Sam S . Walker Sam Sims Walker ( born July 31 , 1925 ) , United States Army , is a retired General who served as the Commanding General of Allied Land Forces , South East Europe ( COMLANDSOUTHEAST ) from 1977 to 1978 . Military career . Walker was born at West Point , New York , and is the son of General Walton Walker , himself a four - star general ; they are one of only two pairs of fathers and sons to achieve the rank of four - star general in U . S . Army history . He enrolled in the Virginia Military Institute in 1941 , but transferred to the United States Military Academy the next year . Upon graduation from West Point in 1946 , he was commissioned into the infantry , and his initial assignment was with the 11th Airborne Division on occupation duty in Japan . He served in the Korean War , during which , as a company commander in the 24th Infantry Division , he earned a Silver Star . Also during his time in Korea , his father , then commanding the Eighth Army , was killed in a vehicle accident , and Walker escorted his body back to the U . S . Returning to the United States at the end of his combat tour in 1951 , he was assigned to the U . S . Army Infantry School as an instructor . After graduating in 1957 from the Command and General Staff College , Walker served in a variety of assignments , to include aide - de - camp to the Chief of Staff of the Army , tactical officer at West Point , and Secretary of the General Staff of the United Nations Command / US Forces , Korea . He was a Distinguished Graduate from the National War College in 1963 , and then assumed command of the 1st Battalion , 30th Infantry Regiment . He volunteered for duty in Vietnam , serving as G - 3 , 1st Infantry Division , and took command of the 2d Brigade as a lieutenant colonel , earning a second Silver Star . He lead the 2d Brigade during Operation Attleboro After Vietnam , Walker attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard , followed by an assignment in the Office of the Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army as Chief of Force Readiness , Force Planning , and Analysis . After that position he was chosen to represent the Army on the Council of Foreign Relations . He received his first star in 1968 , and became the Assistant Division Commander , 82nd Airborne Division , before being selected as the 54th Commandant of Cadets at West Point in 1969 . Promoted to Major General , he took command of the 3rd Infantry Division , followed by selection as the U . S . Commander in Berlin . As a Lieutenant General , Walker served as the Deputy Commanding General , United States Army Forces Command at Fort McPherson , Georgia from 1975 to 1977 . In 1977 he was selected for promotion to General , at the time the youngest four - star general in the army , and appointed to his final position as Commanding General , Allied Land Forces Southeast , headquartered in Turkey . His time in Turkey was a tumultuous one , coinciding with the U . S . arms embargo against Turkey for deploying troops to Cyprus in 1974 . At the end of this assignment he was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and the Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Distinguished Service . The Army was either unable or unwilling to place him in another four star slot , so facing non - punitive demotion to three star rank , he opted to retire from the army in 1978 . Post military career . After retiring from the Army , Walker accepted the position of Superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington , Virginia , which he served as from 1981 to 1988 . He has also served as a board member of the Advisory Council of the U . S . - Korea Foundation , the Council on U . S . - Korea Security Studies , the National D - Day Museum , and American Friends of Turkey . He received the 2005 Distinguished Graduate Award from the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy .