Robert Leahy Fair Robert Leahy Fair ( May 18 , 1923 – September 14 , 1983 ) was a senior U . S . Army field commander in Germany during the Cold War , and a Lieutenant General in the United States Army . General Fair commanded V Corps from August 25 , 1975 , until January 4 , 1976 . After 32 years in the Army and service in three wars , Lieutenant General Fair completed his career in 1976 . Education . Fair received a Bachelor of Science degree from The University of Maryland in 1961 , and a Master of Arts from George Washington University in 1963 . He also attended the University of Michigan , where he studied the Japanese language in preparation for an assignment on General MacArthur ' s Staff . Early Life and Career . Born in San Francisco , California , Fair was the son of Robert A . Fair . He attended St . Paul ' s Grammar School in San Francisco and graduated in 1941 from the High School of Commerce , where he was active in the school ' s Reserve Officer Training Corps program . Fair attended the University of San Francisco before receiving an appointment to the United States Military Academy . He entered West Point on July 19 , 1942 . He was appointed by Rep ( R - CA ) Richard J . Welch , the California 5th District . Found to be deficient in Mathematics , he was dismissed on January 12 , 1943 . Prior to his enlistment in the Army , he also attended the University of Chicago from 1943 to 1944 . Fair attended Infantry Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning , Georgia , and received his commission as an Infantry officer in 1944 . His initial assignment was as an instructor in the Weapons Department at The Infantry School , Fort Benning . Following attendance at the University of Michigan for Japanese language training , First Lieutenant Fair served as an intelligence officer and interpreter on General MacArthur ' s Staff in Tokyo from 1946 to 1948 . He returned to the United States in August 1948 , and was assigned to Fort Lewis , Washington , where he served as a platoon leader and regimental staff officer with the 23d and 38th Infantry Regiments . Korean War . In August 1950 , he accompanied the 38th Infantry Regiment to Korea . Fair served on the 38th Infantry Regimental Staff during the Korean War , where he fought on the Naktong River and later was to meet the Chinese Forces in North Korea ; he later became the G - 3 ( Air ) , 2nd Infantry Division . Fair was awarded the Silver Star , Bronze Star , and Purple Heart medals and an Army Commendation Ribbon for meritorious service . On November 29 , 1950 , Captain Fair earned the Silver Star for actions with Headquarters Company , 38th Infantry Regiment , in the vicinity of Kunu - ri . Interwar Service . Upon returning to the United States , he served as Assistant G - 3 ( Operations ) , Sixth U . S . Army at The Presidio of San Francisco in California . In August 1952 , he attended the Infantry Officers ' Advanced Course at Fort Benning , Georgia . Upon graduation , Captain Fair was assigned as the Regimental Operations Officer ( and Ceremonial Officer ) for the 3d Infantry Regiment ( The Old Guard ) at Fort Myer , Virginia , until August 1954 . After attending the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , as a Captain , Fair was assigned to Headquarters , V Corps , U . S . Army Europe as the Plans Officer , G - 3 / 5 / 7 . He attended the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk , Virginia , from August 1958 to January 1959 . From there he served as a staff officer in the Joint War Plans Division , Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations from January 1959 to August 1960 . His next assignment took him to Offutt Air Force Base , Nebraska , where he worked on the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff as a Plans Officer . From August 1962 to June 1963 , he attended the Naval War College in Newport , Rhode Island . Following this he became Secretary of the General Staff , Headquarters , Eighth U . S . Army from July 1963 to August 1964 . In August 1964 , Lieutenant Colonel Fair assumed command of the 1st Battalion , 6th Infantry ( Mechanized ) , 1st Armored Division at Fort Hood , Texas . He then returned to Washington , D . C . , where he served as a member of the Department of the Army Board of Inquiry on the Army Logistics System ; the Chief of the Coordination Division , Office of the Chief of Staff , and subsequently as Executive Officer to the Vice Chief of Staff , U . S . Army . Vietnam War . Colonel Fair commanded 1st Brigade , 25th Infantry Division in Tay Ninh , in the Republic of Vietnam , in 1968 – 1969 . He received the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry for his participation in heavy fighting around Ven Cau . During combat in Vietnam , his brigade was awarded the U . S . Valorous Unit Award and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry ( with Palm ) . He was instrumental in establishing a " Holiday Inn " in the Tay Ninh