Hal B . Jennings Hal Bruce Jennings , Jr . ( August 26 , 1915 – February 12 , 2008 ) was an American plastic surgeon who served as Surgeon General of the United States Army from October 10 , 1969 , to September 30 , 1973 . Education . Jennings was born in Seneca , Michigan and attended schools in Toledo , Ohio , graduating from DeVilbiss High School in 1933 . He studied at the University of Toledo , where he undertook a pre - medical course and graduated with a B . S . degree in 1937 . He then attended the University of Michigan Medical School at Ann Arbor , Michigan . Jennings graduated in June 1941 with a Doctor of Medicine degree and accepted a commission as a 1st lieutenant in the Medical Corps Reserve , but remained at the university to complete a one - year internship . On July 1 , 1942 , he was called to active duty and attended a one month refresher course at the Medical Field Service School , Carlisle Barracks , Pennsylvania . He then served for over a year in the Medical Training Center at Camp Joseph T . Robinson , Arkansas , and as a regimental surgeon in an engineer training unit at Camp Claiborne , Louisiana . He was promoted to temporary captain on February 5 , 1943 , and was sent overseas in the fall . Career . Jennings served in the Pacific Theater of Operations with the 25th Evacuation Hospital at Espiritu Santo , New Hebrides , the 8th General Hospital , New Caledonia , and the Joint Purchasing Board , Auckland , New Zealand . On December 11 , 1944 , he was commissioned as 1st lieutenant in the Regular Army Medical Corps and promoted to permanent captain on July 7 , 1945 . Jennings returned to the United States in May 1946 . In August , he was assigned to McCornack General Hospital in Pasadena , California to work in plastic and reconstructive surgery on casualties of World War II . He was promoted to temporary major on October 30 , 1946 . In early 1948 , he moved with the last of his plastic surgery patients to Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco . While at Letterman , Jennings completed a residency in general surgery . He was accepted for further plastic surgery training at the Barnes Hospital of the Washington University School of Medicine in St . Louis , Missouri , and began two years training with the Blair Brown Group of Surgeons on July 1 , 1949 . He was promoted to permanent major on February 3 , 1950 , and to temporary lieutenant colonel on December 9 , while he was in St . Louis . In July 1951 Jennings reported to Brooke Army General Hospital , Fort Sam Houston , Texas , as assistant chief of plastic surgery to assist in caring for Korean War casualties . While on this assignment , he was certified in 1953 as a diplomate of the American Board of Plastic Surgery . On August 1 , 1956 , he was promoted to permanent lieutenant colonel and concurrently assigned to Walter Reed Army General Hospital , Washington , D . C . . He served as the chief of the plastic surgery service and as consultant to the surgeon general on plastic surgery . He was promoted to temporary colonel on August 10 , 1959 . From July 1961 Jennings served in Germany as a staff surgeon , V Corps , in Frankfurt for a year and as commander of the 130th Station Hospital in Heidelberg starting in August 1962 . He was promoted to permanent colonel on February 1 , 1964 . On his return to the United States in August , Colonel Jennings assumed command of Martin Army Hospital , Ft . Benning , Georgia , and concurrently served as post surgeon . In this assignment , he was responsible for the medical support of the 11th Air Assault Division ( Test ) , which subsequently deployed to Vietnam as the 1st Cavalry Division ( Air Mobile ) . He also supervised the medical aspects of the conversion of Ft . Benning from a division - type post to a complete training center , together with the medical care provided casualties from the Vietnam War . In May 1968 he was assigned as command surgeon to the United States Military Assistance Command , Vietnam . He was promoted to temporary brigadier general on September 1 , 1968 . On February 1 , 1969 , he assumed command of the 44th Medical Brigade at Long Binh , with additional duty as surgeon , Headquarters , United States Army , Vietnam . Jennings left Vietnam to be sworn in on July 1 , 1969 , as deputy surgeon general , and was promoted to permanent brigadier general on August 1 . He was sworn in as surgeon general on October 1 and concurrently promoted to temporary lieutenant general . Awards and memberships . His military awards include the Distinguished Service Medal , the Legion of Merit , the Air Medal , and the Joint Service Commendation Medal . He also holds the Vietnam Army Distinguished Service Order ( 1st Class ) and the Vietnam Public Health Service Medal ( 1st Class ) . Jennings is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons . He held membership in the American Medical Association , the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons , the Texas Society of Plastic Surgeons , the American Association of Plastic Surgeons , the International Congress of Plastic Surgeons , the Foundation of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery , the Association of Military Surgeons of the U . S . , the Association of Military Plastic Surgeons , and the Halstead Society ( 1970 ) .