Japan before volunteering for duty with the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Saigon, Indochina. It was during this period that the Geneva Convention was signed. Among his other duties, General Bennett was designated operations officer of the project to evacuate and resettle personnel from North Vietnam to South Vietnam. Later, he became the first U.S. officer to serve as a field advisor with the South Vietnamese Army. From 1955 to 1958 he was in the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations at the Pentagon. | General Bennett attended the National War College in August 1958. From August to November 1959 he was assigned to the 8th Infantry Division in Germany and commanded the lst Battle Group, 504th Airborne Infantry. During the period 1960 to 1964 he was assigned to the Office of the Army Chief of Staff in Washington, D.C., including duty as the Deputy Secretary of the General Staff. | General Bennett returned to Germany in July 1964 and served as Chief of Staff with the 3rd Infantry Division in Wyerzburg until July 1965, when he assumed command of the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division in Kitzingen. Following promotion to the grade of Brigadier General, with date of rank of 15 March 1966, he performed duty as the Assistant Division Commander, as well as Brigade Commander, until reassigned to the 8th Infantry Division as Assistant Division Commander (Maneuver) on 20 June 1966.