province so that soldiers returning from combat missions had an opportunity to shower , do laundry , repair their gear , and get a good night ' s sleep , a hot meal , and a little rest and recuperation ( R & R ) . Fair was quoted , " We want to make the man who struggles in the field day and night , week after week , feel like a king for a couple of days . " He later became the Chief of Staff , 25th Infantry Division , in Cu Chi , Vietnam . Cold War . Colonel Fair was assigned to the Management Information Systems Directorate , Office of the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff from September 1969 to April 1970 . He later became Director of the Management Information Systems , and was promoted to Brigadier General . Major General Fair commanded the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood from July 16 , 1973 , to August 5 , 1975 . He worked diligently for operations - intelligence integration as the 2nd Armored Division prepared for its return of forces to Germany ( Exercise Reforger ) mission , and their annual Reforger exercise supporting the Army ’ s operational plans . During the Cold War , the 2nd Armored Division ' s primary mission was to prepare to conduct heavy armored combat against Warsaw Pact forces in defense of NATO . Hell On Wheels formed a key component of the U . S . military ' s plan to move " ten divisions in ten days " to Europe in the event of a Soviet threat to NATO . The division practiced this task numerous times during Exercise REFORGER ( Return of Forces to Germany ) from 1967 to 1988 . Josiah Bunting noted in his 1975 article on the Volunteer Army : " In fiscal 1974 , Fair ' s division reenlistment goal was 813 : 1222 took their burst of six . In July 1973 , before Fair got to the division , the A . W . O . L . rate was 44 per 1000 ; a year later , it was 14 per 1000 . From January to June 1974 , 1194 troopers raised their G . T . scores , and of all the soldiers who re - upped when Fair was in command , 72 percent re - enlisted for his division . " Bunting commented that Fair would be " a tough act to follow . " On August 25 , 1975 , Lieutenant General Fair assumed command of V Corps at Frankfurt , Federal Republic of Germany from Lieutenant General William R . Desobry . He was responsible for the training and readiness of V Corps , headquartered at Abrams Barracks , which included the 8th Infantry Division ( Mechanized ) " Pathfinder , " the 3rd Armored Division " Spearhead , " and the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment " Blackhorse . " Major General John R . D . Cleland , Jr . commanded the " Pathfinder " Division , which was headquartered at Rose Barracks , Bad Kreuznach . Major General ( later Lieutenant General ) Charles J . Simmons commanded the " Spearhead " Division headquartered at Frankfurt . Colonel ( later Lieutenant General ) John L . Ballantyne III commanded the " Blackhorse " Regiment headquartered at Fulda . While he was reportedly the only modern day corps commander to be relieved of duty during peacetime , a Time magazine article noted , " Lieut . General Robert L . Fair is headed for a more prosaic destination , however , and defenders of a tough , nononsense , old - style Army are dismayed . As of next week Fair , 52 , will retire for " personal reasons " – the most important being that he and his commanding officer hated each other ' s guts . " General George S . Blanchard served as the USAREUR Commander from 1975 - 1979 . Lieutenant General ( later General ) Donn A . Starry assumed command of V Corps on February 16 , 1976 . Command style . " Fair ' s approach won plaudits . Novelist Josiah Bunting ( The Lionheads ) , an ex - major himself , praised Fair ' s leathery style in a Playboy article last fall , describing the general as ‘ an admirable soldier ’ who is ‘ always in bristling motion . ’ But other officers , whose palms sweat when Fair raked them over with abrasive questions , disliked him intensely . To some enlisted men , Fair was a bush - league General Patton . " One member of the Lancer Brigade said , " The colonel is a doer . When he decides something , that means we ' re gonna have some action . " A 1976 " Time " magazine article quoted an admiring captain as saying , " I ' d have followed him into the jaws of hell — and had a hard time catching up with him . " Retirement . Following retirement from the military , Fair worked for SRI International , formerly Stanford Research Institute , before transitioning to Lockheed Corporation . While at Lockheed , he worked on the MQM - 105 Aquila remote piloted vehicle ( RPV ) , now called unmanned aerial vehicles ( UAV ) . Lieutenant General Fair died on September 14 , 1983 , at Santa Clara , California . He is buried on The Presidio of San Francisco at San Francisco National Cemetery Personal life . General Fair was married to the former Alys Tendrich on July 9 , 1949 . They had three children . Summary of Service . Rank Earned . < br > < br >