Colonel Richard R. Hallock was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in Infantry upon graduation from Officer Candidate School with the 7th Company, Second Student Training Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia, 19 June 1943. His initial assignment was to Airborne School at Fort Benning where he earned his jump wings. | He was then assigned to the 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion. This unit was deployed and fought at Sicily and on into Rome. In August of 1944, he jumped with the 551st into Southern France where he continued to fight across the Alps and into Germany. Although wounded in action during this time, he left the evacuation hospital and returned to his unit with a bullet still lodged in his leg. It was never removed. His unit was then attached to the 82nd Airborne Division during the Battle of the Bulge and suffered heavy casualties. The remnants of the 551st were used as individual replacements and Colonel Hallock was assigned as a platoon leader in the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. In this capacity, he led his platoon across the Rhine as part of a reconnaissance effort and was captured and held as a Prisoner of War. Ten days later he escaped and rejoined his unit where he fought until the end of the war. | After World War II, Colonel Hallock was assigned as a member of the staff of Airborne School at Fort Benning. He then applied for an intelligence course and graduated at the top of his class which caused him to be assigned to the War Departments Intelligence Division at the Pentagon. His reputation there resulted in his being selected to be the Aide-de-Camp to General Lucius Clay, who was the military Governor of Germany at the time. He served General Clay during the tumultuous early days of the Occupation Army to include the Berlin Airlift. | He returned to the United States to attend the Infantry Officers Advanced Course and upon graduation was assigned to the Infantry Board as a Test Officer. He was then promoted to Major and assigned as a Battalion Executive Officer with the 32nd Infantry Regiment in the 7th Infantry Division. The 7th Infantry Division was part of the American war effort in Korea and Colonel Hallock was later to become the youngest Battalion Commander in the Theater. He also served as the Regimental Operations Officer during the Korean War. | Upon return he was assigned again as a Battalion Commander with the 11th Airborne Division in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He also served on the Division Staff as they prepared to deploy the entire Division to Germany. This assignment was followed by selection to attend the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. After graduation he remained on the faculty as the Deputy Chief of Staff responsible for revamping the curriculum over the next two years. He attended and graduated from the Armed Forces Staff College before being sent overseas. | He was then sent to Turkey as part of a Military Assistance Group. While there, he worked closely with the regional governments and was awarded the Haile Selassie Medal. He returned to the United States and attended the United States Army War College graduating in 1964. His last duty assignment was in The Pentagon where he was the champion for replacing the aging M14 Rifle with the new M16. He retired as a Colonel 31 May 1967. | While on active duty he earned the Legion of Merit, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star (w/”V” device and w/ 4 Oak Leaf Clusters), the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge w/star, the Master Parachute Badge and numerous service and foreign decorations. | After retirement, COL Hallock worked for Rand Corporation and was a special assistant to Secretary of Defense, James Schlessinger. In this capacity, he was sent to Iran where he worked closely with the Shah of Iran. He later formed his own consulting company which focused their efforts on national defense and strategic international initiatives. The commercial real estate company founded by Colonel Hallock was very successful as well.