Ray E . Porter Ray Edison Porter ( July 29 , 1891 - August 10 , 1963 ) was a U . S . Army Major General . In World War II he served on the Africa campaign , in the War Department , and then led the 75th Infantry Division . Dwight D . Eisenhower named him as one of fifty who took over the ASF ' s Project Planning Division , the Special Planning Division or SPD . Biography . Major General Ray E . Porter , U . S . Army , Retired was born at Fordyce , Arkansas on 29 July 1891 , the son of William and Hattie E . Porter . He received his education at Fordyce High School and at the University of Arkansas . On 21 May 1921 , he was married to Maude Garner , daughter of John W . Garner and Mrs Effie Garner of Fordyce . He had three children : Colonel Ray E . Porter , Jr , Mrs . Peggy Northington , and Mrs Patricia Burke . General Porter , his son , Colonel Ray E . Porter jr , and grandson , Colonel Ray E . Porter III are the first third generation graduates of the US Army War College at Carlisle Barracks , PA . ( 1937 , 1961 , & 1988 ) Porter entered the military service with the First Officers ' Training Camp , Fort Logan H . Roots , Arkansas , 15 May 1917 , receiving his first Army commission in the Officers ' Reserve Corps 15 August of the same year . He was appointed a second Lieutenant of Infantry in the Regular Army on 26 October 1917 and progressed through the successive grades of the Regular Army to his appointment as a Major General , 21 September 1943 . During World War I , Porter participated in combat in the European Theater of Operations with Company E , 34th Infantry , 7th Division . He was awarded the American Distinguished Service Cross and the French Croix de Guerre for gallantry in action 1 – 2 November 1918 . Between the World Wars Porter graduated from the Company Officers Course ( 1928 ) and the Advanced Course ( 1932 ) of the Infantry School , Fort Benning , Georgia ; The Command and General Staff School ( 1935 ) , Fort Leavenworth , Kansas and the Army War College ( 1937 ) , Washington , D . C . Other service of that period included duty as Professor of Military Science and Tactics , Ouachita Baptist College , Arkadelphia , Arkansas ; ( 1922 – 1927 ) a tour of foreign service with the 19th Infantry in Hawaii , ( 1928 – 1931 ) and instructor at the Command and General Staff School , Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , 1937 - 1940 . In World War II he took part in the assault landing of the Allied Forces at Algiers , North Africa in November 1942 and served as Deputy Chief of Staff at General Eisenhower ' s Advance Headquarters during the Tunisian Campaign . Returning to the United States after the German surrender in North Africa , he was assigned as Assistant Chief of Staff , G - 3 ( Organization and Training ) , War Department General Staff . When the Germans attacked in the Bulge during December 1944 , Porter was flown immediately to the European Theater of Operations where he commanded the 75th Infantry division in combat until the end of hostilities in that theater . Shortly after V - E Day he was called home for duty as Chief of the Special Planning Division , War Department Special Staff . From 1948 to 1951 , Porter commanded the United States Army in the Caribbean with his headquarters at Fort Amador , Canal Zone . His command included the United States Army forces and activities in Panama and Puerto Rico and the United States Army Missions in the numerous republics of Central and South America . He was retired from Camp Breckinridge , Kentucky , where he had commanded the Replacement Training Center and the 101st Airborne Division , 30 June 1953 . Awards and decorations . Porter ' s decorations and medals include :