John B . Coulter John Breitling Coulter ( 1891 – 1983 ) was a Lieutenant General in the United States Army . Coulter served during World Wars I and II and the Korean War . Early life . Coulter was born on April 27 , 1891 in San Antonio , Texas . He graduated from West Texas Military Academy in 1911 , and in 1912 obtained a commission as a Second Lieutenant of Cavalry . Military career . World War I . He initially served with the 14th Cavalry Regiment in Texas until 1916 , including participation in the Pancho Villa Expedition . During World War I he served in France as aide - de - camp to General William A . Mann , the commander of the 42nd ( Rainbow ) Infantry Division . After returning to the U . S . for five months as adjutant of the 154th Brigade at Camp Meade , Maryland , he went back to France as commander of 2nd Battalion 508th Pioneer Infantry , an African - American unit . Interwar . After the war , Coulter served in the War Department ' s Personnel Branch , and then assumed command of 2nd Squadron 14th Cavalry at Fort Des Moines , Iowa . In 1922 he graduated from the Cavalry School and was assigned to the War Department as the Cavalry chief of materiel , later serving as executive officer to the Chief of Cavalry . Coulter graduated from the Command and General Staff College in 1927 , and then took command of a squadron in the 8th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss , Texas , afterwards serving as assistant plans and training officer for the 1st Cavalry Division . He was subsequently assigned to the General Staff ' s Military Intelligence Division as a specialist in Latin American affairs . In 1933 Coulter graduated from the Army War College , and he completed the Naval War College in 1934 . In 1938 he was assigned as executive officer of the 4th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Meade , South Dakota , and in 1940 he became the regiment ' s commander . World War II . In 1941 Coulter was assigned as commander of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade in Phoenix , Arizona , receiving promotion to Brigadier General . After the attack on Pearl Harbor , his soldiers patrolled the Mexican border , and Coulter received an additional assignment as the Western Defense Command ' s commander of the Southern Land Frontier Sector . In early 1942 Coulter was assigned to command 2nd Cavalry Division . Coulter assumed command of the 85th Infantry Division in 1943 , receiving promotion to Major General . After stateside training , he led his division in North Africa and Italy . The 85th Division fought through the Gustav and Gothic Lines during the Rome - Arno , North Apennines and Po Valley campaigns , and Coulter earned a reputation as an expert in military mountaineering and alpine warfare . After World War II , Coulter returned to the U . S . as commander of the Infantry Replacement Center at Fort McClellan , Alabama , and then was assigned as deputy commander of Fourth Army at Fort Sam Houston , Texas . Korea . In 1948 he went to Korea as commander of the 7th Infantry Division . In 1949 he was appointed deputy commander of U . S . forces in Korea , and then commanded I Corps until its deactivation in 1950 . Coulter was then assigned as deputy commander of Fifth Army , headquartered in Chicago . After the June , 1950 invasion of South Korea , Coulter was assigned to command I Corps , reactivated as part of the Eighth Army . As the commander of Task Force Jackson , an ad hoc force of South Korean and U . S . troops , Coulter was credited with a key role in halting North Korea ' s advance . In September , 1950 Coulter assumed command of IX Corps , and led his organization as the supporting effort to I Corps in the U . S . counterattack against North Korea . In 1951 Coulter was promoted to Lieutenant General as deputy commander of the Eighth Army , and was Eighth Army commander General Matthew Ridgway ' s liaison to the South Korean Army and South Korean President Syngman Rhee . General Coulter retired from the Army in 1952 . Later life . Following his retirement , Coulter was appointed the Washington , D . C . representative of the United Nations Korean Reconstruction Agency ( UNKRA ) , the organization formed to direct the international effort to rebuild South Korea after the Korean War . In 1953 he was named to head UNKRA , with the rank of UN Assistant Secretary - General , and he remained in this position until 1958 . During his tenure , he directed the expenditure of more than $ 200 million for rebuilding South Korea ' s industry , schools , hospitals , roads and housing . During 1956 General Coulter also advised U . N . Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld on peacekeeping forces during the Suez Crisis . In 1959 , Syngman Rhee , still the President of South Korea , erected a statue of Coulter to recognize his efforts to rebuild South Korea . The statue originally stood in the Itaewon District of Seoul . It was rededicated in 1977 , and now stands at Seoul ' s San 18 , Neung - dong , Kwangjin - gu . In the 1960s , Coulter was President of the Korean Cultural and Freedom Foundation , an organization formed to recognize Korean War veterans and foster cultural exchanges between the U . S . and South Korea . Coulter died in Washington , D . C . on March 6 , 1983 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery . Awards and decorations . His awards and decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal ( 3 ) , Silver Star ( 2 ) , Bronze Star , Distinguished Flying Cross , and Air Medal ( 6 ) . Citation for first Distinguished Service Medal : June 18 , 1944 As Commanding General , 85th Infantry Division , from February 21 , 1943 to June 5 , 1944 , he led his troops on a series of brilliant advances over a hundred miles of the most difficult terrain , climaxed by their entry into Rome on June 4 , 1944 . The outstanding accomplishments of this division in its first experience of combat , against a ruthless and battle - hardened enemy , were due primarily to his aggressive leadership . His continued emphasis on rigorous , intensive training , his indoctrination of his men with the proper mental conditioning for battle , and his comprehensive grasp of military tactics proved decisive factors in the grim fighting against the enemy - held strong points of Colle San Martino , Hill 121 , Formia , Terracina and Mount Ceraso . By the diligent exercise of his gifts of leadership and constant presence at the front he made a signal contribution to the smashing defeat of the enemy ' s forces before Rome . Citation for second Distinguished Service Medal : May 16 , 1945 For exceptionally meritorious service in duty of great responsibility , from 17 August 1944 to 2 May 1945 , in Italy . General Coulter commanded the 85th Division in its operations from the Cecina River to the Arno River and Gothic Line . Later , in the difficult cracking of this strongly held and prepared line the 85th Division , under the exceedingly brilliant direction of General Coulter , took Mount Altuzzo on 18 September after a 5 day battle . This was one of the most important tactical features of the Gothic Line , the capture of which greatly facilitated the further advance of the Fifth Army through the strongly defended German positions . Throughout winter action in the Apennines and during the victorious Allied offensive in the spring , Major General Coulter ably led his troops in the accomplishment of a vital role leading to the crushing defeat of the German forces in Italy . While preparing his division for its assignment in the offensive , he skillfully readjusted troop dispositions , consolidated and strengthened a vulnerable and important mountainous sector , and at the same time provided all possible facilities for the welfare of his troops then undergoing the hardships of mountain fighting in bitter weather . Having perfected plans for the offensive , Major General Coulter directed his division in a smashing attack , inspiring his men by his aggressive leadership and firm determination to press the attack rapidly and relentlessly . Advancing across the Po Valley , the 85th Division severed the vitally important Highway 9 , crossed the Po River and continued its drive across the Adige Line , accomplishing an advance of more than one hundred miles in a period of ten days . The brilliant tactical skill and inspiring leadership of Major General Coulter resulted in an extremely vital contribution to the victory achieved by the 15th Army Group .