Sam Wetzel Robert Lewis " Sam " Wetzel ( born October 6 , 1930 ) is an United States Army General . Education . Robert Lewis " Sam " Wetzel , of Clarksburg , West Virginia graduated high school in 1948 and was planning to attend Purdue University and a career as an engineer . A recently approved local candidate for the West Point Military Academy dropped out , and Wetzel ended up being picked as the replacement . He graduated from West Point in 1952 as an infantry officer . Korean War . He was immediately deployed to the Korean War , where he saw action as a young company commander . Under fire for the first time , his first and instinctive concern was for the lives of his soldiers . From that time through his retirement in 1986 , Wetzel almost invariably served as a " field " commander , meaning an officer who leads men on the ground as opposed to working behind the scenes at a desk . Wetzel ' s leadership secret - " you get those soldiers to where they ' d throw themselves in front of a tank for you " - was once laid out at a leadership discussion where Wetzel was not present . One participant at the meeting apparently did not believe that this concluded matters and responded , " Well , did Wetzel mention how exactly he managed to do that ? " . Vietnam War . Lieutenant Colonel Wetzel was deployed to Vietnam in 1968 as the Battalion Commander of the 4th Battalion , 31st Infantry Regiment ( United States ) , the " Polar Bears " . At one point , after an enemy bullet struck him , he declined a purple heart for which he could have easily and successfully applied . He judged the wound too insignificant to mention , despite the fact that it left him with a permanent scar . Wetzel went on to lead his battalion in a successful textbook military battle to secure an important mountainous area . Germany . Returning from the front , Wetzel eventually married an American Vietnam widow with five young children . He was promoted to full Colonel and soon assumed command of a brigade in Fort Carson , Colorado . In 1975 , he was promoted to Brigadier General and sent to West Germany . He then began a rapid ascent as a " field general , " again , one who wears combat boots and leads soldiers on the ground . He was given command of the coveted First Infantry Division ( forward ) in Goeppingen , Germany . When this command concluded , the commander of all European and American forces in Europe , General Alexander M . Haig , then personally pinned Wetzel ' s second star on him . Haig ' s Chief - of - staff . From 1978 - 79 , Wetzel served as General Haig ' s chief - of - staff in Belgium . Wetzel accepted this assignment reluctantly , for it meant shedding his fatigues and working behind a desk - fifteen feet from Haig ' s desk , seven days per week . But the timing of the assignment was fortunate . Since the 1950s , NATO and American strategy had been to save money by maintaining conventional forces ( tanks , planes and soldiers ) in Europe that could not possibly withstand an invasion by Warsaw Pact forces . The front - line troops served as a trip - wire for a nuclear response . But just before Wetzel ' s arrival at Haig ' s office , the Soviets had deployed their SS - 20 theater nuclear missiles in Europe . This upset the entire balance of NATO deterrence and Western security . During this year together , Haig , Wetzel and the rest of the staff crafted what became the West ' s strategic response - deployment in Europe of the Pershing II missiles , which could hit Moscow in the event of war , allowing only minutes for the Soviets to react . During the next four years , the domestic political battles began in NATO countries as to whether the Pershing II missiles would actually be deployed . After serving as Haig ' s Chief of Staff , Wetzel commanded the Third Infantry Division in Würzburg . Wetzel led his Division to victory in the annual war games staged in West Germany , where he revealed a marked preference for the surprise night attack . Illness . In 1981 , Wetzel was diagnosed with terminal melanoma cancer . Although he bought a new suit and insisted he would " beat this thing " , the army and four doctors did not agree . He was given less than a year to live , and offered a full medical disability in exchange for retirement . Wetzel refused , he later said he just wanted to get back to the troops . The army reluctantly permitted him to stay on , but only after he signed a full waiver . Judging Wetzel to be at death ' s door , the army stripped him of his command and sent him back to America to end his days . However , he made a full recovery . He was soon placed in command of the famous infantry training center in Fort Benning , Georgia . In 1983 , Wetzel was awarded his third star , and he returned to the troops in Germany . Wetzel ' s first position back in Germany was Deputy Commander in Chief of U . S . Forces in Europe . The NATO allies had finally approved the Pershing II plan . Immediately upon his arrival , it became Wetzel ' s job to receive and deploy the Pershing II missiles in the midst of anti - war demonstrations all over Europe . Today , Cold War historians ( relying on the candid confessions of defeated Russian leaders ) credit the deployment of the Pershing II missiles as one of three key factors that broke the Soviets ' back and ended the Cold War ( the other two factors being the Reagan defense build - up and SDI specifically ) .