James H . Polk James Hilliard Polk ( December 13 , 1911 – February 18 , 1992 ) was a United States Army four - star general who served as Commander in Chief , United States Army Europe from 1967 to 1971 . He was one of the last senior commanders in the army to have served in the horse cavalry . Military career . Polk was born at Camp McGraw in Batangas in the Philippines on December 13 , 1911 to Colonel Harding Polk , and the former Esther Fleming . He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1933 and was commissioned in the cavalry . Prior to World War II he served in two cavalry regiments , and attended the basic and advanced courses at the cavalry school . In 1939 at the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden he won first place in the Individual Military and Police Jumping event . At the outbreak of World War II he was assigned to West Point as a tactical officer . In 1943 he attended a shortened general staff course at Fort Leavenworth , and after graduation joined the 106th Cavalry Group at Camp Hood , Texas as a squadron commander , and later as regimental executive officer . In Europe , the group fought in the hedgerows of Normandy and the breakout from Saint - Lô . In early September 1944 , Polk assumed command of the 3rd Cavalry Group , then in combat near Metz , France , and commanded it until the end of the war . During this time the unit was known as " Task Force Polk " , and spearheaded many advances by Gen . Walton Walker ' s XX Corps , part of Gen . George S . Patton , Jr . ' s Third Army . After brief occupation duty in Germany at the end of World War II , Polk returned to the U . S . and became Chief of Tactics at the Ground General School at Fort Riley , Kansas , and later attended the Armed Forces Staff College . In 1948 he went to Tokyo in the G - 2 ( Intelligence ) section of the U . S . Far East Command for the next three years . During the Korean War Polk was assigned as G - 2 to Gen . Ned Almond ' s X Corps and later as G - 2 to Gen . James Van Fleet ' s 8th Army , and participated in three campaigns . In August 1951 he returned stateside to attend the National War College , and was later assigned as an instructor at the Army War College . He was then made Chief of Staff of the 3rd Armored Division at Fort Knox , participating in their move to Germany . In July 1956 he was promoted to Brigadier General and became assistant division commander . Following an assignment as Assistant Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations , Land Forces Central Europe at NATO Headquarters at Fontainebleau under General Dr . Hans Speidel , Polk returned to the U . S . and became Director of the Policy Planning Staff in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs . Upon promotion to Major General , Polk took command of the 4th Armored Division , followed by being the U . S . commandant in Berlin from January 2 , 1963 to August 31 , 1964 during a time of increased Cold War tensions and President John F . Kennedy ' s visit to Berlin in June , 1963 . Polk became commander of V Corps on September 1 , 1964 , and in 1966 returned to CONUS to become Assistant Chief of Staff for Force Development . He returned to Europe at the end of that year , first as Deputy Commander in Chief , U . S . Army Europe , and six months later was promoted to four - star General as Commander in Chief , U . S . Army Europe . He retired from active duty on April 1 , 1971 . Decorations . Polk ' s awards and decorations included the Army Distinguished Service Medal , the Legion of Merit , the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster , the Bronze Star , the French Croix de guerre , the French Legion of Honor , the American Campaign Medal , the Air Medal , and the Korean Presidential Unit Citation , the World War II Victory Medal , the European - African - Middle Eastern Theater Medal . Post military career . Polk retired to El Paso , Texas , and served as Chairman of the Board of the U . S . Cavalry Association from 1978 to 1992 , and President of Army Emergency Relief from 1975 to 1984 . He died on February 18 , 1992 at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso , Texas after battling cancer and pneumonia . He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery , and later his wife , Josephine Leavell Polk ( 1913 – 1999 ) , was buried with him . His World War II letters were published in 2005 under the title " World War II Letters and Notes of Colonel James H . Polk , 1944 – 1945 " ( ISBN 1932762191 ) . The 3d Cavalry Association has named its scholarship fund for the children of fallen 3ACR soldiers after him .