William B. Steele
| William B. Steele | |
|---|---|
Steele, during his tenure as a major general
|
|
| Born |
August 17, 1929 Atlanta, Georgia |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/ |
 United States Army
|
| Years of service | 1950–1979 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands held | 5th Battalion (Mechanized) 60th Infantry Regiment,9th Infantry Division, 197th Infantry Brigade (Mechanized), 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Polk, Louisiana |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
| Awards |
Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star (2) Legion of Merit The Distinguished Flying Cross The Meritorius Service Medal (2) Air Medal (18) the Bronze Star Medal with "V" for Valor the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorius Service |
William Berry Steele (born August 17, 1929) is a retired two-star general of the United States Army. He is a former commander of the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) and Fort Polk, Louisiana. Steele graduated from the University of Georgia in 1950 with a BBA degree, cum laude, and was commissioned as a distinguished military graduate from the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry in the U.S. Army.
He later attended the Navy Command and Staff College in Newport, Rhode Island, and the Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. In addition, he earned a Master’s Degree in International Relations from George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. He spent 29 years in the Army, receiving numerous military decorations and awards, which include the Army Distinguished Service Medal, two Silver Star Medals, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, two Meritorious Service Medals, seventeen Air Medals, the Bronze Star Medal with “V” for Valor, the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Service and three Army Commendation Medals, as well as several foreign decorations.
The only son of Wade Hampton Steele, Jr. and Frances Lucille Berry, William “Bill” Berry Steele was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 17, 1929. However, Bill grew up in rural middle Georgia near Lilly, Georgia, after his mother and father returned to Wade and Dora Steele’s farm, his paternal grandparents, in the early years of the Depression. In 1935 the family moved to Fort Valley, Georgia, where Bill’s father found a job with the Farm Security Administration (FSA). During Bill’s childhood they lived in Tifton, Thomasville, and Athens, Georgia, then later Montgomery, Alabama; Bill and his family returned to Athens in subsequent years. In 1942, the family moved to Lyons, Georgia, but after the death of Bill’s paternal grandfather Wade, the family moved back to the Lilly farm. Bill first attended Vienna High School and for his senior year he studied at Gordon Military High School in Barnesville, Georgia. After Gordon Military High School, Bill attended Gordon Junior College for two years, and then continued his studies at the University of Georgia. He also became an Army ROTC cadet.
During this time, Bill dated Virginia “Ginny” Nell Akin and they were married on August 7, 1949, when Bill had one more year to go at the University of Georgia. Upon graduation, Bill was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry in the U.S. Army.
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