Library Guides: The Life of President Julius Wesley Becton: Commitment to the Military

Summary of his Military Service

In 1948, after President Harry S. Truman had desegregated the military, Becton was accepted for active duty once again and remained in the Army until 1983. During that period he saw combat duty in Korea and Vietnam. He was also stationed in Germany, the Philippines, France, the Southwest Pacific, and Japan during his service. Steadily moving up the ranks, in 1972 Becton was promoted to Brigadier General.

Source: Veteran of the Day. (2019). Facebook. https://m.facebook.com/VeteransAffairs/posts/todays-veteranoftheday-is-army-veteran-julius-w-becton-jr-julius-served-during-w/10156378610393178/

Milestones

In 1978, General Becton was the first African American officer to command a Corps in the U.S. Army.
After retiring as a Lieutenant General in 1983, Gen. Becton held several important posts in the U.S. government, the private sector, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
From January 1984 to October 1985 he was director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance. President Ronald Reagan appointed him the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a post he held between 1985 and 1989.
Becton later was Chief Operating Officer (CEO) of American Coastal Industries and he was named chairman of the Senior Civil Emergency Planning Committee for NATO.
In 2007, he was selected to receive the George Catlett Marshall Medal, the highest award presented by the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA), for being a ‘soldier, combat commander, administrator, educator, public servant, government leader, and role model.’

Service History

World War, 1939-1945
Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
Unit of Service: 542nd Heavy Construction Company; 369th Infantry Regiment, 93rd Infantry Division; 2nd Brigade, 2nd Armored Division; 1st Cavalry Division; VII Corps
Location of Service: Philippines; Fort Benning Georgia; MacDill Air Force Base, Florida; France
Dates of Service: 1943-1983

Korean War, 1950-1953
Branch of Service: Army
Unit of Service: 9th Infantry Regiment
Location of Service: Korea

Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Branch of Service: Army
Unit of Service: 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division
Location of Service: Vietnam

Cold War
Branch of Service: Army
Unit of Service: US Army Operational Test and Evaluation Center
Location of Service: Fort Hood, Texas; Falls Church, Virginia; Germany

Source: Veterans History Project, Library Of Congress, Billington, J. H. & Becton, J. W. (1943) Julius Wesley Becton Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.75519/.