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After the war, Shoemaker served as Commander, 1st Cavalry Division and Commander, [[III Corps (United States)|III Corps]]. In 1977, Shoemaker was assigned as Deputy Commander, U.S. Army Forces Command, and a year later was promoted to General and became commander of FORSCOM.
After the war, Shoemaker served as Commander, 1st Cavalry Division and Commander, [[III Corps (United States)|III Corps]]. In 1977, Shoemaker was assigned as Deputy Commander, U.S. Army Forces Command, and a year later was promoted to General and became commander of FORSCOM.

==Awards and decorations==
{|
|[[File:CIB2.png|125px]]
|[[Combat Infantryman Badge]] ''(2nd award)''
|-
|[[Master Army Aviator.jpg|120px]]
|[[United States Aviator Badge|Army Master Aviator Badge]]
|-
|[[File:USAFSeniorParatrooper.jpg|80px]]
|[[Parachutist Badge (United States)|Senior Parachutist Badge]]
|}
{|
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|name=Defense Distinguished Service ribbon|width=60}}
|[[Defense Distinguished Service Medal]] with one bronze [[oak leaf cluster]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Army Distinguished Service Medal]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Silver Star BAR.svg|width=60}}
|[[Silver Star]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Legion of Merit]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Bronze Star ribbon.svg|width=60}}<span style="position:relative; top: 0px; left: -48px; display: inline-block; width: 0;">[[File:"V" device, brass.svg|12px]]</span><span style="position:relative; top: 0px; left: -36px; display: inline-block; width: 0;">[[File:Bronze oakleaf-3d.svg|14px]]</span><span style="position:relative; top: 0px; left: -24px; display: inline-block; width: 0;">[[File:Bronze oakleaf-3d.svg|14px]]</span>
|[[Bronze Star]] with [["V" device]] and two oak leaf clusters
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Meritorious Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Meritorious Service Medal (United States)|Meritorious Service Medal]] with oak leaf cluster
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Air Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}<span style="position:relative; top: 0px; left: -36px; display: inline-block; width: 0;">[[File:Award numeral 8.png|12px]]</span>
|[[Air Medal]] with bronze [[award numeral]] 8
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=United States Army and U.S. Air Force Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Army Presidential Unit Citation]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[National Defense Service Medal]] with one bronze [[service star]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}<span style="position:relative; top: 0px; left: -41px; display: inline-block; width: 0;">[[File:Bronze-service-star-3d.png|11px]]</span><span style="position:relative; top: 0px; left: -30px; display: inline-block; width: 0;">[[File:Bronze-service-star-3d.png|11px]]</span>
|[[Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal]] with one service star
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Army Service Ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Army Service Ribbon]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=numeral|ribbon=Army Overseas Service Ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Overseas Service Ribbon#Army|Army Overseas Service Ribbon]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Vietnamese Gallantry Cross ribbon.svg|width=60}}<span style="position:relative; top: 0px; left: -37px; display: inline-block; width: 0;">[[File:Bronze-service-star-3d.png|15px]]</span>
|[[Vietnam Gallantry Cross]] with bronze star
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=|ribbon=Vietnam Campaign Medal ribbon with 60- clasp.svg|width=60}}
|[[Vietnam Campaign Medal]]
|}


==Later life==
==Later life==

Revision as of 20:06, 7 July 2018

Robert M. Shoemaker
Official portrait of Robert Shoemaker, CG FORSCOM
Birth nameRobert Morin Shoemaker
Born(1924-02-18)February 18, 1924
Almont, Michigan
DiedJune 21, 2017(2017-06-21) (aged 93)
Harker Heights, Texas
AllegianceUnited States United States of America
Service / branchUnited States Army seal United States Army
Years of service1946–1982
Rank General
CommandsU.S. Army Forces Command
III Corps
1st Cavalry Division
Battles / warsKorean War
Cold War
Vietnam War
AwardsDistinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Legion of Merit
Distinguished Flying Cross
Bronze Star Medal
Air Medal
Other workCommissioner, Bell County, Texas

Robert Morin Shoemaker (February 18, 1924 – June 21, 2017) was a U.S. Army general and former commander of the United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM). He is also an inductee into the Aviation Hall of Fame.

Life and military career

He was born in 1924 in Almont, Michigan.[1] Shoemaker graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1946, and was commissioned in the infantry. He served in various assignment in the 1st Infantry Division, the 82nd Airborne Division, and the 2nd Infantry Division. He subsequently became the Infantry Branch assignments officer, and later was an advisor to the Iranian military.

In 1960 he earned his aviator's wings, and remained a member of the faculty at the Aviation School. In 1962, he served on the Tactical Mobility Requirements Board, also known as the Howze Board, which developed many of the principles used in air assault operations. He was then sent to Vietnam to assess the potential of Army aviation. He was assigned to the experimental 11th Air Assault Division at Fort Benning as division G-3. The division was later redesignated the 1st Cavalry Division in July 1965 and he was given command of 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry. In December 1965, he assumed command of 1st Squadron 9th Cavalry, which was the only air cavalry squadron in the Army at the time.

He returned to the U.S. and after a tour at the Pentagon, returned for his third tour of duty in Vietnam as Chief of Staff for the 1st Cavalry Division. In 1969 he became Assistant Division Commander of the 1st Cavalry Division.

After the war, Shoemaker served as Commander, 1st Cavalry Division and Commander, III Corps. In 1977, Shoemaker was assigned as Deputy Commander, U.S. Army Forces Command, and a year later was promoted to General and became commander of FORSCOM.

Awards and decorations

Combat Infantryman Badge (2nd award)
120px Army Master Aviator Badge
Senior Parachutist Badge
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Defense Distinguished Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star with "V" device and two oak leaf clusters
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Medal with bronze award numeral 8
Army Presidential Unit Citation
Bronze star
National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with one service star
Army Service Ribbon
Army Overseas Service Ribbon
Vietnam Gallantry Cross with bronze star
Vietnam Campaign Medal

Later life

Shoemaker retired from the Army in 1982 to the Fort Hood area, and remained active in community service. He served eight years as the elected Bell County Commissioner. He also backed a campaign that resulted in the establishment of Texas A&M University-Central Texas near Fort Hood. Some of his other civic activities include President and advisor to the President of the 1st Cavalry Division Association, President of the Heart of Texas Council of the Boy Scouts, and as President of the Fort Hood Chapter of the United Way.

Shoemaker was inducted in the U.S. Army Operational Testers' Hall of Fame in 2002, and in 2004, he was awarded the Distinguished Graduate Award by the Association of Graduates, the U.S. Military Academy alumni association. He was also inducted as a member of the Army Aviation Hall of Fame in 1983.[2]

He died on June 21, 2017 at a hospital in Harker Heights, Texas at the age of 93.[3]

See also

He established the high school, named after him, in Killeen, Texas.

Notes

  1. ^ United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Military Construction Appropriations (1976). Military construction appropriations for 1977: hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Ninety-fourth Congress, second session. U.S. Govt. Print. Off. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  2. ^ Army Aviation Hall of Fame entry
  3. ^ Adams, Stephen (June 22, 2017). "Retired General Robert Shoemaker dies at 93". KCEN. Retrieved 22 June 2017.

References