Alva R. Fitch

Alva R. Fitch
Alva R. Fitch
	File:Alva R. Fitch 1950 major general.jpg
Born	September 10, 1907; Amherst, Nebraska
Died	November 25, 1989 (aged 82); Washington, D.C.
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service / branch	United States Army
Years of service	34 years
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands	3rd Armored Division
Battles / wars	Battle of Bataan; Korean War
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross; Distinguished Service Medal; Silver Star

Alva Revista Fitch (September 10, 1907–November 25, 1989) was a lieutenant general in the United States Army and was deputy director of Defense Intelligence Agency from 1964 to 1966. From October 16, 1961 to January 5, 1964, Fitch served as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Headquarters, Department of the Army.

Early life

Born in Amherst, Nebraska on September 10, 1907, Fitch was the first Eagle Scout in Nebraska, and one of the very earliest west of the Mississippi River.

Military career

Fitch graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1930 and became a career Army officer. While a major, he commanded artillery units in the Philippines early in World War II. A survivor of the Bataan Death March in 1942, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star for heroism and courage in combat and while a captive of the Japanese.^[1] After the Battle of Bataan, he was taken prisoner of war and was not released until the war was concluded. He was held at Camp O'Donnell^[2] and later Fukuoka prison camps, and as a result of multiple illnesses and injuries, was not released from Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii until well into 1947.

In the Korean War, Fitch was an artillery commander and then commanded the 3rd Armored Division. He later served as Chief of Staff of Army Intelligence before being named to the Defense Intelligence Agency post in 1964.

He served on the Army Aircraft Requirements Review Board, also known as the Rogers Board, which was established on January 15, 1960 by the Army Chief of Staff to review the Army Aircraft Development Plan and the related industry proposals. The Rogers Board's members included Major Generals Hamilton H. Howze, Thomas F. Van Natta, Robert J. Wood, Richard D. Meyer, Ernest F. Easterbrook, and chairman Lieutenant General Gordon B. Rogers; and its results prefigured the more influential Howze Board on airmobility.^[3]

Retirement and death

He retired from active duty in 1966 and was military editor of the Kiplinger Newsletter from 1966 to 1975.

General Fitch died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., on November 25, 1989 and was buried in Section 30 of Arlington National Cemetery. General Fitch is a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.

Notable subordinates

General Fitch was Elvis Presley's commanding officer during the singer's stint in the Army from 1958 to 1960.
Future U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was a lieutenant with the 3rd Armored Division under General Fitch.

Notes

^ Irvin Alexander (10 July 2005). Surviving Bataan And Beyond: Colonel Irvin Alexander's Odyssey As A Japanese Prisoner Of War. Stackpole Books. pp. 266–. ISBN 978-0-8117-3248-2. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
^ Gregory J. W. Urwin (15 November 2010). Victory in Defeat: The Wake Island Defenders in Captivity, 1941-1945. Naval Institute Press. pp. 440–. ISBN 978-1-59114-899-9. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
^ "Chapter 1 The Growth of the Airmobile Concept". Airmobility 1961-1971. Vietnam Studies. United States Army Center of Military History. 1989. CMH Pub=1989. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)

References

Black, J. K. United States Penetration of Brazil. 1977 (page 183, 188)
Fitch, A. R. Autobiography of Alva Revista Fitch, Fitch family genealogy collection, unpublished, 1984, page 4
Mader, Julius Who's Who in CIA. 1968
Newman, John M. JFK and Vietnam: Deception, Intrigue, and the Struggle for Power. 1992 (page 33, 186)
Powers, T. The Man Who Kept the Secrets. 1981 (page 271)

External links

Fitch's headstone at Arlington National Cemetery

[Alexander2005-1] Irvin Alexander (10 July 2005). Surviving Bataan And Beyond: Colonel Irvin Alexander's Odyssey As A Japanese Prisoner Of War. Stackpole Books. pp. 266–. ISBN 978-0-8117-3248-2. Retrieved 1 January 2013.

[Urwin2010-2] Gregory J. W. Urwin (15 November 2010). Victory in Defeat: The Wake Island Defenders in Captivity, 1941-1945. Naval Institute Press. pp. 440–. ISBN 978-1-59114-899-9. Retrieved 1 January 2013.

[3] "Chapter 1 The Growth of the Airmobile Concept". Airmobility 1961-1971. Vietnam Studies. United States Army Center of Military History. 1989. CMH Pub=1989. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)

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